Deborah Turness

Before joining the BBC in 2022, Deborah Turness was CEO of ITN, where she led the organisation’s post-Covid strategy for growth in its three major business areas: newsrooms, long-form production, and commercial/branded content.

Prior to this, in 2017 Turness became the first president of NBC News International, the global arm of American news network NBC News, where she was responsible for overseeing its operations, including editorial, production, and commercial. She joined NBC News in 2013, becoming the first woman president of a US network news division, where she led a team of over 3,000 journalists and technicians. 

She was formerly the first female editor of ITV News, and the youngest to hold the position. During her tenure, the organisation won an Emmy and three consecutive BAFTA awards, as well as several RTS Programme of the Year awards. She first joined ITN as a freelance producer, working across the foreign, home, and planning desks before joining the North of England bureau.