ITV's CEO search looks in surprising place

The search for a new CEO for ITV has caused some raised eyebrows in the executive search world, as reports come in that the board may be placing more onus on hiring someone from the City rather than someone with industry savvy – Campaign Live reports.

Dame Carolyn McCall of easyJet, Seb James of Dixons Carphone and Paul Geddes of Direct Line are all front-runners, despite the fact than none of them have ever been in charge of a creative business.

The replacement must fill the imposing boots of Adam Crozier – who had experience dealing with creatives in Saatchi & Saatchi, as well as having worked at the Royal Mail and the Football Association.

Recently, ITV has had to deny that there was any issue in finding a replacement, insisting that the company had a “well-developed succession plan” in place. When questioned by investors, the Chairman insisted: “Nothing has gone wrong, we are in a good place.”