Diane Coyle, Vice Chairman

"I’ve always valued the BBC, not least as the best provider of news coverage in the world. Its impartiality and comprehensive coverage underpin its vital civic role.

"As an economist who specialises in new technologies and someone with experience in journalism, I hope I bring an outward-looking perspective to the BBC to help it use and invest its resources for the benefit of both licence fee payers and the wider creative industry.

"The BBC has a crucial role to play in making people comfortable with using new technologies, and in using its scale to the advantage of others in the industry, as it has with HDTV for example."

About Diane

Born and raised in the North West, Diane was educated at Oxford and Harvard, where she did a PhD in economics. She has worked as an economist and journalist.

Economics editor for The Independent for eight years, she left in 2001 to set up her own consultancy specialising in the economics of new technologies.

Diane was a member of the Competition Commission from 2001 to 2009, which has given her extensive experience in understanding how markets work and how to make competition serve consumers. She has also written many popular books on economics.

In 2009, Diane was awarded the OBE for services to economics. She lives in London and is married to BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

A BBC Trustee since November 2006, Diane was appointed as Vice Chairman from May 2011.