We’re pleased to announce today that former Sky and ITV senior executive Michael Wilson has joined Isle of Man as the new Chief Executive Officer. Wilson, 48, was until recently the Managing Director of Northern Ireland based ITV division, UTV.
Isle of Media, which markets the Isle of Man Digital Media Cluster as a private public partnership, acts as the national development agency for the thriving Isle of Man video, television and film sector.
Dr Richard K. Arning, Chairman of Isle of Media said:
“Michael, who is a very senior figurehead in industry, will further strengthen our offering, benefiting media entrepreneurs and investors. With his experience of more than two decades in commercial broadcasting in the UK, US and Ireland, ranging from programming, news gathering, government and regulatory relations, to launching various channels and digital platforms like apps and players, we are excited to take Isle of Media to the next level with him as the driving force behind our digital and creative strategy for the Island. We also would like to thank our former CEO Stuart Semark for his efforts supporting the launch of Isle of Media.”
Wilson, who joined UTV in 2005 after 10 year at Sky News, oversaw UTV’s expansion, the launch in Ireland and the final transition of its television arm to ITV. The high quality programming – he was responsible for more than 1000 hours of content a year – consistently earned multiple awards punching well above the weight of UTV.
Michael Wilson stated:
“Isle of Media is at a hugely exciting time in its development with global ambitions. I look forward to developing industry links and encouraging those with entrepreneurial ideas and businesses across the whole supply change of content creation, distribution and commissioning to news, channel operation and digital platforms to look at the Isle of Man as an ideal location to grow. For me it is the right time to move with Isle of Media into new ventures, I look forward to leveraging my experience in content creation and digital industries for the Isle of Man.
The Island is uniquely positioned as Europe’s only offshore Digital Media cluster as it is blessed not only as a picturesque filming location and its own culture but with substantial advantages of a wide creative and techy talent base in film, video and IT, an extraordinary telecommunication infrastructure, financial incentive schemes and a Digital Media sector inclined government.”