Experienced media executive to lead Getty Images in its next
growth phase; Co-founder Jonathan
Klein steps up to new role as
Chairman
NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Getty Images, the
world's leading visual media company, has today announced that its
Board of Directors has appointed Dawn
Airey to the role of Chief Executive Officer, with effect
from October 12, 2015. Co-founder and
CEO, Jonathan Klein is stepping up to the role of Chairman, as
announced on the company's 20th anniversary in March of
this year.
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Airey was previously Senior Vice President of Yahoo!'s EMEA
businesses, where she led the company's operations in the region.
Prior to that she held senior leadership positions at several major
UK media companies, including Chairman and CEO of Channel 5,
Managing Director of Global Content at ITV and Managing Director of
Channels and Services at BSkyB. Airey is currently part of a UK
Government-selected panel charged with reviewing the BBC's charter
renewal.
Commenting on the appointment, Getty Images Co-founder and CEO
Jonathan Klein said: "After 20 years
at the helm, I am delighted Dawn is joining the team to drive Getty
Images in its next phase of growth, innovation and industry
leadership. Our new CEO is an experienced leader with a strong
track record of programming and monetizing content. Dawn's deep
understanding of the consumer market and the intersection of
technology and content means she is well situated to run Getty
Images as it explores new opportunities within the consumer space
and beyond. We could not be more excited about the future."
Under Airey's leadership, Getty Images looks to accelerate its
progress in both its traditional businesses as well as new growth
areas. Speaking on her new role, Dawn
Airey said: "I have long admired Getty Images and relish the
opportunity to lead this iconic global business as it continues to
break new ground and propel the industry that this company has
pioneered for 20 years."
"Engaging audiences through the power of visual storytelling is
what I am passionate about, and, at its core, that is what Getty
Images is all about: inspiring and enabling the world to tell its
stories through the exceptional content the team captures each and
every day. There is immense potential when it comes to marrying
content with new monetization opportunities, and I cannot wait to
get started. It's a pleasure to join such a talented team and to
work with Jonathan as we drive the business forward."
During its first 20 years, Getty Images led the industry into
the digital age and has been responsible for every major innovation
in the visual content business. From moving the industry online to
driving the growth of royalty-free photography; from disrupting the
industry with the introduction of crowd-sourcing through iStock by
Getty Images to establishing market leadership in news, sport and
entertainment content, Getty Images has always been at the
forefront. In March 2014, Getty
Images revolutionized the industry with the launch of its embed
tool, enabling free, legal sharing of over 60 million images, for
non-commercial purposes. Today, its embed offering has crossed 3
billion impressions. Airey will focus on building on this rich
innovative history as well as new growth areas.
Co-founder and Chairman Mark
Getty, who assumes the role of Deputy Chairman, said: "The
board and I are pleased to have someone of Dawn Airey's abilities assume leadership at
Getty Images. Dawn's considerable experience in the media and
consumer space, coupled with her strong understanding of
programming content, means she is very well-placed to drive Getty
Images forward. I am also pleased that Jonathan will be Chairman
and Getty Images will continue to benefit from his knowledge and
passion which he has used to such great effect during his
leadership of our business through 20 remarkable years of
innovation, disruption and growth."
Airey is relocating from London
to New York with her partner and
two children.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Dawn Airey
Dawn Airey is the newly appointed
Chief Executive Officer of Getty Images, the world's leading visual
communications company.
As Chief Executive Officer, Airey will be responsible for
running Getty Images' global operations; working alongside Getty
Images Co-Founder and Chairman, Jonathan
Klein, as well as its Board of Directors, to drive the
company in its next phase of growth, innovation and industry
leadership.
A veteran of the media industry, Airey has worked in television
for 30 years, holding senior positions with the majority of the
United Kingdom's commercial
broadcasters. Prior to joining Getty Images, Airey was Senior Vice
President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Operation of Yahoo! Inc. During
her two-year tenure at Yahoo!, Airey led the company's operations
in the region.
Prior to joining Yahoo!, Airey held leadership positions at many
major UK media companies, including President of a unit of RTL
Group, Channel 5's parent company, and Chairwoman and Chief
Executive of Channel 5, where she oversaw all operations. She also
worked as Managing Director of Global Content at ITV where she
oversaw its UK and international production and content businesses.
Prior to that, Airey served as Managing Director, Channels and
Services, at BSkyB, the UK's largest pay-TV broadcaster.
Airey was awarded a fellowship by the Royal Television Society
(RTS) in 1998. She is a Vice President of the RTS, the Senior
Non-Executive Director of Thomas Cook PLC and Chair of The National
Youth Theatre of Great Britain.
