Unbeknownst to Ryan, he turned out to be Channel 4 chairman Ian Cheshire.
Watch on Deadline
But it was Mahon who presided over it all.
The Channel 4 CEO regularly danced between the stage and the front row to introduce speakers she helped book.
Alex Mahon at RTS CambridgeRTS
RTS CEO Theresa Wisepraised herpower to convene the industry.
There has long been talk that theRTS CambridgeConvention could be Mahons Channel 4 swansong.
Having saved Channel 4 from privatization in January, senior industry figures gossiped about potential suitors.
More recently, ITV and Chloe, the French fashion house, have been mooted as potential destinations.
Mahon was unequivocal when Deadline asked Channel 4 for comment.
This is nonsense, she said.
Her colleagues agree that she has not given any concrete indication of her desire to leave Channel 4.
Mahon is a source of speculation because her future matters.
An ad market slump whichdoes not appear to be meaningfully improving forced the company into a commissioning slowdown.
It wascriticized by producersfor communicating these issues sluggishly and thenannouncing record pay for its top team.
Delivering her RTS Cambridge opening keynote, Mahon had a sobering message for her colleagues.
We are fighting for our business lives, she said.
Mahon is still in that fight for now.
