Lorraine Heggessey, Speaker | First Female Controller Of BBC 1

Lorraine Heggessey

Develop new skills to thrive in a world where command and control no longer works with Lorraine Heggessey, the first female BBC1 controller, CEO, and leadership expert

Lorraine Heggessey | Speaker Biography

First female controller of BBC 1, revitalized channel with hit shows

CEO of talkbackThames, increased profits by 50%, launched global hits

Founded Boom Pictures, became 7th largest indie production company in UK

Lorraine Heggessey, the first female controller of BBC 1, played a pivotal role in leading the channel to surpass its main competitor ITV1, ultimately making it the most popular television channel in Britain.

With a substantial budget of £1 billion, she successfully revitalized Saturday nights by introducing hit shows like Strictly Come Dancing and the new Dr Who. Additionally, she added successful dramas such as Spooks and Waking the Dead to the channel's lineup.

Following her tenure at BBC 1, Lorraine assumed the position of CEO at talkbackThames, where she managed to significantly enhance profits by an impressive 50% within just two years. She established a digital unit within the company and introduced globally recognized shows like Britain's Got Talent and Take Me Out. In 2012, Lorraine founded Boom Pictures, which quickly grew into the 7th largest independent production company in Britain. Eventually, ITV acquired the company.

Lorraine's next venture took her to The Royal Foundation, where she served as CEO. While there, she innovated the foundation's venture philanthropy model and actively supported various initiatives, including Heads Together.

Lorraine is well-known for her bold decision-making and has been recognized for her contributions to the industry. She is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society, provides advisory services to Channel 4's Growth Fund, and chairs the Grierson Trust. Additionally, she frequently contributes to media discussions on prominent programs like the Today Programme and Newsnight.

Business Leader

Women in Business

Featured Sessions

Women Thriving In Business

Having risen to the very top, Lorraine looks at how identifying your potential, letting people know what you bring to the table, and asking for what you want are fundamental to building a successful career. In this highly motivational and confidence-boosting keynote, Lorraine advocates that it’s time to accentuate the positive and recognise that it’s an asset for a company to have women in leadership roles.

Making Change Happen

You can’t escape change in the modern business environment, whether you’re trying to get ahead of the competition, refresh your brand or manage the impact of fast-developing technology. Change is very exposing for leaders and organisations. It takes courage to drive it through. Get it right, and you will unleash positive energy to drive your organisation forward.

Star Quality Leadership

Most people are promoted into leadership positions because they excel at their job. They will have spent years getting good at what they do, going on the right courses and keeping up to date with what is happening in their field. They therefore assume they can just ‘do’ leadership. However, inspirational leaders have to work hard at developing new skills to thrive, especially in a world where command and control simply does not work anymore.

Creating An Intrapreneurial, Empowered Work Culture

In this keynote, Lorraine shares her experiences of working in large organisations and what to do (and not do) to ensure you attract, retain, and empower employees to achieve their full potential. Encouraging a freelance mentality, where staff seek out opportunities and feel free to come up with ideas or initiate projects themselves, will create a vibrant, productive and highly motivated culture. It will also help organisations attract and retain the best talent who want to work somewhere they feel valued and empowered.

Featured Projects

Session Feedback

"Lorraine Heggessey was phenomenal and her keynote will stay with me forever."

"An enormous hit with our guests." — Verimatrix, Inc.