BSkyB names replacement for sales chief Peter Shea

BSkyB has appointed Mark Chippendale as its sales chief in place of the long-serving Peter Shea.

The appointment is said to be part of a shake-up by managing director of Sky Networks Dawn Airey, who joined the company at the beginning of this year. But the promotion of Chippendale to sales director at Sky Media has been expected since last summer, when Shea took a three-month sabbatical.

Shea, who has headed Sky Media for 12 years, will take on a new role as a consultant representing Sky’s interests within a number of media industry bodies.

Chippendale joined Sky TV in 1990, two weeks before it merged with BSB. He will report to Airey. He began his career in sales at Granada before moving to Thames TV as group manager, followed by a stint at agency Geers Gross Advertising then Austin West Media. After that, he returned to TV.

There has been much speculation within the advertising industry over whether Airey will recruit her former Five colleague, acting chief executive Nick Milligan, in a commercial role. But a BSkyB spokesman has dismissed the rumours that Milligan will end up at the company as “rubbish”. Milligan is understood to be one of a number of candidates being considered for the vacant chief executive job at Five.

BSkyB’s ad revenue increased by 12 per cent to £60m in the three months to September 30, reflecting Sky’s growing viewing share and the fact it has won contracts to sell airtime for Discovery and EMAP.