BIOGRAPHY

Lorraine Heggessey was the first female Controller of BBC One. During her time at the helm network ratings overtook ITV for the first time since it launched in 1955. Armed with a £300m programme budget she introduced Spooks and Strictly Come Dancing, and scored a massive success with a new-look Dr Who.

Lorraine was originally a producer for Newsnight, Panorama and Dispatches, making a variety of films on everything from the treatment of Jews in Soviet Russia to a bizarre interview with the former gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. She then became Head of Children's BBC, where her duties included explaining to Blue Peter viewers why she had sacked Richard Bacon.

When she took over BBC One, Lorraine was faced with a network struggling to escape from its old image and orthodox thinking. As well as commissioning a raft of popular programmes, she ditched the tired station idents and reviewed a number of protocols - without compromising the part the channel plays in the national psyche.

Lorraine moved from the BBC to become Chief Executive of Talkback Thames, by then a major independent production company. Again she backed winning formats, launching Britain's Got Talent, X-Factor and The Apprentice onto UK television screens.

In presentations Lorraine describes the challenge of leadership. Though drawn from the media industry the messages about innovation, managing talent, moving outside your comfort zone and implementing change apply to any audience in any sector of business and public service.

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