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The IIC at 50+

In an era of constant digital disruption, the IIC has enabled the open balanced discussion that informs the policy agenda since 1969. If our story over the last 50 plus years has anything to reveal, it’s the role IIC members around the world can play in shaping a future from which all of society can benefit.

50 plus years of change and a look to the future

 Blog
The birth of the IIC
Science Fact or Fiction? The Birth of the IIC 08.11.2019 Blog
Five Decades, Five Trends – How Technology Changed Behaviour 28.10.2019 Blog
The rise of the independent regulator
From Public to Private: The Relentless Rise of the Independent Regulator 08.11.2019 Blog
Convergence Brings a New Era of Competition Regulation 28.10.2019 Blog
The Power of Satellite as a Tool of Education 23.10.2019

Hall of Fame

The IIC owes its success to many committed and visionary leaders over the last five decades. Here are some of the people who have helped to make the IIC what it is today:

Mr Arthur D. Morse

Executive Director IBI1969-1971Executive Director IBI

Mr Arthur D. Morse

1969-1971

A renowned Second World War historian, Arthur Morse became an Executive Producer at CBS. Through his relationship with Joseph E Slater of the Ford Foundation, he took a central role in establishing the then IBI, creating a broad international base, and becoming its first Executive Director. He tragically died in car accident while attending an IBI conference in Yugoslavia in 1971.

Mr Olof Rydbeck

Chairman IBI1969-1970Chairman IBI

Mr Olof Rydbeck

1969-1970

The IIC’s first ever president, Rydbeck began his career as a diplomat, working at the UN and as Sweden’s Ambassador to the UK, before becoming head of Sveriges Radio, the Swedish national broadcaster, in 1955. It was Olof’s unique experience that led him to chair a UN committee on satellite television that eventually gave rise to the IIC.

Mr Sig Mickelson

Chairman IBI1970-1971Chairman IBI

Mr Sig Mickelson

1970-1971

Beginning his career as a newspaper reporter, Sig Mickelson was a vice president at time Life Broadcasts and served as President of CBS News and Radio Free Europe. He founded the Radio and Television News Directors Association, and it was through this that he became a prime mover in the IIC. When the IIC was accused of attracting CIA funding, he retorted: ‘If we had had CIA funding we would have been a lot better off – that’s the final proof we never had it.’

Lord Asa Briggs

Honorary Director of the IIC1970Honorary Director of the IIC

Lord Asa Briggs

1970

Lord Asa Briggs was a historian with a long and distinguished academic career. He worked in the codebreaking operation at Bletchley Park during the war, turning to academic life in 1945 as a fellow at Worcester College, Oxford. He was a prolific writer, authoring the official 5 volume history of the BBC. Asa Briggs was an Honorary Director of the IIC, regarded as its ‘research supremo’ and responsible for many of its early research projects.

Mr Eddi Ploman

Executive Director1971-1982Executive Director

Mr Eddi Ploman

1971-1982

Along with Jean, Eddi was regarded as half of the ‘driving duumvirate’ of the IIC in its early years. Ploman worked with and for d’Arcy at UN Headquarters and was head of Eurovison from 1958 until 1963. He wrote several books and spoke a number of languages. Cosmopolitan in outlook, Ploman believed strongly in the idea of the new communications (then television) as a vehicle for international understanding.

Mr Yoshinori Maeda

1973Honorary Chairman IBI1973

Mr Yoshinori Maeda

Honorary Chairman IBI

From its inception, the IIC enjoyed the professional and financial support of Japanese Public broadcaster NHK under its president, Yoshinori Maeda. A fluent Italian speaker, Maeda was a news reporter in Italy during the Second World War (and was reputed to have known Mussolini ‘fairly well’) before joining NHK in 1945. A staunch believer in promoting international dialogue and understanding, Maeda was made the first Honorary President of the IIC in 1973.

Mr Jean d’Arcy

IIC President1975IIC President

Mr Jean d’Arcy

1975

A founder member of the IIC, d’Arcy helped to set up Eurovision, part of the EBU. For ten years he was Director of the UN’s Radio and Visual Services division. He became the IIC’s president in 1975, taking over from Olof Rydbeck, a post in which he served until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1983.

