Ex-BBC trustee will also be first female head in 500-year history of Jesus College, Cambridge

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A businesswoman and media executive is to become the first black person to lead an Oxbridge college after being elected master of Jesus College, Cambridge.

Sonita Alleyne, 51, also becomes the first female head in the history of the college, which was founded in 1496 and is one of Cambridge’s oldest.

The entrepreneur, who is chairwoman of the British Board of Film Classification’s management council, will take up her new role in October.

Alleyne, who read philosophy at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, has previously served as a BBC trustee.

Born in Bridgetown, Barbados, and brought up in Leytonstone, east London, she was a co-founder of the production company Somethin’ Else, which she led as chief executive from 1991 to 2009.

She will become the college’s 42nd master on the 40th anniversary of co-education, taking over from Prof Ian White, who was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Bath earlier this year.

Alleyne’s appointment is something of a coup for Cambridge as it aims to increase diversity among its students. Last year, it admitted a record number of black students – 58 out of 2,612.

In a statement, she said: “I left Cambridge 30 years ago, but it never left me. I am delighted to be returning.

“It is an honour to be elected to lead Jesus College and I’m looking forward to becoming part of such an energetic and innovative community.”

Alleyne, a keen fly-fisher, once described herself as a “passionate early reader” who liked telling stories, which inspired her to follow a career in the media. “Stories are about creativity and such a primal instinct for people, and whether you’re doing a documentary or music, media is all about stories. That’s what I find exciting,” she said in one 2008 interview.

The hunt for Jesus College’s new master included advertising the role on the business networking site LinkedIn for the first time. The college’s fellows then whittled down the candidates.

Alleyne began her media career in the publicity department at Jazz FM before moving into production. On being made redundant in 1991, she and two colleagues set up Somethin’ Else, a cross-platform media company that made content for the BBC and commercial radio stations. It rapidly expanded and, by 2008, was being described as the biggest syndicator of radio programmes in the UK, outside the BBC, distributing shows to more than 200 radio stations in 65 countries.

Alleyne’s numerous board roles have included the National Employment Panel and the London Skills and Employment Board, chair of the Radio Sector Skills Council and non-executive director of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and membership of the court of governors at the University of the Arts.

She has been a judge for the Precious Awards, which celebrate the entrepreneurial achievements of black women, and for the Sony Awards. She is also founder of the Yes Programme, an online service helping school pupils make career decisions. She has served as an ambassador for Street Kids International.

In 2000, she received the Award of Excellence from the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners, and was made an OBE for services to broadcasting in 2003.

She joined the BBC Trust, the governing body of the corporation, in 2012, and was appointed chair of the BBFC earlier this year. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and the Radio Academy.

Prof Mary Laven, who led Jesus College’s search committee, said: “We’re thrilled by the election of Sonita Alleyne, who will be an inspirational master. She brings to the college a wealth of experience and an enduring commitment to helping young people fulfil their potential.”