Channel 4 appoints David Abraham as CEO

Channel 4 has appointed UKTV boss David Abraham as its new chief executive to replace Andy Duncan, who left the broadcaster in November.

Officially announced today, Abraham beat off reported competition from BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson, Talkback Thames chief executive Lorraine Heggessey and current Channel 4 director of television Kevin Lygo to secure the role.

As Abraham's start date has not yet been confirmed, an interim management team led by acting chief executive Anne Bulford will remain in control until his arrival.

"David is a rare commodity as a broadcaster in that he has an exceptional track record as an innovative leader, both creatively and commercially," said incoming Channel 4 chairman Lord Burns, who officially takes up his post on January 27.

"At all stages of his career he's led creative teams and commissioned creative output of the highest quality in a commercial environment. It is that experience, we believe, that so well qualifies him for the challenge of running a commercially funded, public service broadcaster like Channel 4."

Lord Burns said that the Channel 4 board spoke to a "number of other candidates" as part of an extensive selection process, but Abraham stood out as a "creative manager of the highest quality".

"He has a track record of success as a chief executive and the right mix of skills to get all parts of Channel 4 working together to unlock our full creative and commercial potential and complete our transition into digital," he added.

Abraham said that it is a "challenging" time to be working in the media, but also praised Channel 4 for having innovation as part of its history and philosophy.

"I look forward to leading the whole organisation through its next period of growth and innovation, both creatively and commercially," he said.

"What I bring to deliver that future is idealism, versatility and a record of leading creative organisations through change."

After being appointed UKTV chief executive in April 2007, Abraham masterminded the rebranding of the G2 channel as Dave, which went on to attract eight million new viewers.

Prior to UKTV, he was general manager of Discovery Networks UK, where he took the lead in negotiating a major factual programming output deal with Channel 4.