Alex Connock

Alex Connock (born 1965) is a British media executive and entrepreneur who co-founded the factual media company Ten Alps in 1999 with Bob Geldof and is involved in documentary TV production, online TV, multiplatform publishing and the Manchester media scene.

Biography

Connock grew up in Bowdon, Cheshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School 1976-83, latterly as school organist. He played piano in hotels in Val d’Isere and Corsica. He won a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford to read History and French, but switched to Politics and Economics, graduating in 1987. At university he edited Isis, the Oxford magazine in 1986. He has a Master's in Journalism from Columbia University (New York) 1988 as Rotary International Scholar, specializing in photojournalism. And he has an MBA from Fontainebleau business school INSEAD, 1993.

Connock worked for Granada TV, People Magazine (New York), BBC and Planet 24 variously as TV researcher, writer and producer, including programmes such as The Big Breakfast. From 1995-99 he was Managing Director of Planet 24 Radio, producing programmes for BBC Radio 1,2,3 and 5 and IRN.

Ten Alps

Connock co-founded Ten Alps in 1999 with Bob Geldof, and listed it in 2001 on the Alternative Investment Market. Ten Alps has made 20 acquisitions and is now a leading independent multi-platform factual media producer - TV, online TV and print content.

Ten Alps operates in two divisions - Content and Communications. Revenue in 2009 was just under £80m.

The Content divisions include TV production companies Brook Lapping, Films of Record, Below the Radar and Blakeway, which between them make broad, agenda-setting documentary output for BBC, Channel 4 and many other broadcasters, as well as globally-recognised online education channel Teachers TV. Ten Alps Asia opened in August 2009 catering to Far Eastern clients from Singapore.

Ten Alps' Communications division publishes around 600 trade titles and their associated websites, making it a market leader in multi-platform B2B and public sector contract publishing. It includes advertising sales business Ten Alps Media, Ten Alps Publishing, design and web design business Ten Alps Creative, corporate video and communications outfit Ten Alps Vision and ground-breaking corporate responsibility content production company DBDA.

Other interests

Piano playing, photography. Several times shortlisted as Entrepreneur of the Year. Entrepreneur in Residence at INSEAD (Fontainebleau), Governor of Manchester Metropolitan University, , Advisory Board member of Salford University Media School , board member of Northwest Vision and Media, NESTA mentor to startup media companies.

Personal Life

Married to TV producer Sumi Connock, head of entertainment at ITV Manchester.

References

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