Senior BBC executive Tom McDonald has been named executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content for National Geographic, effective June 2022, Courteney Monroe, president of National Geographic Content announced on Thursday.
In this newly created New York-based position, McDonald will lead the development and production of all global unscripted series and specials across all formats and categories for Disney+ and Nat Geo’s linear channels.
Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, Scripted and Feature Documentaries, will continue to oversee National Geographic Documentary Films.
“Tom is a brilliant creative executive with extraordinary vision and impeccable taste. Having spent a decade at the BBC creating premium, genre-defining factual content, Tom is the perfect person to lead our efforts to produce best-in-class, must-see National Geographic content,” said Monroe in a statement. “I have known and admired Tom for quite some time and could not be more thrilled he is joining our team as we expand our programming ambitions to help drive the global growth of Disney+.”
“It has been a privilege to work at the BBC, but the chance to join Courteney and her team at this pivotal moment in National Geographic’s evolution is an opportunity that was impossible to turn down,” McDonald added. “As I relocate to the U.S. and start a new chapter, I feel excited and energized by the opportunity to elevate National Geographic content across the Disney ecosystem. I cannot wait to get started.”
McDonald is the managing director of Factual Productions at BBC Studios, where he has shepherded such projects as “The Green Planet,” and “Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World” for BBC, “Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution” and “The Year Earth Changed” for Apple, and “Grenfell: The Untold Story” for Channel 4.
During his time leading the department, his teams have received more than 20 BAFTA nominations with wins for “Muslims Like Us,” “Planet Earth II,” “Blue Planet II,” “Big Blue Live” and “The Yorkshire Ripper Files,” as well as earning two BAFTA TV Moment of The Year awards.