Blathnaid Healy will join the senior leadership team to spearhead the digital growth of BBC News in the UK and internationally.
Leading interdisciplinary teams in the BBC HQ of Wales, she will be driving output development and culture change across BBC News digital platforms in the UK and internationally, in English and other languages. Working with other senior colleagues, she will implement a digital-first World Service and be the Editorial lead for BBC News product development.
She will oversee the Growth Team, that use data and analysis to inform editorial decision making, and the Social Team which oversees publishing on social media and third-party platforms, including the expanding activity on Tik Tok.
With more than 15 years’ of editorial and operational experience in media organizations, Blathnaid brings deep digital expertise and a track record of leading digital transformation in legacy newsrooms, start-ups and scale-ups.
Most recently CNN’s Senior Director, EMEA, Blathnaid led an award-winning team of digital journalists and editors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as CNN’s multi-platform global gender reporting unit, As Equals.
Prior to CNN, Blathnaid was Mashable’s first UK editor, and Chief Operating Officer at Dublin-based start up WorldIrish. She spent the first five years of her career working at RTÉ in Ireland, and is currently an Executive MBA candidate at Trinity College Dublin.
Blathnaid will start in February and report into Naja Nielsen, Director of Digital and Channels, BBC News.