Roland Francis Kester Keating (born 5 August 1961) is Chief Executive of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

. He took up his post in September 2012.

Early life and education

Keating was born on 5 August 1961 to Donald Norman Keating and Betty Katharine Keating (''née'' Wells). He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, an independent school for boys in London, and then read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford.

Career

Keating joined the BBC in 1983. He was a producer and director for the Arts and Music department, making programmes for '' Omnibus'', '' Bookmark'' (1992–97) and ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

''. He was a producer and later became editor of '' The Late Show''. In 1997, he became head of programming for

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 throug ...

, partly owned by the BBC. In 1999, he became the BBC Controller of Digital Channels. In 2000, he also took on the responsibility of Controller of Arts Commissioning. He became the Controller of

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adva ...

station BBC Four in December 2001, masterminding its launch on 2 March 2002. In 2003, he was also joint leader of the BBC's Charter Review project for six months. He became the channel controller for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

in June 2004, a position he held until 2008. He was appointed temporary controller of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

following Peter Fincham's resignation on 5 October 2007. While Controller, he said that he wanted to see BBC Two be the first mainstream British TV channel to be available on broadband. His decision to screen '' Jerry Springer: The Opera'' on 8 January 2005 forced him to go into hiding and he was given security protection. Keating was previously Director of Archive Content for the BBC. He was announced as chief executive designate of the

in May 2012, to succeed Dame Lynne Brindley. As of 2015, Keating was paid a salary of between £155,000 and £159,999 by the British Library, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.

Personal life

In 1989, Keating married

Caroline Russell Caroline Russell, Lady Keating (born 10 August 1962) is a British politician and activist serving as Leader of the Green Party in the London Assembly since October 2018, and a Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Londonwide since May 2016. ...

. Together they have three children; one son and two daughters.

References

External links

BBC Biography for Roly Keating

Changing BBC TWO's idents in February 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Roly 1961 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford BBC executives BBC Four controllers BBC Two controllers Living people People educated at Westminster School, London