Sky Group Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch announced as the new Business in the Community Chair

Business in the Community, The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, has announced that it will appoint Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive of Sky as its new Chair on January 1 2018. The decision was agreed by the Business in the Community board in consultation with its President HRH the Prince of Wales.  

 

Darroch joins a 20-strong group of senior business leaders from across industry sectors who together shape the charity's mission and strategy. He takes over from the current Chair Antony Jenkins, Founder and Chair 10x.

 

Darroch has been in his current role at Sky since 2007, driving consistent business performance and growth, alongside continued dedication and investment in its Bigger Picture social purpose and community initiatives. He was a driving force behind the cycling initiatives that helped get over 1.5m people riding bikes more regularly, and the Sky Academy and Sky Sports Living for Sports programmes, in which more than half a million young people have participated. In 2009, he oversaw the launch of Sky’s Rainforest Rescue, in partnership with WWF, which helped raise £9m to protect 1bn trees in the Amazon. 

 

More recently, he announced Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign, in which Sky aims to use its position as Europe’s leading entertainment business to raise awareness of how plastics and other pollution affect ocean health. As part of Sky Ocean Rescue, Sky has committed to eliminate all single-use plastics from its operations, products and supply chain by 2020.

 

Antony Jenkins, outgoing Chair Business in the Community said: “I could not be more delighted that Jeremy Darroch is joining Business in the Community as its new Chair. As someone who has already demonstrated his commitment and understanding of the responsible business agenda he is exactly the leader we need in this new digital era to drive and shape our agenda and grow the number of businesses committed to building a more sustainable and successful country.”

 

Amanda Mackenzie, Chief Executive of Business in the Community said: “We could not be more pleased that Jeremy Darroch will be our new Chair. He will help our mission to build healthy communities with successful businesses at their heart.  “As CEO of Sky, Jeremy has shown his commitment to placing trust and values at the heart of his organisation through numerous programmes and initiatives such as The Sky Academy and Bigger Picture.”

 

Darroch said: “With many challenges facing the world and society today, the work of Business in the Community – to build a fairer society and a more sustainable future – has never been more important. These values are aligned with the values we aim to live up to every day at Sky. I’m excited to share my own experiences and to learn from others within the BITC network, so that together we can ensure businesses make a valuable contribution to the societies in which we work and live.”

 

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact: 

Andrew Swailes, andrew.swailes@sky.uk 

Alex Delaney, Alex.Delaney@bitc.org.uk