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When Dawn Airey ran Channel 5, clearly described the power of the machine as the three Fs: “films, football and hunting”.
A comment by a former television executive, who has just been appointed chairman of the Arts Council England (Ace), set the tone for a career defined by courage and business acumen.
Airey will replace Nicholas Serota in August, with a new role to do more to support, promote and protect the arts. His appointment follows an independent review by Labor’s Margaret Hodge, which warned that the financial institution should ensure that money is protected from politics and simplify its work.
Airey is called his appointment “an honor” and he said the importance of the organization in promoting arts and culture “has never been needed because this sector has not been very important to our country”. He also recognized the wisdom of making it a big problem.
They are well versed in how to navigate under pressure. Over three decades, he took on the most senior roles in British radio, often at times of upheaval or restructuring.
He made his name in the 1990s as part of a founding team Channel 5before you start channel management and have a proven track record of solid leadership, business acumen and instinct for popular programming.
After leaving Channel 5 in 2002, he held senior roles at Sky, where he was in charge of transport and operations, and at ITV, as director of international content. He then moved on to international and digital roles including as vice president of Yahoo! is the CEO of Getty Images.
Her non-executive and cultural leadership roles include chairing the National Youth Theater and the Women’s Super League. He has also served as the permanent chair of Channel 4 and continues to be its vice chairman.
“He’s a wonderful man. He’s the best thing to happen to the arts in England,” said Ben Fenton, a former media consultant who worked with Airey at Channel 4 and at his independent agency Moon&Back. “They bring a new perspective, they move slowly and break things that need to be broken.
“He’s not someone who breaks things for the sake of it; he thinks deeply about what can make things better, whether it’s women’s football, Channel 4, or Channel 5.”
Fenton said Airey’s experience gave him a “terrible perspective” on the world. “He may not be talented, but he is talented. When I heard he was in the job I crossed every finger I had,” he added.
Peter Bazalgette, former chairman of ITV and chairman of Ace from 2013 to 2017, described Airey as “brilliant, fearless, and fun to work with, because he’s so fun”.
He said: “When you’re in the Ace chair, you’re going to have a few rides. becausethey are famous. You need a metal base. He is not one to let the occasional buffet get him down. “
Bazalgette said Airey’s experience made him well-suited for a social media presence viewed alongside the media industry. “Dawn understands art, media and sports,” he said. “And he has been given, as we see it, a great story by Margaret Hodge.”
Born in Preston, Airey was a judo champion as a schoolboy before studying geography at Cambridge University and embarking on a career in television. By the age of 26, he had become a member of ITV’s web design team. He has made it clear that he is operating in a boys’ club culture. “I was sensitive, honestly, things that today anyone would be fired for,” he said she told Diva magazine.
On Channel 4, he earned the nicknames “Scary Airey” and “Zulu Dawn” for his speech, although he later insisted that the record hid a softer personality. “The truth is I’m bloody,” he said. But I am brave and a warrior. If you cross me or if I see injustice, I will not endure it.
His former colleagues testify to his energy and work and during the launch of Channel 5 he is said to have slept in the office. He once worked after falling from an elevator and spraining his leg. “They were a strong, very inspiring group,” the former Channel 5 executive said David Elstein once said. “Five was a happy place. It was strong, inspiring.”
In 2000, Airey fell in love with Jacquie Lawrence, a TV producer, and the couple reconciled with the government in 2007. They have two daughters.
In 2024, Airey said: “I’ve done some really stupid things.
