BBC head of audiences joins Clearcast

Ben Dowell
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 November 2007 13.26 GMT

Chris Mundy, the BBC's head of audiences, is to take up a new job as the first managing director of newly created TV advertising clearance organisation Clearcast.

Mundy will leave the BBC early in 2008 after eight years in a job where he was responsible for a department of 60. He is part of the management team for the BBC marketing, communications and audience division.

In his new role at Clearcast he will "lead the strategic development" of the company, which has been created to oversee the services provided by the Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Centre and its staff.

Clearcast, which has representation from all major commercial broadcasters, has been set up to provide "a one stop shop for the pre-transmission clearance and administration of audio-visual advertising", according to the company.

Mundy, who is a director of both the TV audience ratings service Barb and its radio equivalent Rajar, said: "I'm looking forward to working with the team to build on the existing strengths of the BACC and create a new company that is focused on meeting the advertising industry's needs in an increasingly complex multimedia advertising environment."

Andy Barnes, the BACC chairman and Channel 4 sales director, added: "I have had the good fortune to know Chris Mundy for eight years. As such I can say with some certainty that he is hard working, highly intelligent, forward thinking and a great manager.

"That he combines this knowledge with a self effacing style that endears him to all is as unusual as it is welcome. We are very lucky to have secured his services and I believe that he will relish this challenging new role."

Tim Davie, the BBC's director of marketing, communications and audiences, said: "Chris has played a major role in putting audience insights at the heart of the organisation and has established the BBC as world leader in terms of how it understands and responds to its viewers and listeners.

"He can be justly proud of the very strong team that he leaves in place across all areas of the BBC, and he will be missed."

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