I’m delighted to have been able to put together such a talented board with a broad range of skills and experience who will be able to ensure the BBC remains a first class broadcaster. The Board will push the BBC to offer the highest quality, hold its executives to account on delivery, while protecting its independence to ensure licence fee payers get the very best programmes and services. Sir David Clementi, Chairman of the BBC
The five non-executive directors are Simon Burke , Tanni Grey-Thompson , Ian Hargreaves , Tom Ilube and Nicholas Serota .
Sir David Clementi , Chairman of the BBC, said: “I’m delighted to have been able to put together such a talented board with a broad range of skills and experience who will be able to ensure the BBC remains a first class broadcaster.
“The Board will push the BBC to offer the highest quality, hold its executives to account on delivery, while protecting its independence to ensure licence fee payers get the very best programmes and services.”
The BBC executives joining Tony Hall , Director-General, on the Board are Anne Bulford , Ken MacQuarrie and Tim Davie.
On the appointment of the BBC executives, Sir David said: “Under the new Charter, four members of the Board must be executive directors, and this number must include the BBC’s Director-General.
“Reporting to the Director-General is a senior team including Anne Bulford, Tim Davie, James Harding, Mark Linsey, Charlotte Moore, Ken MacQuarrie and James Purnell. All of them will regularly attend Board meetings.
“Anne Bulford is the Deputy Director-General with responsibility for the BBC’s finance and operations. In view of the Board’s central responsibility for financial stewardship of the Corporation, Anne will join the Board.
“Ken MacQuarrie will also join the Board. Ken is the executive director responsible for the Nations and Regions. Oversight of the BBC’s public service obligations in the Nations and Regions will form an important part of the agenda of the new Board, and Ken will work closely with the Government-appointed members for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“In addition, Tim Davie will join the Board. Tim is the Chief Executive Officer of BBC Worldwide, which is an important part of the BBC’s commercial portfolio and whose success will be critical to the Corporation during the new Charter period.”
Sir David concluded: “Consideration around succession planning has played no part in the Board appointments being announced today.”
The BBC appointments announced today follow the recent announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that Steve Morrison and Dr Ashley Steel are the Board members for Scotland and England respectively. Members for Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to be appointed.
BBC Press Office
1: As agreed under the new Royal Charter , a unitary Board will replace the two-tier structure of the BBC Trust and the BBC’s Executive Board as the Corporation’s governing body from 3 April 2017.
2: The Board is responsible for ensuring the BBC fulfils its mission and public purposes as set out in the Charter. This includes setting the strategic direction for the BBC; the creative remit; budgets for UK public services and the World Service ; a framework to assess performance; standards for editorial and creative output and services; a framework for handling complaints; a policy on the distribution of UK public services; and a strategy and governance arrangements for the BBC’s commercial activities. The Board will also consider any proposals for material changes to UK public services or trading activities and commercial activities.
3: Sir David Clementi was appointed Chair of the Board by HM The Queen on recommendation of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport through the Prime Minister.
4: Including the Chairman, the new BBC Board will consist of 14 members of which four non-executive members are appointed by DCMS to represent each of the nations of the UK. The BBC appointed the further five non-executive members and the four BBC executives including the BBC Director-General, Tony Hall.
5: Following today’s appointments, the new Board of the BBC will be:
Non-Executives, appointed by the BBC:
Nations Directors, appointed by The Queen in Council:
The members for Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to be appointed.
Executive Directors, appointed by the BBC:
6: Tony Hall and Anne Bulford will be permanent members of the Board. Tim Davie and Ken MacQuarrie have each been appointed for a two-year term.
7: Simon Burke has been appointed for a two year term; Tom Ilube and Ian Hargreaves have been appointed for three year terms, Nicholas Serota and Tanni Grey-Thompson have been appointed for four year terms.
