Blathnaid Healy will join the senior leadership team to spearhead the digital growth of BBC News in the UK and internationally.

Leading interdisciplinary teams in the BBC HQ of Wales, she will be driving output development and culture change across BBC News digital platforms in the UK and internationally, in English and other languages. Working with other senior colleagues, she will implement a digital-first World Service and be the Editorial lead for BBC News product development.

She will oversee the Growth Team, that use data and analysis to inform editorial decision making, and the Social Team which oversees publishing on social media and third-party platforms, including the expanding activity on Tik Tok.

With more than 15 years’ of editorial and operational experience in media organisations, Blathnaid brings deep digital expertise and a track record of leading digital transformation in legacy newsrooms, start-ups and scale-ups.

Most recently CNN’s Senior Director, EMEA, Blathnaid led an award-winning team of digital journalists and editors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as CNN’s multi-platform global gender reporting unit, As Equals.

Prior to CNN, Blathnaid was Mashable’s first UK editor, and Chief Operating Officer at Dublin-based start up WorldIrish. She spent the first five years of her career working at RTÉ in Ireland, and is currently an Executive MBA candidate at Trinity College Dublin.

Naja Nielsen, Director of Digital and Channels, BBC says: “ I couldn’t be more delighted Blathnaid has chosen to join BBC News in this pivotal moment. With 100 years of history we are the most trusted news organisation in the world. To remain as important and relevant in the future, we need to accelerate our digital transformation, and we need extraordinary leaders to lead that work. Blathnaid’s results speak for themselves as well as her reputation of being an excellent and very inclusive leader.”

Blathnaid says: “It’s a great privilege to join BBC News. I’m excited by the opportunity to work alongside such talented teams and I look forward to leading efforts to grow and deliver the organisation’s much-needed and trusted journalism to audiences in the UK and around the world.”

Blathnaid will start in February and report into Naja Nielsen, Director of Digital and Channels, BBC News.