BBC could leave top job unfilled

The top British Broadcasting Corporation design position, left open by the retirement of head of corporate and brand design Tony Key, may not be filled.

Although a formal announcement is expected soon, it is highly likely that the title will be dropped and a senior design manager recruited instead to handle day-to-day running of the department.

BBC project co-ordinator of brand management Catherine Ede is currently holding the reins, but she says a thorough restructure is afoot which may not involve a direct replacement for Key. BBC director of corporate affairs Colin Brown is co-ordinating the changes.

“We are not replacing Tony directly at this stage. We are waiting for an announcement from corporate affairs to know if he will be replaced,” says Ede.

“Tony was brought in for a rebranding programme which is now almost completed [by Lambie-Nairn], so it is not certain he will be replaced. I am covering the work he was doing, but there is a lot of internal replanning being done at the moment,” she adds.

If Key is not replaced there would still be a vacancy for a senior design manager, she says.

In a statement, a BBC spokeswoman says, “Tony Key led the implementation of the BBC’s brand identity. The job is now complete and he has taken the decision to retire. We are currently reviewing the BBC’s future brand identity needs.”

In addition, the BBC faces a review of its licence fee funding agreement, which expires in 2002. It is also reported to be in talks to float beeb.com, the corporation’s commercial Internet service.