Barb appoints Caroline Baxter as Chief Executive 12 March 2026 Barb, the UK industry’s standard for understanding what people watch, today announces that Caroline Baxter has been appointed as Chief Executive. Caroline’s appointment comes at an auspicious moment for Barb. Building on several years of transformational development, Barb is on the verge of another wave of innovation designed to ensure the measurement and reporting of audiences to linear, streaming and video-sharing services is fit for the future. Since joining Barb in 2022, Caroline has played a leading role in delivering an innovation programme that aligns industry needs with the capabilities of research and data partners. She was promoted to COO in 2024. Speaking on behalf of Barb’s Directors, Nigel Sharrocks, Chair of Barb, says: “Joint-industry audience measurement provides critical evidence that supports a healthy media market. Never has it been so important for advertisers, media agencies, TV companies and regulators to have an independent source of truth that delivers comparable evidence for all players in the market. We’re thrilled Caroline is taking responsibility for building on the firm foundations we have in place. Her appointment testifies to the qualities of the Barb team, and its ability to help the industry navigate its way forward.” Caroline Baxter says: “Joint-industry measurement only works if everyone around the table trusts it. My priority is to make sure Barb continues to earn that trust — by staying independent, staying rigorous, and staying true to what the industry needs. Having had a front-row seat to Barb’s transformation over the past few years, I know better than most what we’re capable of and relish the opportunity to take the game on.” Barb’s current strategic priorities include extending the use of device data; maintaining a high-quality panel; full-cycle campaign optimisation for linear and streaming services through Barb Ads Hub; modernising data distribution and extending reporting of the content people watch. Barb is also committed to collaborating with ISBA and other joint-industry measurement bodies on meeting advertisers’ requirements for measuring audiences across all the platforms that people use to watch their favourite content. =========== Notes to editors Prior to joining Barb in 2022, Caroline worked at Kantar for 27 years, rising from Head of Project Management to Program Director UK & EMEA. Her appointment follows Barb’s announcement in November 2025 that it was starting a search for a new Chief Executive. This followed Justin Sampson’s decision to step down during 2026; he will leave Barb in September.