Lorraine Burgess has been confirmed as chief financial officer at BBC Studios after serving as interim CFO since July 2021. Burgess will report into chief executive Tom Fussell.
Producer-distributor BBC Studios is U.K. broadcaster BBC’s largest commercial subsidiary, which contributed sales of £1.25 billion ($1.7 billion) in the 2020/2021 financial year. Burgess’ role is key given than U.K. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has frozen the U.K. TV license fee, the BBC’s primary source of income, for two years.
Burgess will sit on BBC Studios’ Executive Committee and lead the overall financial strategy and teams for the outfit. Working with Fussell and the executive committee, as well as group and external stakeholders, she will help shape strategy to achieve BBC Studios’ commercial ambitions.
Prior to joining BBC Studios, Burgess was MD of Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures and its associated companies and previously led digital operations, commercial and corporate development for Endemol Shine Group. She has also held roles at Ingenious Media and Universal Pictures.
Fussell said: “Her extensive commercial, strategic and leadership experience in creative businesses have been invaluable to us over the last few months and will be critical for us as we seek to develop our ambitious growth plans and help deliver increasing commercial revenues for the BBC.”
Burgess added: “It’s an exciting time to be joining BBC Studios on a permanent basis. Under Tom’s leadership we have put together a rigorous and clear strategy to build commercial revenues over the next few years and I’m delighted to bring my knowledge of production, distribution and brands globally to help the business achieve this.”
