London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Guardian owner switches on to Channel 4's Gurassa as next chairman

Guardian owner switches on to Channel 4's Gurassa as next chairman

Charles Gurassa, who is about to step down as chairman of Channel 4, is close to being named as the new chairman of Guardian Media Group.

The publisher of The Guardian newspaper is lining up the outgoing chairman of Channel 4, the state-owned broadcaster, to take the helm in the aftermath of a row that saw its chief executive fall on her sword.

Sky News has learned that Guardian Media Group is close to finalising the appointment of Charles Gurassa as its next chairman.

An announcement is expected to be made at around the time Mr Gurassa steps down from his role at Channel 4 next month.

People close to GMG said Mr Gurassa's experience chairing several major consumer-facing companies - including Lovefilm, the restaurant group Tragus and Great Rail Journeys - had convinced The Scott Trust, GMG's sole shareholder, of his credentials.

Charles Gurassa was appointed non-executive chair in January 2016.


Mr Gurassa, who has fought a vocal rearguard action against Channel 4's potential privatisation, also chairs the board of trustees of Oxfam GB.

His successor at the broadcaster has yet to be identified, although a process is underway.

On Monday, Ofcom, the media regulator, announced the appointment of a quartet of new non-executives to the Channel 4 board, including the former Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands and Dawn Airey, a former ITV, Channel Five and Sky executive.

Mr Gurassa's arrival at GMG will come during a period of seismic shifts in the media industry landscape, but with signs that its flagship product is adjusting to them.

In 2020, it recorded a pre-tax profit of close to £200m, including gains in the value of Scott Trust investments.

The Guardian has begun to charge for some digital access, and had amassed close to one million online subscribers by the time GMG reported financial results in July.

If confirmed as GMG's next chairman, Mr Gurassa will replace Neil Berkett, a media industry veteran.

His first major responsibility will be to find a new chief executive, with chief financial and operations officer Keith Underwood currently occupying the post on an interim basis.

Sky News revealed in February that GMG had appointed The Inzito Partnership, a leading firm of headhunters, to find a replacement for Mr Berkett.

Mr Berkett, a former chief executive of Virgin Media, a member of GMG's board since 2009, has served as the organisation's chairman for nearly eight years.

Under Mr Berkett's stewardship, GMG has raised hundreds of millions of pounds from the disposal of its stakes in Trader Media Group, Auto Trader's owner, in 2014, and Ascential, the group behind the Cannes Lions advertising festival, in 2017.

GMG channels any profit it makes to The Scott Trust.

The company has been battling financial headwinds for years, with Annette Thomas - who quit as chief executive this year following a reported power struggle with Kath Viner, The Guardian's editor-in-chief - warning that it faced "unsustainable financial losses in future years" without a fresh round of restructuring.

After hitting a target to break even and end years of financial losses in 2019, it announced last summer that it was axing nearly 200 jobs.

In addition to The Guardian and its Sunday sister title, The Observer, GMG's portfolio includes a venture capital arm which has invested in roughly 20 start-ups.

The Scott Trust was established in 1936 to ensure the permanent independence of the group's newspaper titles.

This week, the Trust announced that a governance review had concluded that GMG's board would "benefit from more direct news media sector experience", triggering the appointment of two seasoned journalists as directors.

A GMG spokesman declined to comment on Tuesday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×