Dr Thomas P. Hardiman

President1983-1987President

Dr Thomas P. Hardiman

1983-1987

President of the IIC from 1983-1987, Tom Hardiman served as the Director General of Radio Telefis Eirann (RTE) and as a Director of the Bank of Ireland for many years. He was instrumental in the creation of the Telecommunications Forum, which began as a two-year programme in 1987, and continues to this day. He was a Life Trustee of the IIC until his death in 2020. (Dr Hardiman's obituary was published in InterMedia Volume 48, Issue 2.)

Alain Gourd

Chairman1991-1994Chairman

Alain Gourd

1991-1994

Chair of the IIC from 1991-1994, Alain Gourd had a distinguished background in broadcasting, in both radio and television. He was a Minister at the Federal Department for Communications in Canada, and subsequently Associate Secretary to the Canadian Cabinet. He stepped in at a time of financial difficulties for the IIC, providing much needed zeal, leadership and stability.

Henri Pigeat

President1992-1998President

Henri Pigeat

1992-1998

A former CEO of the AFP news agency and chairman of a number of media companies and trade bodies, Henri Pigeat joined the IIC in 1973 and became chairman of the Executive Committee in 1990, serving as president from 1992-1998. He also taught on various media subjects as an Associate Professor at the University of Paris Pantheon Assas, and was an expert advisor to the European Union.

Bernard Courtois

President2002-2004President

Bernard Courtois

2002-2004

A lawyer with over 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, Bernard Courtois served in a variety of executive roles with Bell Canada from 1991 to 2003, including those of Chief Regulatory Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. He was President of the IIC from 2002 to 2004, and is currently the president and CEO of ITAC, the Information Technology Association of Canada.

Arne Wessberg

President2005-2010President

Arne Wessberg

2005-2010

Beginning his career as a journalist in Finland, Arne Wessberg rose to CEO of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, and Chairman of the European Broadcasting Union. He served as President of the IIC from 2005-2010. He has been chairman of Digita Oy, a Finnish network operator for wireless communications networks, since 2012.

Fabio Colasanti

President2010-2016President

Fabio Colasanti

2010-2016

An economist by training, Fabio Colasanti worked with Italcable SpA of Rome before joining the European Commission in 1977. He worked in the Enterprise Department and was Director General in charge of the Department for Information Society and Media until 2010. Fabio served as IIC President from 2010 until 2016. He is now a Life Trustee of the IIC and a Board Member of RAI Way.

Chris Chapman

President2016-PresentPresident

Chris Chapman

2016-Present

Chris Chapman held senior management positions with the Seven Network, Stadium Australia Management, Optus and Babcock & Brown and was an associate member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. He served two terms at the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) as Chairman and CEO before becoming President of the IIC in 2016.

Andrea Millwood Hargrave

Director General2009-March 2020Director General

Andrea Millwood Hargrave

2009-March 2020

Andrea Millwood Hargrave ran the IIC since 2009 but has been involved with the programmes and publications for a lot longer. She has worked in communications regulatory policy and research for over 25 years, and has published extensively. An Associate of the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, University of Oxford, and the Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research, Andrea works closely with IRF Members. She travels extensively building strong working relationships with a wide network of CEO regulators. This ensures that the contributions, debates and content of IRF meetings are current and diverse.

Lynn Robinson

Director GeneralMarch 2020 - presentDirector General

Lynn Robinson

March 2020 - present

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the built environment, technology, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry bodies and Chambers of Commerce and is a well known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

As an experienced Trustee / Non-Executive Director as Vice Chair at Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust, a unique heritage site in the heart of Bristol, UK, Lynn is also a Trustee / Non-Executive Director at The Bristol and Bath, UK, Parks Foundation.

On becoming the Director General at the IIC, Lynn said: “I am picking up the baton from an inspiring leader who has enabled the IIC to become the trusted, unique and independent international forum for the last 50 years. I see my role as Director General building on that success of shaping the policy agenda for the telecoms, technology and media sector as we move through the next decade.”

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