CNN taps Mark Thompson as new CEO after he allegedly covered up pedophilia scandal at BBC during 2004-12 term

While Thompson has accomplished a great deal during his decades-long career, he has also faced a fair amount of controversy. Most notably, at the tail end of his 8-year stint at the British state broadcaster, he became embroiled in a scandal after the network nixed a segment about an investigation into longtime presenter and accused pedophile Jimmy Savile.

The segment was slated to air on BBC's Newsnight program in 2011, but was cancelled by higher-ups. Thompson denied having been privy to the decision, saying he was "never formally notified about the 'Newsnight' investigation and was not briefed about the allegations they were examining and to what extent, if at all, those allegations related to Savile's work at the BBC."

Nonetheless, as the director general, he faced criticism from members of the public and politicians alike. During one parliamentary hearing on the issue, MP Roger Gale questioned how Thompson could "not know what was going on under his own roof."

Former Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairman John Whittingdale pointed out, however, that testimony from those involved in the decision-making process revealed that the director general typically "doesn't get dragged into these things."

After finding out about the canceled segment, Thompson contacted other executives, who told him they "had decided not to proceed with it on journalistic grounds."

Upon leaving the BBC to head the New York Times in 2012, the American newspaper's then-chairman Arthur Sulzberger said he believed Thompson "played no role in the cancellation of the segment."

Savile, who died in 2011, was accused of sexually abusing hundreds of children during his decades-long career, most of which was spent at the BBC, where he presented a slew of popular programs.

An investigation into his crimes was launched in 2012 by the Metropolitan Police, with a documentary by ITV released that same year.