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Carolyn McCall

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Dame
Carolyn McCall
DBE
Born
Carolyn Julia McCall

(1961-09-13) 13 September 1961 (age 63)
Bangalore, India
Alma materUniversity of Kent
OccupationBusinesswoman
EmployerITV
TitleChief Executive, Guardian Media Group (2006–2010)
Chief Executive, EasyJet (2010–2017)
Chief Executive, ITV (2018–present)
SpousePeter Frawley
Children3

Dame Carolyn Julia McCall DBE (born 13 September 1961)[1][2] is a British businesswoman. [3] She previously served as the chief executive of EasyJet from 2010 to 2017.[4]

Early life

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McCall was born on 13 September 1961 in Bangalore, India. Her Scottish father, Arthur McCall, ran the Far East division of a US textile multinational and her Irish-born mother, Colleen McCall, worked for the British High Commission in India.[1][5] She was educated in India and Singapore until her teens, then at a Roman Catholic girls' boarding school in Derbyshire. She studied for a BA degree in history and politics at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

On graduation she began training as a teacher, completing a year at Holland Park School.[citation needed] She then gained a master's degree in politics from the University of London, and subsequently joined construction group Costain.[citation needed] She was offered a job on Kevin Kelly's Business magazine.[citation needed]

Career

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The Guardian

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McCall applied to be a research planner at The Guardian, which she joined in 1986.[citation needed] As she rose through the Guardian Media Group behind Marland, Management Today magazine called her "one of the toughest operators to have risen through The Guardian Media Group's ranks."[1]

After rising to become CEO of Guardian Newspapers Ltd (now Guardian News & Media Ltd) in August 2006,[6] she became CEO of the Guardian Media Group. During her tenure the Manchester Evening News and regionally based business were sold to Trinity Mirror, and a 49.9% stake in Trader Media Group was sold to Apax Partners, in a deal that valued the business at £1.35bn.[1]

EasyJet

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On 24 March 2010, McCall's appointment as the chief executive of EasyJet was announced.[4] She was said to prefer a "pragmatic approach to human resources rather than politically correct niceties".[7] McCall became one of five female CEOs of a FTSE 100 Index company.[8]

During McCall's tenure at EasyJet, the airline's shares almost quadrupled,[9] and McCall arranged for the airline to "snatch up pieces" of Air Berlin and Alitalia.[10]

McCall's departure from EasyJet was announced on 17 July 2017[11] after seven years at the company. Michael O'Leary, the CEO of rival Ryanair, said the airline industry would have been poorer without her; "I clearly underestimated her and I was proved wrong. She forced us to up our game on customer service. EasyJet and the industry are better as a result of her tenure." Willie Walsh, chief executive of the British Airways parent International Airlines Group, said he was "sorry to see Carolyn [McCall] leave".[12]

McCall left EasyJet with a £5 million payment.[13] The company appointed Johan Lundgren, then deputy chief executive of TUI Group, as her successor.[14]

ITV

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On 8 January 2018, following seven years as easyJet chief executive, McCall became the first female chief executive of commercial broadcaster ITV.[3] She replaced Adam Crozier in the role.[15]

She is a creator of BritBox, a subscription video service venture in partnership with the BBC which launched of late 2019 in the UK. She said "It's quite bold, going into a market which Netflix has already been in for eight years."[16] She closed BritboxUK in 2022 when it was replaced by ITVX.[17]

McCall earned a £3.7 million salary at ITV in 2018. Her 2019 base salary was set to increase by 2.5 per cent "in line with the wider employee group".[18] In April 2020, McCall along with other senior executives took a 20% pay cut in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.[19]

In June 2023, she appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, where she was interrogated by Caroline Dinenage about the culture at ITV.[20]

In June 2023, Jay Hunt (television executive) was tipped by proactiveinvestors.co.uk as a potential replacement for Carolyn McCall as Chief Executive of ITV plc.[21]

Other

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McCall was a non-executive director of Lloyds TSB between 2008 and 2009 and New Look between 1999 and 2005, a position to which she was reappointed in 2010. She was also a non-executive director of Tesco between 2005 and 2008, a position which she resigned from after Tesco sued The Guardian for libel.[22]

She was chair of the Business in the Community project Opportunity Now.[23] She has served as president of Women in Advertising and Communications London.[citation needed]

McCall served as a non-executive board member in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy between 2017 and 2020.[24]

Personal life

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She is married to Peter Frawley. The couple has three children (Emmeline, Max, and Dan) and live in Berkhamsted.[1]

McCall was named Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year in April 2008, and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to women in business.[25]

In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[26]

In June 2014, McCall was awarded a Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by Cranfield University in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the aerospace industry and her distinguished achievements in international business.[27]

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the aviation industry.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Andrew Davidson (26 October 2007). "Carolyn McCall". Management Today. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  2. ^ #35. Carolyn McCall, 'MediaGuardian 100 2009', The Guardian, 13 July 2009
  3. ^ a b "Carolyn McCall takes up post as first female chief executive of ITV". Director magazine. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "easyJet Media Centre". easyjet.com.
  5. ^ "McCall, Dame Carolyn, (Dame Carolyn Frawley), (born 13 Sept. 1961), Chief Executive, ITV plc, since 2018". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U151431. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. ^ Davies, Caroline (23 March 2010). "Guardian group chief executive Carolyn McCall to join easyJet". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Guardian of the people – Personnel Today". 1 November 2005. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
  8. ^ "FTSE 100 diversity boost as Brittain named Whitbread boss". Yorkshire Post. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Carolyn McCall wins over critics in 7 years at easyJet". Financial Times. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  10. ^ Gerrard, Bradley (18 November 2017). "£5m goodbye for departing easyJet chief Dame Carolyn". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  11. ^ Moores, Victoria (17 July 2017). "EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall to step down". atwonline.com. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Carolyn McCall wins over critics in 7 years at easyJet". Financial Times. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  13. ^ Gerrard, Bradley (18 November 2017). "£5m goodbye for departing easyJet chief Dame Carolyn". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  14. ^ "EasyJet Picks Surprise Successor to Outgoing CEO Carolyn McCall". Skift. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  15. ^ Sweney, Mark (17 July 2017). "Carolyn McCall to become ITV chief executive". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Dame Carolyn McCall: meet the ITV boss who tackled an EasyJet meltdown and rewrote TV history". www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  17. ^ "BritBox Stops Selling New Subscriptions, in Favour of ITVX". 10 December 2022.
  18. ^ "ITV boss Carolyn McCall earned £3.7m in 2018". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  19. ^ "ITV boss: 'We're fighting for every eyeball'". BBC News. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Phillip Schofield: ITV boss Carolyn McCall says Schofield relationship 'deeply inappropriate'". BBC News. 14 June 2023.
  21. ^ "ITV's CEO Carolyn McCall future hangs in the balance ahead parliamentary grilling". Proactive Investors. 14 June 2023.
  22. ^ Jason Deans, 'GMG chief resigns from Tesco board', The Guardian, 10 April 2008
  23. ^ "Home – Guardian Media Group PLC". gmgplc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Dame Carolyn McCall". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  25. ^ Usborne, Simon; Williams, Holly (3 August 2013). "Great escape: A crash course in summer holidays". The Independent. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  26. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Woman's Hour – The Power List 2013". BBC.
  27. ^ "Graduation 2014". Cranfield University.
  28. ^ "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N8.
[edit]
Business positions
Preceded by CEO of EasyJet
2010–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by CEO of ITV
2018–present 		Incumbent
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