BBC board: The 10 people tasked with appointing new director-general
The BBC board has been the subject of much controversy as it seeks to appoint the corporation’s next chief executive following the recent resignation of Tim Davie.
Sir Robbie Gibb, a board member, came under harsh criticism in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to sack Gibb, branding him a “fellow Conservative”.
However, Starmer declined to comment on “individual BBC broadcasts”.
Davie’s departure on Sunday stemmed from the scandal surrounding the editing of a speech that US President Donald Trump gave before the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The BBC board, led by non-executive chairman Samir Shah, consists of 10 members, and the chief executive also serves on the board and chairs the executive committee.
Although some roles and responsibilities vary, non-executive directors on the BBC board are primarily responsible for maintaining and protecting the BBC’s independence by acting in the public interest and exercising independent judgment.
Non-executive directors receive a basic salary of £33,000 per year.
Here are the 10 members who make up the BBC board:
Shumeet Banerji – Non-executive director
Shumeet Banerji is the founder of Condorcet, a consulting and investment firm focused on early and development-stage technology companies.
In 2012, he resigned as managing director of consulting firm Booz And Company.
Banerji has also served on the board of directors of Hewlett Packard Company since 2011, is an independent director of Indian technology company Jio Platforms Limited, and is a member of the board of directors of Felix Pharmaceuticals as well as Chatham House’s panel of senior advisors.
Sir Damon Buffini – deputy chairman and chairman of the BBC commercial board
Sir Damon Buffini is deputy chairman of the board and chairman of the BBC commercial board, leading the company to deliver on its commercial objectives.
He was a co-founder of alternative asset manager Permira, where he was president and managing partner from 1997 to 2010, and remained a partner at the firm until the end of 2015, capping his 27-year career at the firm.
In 2020, Sir Damon was appointed chairman of the Culture Recovery Fund, which is worth £2 billion awarded and invested to ensure the survival and sustainability of the UK’s culturally significant organisations.
The board member is also chairman of the Royal National Theater and has served on many boards, including Hugo Boss AG, Wellcome Trust, Royal Shakespeare Company and Schröders PLC.
Sir Robbie Gibb – Member for England
Sir Robbie Gibb worked as a broadcast correspondent for BBC News, head of BBC Westminster and editor of Live Political Programmes, as well as assistant editor of BBC Two’s Newsnight.
She left the BBC in 2017 to become communications director at Number 10 Downing Street, leaving the post in 2019.
Sir Robbie, who is Westminster chairman of Leeds United Supporters Club, also previously worked as editorial consultant for GB News until October 2020.
Muriel Gray – Member for Scotland
Muriel Gray was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Glasgow School of Art in 2013, becoming the first woman to be appointed chairman.
He left his post in 2021. During his tenure, two major fires significantly damaged the Mackintosh Building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Gray began his career as a broadcaster and first came to public attention as one of the presenters of Channel 4’s popular music program The Tube, and also appeared on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 4 in the 80s.
She was the first female chancellor of the University of Edinburgh and published a number of horror novels, including The Trickster and Furnace.
Chris Jones – non-executive director
Chris Jones is a chartered accountant who is a senior audit partner at PwC and specializes in the audit of banks and other financial services companies.
Jones has been an independent non-executive director, chair of the audit committee and member of the Legal and General Investment Management risk committee since May 2020, and is also a non-executive director of Legal And General Assurance Limited.
He has been a member of The Wellcome Trust’s audit and risk committee since September 2016 and a board member of the Audit Committee Chairperson’s Independent Forum since January 2019.
Jones is a former president of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and chaired its advisory board from 2010 to 2018 and from March 2015 to September 2023.
He was also an independent non-executive director, chairman of the audit committee and member of the risk committee at Santander UK.
Michael Plaut – Member for Wales
Michael Plaut is a Welsh business leader who advises governments in both Westminster and Cardiff Bay on the Welsh economy and Welsh business.
Plaut appeared regularly in the media commenting on business and economic issues relating to Wales. He is a former president of CBI Wales, current president of the Royal College of Music and Drama in Wales and governor of the University of South Wales.
He started his career as an investment banker in London before returning to Wales and holds an OBE for services to business and entrepreneurship.
Michael Smyth – Member for Northern Ireland
Michael Smyth was a partner at the international law firm Clifford Chance and headed the firm’s government and public policy practice for 20 years.
His textbook on Business and Human Rights Law was one of the first of its kind, and he has co-authored works on political donations and sanctions law.
Smyth has also been a senior independent director on the Legal Services board, the legal profession’s oversight regulator and a member of the Press Complaints Commission.
He is also the non-executive chairman of Glastry Advisory Partners, a music management company.
Marinella Soldi – non-executive director
Marinella Soldi is a non-executive director at digital payments company Nexim, a non-executive director at thermal solutions company Ariston and a delegate member of mutual insurer Reale Mutua.
Until August 2024, Soldi was non-executive chairman of the Italian public broadcaster Rai, appointed by the Draghi government in July 2021, and was also a board member of the European Broadcasting Union until the end of his tenure at Rai.
He was born in Italy and raised in London, and spent five years in senior roles at MTV Networks Europe in London and Milan.
Leigh Tavaziva – Director of Operations
Leigh Tavaziva sits on the BBC board and executive committee, as well as the commercial board, and is responsible for key functions such as finance, operations and commercial at board level.
His previous roles included general manager of customer operations at British Gas and group director of strategy and transformation at Centrica.
Earlier in her career, Tavaziva worked in the theater as a classical ballerina and then as a contemporary dance artist in the United States, Europe and Africa.
As of July 2025, he was paid between £465,000 and £469,999.
Caroline Thomson – Senior independent director
As senior independent director, Caroline Thomson meets regularly with the BBC’s chief executive and chairman to offer her thoughts and advice on reputational, editorial and policy matters; He also serves as an independent point of contact in investigations conducted by the board of directors.
Thomson has had a long career in media, arts and public services in the UK; He served as a member of the BBC’s Executive Committee and was chief operating officer when he resigned in 2012.
For 10 years he chaired Digital UK, now Everyone TV, the body responsible for digital terrestrial television, and was a director of media group Cumberland News.
In the art world, he has served as chief executive, trustee and currently deputy chairman of the English National Ballet, a trustee of the National Gallery Trust and, until 2016, deputy chairman of the National Gallery.
She lives in north-west Cumbria with her husband, Lord Liddle of Carlisle.
