Lovefilm appoints Dawn Airey to board

Lovefilm, the pan-European home entertainment subscription service, has announced the appointment of Dawn Airey as a non executive director. Airey is regarded as one of the UK media industry’s most influential figures, holding key roles at a number of major broadcasters including BSkyB, iTV, and Five where she is currently Chairman and Chief Executive.

Notably, Airey was the first female Chief Executive of a UK commercial TV station. She also sits on the management board of the pan-European media group RTL, Five’s parent company, and is a member of the board of the British Library and a Trustee of The Media Trust.

It therefore appears to be a smart move by Lovefilm, sometimes referred to as the Netflix of the UK, as Airey brings an enormous amount of industry experience and, presumably, a hefty contact book.

Speaking on Airey’s appointment, Charles Gurassa, Chairman of Lovefilm says: “Dawn’s finger is right on the pulse of the entertainment industry. Lovefilm has grown not only to become the leading European subscription-based film and TV rental business, but now the market leader in streaming directly to PCs and internet-enabled TVs. Dawn’s counsel in the board room will be enormously helpful in driving Lovefilm forward.”

Airey herself adds: “Lovefilm’s business model has not only redefined the way people rent and watch movies in the home, its international growth and recent foray into streaming services delivered via both the PC and the TV shows that this is not a company that’s prepared to stand still. I’m thrilled to be joining the board.”

It seems that the company has been busy recruiting personnel. Last month we reported that Simon Waldman, long-time Director of Digital Strategy and Development at the Guardian Media Group, had joined the company to become group product director where he’ll be taking charge of the website, user interface and the “entire online customer journey.”

Launched in 2004, Lovefilm has over 1.4 million subscribers and, aside from Britain, the film and games rental company operates in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany. It has VC backing from Index Ventures.