The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.
The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the BBC Trust (from 2007 to 2017). Since 2017, the director-general has been appointed by the BBC Board.
To date, 18 individuals have been appointed Director-General, plus an additional two who were appointed in an acting capacity only. The current director-general is Matt Brittin, who succeeded Tim Davie on 18 May 2026 after a period from 3 April 2026 to 17 May 2026, during which Rhodri Talfan Davies was Acting Director-General.
List of directors-general
Italics indicate that the individual was temporarily appointed as acting director-general.