BBC hires Yahoo! exec as CTO

The BBC has hired Yahoo! executive John Linwood as its new CTO.

Linwood will be responsible for delivering the BBC's technology strategy, including maintenance of the technical infrastructure behind all BBC output and overseeing the corporation's IT requirements.

He joins the BBC from Yahoo!, where he was senior VP of international engineering, overseeing 1,600 staff across 22 countries, with responsibility for the development, deployment and delivery of Yahoo!'s services outside the US.

Linwood was also involved with Yahoo!'s social networking, social media and user-generated content products as well as ecommerce and search. Linwood previously worked for Microsoft for 11 years.

Director of BBC Future Media and Technology Erik Huggers said more of the BBC's content is being produced and distributed using digital platforms, placing a greater emphasis on software engineering.

Linwood will take up the role from 1 April.