Former deputy governor of Bank of England will lead BBC’s new unitary board, which will replace BBC Trust

Sir David Clementi, a former banker with no broadcasting experience, has been confirmed as the new chair of the BBC.

Theresa May has confirmed the appointment of Clementi, the preferred candidate put forward by culture secretary Karen Bradley, who will lead the corporation’s new unitary board that will replace the BBC Trust on 1 April.

“I am confident that Sir David will provide the strong leadership necessary for the BBC to remain the world’s best broadcaster,” said Bradley.

“Sir David will bring a wealth of experience to the role and was the strongest candidate in an extremely competitive and high-calibre field. He has extensive experience as a chairman in both the commercial and not-for-profit sector and has a strong regulatory and business background. I am confident that under his direction, the nation’s broadcaster will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Sir David Clementi: City grandee ready to do the business at the BBC Read more

Clementi, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England and chair of Prudential and Virgin Money, published a report in March calling for the BBC to have a unitary board consistent with the model used by large, publicly listed companies. The government adopted the recommendations of his report, which called the existing BBC Trust flawed and said it should hand oversight to the media regulator, Ofcom.

A string of leading candidates with broadcasting backgrounds ruled themselves out of running for the role – which, at £100,000, is relatively low-paid by City standards – but comes with heavy time demands and a high level of media attention.



Clementi is being paid £10,000 less than the BBC Trust chair role, which was held by former Financial Times chief executive Rona Fairhead and is being scrapped.

Clementi, who turns 68 next month, was chosen from a shortlist of three put to May over the Christmas and new year break. The other two on the shortlist were John Makinson, the chair of the book publisher Penguin Random House, and Deirdre Hutton, the chair of the Civil Aviation Authority. Clementi and Hutton are understood to have been the final two candidates considered by Bradley.

“The BBC is a world-class broadcaster and one of the UK’s most beloved and cherished institutions. It would be a great honour to join the BBC at an important time in the organisation’s history,” said Clementi.

Tony Hall, the BBC director general, said: “I am delighted that Sir David Clementi has been announced as the preferred candidate. I am really looking forward to working with him.”



Hall previously voiced concerns over the culture department’s Clementi-report-influenced white paper on the BBC, which initially gave it the power to appoint the majority of members to the 14-strong unitary board.

A change to the proposals means that as well as the chair, the government will also be responsible for appointing four non-executive board members representing each of the devolved nations. Crucially, Clementi will be a member of the nominations committee to appoint five non-executive members. The BBC will appoint four executive members, including the director general.

The culture, media and sport select committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing with Clementi next Tuesday.



Committee member John Nicolson, a Scottish National party MP, said Clementi would receive a “proper grilling” on topics including the BBC’s independence and his views on media plurality, given Fox’s proposed takeover bid for Sky.

“The committee is going to want to be assured that he will defend the BBC’s independence from political interference,” he said. “We want to make sure he is appointed properly, independently and that he guarantees BBC editorial independence. All of us want to make sure he is the right man for the job.”

The government sought to find a new chair for the unitary board after Fairhead, the chair of the BBC Trust who was handed the role by David Cameron in May, stood down after May indicated she would have to apply again for the role.

Sir Michael Lyons, a former BBC Trust chairman, said that while Clementi had proved himself astute in the City he needed to recognise the BBC was not the same as a publicly listed company.

“What’s important is that Clementi focuses on making sure the BBC serves the people who pay for it: the British public,” he said. “That means recognising it is not simply a big communications company. That it has an obligation to challenge power – economic or political – and most of all that its future depends upon the extent to which the British public trust it. All those things are entrusted to the new chairman. It is more complex than a simple business with a profit and loss sheet to be reflected on. That is the agenda for him.”

Fairhead said: “Hearty congratulations to Sir David for becoming the government’s preferred candidate for the new BBC chairmanship. I wish him, the new board and the BBC every possible success.”

Top of the agenda for Clementi will be to work hand-in-hand with Hall to set the strategy and editorial direction of the BBC and implement cost savings of £800m by 2020.

