Erik Huggers, the BBC's Director of Future Media & Technology (FM&T), has appointed Seetha Kumar to the newly-created role of Controller, bbc.co.uk, it was announced on Wednesday. Seetha Kumar will lead the overall strategic and editorial development of bbc.co.uk, chairing a new bbc.co.uk board which brings together key executives from across the BBC.
In partnership with the Chief Operating Officer, FM&T, she will be accountable for the performance of the service to the BBC Trust. She takes up her position immediately, and reports to Erik Huggers. Seetha was previously Head of BBC HD and launched the UK's first high definition public service free-to-air channel in December 2007. Prior to this Seetha was Executive Editor of the award- winning Africa Lives, Head of Lifeskills for Television and Creative Director for Crime and Health Documentaries.
Erik Huggers says: "Seetha has proven experience working collaboratively to deliver major projects which exploit the scale of the BBC and is ideally suited to overseeing the one service where audiences can experience the BBC in its totality – it's the BBC on the web. I am delighted that a colleague with such a strong editorial background will set the direction of one of the BBC's most important services and build on the strengths identified by the Trust in their recent review."
Tony Ageh, the BBC's Controller, Internet, is moving to another senior role within the BBC which will be announced shortly.