She is currently a representative of a UK Government-selected
advisory group of experts to support the BBC Charter Review.
Airey was born in Preston,
Lancashire in the United Kingdom, and studied at the
University of Cambridge. Currently
residing in London, Airey is
relocating to New York in
October 2015 with her partner and two
children to take up her role with Getty Images.
About Jonathan Klein
Jonathan D. Klein has been the CEO
of the global digital media company Getty Images, Inc., the premier
creator and distributor of visual communications worldwide since he
co-founded the Company in March 1995.
On October 12, 2015, Jonathan will
step up to the role of Co-Founder and Chairman. He is a leader in
the fields of global health, education and international press
freedom and the recipient of numerous media, philanthropic and
corporate honors.
Jonathan's strategic vision has led Getty Images' growth from an
analogue image collection with transparencies, laboratories and
print catalogs in 1995, to a multi-award winning, billion dollar,
global e-commerce business. Today Getty Images is recognized for
having the broadest, deepest and highest quality content, serving
customers in almost 200 countries, with plans for continued
growth.
Through his principled leadership, Jonathan has established a
culture at Getty Images that embraces disruption and change. He has
driven the most significant business and technology innovations in
photography and video, including digitization, e-commerce, new
business models, crowd-sourced imagery, keyword and image search
technologies, visual trend expertise and groundbreaking
partnerships.
Jonathan led a successful broad-ranging consolidation strategy
in the early years of the company by acquiring and integrating
collections and companies worldwide, including PhotoDisc and iStock
by Getty Images, respectively the pioneers in digital royalty-free
imagery and user-generated imagery. He drove Getty Images' launch
into news, sports and entertainment imagery, as well as video,
music, digital asset management, rights services and assignment
photography. Under his direction, Getty Images has built a
comprehensive network of exclusive commercial partnerships with the
world's most prestigious media, publishing and entertainment
companies, as well as with dozens of the most prominent sports
governing bodies across the globe.
Getty Images has a vast and growing network of exclusive
commercial and distribution partnerships with the world's most
prestigious media, publishing and entertainment companies, as well
as with the most prominent sports governing bodies across the
globe. After 12 years of trading publicly on the NASDAQ and the
NYSE, Jonathan successfully took Getty Images private in
July 2008, in partnership with
Hellman & Friedman, in a $2.4
billion transaction. In October
2012, the management team, led by Jonathan, together with
the Getty family and The Carlyle Group, acquired Getty Images for
$3.3 billion.
Jonathan is the recipient of the Global Business Coalition on
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's Business Excellence for
Innovation award. Under his stewardship, Getty Images received the
first International Center of Photography (ICP) Trustees Award, for
the company's commitment to the field of photography, through
technology and philanthropy, and dedication to the power of
photography to create change. ICP recognized Getty Images again in
2015 for the creation of the Getty Images Lean In collection and
its impact on how women are portrayed in media and advertising.
Fast Company recognized Jonathan in its "Fast 50" as a
business leader who "will change the way we work and live over the
next ten years" and he was named number one on American
Photo's list of the "100 Most Important People in Photography."
Jonathan received the Suffolk
University Sawyer Business School 2012 award for Global
Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration. He is a frequent
speaker on leadership, culture and innovation, enjoys teaching and
has lectured at many schools and universities, including
Harvard, Yale and the University of
Pennsylvania.
Jonathan serves on the boards of directors of the Committee to
Protect Journalists, Grassroot Soccer and is the Chairman of the
board of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria. He is President of the board of trustees of Groton School
and serves on the boards of directors of Getty Images, Etsy,
Squarespace and Getty Investments.
Born in Johannesburg, South
Africa, Jonathan has spent much of his life in England and received a master's degree in law
from the University of Cambridge. He
moved to the United States in 1999
and now lives in New York City
with his wife and three sons.
About Getty Images
Getty Images is the world's leader in visual communication, with
almost 200 million assets available through its premium content
site www.gettyimages.com and its leading stock content site
www.istock.com. With its advanced search and image recognition
technology, Getty Images serves business customers in almost 200
countries and is the first place creative and media professionals
turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital
content. Its award-winning photographers and content creators help
customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the
world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising
campaigns, films, television programs, books and online media.
Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how
the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in
communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to
life. For company news and announcements, visit
press.gettyimages.com, and for the stories, innovation and
inspiration behind our content, visit Stories & Trends
http://stories.gettyimages.com. Find us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/gettyimages , Twitter at
https://twitter.com/GettyImages, or download Stream, our free
consumer app, to view and share the world's best imagery.