The Broadcasting Board of Governors is reorganizing.
The BBG manages U.S. overseas broadcasting like VOA and Radio Marti. The BBG says it’s established an interim management for its International Broadcast Bureau that appoints three executives to manage daily operations and helps pave the way for a future chief executive officer.
Readers will recall Congress recently held hearings on the future of the BBG and witnesses who used to lead the body split between being for or against putting it back under the auspices of the USAID. The BBG is struggling to reduce duplication among the broadcasters and focus more of its resources away from Cold War sites like Europe to reach current areas of conflict in the Middle East.
Under the interim management structure, André Mendes becomes director of Global Operations, Robert Bole is now director of Global Strategy and Suzie Carroll becomes director of Global Communications. Mendes, Bole and Carroll will provide oversight and direction to Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, as well as the other offices of the federal agency until a CEO is hired.
BBG Board Chair Jeffrey Shell said the move prepares the IBB for reform. The board, meanwhile, has set up a committee to look for a CEO.
Mendes has directed the IBB’s Office of Technology, Services and Innovation for the past four years. Previously, he was Chief Technology Integration Officer for the Public Broadcasting Service, where he was responsible for both IT and broadcast engineering during a $1.8 billion transition to digital television.
Robert Bole joined the BBG in 2011 as Director of Innovation to lead the agency’s use of technology to improve storytelling, news delivery and crisis response. Previously, Bole was vice president of Digital Media Strategies at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, where he helped lead the creation of a unified digital distribution platform.
Suzie Carroll has been with the BBG since 2012. As BBG Executive Director, she is the principal liaison for the chairman and members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and manages implementation of board priorities. Before being tapped by the board, she was the agency’s Congressional Coordinator.
