Rob joined stv group plc (formerly SMG plc) in March 2007 where he has led the turnaround of the company. Prior to this he was a Senior Advisor at LongAcre Partners. Until 2005 Rob served as Commercial Director of Channel 4 Television. He joined Channel 4 in 2001 as Managing Director of 4 Ventures and was appointed as Commercial Director in 2002. He was an executive member of the Channel 4 Corporation Board and responsible for Channel 4's commercial focus. Included in his responsibilities was the commercial portfolio of businesses in 4 Ventures. These businesses included digital channels such as E4 and Film Four, Interactive Services and Rights Exploitation.

During his tenure, Rob developed and executed a commercial strategy for Channel 4, which has positioned the Corporation at the forefront of digital media.He transformed the performance of Channel 4’s commercial businesses from heavily loss making to significant profitability and led a number of initiatives focused on building non-advertising-based revenue streams.

Prior to joining Channel 4, Rob was a Managing Director at UBS Corporate Finance where he worked in both London and New York. He worked initially in the global Telecom team in both London and New York and latterly was the co-head of the European Technology Group.

Before this, Rob was the Managing Partner of Braxton UK, the strategy consulting practice of Deloitte. He also led Deloitte Consulting’s European TMT group. He has specialised in advising TMT companies on strategic and corporate finance issues for the past 20 years.

Rob is a non-executive director of RaceTech Holdings, a Council Member of the National Youth Theatre and Deputy Pro Chancellor of City University.

Rob recently joined the Board of NESTA . He also sits on the Advisory Board of Criticaleye.

Andrew Minton

Charlie Wagstaff

Matthew Blagg

We've all heard the phrase, 'It's lonely at the top'. As chief executives across Criticaleye's Membership tell me, being a leader can be immensely rewarding, but also quite isolating. Who do you turn to when it comes to debating important issues on strategy? And, where can you go for solutions?

Unlike the individuals on the teams you lead, who are more than likely encouraged to share ideas and information, there are few people you can ask for useful and impartial advice. Your staff will expect you to have the answers already and professional advisors are likely to push their own agendas. In addition to this, the immediacy of today's business environment, where advances in technology and communications have intensified the pace of change, has created a world where leaders and directors have to be up-to-date and on-message around the clock.

Criticaleye was created in 2002 with the aim of helping leaders across industry sectors, business functions and geographical locations resolve business issues through peer-to-peer debate and discussion. Our Community works on the premise that business leaders and chief executives  need a safe space to ask questions and discuss solutions without the threat of being held to ransom by employees, stakeholders or the media for not knowing the answer to every problem or challenge that presents itself.

Being part of the Criticaleye Community means a number of things: Access to a managed network of leaders who can offer you fresh perspectives on and solutions to your critical issues. Intimate events on topics that have been generated from within the Community; a dedicated Relationship Manager to monitor your Membership activity and ensure you're getting the most value from it; a seasoned executive or 'Associate' to provide high level advice and ensure you are talking to the right people in the Community. And access to Criticaleye's Insight through an interactive online knowledge portal which is made up of cutting-edge business research, event write-ups, film footage of events and interviews and Community Articles by other Members.

Matthew Blagg, Founder & CEO, Criticaleye