Ofcom CEO Ed Richards steps down

Ed Richards

Ofcom’s chief executive officer, Ed Richards will step down at the end of December after eight years in charge of the UK broadcast regulator.

Announcing the departure, Ofcom said that the process to appoint Richards’ replacement is already underway, led by Zygos Partnership and that it aims to complete the recruitment process early in 2015.

Richards will continue to lead on all operational, financial, economic, competition and policy matters until the end of December.

“It is never easy leaving a job that you enjoy greatly but I have always felt that once I had completed eight years as chief executive this would be the right time to move on,” said Richards, who is not, at this stage, understood to have a new job lined up.

Paying tribute to Richards’ “impressive legacy”, Ofcom chairman Patricia Hodgson said: “Ed has been an outstanding chief executive. Under his leadership, Ofcom has helped to deliver superfast broadband, 4G, lower prices, innovation, competition, and sustainable public service broadcasting in the UK.”

Richards joined the Ofcom Board in March 2003, he was promoted to chief operating officer in July 2005 and became CEO in October 2006.