Royal Mail chief Crozier choice to step into the hot seat at ITV

ITV's hunt for a chief executive has ended with the appointment of Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier.

Former Asda chief executive Archie Norman, who took over as the broadcaster's new chairman this month, said the 46-year-old had a "thorough understanding of the media, advertising and branding industries".

Mr Norman added that Mr Crozier had shown his mettle by getting to grips with Royal Mail – where he earned almost 1m in pay and bonuses last year.

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"In his seven years at the Royal Mail, Adam has transformed the group from a loss-making organisation into a profitable business that last year doubled its operating profits to more than 320m," he added.

Mr Crozier, who will step down from the top job at Royal Mail to take the ITV post, will take over at the UK's biggest commercial free-to-air broadcaster later this year. He will be expected to develop a new strategy to ease the reliance on often volatile ad markets.

Mr Crozier set about restructuring Royal Mail in the face of fierce opposition from unions.

Prior to that he led the English Football Association where he clashed with leading officials over how the game should be run.

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Mr Crozier, who also worked at advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, will work alongside Mr Norman, who was also brought in as an outsider and turnaround specialist in November last year.

Media analysts were unclear on how Mr Crozier will reshape the company, but said they expected an indication of his and Mr Norman's plans when ITV next reports results in March.

"ITV is a strong brand with talented people, facing an imperative for change as the media landscape evolves," said Mr Norman. "Adam is a very strong leader with a great track record in delivering transformational change."

The announcement brings an end to ITV's hunt for a leader and comes as the group is eyeing improving advertising markets for the first time in well over a year.

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ITV endured a torrid time in 2009 after its executive chairman and broadcasting veteran Michael Grade said he was stepping down, causing a public hunt for a new chief executive and chairman.

After months of speculation, during which time leading executives have ruled themselves in and out of the job, the group finally appointed Mr Norman as chairman and gave him the challenge of finding a new chief executive.

The lack of leadership coincided with the worst advertising downturn in decades. But Mr Crozier will take over at a time when the company is showing signs of getting back on its feet.

ITV had been in talks with former BSkyB chief Tony Ball over taking on the job but discussions collapsed in September.

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Royal Mail chairman Donald Brydon said: "Adam has done and continues to do a remarkable job in leading Royal Mail through a major transformation in extremely difficult market circumstances."

Mr Crozier said ITV was "a company with a great heritage and one of the best brands in the UK".

"The entire media sector is going through enormous change and that presents both great opportunities and significant challenges for everyone in the industry," he added.

Mr Norman said the new chief executive's salary and package would be "in the normal range for a role of this scale and challenge".

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Despite the broadcaster's consideration of other candidates such as Mr Ball last year, the chairman said the board's decision on the appointment had been "unanimous and emphatic that he was by far the best choice".

He added: "He was my choice and he would have been my first choice if I had been chairman a year ago."

The company will remain under the leadership of interim chief executive John Cresswell, who said in October that he would leave to seek a fresh challenge after the appointment and arrival of the new boss.

Planning the schedule

ITV has enjoyed improved fortunes in recent months, drawing huge audiences to programmes such as the popular talent shows X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent.

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Mr Crozier will be expected to push further for a relaxation of the regulatory rules and a more aggressive approach to distributing ITV's content across alternative platforms such as mobile, Internet and even pay-TV.

Analyst Sam Hart at brokerage Charles Stanley said he should also consider whether to launch a rights issue as well as more radical options such as spinning off certain assets.

He will also have to handle the tricky issue of ownership, as ITV's largest shareholder is its pay-TV rival BSkyB. BSkyB has been ordered by several courts to reduce its 17.9 per cent holding but it may appeal again.

Any talk of a stake sale has in the past sparked talk of a complete buyout of the group, but many analysts remain sceptical and Mr Norman said he did not think ITV was a takeover target.

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