Outgoing STV CEO Simon Pitts has been named as the new group Chief Executive of Media and Entertainment group Global.
Pitts. who yesterday confirmed his departure from the Scottish broadcaster replaces Stephen Miron, who announced last week he was stepping down as Group Chief Executive after 16 years at the helm to become Global’s Chairman.
Pitts has been CEO of STV since 2018, prior to this he spent 17 years at ITV where he was on the executive board for seven years and held a variety of roles including Director of Strategy & Transformation and Managing Director of Online, Pay-TV, Interactive & Technology.
“Simon joins Global with an incredible track record of leadership, growth, and transformation,” said Ashley Tabor-King CBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said. “At STV he has led a hugely successful transformation, diversifying revenues and business operations to now include a high-growth streaming service and leading studios group alongside a traditional linear broadcast business, all of which is testament to his leadership skills, and importantly for Global, Simon’s experience of working within a similar business to ours.”
Global runs radio brands Heart, Capital, LBC, Capital XTRA, Classic FM, Smooth, Radio X and Gold. It is also one of the UK’s leading outdoor media companies and runs the digital advertising exchange which connects brands with audiences at scale across audio and outdoor.
“I’m delighted to be joining Global, a company I admire and whose brands I’ve been a fan of for a long time,” said Pitts. “It is unique in the market to have such a diversified portfolio, with digital, audio and outdoor combined with some of the best-loved radio stations in the UK, bringing with it an incredible connection to its audiences. It’s also an amazing opportunity to work in a founder-led business that is creative, innovative, and still thinks of itself as a challenger despite its commercial success.”
Pitts will join Global in Q1 2025, with an exact start to be confirmed in due course. Simon succeeds Stephen Miron, who last week announced his intention to step down in 2025. He will continue in post as Group CEO until Simon starts at Global in Q1 next year.
Miron will then move to become Chairman of Global, and Global’s current Chairman of 17 years, Lord Charles Allen, will become Senior Non-Executive Director.
