After a period when his own position was in doubt following the phonehacking scandal, BSkyB chairman James Murdoch has announced the appointment of two new independent non-executive directors.
The appointments of Martin Gilbert and Matthieu Pigasse are part of a previously announced programme to replace directors as they retire.
Gilbert is a founder shareholder and chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management plc, the leading independent fund management group. He is a director of a number of investment trusts and chairman of First Group plc and was recently appointed as adjunct professor of finance at Imperial College’s Tanaka Business School.
Pigasse is chief executive officer of Lazard France and vice-chairman of Lazard Europe, where he has advised both national governments and a wide range of corporate clients in the European TMT sector. He is also the owner of the French publishing group, Les Inrockuptibles and a co-controlling shareholder of the leading newspaper publisher Le Monde and the French edition of the Huffington Post.
“Martin Gilbert and Matthieu Pigasse will bring wide-ranging expertise to BSkyB,” Murdoch said in a statement. “With backgrounds encompassing significant experience in UK public companies and the European media sector, they will complement and add to the existing skills of our Board.”
The two will take the places of David Evans and Allan Leighton who will step down immediately following this year’s Annual General Meeting on November 29.
