Alex Mahon is stepping down as the chief executive of Channel 4 after nearly eight years.
She will leave the business in summer this year, having joined the organisation in 2017 as the channel’s first female chief executive.
Ms Mahon’s time as chief executive saw attempts by the Government to privatise Channel 4, while programmes such as It’s A Sin and Russell Brand: In Plain Sight: Dispatches were made.
It will represent a significant shake up at the top of the publicly owned broadcaster after Sir Ian Cheshire stepped down as chairman earlier this month.
Ms Mahon oversaw a key period for the business, leading it through significant job cuts and shifting more of its operations away from London and towards other regions of the UK.
She was paid almost £1 million for 2023, according to the group’s latest set of financial accounts.
Channel 4 reported a record deficit of £52 million for 2023, as it ruled out turning to the Government for financial assistance.
She said: “Working at Channel 4 has been a lifetime privilege because Channel 4 is the most extraordinary organisation.
“What we get to do here is much more than television because we reflect our country with humour, creativity, grit and care.
“We try our best to challenge convention and to change conversations. And we do it with a kind of irreverent brilliance that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else.
“I feel lucky beyond belief to have had the chance to lead Channel 4 for nearly eight years – through calm seas (very few) and stormy waters (more than our fair share).
“From navigating the threat of privatisation (twice), to shifting out of London, to digital transformation, lockdowns, political upheaval, advertising chaos – there has never been a dull moment.
“But through every twist and turn, there’s been one constant: the astonishing calibre, resilience and creativity of all my colleagues at Channel 4.
“Together, I hope that we have evolved what Channel 4 means and what it stands for. We’ve protected the brand, even as we reinvented it.
“We’ve stayed risky, relevant and relentlessly new – with 60% of our shows fresh each year.
“And through it all, it’s been the programmes – and their impact – that have brought me the most joy and pride.
“Most recently, the Paralympics changed lives. It changed perceptions. And that really matters.
“And in the last few months our Gen Z work – giving voice to the experiences of a generation too often overlooked and spawning so many national conversations – is another example of why Channel 4 has to exist.
“Shaping the national conversation in ways no other broadcaster dares to. Doing things that are bigger than programmes. Not just public service – actual public impact.”
Ms Mahon was formerly the chief executive of visual effects software developer Foundry and replaced David Abraham at Channel 4 in 2017.
The broadcaster’s chief operating officer Jonathan Allan will serve as interim chief executive.
Channel 4 has been publicly owned since its creation in 1982 by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher and is entirely funded by advertising.
