Theresa Wise, long-serving chief executive of the Royal Television Society (RTS), will retire in 2026.
He has led an influential British TV organization for more than a decade. “After almost 13 unforgettable years as chief executive of the Royal Television Society, I have taken the decision to retire from full-time work,” Wise said.
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The process of finding a successor has begun for Wise, who is known as a steadfast champion of RTS’ work and its place in British broadcasting.
“RTS is a unique and vital part of the UK’s world-leading television and streaming media and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved in recent years,” Wise said. “Our training programs are stronger than ever, our members are highly engaged, our events program continues to set the gold standard across the industry, national and regional centers are thriving and the team at RTS is world class.”
Jane Turton, chief executive of All3Media, who is chair of RTS, said: “Theresa has made a huge and lasting contribution to RTS. Her dynamism, passion and commitment have been amazing. It has been a pleasure working with her as she has grown and developed the association, launched new initiatives such as the Mini MBA, strengthened the bursary system and delivered RTS high-quality operations and continuous innovation. To everyone at RTS, I would like to thank Theresa for her great contribution for the benefit of the club.”
The news of Wise’s departure comes in a dramatic week on British television after a scandal over Donald Trump’s speech led to the resignations of BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness.
With Channel 4 also looking for a CEO, change is coming fast and fast in the UK.
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