Former Google executive Matt Brittin is expected to be the next director-general of the BBC.
He would follow in the footsteps of the outgoing Tim Davie, who has held the position for nearly six years. And yes, despite a female deputy director-general in 2016 – Anne Bulford – all 16 who came before have been men.
An Olympian, former media executive, and rumoured Doctor Who fan, here’s everything we know about the man widely thought to be about to move into W1A to take on one of the most demanding jobs in Britain.
On himself
First off, let’s see what Matt Brittin has to say about himself.
In the ‘About’ section on his LinkedIn profile, the 57-year-old describes himself as: “Tall, energetic, British. Above average at sitting down sports.” Apparently, he’s 6ft 3ins.
Brittin also calls himself a “gap year student,” referring to the “mini-gap year” he took after stepping down from global tech corporation Google last year, a “part time athlete” in a nod to his previous Olympic achievements (see below), and a proponent for “tech for good”, hinting at his hopes to “harness the huge potential of AI for good in an ever more turbulent world”.
In a post announcing he had stepped down from Google at the start of 2025, he wrote: “I love to read, learn and try new things. I’ve already grown a beard, bought a single sculling boat and plan to learn scuba diving from my son when he qualifies as an instructor.”
While the current status of the boat and scuba is unknown, the beard appears to have been short-lived.
Brittin pictured in 2019. File pic: AWEurope/Shutterstock
Where did it all start?
Born in Walton-on-Thames, an affluent market town in Surrey, England, Brittin won a scholarship to the independent Hampton School before studying at Cambridge, where he read Land Economy and Geography.
He was the first one in his family to go to university and went on to do an MBA in business at London Business School.
His first job was as a chartered surveyor at Connell Wilson plc, where he says he would use a tape measure to calculate the floor areas of buildings, before negotiating business deals to sell and lease the space.
He then became a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he says he “drew lots of charts”, before moving into media, where he worked for Trinity Mirror plc, one of the UK’s largest newspaper publishers, and owners of the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Daily Star.
First working as a commercial director, he was later promoted to director of strategy.
From there, he swiftly moved on to Google, where he would stay for over 18 years, the last 10 of which he was president, EMEA, leading the company’s Europe, Middle East and African interests.
Along the way, he’s been a board trustee at The Climate Group and the Media Trust, a non-executive director at Sainsbury’s and a part-time senior independent director at The Guardian, where he is still listed as holding a role at the time of writing.
In December, he was given a Royal Television Society (RTS) fellowship, and this year he was awarded a CBE in the King’s New Year’s honours this year, for services to technology and digital skills.
He’s used to dealing with tricky questions
During his time at Google, Brittin became a familiar face at the Commons, appearing before the Public Accounts Committee on numerous occasions in 2013 and 2016.
The face of big tech, he was charged with explaining why Google paid such low levels of corporation tax.
In 2016, Brittin provoked both laughter and irritation from his questioners after claiming he did not know what his salary was.
While his salary at Google remains an unknown, the base salary for his new role was listed at £541,000 last year (plus taxable benefits).
What do we know about the man?
Clearly a sporty chap, Brittin has rowed in the Boat Race, between Cambridge and Oxford, three times, representing his old university, Cambridge. Unfortunately, his team lost on all three occasions.
Not to be put off, he was a member of the British Olympic rowing team, representing Team GB in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and winning bronze in the World Rowing Championships.
When accepting his RTS fellowship last year, the society’s highest honour, Brittin said he loved TV, calling the industry one “I’ve been trying to get into for a very long time”.
While not much is yet known about his viewing tastes, he listed Morecambe And Wise, Not The Nine O’Clock News, Thunderbirds and Doctor Who as shows that shaped him.
Perhaps signalling his passion for sci-fi above all, he mentioned Doctor Who several times in his speech and also admitted to having owned a Tardis-shaped teapot. All of which will be music to the ears of showrunner Russell T Davies.
Brittin married his wife, Katherine Betts, in 1995, and the couple have two sons, now both in their 20s.
