Chief Executive, Guardian Media Group (2006–2010) Chief Executive, EasyJet (2010–2017) Chief Executive, ITV (2018–present)
Spouse
Peter Frawley
Children
3
Dame Carolyn Julia McCallDBE (born 13 September 1961)[1][2] is a British businesswoman. She has been the chief executive of ITV since 2018.[3] She previously served as the chief executive of EasyJet from 2010 to 2017.[4]
Early life
McCall was born on 13 September 1961 in Bangalore, India. Her Scottish father, Arthur McCall, ran the Far East division of a US textile multinational and her Irish-born mother, Colleen McCall, worked for the British High Commission in India.[1][5] She was educated in India and Singapore until her teens, then at a Roman Catholic girls' boarding school in Derbyshire. She studied for a BA degree in history and politics at the University of Kent, Canterbury.
McCall applied to be a research planner at The Guardian, which she joined in 1986.[citation needed] As she rose through the Guardian Media Group behind Marland, Management Today magazine called her "one of the toughest operators to have risen through The Guardian Media Group's ranks."[1]
After rising to become CEO of Guardian Newspapers Ltd (now Guardian News & Media Ltd) in August 2006,[6] she became CEO of the Guardian Media Group. During her tenure the Manchester Evening News and regionally based business were sold to Trinity Mirror, and a 49.9% stake in Trader Media Group was sold to Apax Partners, in a deal that valued the business at £1.35bn.[1]
EasyJet
On 24 March 2010, McCall's appointment as the chief executive of EasyJet was announced.[4] She was said to prefer a "pragmatic approach to human resources rather than politically correct niceties".[7] McCall became one of five female CEOs of a FTSE 100 Index company.[8]
During McCall's tenure at EasyJet, the airline's shares almost quadrupled,[9] and McCall arranged for the airline to "snatch up pieces" of Air Berlin and Alitalia.[10]
McCall's departure from EasyJet was announced on 17 July 2017[11] after seven years at the company. Michael O'Leary, the CEO of rival Ryanair, said the airline industry would have been poorer without her; "I clearly underestimated her and I was proved wrong. She forced us to up our game on customer service. EasyJet and the industry are better as a result of her tenure." Willie Walsh, chief executive of the British Airways parent International Airlines Group, said he was "sorry to see Carolyn [McCall] leave".[12]
McCall left EasyJet with a £5 million payment.[13] The company appointed Johan Lundgren, then deputy chief executive of TUI Group, as her successor.[14]
ITV
On 8 January 2018, following seven years as easyJet chief executive, McCall became the first female chief executive of commercial broadcaster ITV.[3] She replaced Adam Crozier in the role.[15]
She is a creator of BritBox, a subscription video service venture in partnership with the BBC which launched of late 2019 in the UK. She said "It's quite bold, going into a market which Netflix has already been in for eight years."[16] She closed BritboxUK in 2022 when it was replaced by ITVX.[17]
McCall earned a £3.7 million salary at ITV in 2018. Her 2019 base salary was set to increase by 2.5 per cent "in line with the wider employee group".[18] In April 2020, McCall along with other senior executives took a 20% pay cut in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.[19]
McCall was a non-executive director of Lloyds TSB between 2008 and 2009 and New Look between 1999 and 2005, a position to which she was reappointed in 2010. She was also a non-executive director of Tesco between 2005 and 2008, a position which she resigned from after Tesco sued The Guardian for libel.[21]
In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[25]
In June 2014, McCall was awarded a Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by Cranfield University in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the aerospace industry and her distinguished achievements in international business.[26]