LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest commercial free-to-air broadcaster ITV Plc is facing opposition from leading shareholders over the possible appointment of Sir Crispin Davis as chairman, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The paper said Davis' record as chief executive of Reed Elsevier Plc/NV had become a major stumbling block, with one unnamed shareholder quoted as saying his time in charge of Reed had been a 'disaster'.
A spokeswoman for ITV said the group was not commenting on any prospective candidates.
ITV is searching for both a new chairman and chief executive after talks with former BSkyB boss Tony Ball over the CEO role broke down and the company said chairman Michael Grade would leave once a replacement was appointed.
The new non-executive chairman will then lead the search for a new chief executive and will appoint any interim executive management, allowing Grade to leave the company after three years in charge.
Sir Michael Bishop, founder of airline BMI and former chairman of Channel 4, was also identified by the Sunday Telegraph as a possible candidate for the chairman role.
(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by David Holmes) Keywords: ITV/CHAIRMAN (matthew.scuffham@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 6734) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The paper said Davis' record as chief executive of Reed Elsevier Plc/NV had become a major stumbling block, with one unnamed shareholder quoted as saying his time in charge of Reed had been a 'disaster'.
A spokeswoman for ITV said the group was not commenting on any prospective candidates.
ITV is searching for both a new chairman and chief executive after talks with former BSkyB boss Tony Ball over the CEO role broke down and the company said chairman Michael Grade would leave once a replacement was appointed.
The new non-executive chairman will then lead the search for a new chief executive and will appoint any interim executive management, allowing Grade to leave the company after three years in charge.
Sir Michael Bishop, founder of airline BMI and former chairman of Channel 4, was also identified by the Sunday Telegraph as a possible candidate for the chairman role.
(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by David Holmes) Keywords: ITV/CHAIRMAN (matthew.scuffham@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 6734) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
