Getty Images appoints Dawn Airey as Chief Executive Officer

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Getty Images, the world's leading visual media company, has today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dawn Airey to the role of Chief Executive Officer, with effect from October 12, 2015. Co-founder and CEO, Jonathan Klein is stepping up to the role of Chairman, as announced on the company's 20^th anniversary in March of this year.

Airey was previously Senior Vice President of Yahoo!'s EMEA businesses, where she led the company's operations in the region.  Prior to that she held senior leadership positions at several major UK media companies, including Chairman and CEO of Channel 5, Managing Director of Global Content at ITV and Managing Director of Channels and Services at BSkyB. Airey is currently part of a UK Government-selected panel charged with reviewing the BBC's charter renewal.

Commenting on the appointment, Getty Images Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein said: "After 20 years at the helm, I am delighted Dawn is joining the team to drive Getty Images in its next phase of growth, innovation and industry leadership. Our new CEO is an experienced leader with a strong track record of programming and monetizing content. Dawn's deep understanding of the consumer market and the intersection of technology and content means she is well situated to run Getty Images as it explores new opportunities within the consumer space and beyond. We could not be more excited about the future."

Under Airey's leadership, Getty Images looks to accelerate its progress in both its traditional businesses as well as new growth areas. Speaking on her new role, Dawn Airey said: "I have long admired Getty Images and relish the opportunity to lead this iconic global business as it continues to break new ground and propel the industry that this company has pioneered for 20 years."

"Engaging audiences through the power of visual storytelling is what I am passionate about, and, at its core, that is what Getty Images is all about: inspiring and enabling the world to tell its stories through the exceptional content the team captures each and every day. There is immense potential when it comes to marrying content with new monetization opportunities, and I cannot wait to get started. It's a pleasure to join such a talented team and to work with Jonathan as we drive the business forward."

During its first 20 years, Getty Images led the industry into the digital age and has been responsible for every major innovation in the visual content business. From moving the industry online to driving the growth of royalty-free photography; from disrupting the industry with the introduction of crowd-sourcing through iStock by Getty Images to establishing market leadership in news, sport and entertainment content, Getty Images has always been at the forefront. In March 2014, Getty Images revolutionized the industry with the launch of its embed tool, enabling free, legal sharing of over 60 million images, for non-commercial purposes. Today, its embed offering has crossed 3 billion impressions. Airey will focus on building on this rich innovative history as well as new growth areas.

Co-founder and Chairman Mark Getty, who assumes the role of Deputy Chairman, said: "The board and I are pleased to have someone of Dawn Airey's abilities assume leadership at Getty Images. Dawn's considerable experience in the media and consumer space, coupled with her strong understanding of programming content, means she is very well-placed to drive Getty Images forward. I am also pleased that Jonathan will be Chairman and Getty Images will continue to benefit from his knowledge and passion which he has used to such great effect during his leadership of our business through 20 remarkable years of innovation, disruption and growth."

Airey is relocating from London to New York with her partner and two children.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About Dawn Airey
Dawn Airey is the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Getty Images, the world's leading visual communications company.

As Chief Executive Officer, Airey will be responsible for running Getty Images' global operations; working alongside Getty Images Co-Founder and Chairman, Jonathan Klein, as well as its Board of Directors, to drive the company in its next phase of growth, innovation and industry leadership.

A veteran of the media industry, Airey has worked in television for 30 years, holding senior positions with the majority of the United Kingdom's commercial broadcasters. Prior to joining Getty Images, Airey was Senior Vice President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Operation of Yahoo! Inc. During her two-year tenure at Yahoo!, Airey led the company's operations in the region.

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Airey held leadership positions at many major UK media companies, including President of a unit of RTL Group, Channel 5's parent company, and Chairwoman and Chief Executive of Channel 5, where she oversaw all operations. She also worked as Managing Director of Global Content at ITV  where she oversaw its UK and international production and content businesses. Prior to that, Airey served as Managing Director, Channels and Services, at BSkyB, the UK's largest pay-TV broadcaster.

