Yet another new face at the BBC, and this one is important for those of us obsessed with the BBC’s new media and technology plans. As of the 1st April, John Linwood takes over the Chief Technology Officer role.

The CTO is responsible for organising the entire technology strategy, including maintenance, relocation, infrastructure and development. Not an enviable task, I’m sure!

Linwood previously worked at Yahoo!, and oversaw 1,600 staff over 22 countries. He was responsible for the output outside of the US, including social networking, new media, and search. He has 28 years of software engineering experience, including a long stint at Microsoft, so he should bring a lot to the BBC.

Linwood says:

I’m delighted to be joining the BBC, with its impressive track record of innovation and reliability in broadcasting. I look forward to bringing my experience in software engineering to help the BBC take full advantage of the latest technologies across the broadcast production and distribution chain.

The CTO is a role that falls under the BBC Future Media & Technology department, which is currently being restructured to cope with the constant and swift changes in media.