The BBC is expected to name Matt Brittin as its new director general within a matter of days following the resignation of Tim Davie over the Donald Trump editing scandal.
Mr Davie resigned from his role in November after the BBC became embroiled in numerous “systemic bias” rows.
The decision is to be discussed at a BBC board meeting on Thursday, with a formal announcement set to be made as soon as next week.
Mr Brittin led Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from December 2014 before stepping down last year.
His tech experience is expected to help the BBC in its bid to modernise and compete with digital platforms, such as YouTube, owned by Google’s parent company.
He received a Royal Televison Society fellowship last year, alongside names including Black Mirror founder Charlie Brooker, Adolescence screenwriter James Graham, and Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
At the event he said he had been an admirer of British television and had been “trying to get into” the industry for a “very long time”.
While he has not worked in television before, Mr Brittin has been a non-executive director of Guardian Media Group since 2025, and served as director of strategy and digital at Trinity Mirror, the former owner of the Daily Mirror, in 2004.
Matt Brittin, pictured at an event in 2018, is expected to be named as the new BBC boss in a matter of days
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He also sits on the board of Climate Group, a charity which campaigns for net zero emissions by 2050.
Mr Brittin, revealed as the new pick by The i Paper, is expected to face several challenges in his role, including reform of the BBC licence fee, decreasing trust in the organisation, and the renewal of its charter.
His predecessor, Mr Davie, admitted the BBC has a “metropolitan” view on life just days ago.
But on Tuesday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy vowed to push on and grant the corporation a permanent charter, which would end its current 10-year charter renewal cycle.
Tim Davie admitted the BBC had a ‘metropolitan’ view on life, after his resignation
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PAHe said: “I think there have been too many instances where institutions – and the BBC is definitely not exempt from this – [have] call it what you will, metropolitan, a certain lens on life.
“I happen to think it’s not helped by ‘Left’ and ‘Right’. It’s a view on life, a metropolitan view.”
He resigned alongside BBC News CEO Deborah Turness after a BBC Panorama documentary Trump: A Second Chance? spliced together sections Mr Trump’s January 6 speech.
After her resignation Ms Turness said the documentary was “not up to our editorial standards but I don’t accept the charge that it was a sign of institutional bias.”
Matt Brittin met with Prince William while president of Google EMEA
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“I think that the BBC is the world’s most trusted news brand, because for 104 years it has not taken sides,” she claimed.
Confidence in the news broadcaster has fallen, with YouGov finding just 38 per cent of Britons trusting the organisation, down from 81 per cent in 2003.
Mr Trump is now suing the BBC in Florida for £5billion.
The BBC, which has not revealed how much taxpayer money would be spent on the lawsuit, are hoping to get the suit dismissed on the grounds of jurisdiction.
The broadcaster said the documentary did not air in Florida – a claim the President’s lawyers dispute, saying the documentary is available on streaming service BritBox.