John Willis
Chief Executive and Tinopolis Group Creative Director
John Willis, who joined Mentorn and Tinopolis in November 2006, is one of the best known figures in the television industry, with high profile roles including Director of Programmes at Channel 4, Managing Director of LWT and United Productions, Vice President of National Programmes at WGBH and most recently the BBC’s Director of Factual and Learning.
John began his career at Yorkshire Television where he won a string of awards for his hard-hitting documentary programmes such as Johnny Go Home. He later became Controller of Documentaries and Current Affairs, where he started the acclaimed documentary series First Tuesday.
In 1988, he joined Channel 4 as Controller of Factual Programmes, introducing new documentary stands like Cutting Edge, True Stories and Secret History. Later promoted to Director of Programmes he oversaw a number of successful programmes and films in several genres.