BBC COO Leigh Tavaziva will step down from her role in September, she has revealed in an internal letter sent to staff.
The move makes Tavaziva the third board-level exec to depart the British broadcaster in recent months, following the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and BBC News boss Deborah Turness late last year.
Tavaziva, who has been in the role for just over three years, said to colleagues: “After five brilliant years, I have taken the opportunity to reflect on my own role at the BBC and have decided that the time is right for me to leave to pursue new opportunities. I will be stepping down in September. It is a privilege and honour to work here and to have played my part, alongside you all, to ensure we deliver on the mission and purpose of an organisation that matters so much, and now more than ever.”
The news came with changes to the chief operating officer group, notably the creation of a new BBC Media Tech team. “This new division will unite all our Product and Technology teams in public service with tech and product colleagues from BBC Studios into a single Group team,” said Tavaziva. “Today, our technology capabilities are spread across multiple parts of the BBC, which can slow us down, create duplication, and make it harder to deliver seamless experiences to audiences. By forming a single division, we can focus our investment, make faster decisions, adopt shared tools and standards, and innovate quickly.”
She shared that Storm Fagan, currently chief product officer, has been appointed BBC chief technology and product officer to lead BBC Media Tech. “Storm is a pioneering leader who has delivered outstanding results in the Product Group and brings deep experience in delivering creative, audience-focused technology across the BBC and her previous organisations.”
Tavaziva added she will be “working closely” with interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies as he takes over in April, in order to “ensure we carefully manage this period of transition.”
“I do recognise the uncertainty many of you are facing with the changes we are announcing today,” she said. “We will continue to keep you updated as our plans and proposals develop and to ensure that you have an opportunity to feedback and input into the work.”
