UTV appoints former Chrysalis boss Huntingford as chairman
BROADCASTER UTV has ended its drawn-out search for a new chairman by appointing former Chrysalis chief executive Richard Huntingford to the role.
Huntingford, who led Chrysalis for seven years until the music group’s radio arm was sold in 2007, will be tasked with stabilising the management of UTV after a bitter boardroom revolt in February forced former chairman John McGuckian out and two other directors quit.
Belfast-based UTV, which owns TalkSport and runs ITV’s Northern Irish operations, had searched far and wide for a new chairman since McGuckian was forced out over his links with Irish investment firm TVC, which owns an 18 per cent stake in UTV.
Huntingford said: “I am delighted to have been given such an exciting opportunity at UTV, a company I have always admired for its achievements.”
He replaces interim chairman Helen Kirkpatrick, who will stay on as a non-executive director.