John Tate named chairman of BBC Studios

The BBC's director of policy and strategy John Tate has been confirmed as the new chairman of the corporation's studios and post-production business.

BBC Studios and Post Production (S&PP) is the largest studios and post-production facilities provider in the UK, offering world-class solutions to the media industry.

The division, led by chief executive Mark Thomas, works with more than 250 media companies to create content across a range of genres for broadcasters from its sites at Television Centre, Elstree and Bristol. The business has just enjoyed its best ever year, delivering the highest profit since it was formed in 1998.

Tate becomes the new chairman of S&PP from today, taking over from John Smith, the hugely successful chief executive of BBC Worldwide, who has acted as chairman since 2008.

"I am delighted to be taking on the chairmanship at this exciting time and trying to build on the very strong performance last year," said Tate.

"I am looking forward to seeing the business continue to explore new opportunities across the media industry, and to help in its delivery of high quality services to all the company's partners"

As the BBC's director of policy and strategy, Tate oversees a team supporting the corporation's regulatory relationship with the BBC Trust and media watchdog Ofcom.

Prior to joining the BBC, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and the PA Consulting Group, specialising in strategy development and implementation.