Jay Hunt appointed as Chair of the BFI

The Creative Director for Apple TV+ in Europe, Hunt has been a Governor of the BFI since 2020. She also served on the Board of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

Hunt will take over from outgoing BFI Chair, Vue International chief executive Tim Richards, on February 16.

Before joining Apple, Hunt was Chief Creative Officer of Channel 4, responsible for Channel 4, E4, More 4 and the Film 4 channel.

She is the only person to have run three terrestrial broadcast channels, also serving as controller of BBC One and Director of Programmes at Channel 5.

She started her career at BBC News working on Newsnight and Panorama before becoming Editor of both the One O’Clock and Six O’Clock News.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “Film is at the heart of the UK’s thriving creative industries, and the BFI plays an important role maximising the potential of our world-leading screen sectors. Jay’s wealth of experience championing British content makes her an exceptional Chair to lead the BFI in the years ahead.”

Hunt said: “The BFI plays such a vital role in supporting great British storytellers and I’m delighted I’ll be chairing the organisation at such an exciting and challenging time. I’m passionate about the quality and range of film and TV we produce in the UK and look forward to championing it on the world stage.”

Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive said: “I’m thrilled that Jay has been appointed Chair of the BFI. As a BFI Governor, Jay has been a passionate advocate for both the BFI and the UK film sector. With her incredible breadth of experience in leadership across broadcasting and global streaming, she steps into this role with a very rare combination of an innate understanding of the power and potential of what public service organisations can deliver as well as being acutely commercial.”