Seiken, man who lit a fire under America's PBS, takes over at the Telegraph

Seiken, who starts next month as the Telegraph's chief content officer, is senior vice president and general manager (digital) at PBS.

The Guardian today describes him as the man who " transformed the video and mobile fortunes of PBS, America's equivalent of the BBC."

Seiken, "reinvented the broadcaster's fortunes, changing it from a conventional broadcaster known to generations for Sesame Street, to one with an edgy mobile and web service," said the Guardian."

Traffic for mobile went from 2m video streams a month in 2009 to 165m three years later. PBS also conquered the top slot for its children's web video nationwide.

Seiken will assume responsibility for all Telegraph editorial operations and for “transforming the newsroom into a dynamic, entrepreneurial culture with digital products at its core", according to a statement from Telegraph Media Group.

Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive of TMG, said: “This appointment is vital to the future of our business and in achieving our ambition to become the foremost English language multimedia news and content provider. There could not be a better person for this crucial role than Jason Seiken.

“He has a lifetime of experience in the media industry and an extraordinary track record of completing profound business transformations.

“He is a remarkable leader who is at the cutting edge of global developments in the media, with a pioneering track record of delivering radical, durable change in companies which include some of the world’s leading media brands.”

Seiken said: “The Telegraph is an iconic global media brand, renowned for its quality and its innovation. I look forward to joining next month and working to make the Telegraph a fully integrated, entrepreneurial multimedia news organisation providing the best English language journalism and content in the world.”

Seiken is a dual citizen of the UK and US and is married with two children.