Airey was awarded a fellowship by the Royal Television Society (RTS) in 1998.  She is a Vice President of the RTS, the Senior Non-Executive Director of Thomas Cook PLC and Chair of The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. She is currently a representative of a UK Government-selected advisory group of experts to support the BBC Charter Review.

Airey was born in Preston, Lancashire in the United Kingdom, and studied at the University of Cambridge. Currently residing in London, Airey is relocating to New York in October 2015 with her partner and two children to take up her role with Getty Images.

About Jonathan Klein
Jonathan D. Klein has been the CEO of the global digital media company Getty Images, Inc., the premier creator and distributor of visual communications worldwide since he co-founded the Company in March 1995.  On October 12, 2015, Jonathan will step up to the role of Co-Founder and Chairman. He is a leader in the fields of global health, education and international press freedom and the recipient of numerous media, philanthropic and corporate honors.

Jonathan's strategic vision has led Getty Images' growth from an analogue image collection with transparencies, laboratories and print catalogs in 1995, to a multi-award winning, billion dollar, global e-commerce business. Today Getty Images is recognized for having the broadest, deepest and highest quality content, serving customers in almost 200 countries, with plans for continued growth.

Through his principled leadership, Jonathan has established a culture at Getty Images that embraces disruption and change. He has driven the most significant business and technology innovations in photography and video, including digitization, e-commerce, new business models, crowd-sourced imagery, keyword and image search technologies, visual trend expertise and groundbreaking partnerships.

Jonathan led a successful broad-ranging consolidation strategy in the early years of the company by acquiring and integrating collections and companies worldwide, including PhotoDisc and iStock by Getty Images, respectively the pioneers in digital royalty-free imagery and user-generated imagery. He drove Getty Images' launch into news, sports and entertainment imagery, as well as video, music, digital asset management, rights services and assignment photography. Under his direction, Getty Images has built a comprehensive network of exclusive commercial partnerships with the world's most prestigious media, publishing and entertainment companies, as well as with dozens of the most prominent sports governing bodies across the globe.

Getty Images has a vast and growing network of exclusive commercial and distribution partnerships with the world's most prestigious media, publishing and entertainment companies, as well as with the most prominent sports governing bodies across the globe. After 12 years of trading publicly on the NASDAQ and the NYSE, Jonathan successfully took Getty Images private in July 2008, in partnership with Hellman & Friedman, in a $2.4 billion transaction. In October 2012, the management team, led by Jonathan, together with the Getty family and The Carlyle Group, acquired Getty Images for $3.3 billion.

Jonathan is the recipient of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's Business Excellence for Innovation award. Under his stewardship, Getty Images received the first International Center of Photography (ICP) Trustees Award, for the company's commitment to the field of photography, through technology and philanthropy, and dedication to the power of photography to create change. ICP recognized Getty Images again in 2015 for the creation of the Getty Images Lean In collection and its impact on how women are portrayed in media and advertising. 

Fast Company recognized Jonathan in its "Fast 50" as a business leader who "will change the way we work and live over the next ten years" and he was named number one on American Photo's list of the "100 Most Important People in Photography." Jonathan received the Suffolk University Sawyer Business School 2012 award for Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration. He is a frequent speaker on leadership, culture and innovation, enjoys teaching and has lectured at many schools and universities, including Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.

Jonathan serves on the boards of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Grassroot Soccer and is the Chairman of the board of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He is President of the board of trustees of Groton School and serves on the boards of directors of Getty Images, Etsy, Squarespace and Getty Investments.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jonathan has spent much of his life in England and received a master's degree in law from the University of Cambridge.  He moved to the United States in 1999 and now lives in New York City with his wife and three sons.

About Getty Images

Getty Images is the world's leader in visual communication, with almost 200 million assets available through its premium content site www.gettyimages.com and its leading stock content site www.istock.com. With its advanced search and image recognition technology, Getty Images serves business customers in almost 200 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content. Its award-winning photographers and content creators help customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and online media. Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life.  For company news and announcements, visit press.gettyimages.com, and for the stories, innovation and inspiration behind our content, visit Stories & Trends http://stories.gettyimages.com. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gettyimages , Twitter at https://twitter.com/GettyImages, or download Stream, our free consumer app, to view and share the world's best imagery. 

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SOURCE Getty Images

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