Born in Hertfordshire, England, Mark White joined the BBC in 1942. He was co-founder of "Jazz Octet" and transferred to the Variety Department as a Producer in 1945. Between 1945 and 1952 he was Assistant General Manager at the Empress Hall Earl's Court. He then rejoined the BBC in 1952 as a Producer and co-produced with John Hooper the first BBC Light Programme Festival of Dance Music. He was also a Producer for ITV. In 1970 he became head of Radio 1 and in 1972 became head of Radio 2.