The New York Times CEO Mark Thompson: Rising to the Top & Finding Fulfilment in Challenge

“I’m always on a mission. It doesn’t mean that the mission is
necessarily entirely apparent to me... even now, I’m not quite
clear what it is that creates that shape. Although I think there is
something about storytelling and really understanding what’s
happening in the world. A sense of investigation and trying to get
to the bottom of what’s really going on is part of it.” My guest
this episode is New York Times CEO, Mark Thompson. Born in London,
he grew up in Hertfordshire, UK. After graduating from Oxford
University with a First Class Honors in English, he joined the BBC
as a Trainee, quickly working his way up through the ranks,
launching shows such as ‘Watchdog’ and ‘Breakfast Time’, before
various stints as Editor on flagship news shows such as Newsnight,
the Nine O’Clock News and Panorama. He became controller for BBC
Two and was then appointed Director of Television, before leaving
the BBC in 2002 to become CEO of Channel 4.  In 2004, he
returned to take up the role of Director General at the BBC, during
which time he reshaped the organization to meet the challenge of
the digital age, with the launch of services such as the BBC
iPlayer. On November 12th, 2012, he became President and CEO of the
New York Times, making him responsible for leading the company’s
strategy, operations and business units. Mark has been instrumental
in accelerating the pace of The Times’s digital transformation.
Under his leadership, The Times became the first news organization
in the world to pass the one million digital-only subscription
mark.  Having served at the helm of world-class media
companies during the course of a career spanning over four decades,
I was fascinated to hear more about what purpose and fulfilment
mean to Mark. We talked all about: how he navigated the BBC in his
early career, and how he eventually came to lead an organisation in
which he started as a trainee. We also touched on moving to New
York, the challenges he faces as the CEO of the New York Times, as
well as his future ambitions.  Follow me: Twitter: @katiephilo
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