Culture secretary Sajid Javid has named Rona Fairhead CBE as the preferred candidate for the BBC Trust Chairman.
Regarded as a city high flyer, Ms Fairhead, 53, is a non-executive director of HSBC and PepsiCo, and a former chairman and CEO of the Financial Times Group.
Before her appointment is officially confirmed she will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny on September 9. The hand of government can clearly be felt, Ms Fairhead is already a business ambassador on behalf of prime minister David Cameron, and previous names linked with the job included the Olympics mastermind and Conservative peer Lord Coe.
“Rona Fairhead is an exceptional individual with a highly impressive career history. Her experience of working with huge multinational corporations will undoubtedly be a real asset at the BBC Trust,” said Sajid Javid “I have no doubt she will provide the strong leadership the position demands and will prove to be a worthy champion of licence fee payers.”
Rona Fairhead said she was honoured to be leading such a great institution as the BBC. “I am under no illusions about the significance and the enormity of the job but I am excited to have the chance to lead the BBC through the coming years.”
The BBC is still dealing with the fallout from Jimmy Savile, the TV and radio personality, revealed after his death to be a sexual predator, and more traditional issues such as the future of the Licence Fee amid the shift from line
Ms Fairhead replaces Lord Patten, who was forced to step down due to ill health.