8: The BBC’s non-executive appointments were made following an open advertisement and interview process. The selection panel consisted of Sir David Clementi, Professor Elan Closs Stephens, a current Trustee of the BBC, and Dame Sue Street, who was appointed the independent panel member and is a former Permanent Secretary of the DCMS.
9: Non-executive directors will be paid £33,000 p.a., a rate which is set by the Secretary of State. The BBC executives do not receive any extra payment for being a member of the Board.
Simon Burke is an experienced retail and consumer executive and has managed some of the best-known retail names in the UK. He trained as a chartered accountant before joining Virgin, where he held various positions, including CEO of Virgin Retail, Virgin Cinemas, and Virgin Entertainment Group. He has been Chairman or Chief Executive of retail brands such as Hamleys, Majestic Wine, Superquinn, the iconic Irish supermarket chain, Hobbycraft and Bathstore.com, as well as Mitchells & Butlers, the FTSE 250 pub and restaurant business. Currently Simon is chairman of Blue Diamond, the garden centre retailer, and of The Light Cinema Group. He is also a director of the Co-Operative Group and the food producer Bakkavor. He is currently a member of the BBC Executive Board, and Chairman of the Audit Committee
Simon Burke said: “It is an honour to work with an organisation as prestigious and loved as the BBC. I am really delighted to be moving across to the new Board and looking forward to addressing the opportunities and challenges of our new Charter.”
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE has been a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords since 2010. Her Paralympian career saw her compete in five Paralympic Games winning 16 medals in total. Baroness Grey-Thompson has sat on the boards of the National Disability Council, the Sports Council for Wales and UK Sport, and currently sits on the boards of TfL and the London Legacy Development Corporation. Her charity appointments include being board members of The Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Sportsaid and The Tennis Foundation.
Tanni Grey-Thompson said: “I am delighted to be asked to join the Board of the BBC at this exciting time of challenge and opportunity. I have grown up as an avid fan of the BBC (and been fortunate over time to work for them in various guises), and the world is changing at a rapid pace and competition is stronger than ever. I want the BBC to be a strong part of the future of broadcasting across the UK and around the world.”
Ian Hargreaves CBE is Professor of Digital Economy at Cardiff University. He has spent most of his career in the news industry where his roles included Deputy Editor of the Financial Times, Editor of the Independent, Editor of the New Statesman and Director of BBC News and Current Affairs. He was a founding board member of Ofcom.
Ian Hargreaves said: "I am delighted to join the BBC Board under the leadership of David Clementi at a time when the BBC's distinctive mission is of growing importance. I look forward to playing my part in working for an independent and creatively outstanding BBC."
Tom Ilube is a technology entrepreneur and educational philanthropist. He is currently CEO of cyber security firm Crossword Cybersecurity plc and has previously founded several start up technology businesses. His 30-year career in the UK technology sector includes roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs and the London Stock Exchange. In his educational work, Tom is Chair of ADA College, the new National College for Digital Skills and the African Science Academy, the continent's first all-girls science and maths school.
Tom Ilube said: "I am truly honoured to be joining the new BBC Board. At a time of great digital change I am excited about the opportunity to share my technology experience with my colleagues."
Sir Nicholas Serota is Chair of Arts Council England and Director of Tate, from which he will retire at the end of May. During his period as Director (1988-2017), Tate has opened Tate St Ives and Tate Modern, redefining the Millbank building as Tate Britain. Sir Nicholas has been a member of the Visual Arts Advisory Committee of the British Council, a Trustee of the Architecture Foundation and a commissioner on the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. He was a member of the Olympic Delivery Authority which was responsible for building the Olympic Park in East London for 2012. He is currently a member of the BBC Executive Board.
Nicholas Serota said: “The BBC occupies a central place in the cultural life of the UK and presents our voice and our face to the world. It is an enormous privilege to be invited to contribute to the development of the BBC at a time when the arts, culture and creative industries are so vibrant across the UK and so admired on the international stage.”
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