Ashley Highfield is CEO of Johnston Press, having worked in high levels in companies including Microsoft, and the BBC.
Formerly, he was UK Managing Director of Microsoft (Consumer & Online), responsible for Windows Mobile, MSN, Hotmail, Windows Live/Instant Messenger, and the Google search engine rival, Bing. His responsibilities include Microsoft Advertising, the UK’s largest digital advertising agency, which represents Microsoft’s web properties, as well as Facebook, and other third party sites across the web.
Highfield is a Non-Executive Director of bookmakers William Hill plc. He is also a Governor of the British Film Institute. He was recently appointed to the Conservative Party’s review of the Creative Industries, headed up by Greg Dyke, which will help set Conservative policy in the wake of the Digital Britain white paper.
Previously, he was CEO of Project Kangaroo., the proposed 3-way joint venture (between BBC, ITV & Channel4) offering an internet-based one stop shop for all TV programmes on-demand, which was halted by the Competition Commission. Prior to that, he was the Director of New Media and Technology at the BBC for eight years, responsible for launching the BBC iPlayer. At the time of his appointment to the BBC he was the youngest ever member of the organisation's Executive Board. His department was responsible for the BBC's internet presence - bbc.co.uk, interactive TV - BBC Red Button, mobile services, the BBC's technology portfolio and the BBC’s Archive. He was responsible for around 1,400 staff across the BBC, and an annual budget of £400m.
In 2003 Highfield was awarded the Digital Innovator internet award by The Sunday Times (UK) who dubbed his vision of a 100% digital Britain a "tour de force". In 2004 he was named ‘most influential individual in technology’ by online technology news site Silicon.Com for overseeing a number of ‘firsts’ for a major broadcaster, including the use of peer-to-peer, interactive TV, and multi-casting of TV. In May 2006, Broadcast Magazine wrote "The Creative Future review will enhance the already high standing of Ashley Highfield, the BBC's director of new media and technology. As the principal architect of the BBC's digital convergence strategy, he is increasingly coming to be recognised as one of the most influential figures in world media". In 2007, The Guardian placed Highfield at #31 in its annual survey of the most powerful people in the UK media industry.
In November, 2007 he courted controversy by launching the iPlayer only on the Windows platform. Subsequent iPlayer releases for the Mac, Linux and iPhone have been welcomed by these communities. The iPlayer has been a significant success with over 1,000,000 programs being watched each day from a userbase of over 4 million.