Category: BBC
Date: 29.07.2004
Printable version
Downing Street
today announced that Anthony Salz has been appointed Vice-Chairman
of the BBC and Richard Tait has been appointed a Governor of
the BBC.
Downing Street also announced that Dermot Gleeson
has been re-appointed for second four-year term of office as a Governor.
Separately, Sir Robert Smith, National Governor for
Scotland, has said that he will step down from the BBC Board of
Governors at the end of 2004.
Anthony Salz and Richard Tait will take up their posts
on 1 August, each for a four-year term.
Anthony Salz replaces Lord (Richard) Ryder of Wensum
who retired from the Board at the end of June 2004.
Richard Tait replaces Baroness (Sarah) Hogg who left
the Board in February 2004 at the end of her four-year term of office.
Dermot Gleeson's term of office will now run until
October 2008.
Commenting on the appointments, BBC Chairman Michael
Grade said: "I greatly welcome the appointments of Anthony Salz
and Richard Tait and look forward to working with them.
"Anthony Salz is among the most respected lawyers
in British corporate life and will bring a wealth of experience to the
BBC Board table. He is well qualified for the role of Vice-Chairman.
"There could be no better
time for Richard Tait to be joining the Board of Governors.
"His experience of broadcast journalism, on the
front line and in management, is second to none.
"His wise counsel will be particularly valuable
as the BBC implements the recommendations of the Neil Report and the
complaints handling review.
"I am pleased to be retaining
Dermot Gleeson on the Board for a further four years. He has demonstrated
real commitment to the BBC and will provide important continuity over
the next few years.
"We shall be very sorry to
lose Robert Smith who has been very influential as National Governor
for Scotland.
"I understand that Robert feels that the burden
of his external commitments means that remaining the BBC's National
Governor for Scotland is unsustainable beyond the end of this year."
Notes to Editors
Anthony Salz
Anthony Salz is currently the co-senior partner at
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
He has been a solicitor since 1974 and joined Freshfields
in 1975.
In his time there he has been head of its corporate
department (1994-1996) and head of its corporate finance practice (1990-1994).
His work has included projects in the broadcasting sector
such as the merger of BSB with Sky.
He was the first chairman of the Tate Gallery's Corporate
Advisory Group (1997-2002) and is a Trustee of the Tate Foundation.
He is also a Trustee of the Eden Project and a member
of the Business in the Community's Business Action on Homelessness Executive
Forum.
Richard Tait
Richard Tait is Professor of Journalism and Director
of the Centre for Journalism Studies, Cardiff University.
He was Editor-in-Chief of ITN from 1995 to 2002, and
Editor of ITN's Channel Four News from1987 to 1995.
Before joining ITN he had been Editor of The Money Programme,
Newsnight and the 1987 General Election Results Programme for BBC Television.
He is vice chairman of the International Press Institute,
and a Fellow of the Society of Editors and of the Royal Television Society.
He is a Trustee of the John Schofield Memorial Trust
and a Member of the Advisory Boards of the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund
and of the International News Safety Institute.
He was a member of the Government Communications Review
Group.
He is married with one daughter and lives in London.
Dermot Gleeson
Dermot Gleeson has been a BBC Governor since November
2000.
He is a member of the Audit Committee and the Property
Committee.
He joined the MJ Gleeson Group plc in 1982 and became
Chief Executive in 1988 and Chairman in 1994.
He has been a director of the Housing Corporation from
1990 to 1995 and of the Construction Industry Training Board from 1995
to 2002.
He is also Chairman of the Major Contractors Group.
Dermot was a former Head of the Home Affairs Section
of the Conservative Research Department and a member of Christopher
Tugendhat's cabinet in the European Commission from 1977 to 1979.
He was EEC representative of the Midland Bank in Brussels
from 1979 to 1981.
He is married with one son and one daughter.
Sir Robert Smith
Sir Robert Smith has been the BBC's National Governor
for Scotland since August 1999.
He is Chairman of the Programme Complaints Committee
and member of the Audit Committee, Property Committee and Councils and
Advisory Bodies Committee.
He is also the Chairman of BBC Children in Need.
He is currently Chairman of the Weir Group plc, Deputy
Chairman of Scottish and Southern Energy plc and holds non-executive
directorships with the Standard Bank Group Ltd and Aegon UK plc.
He is a member of the Judicial Appointments Board for
Scotland and on the Board of Trustees of the British Council.
He is a past President of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of Scotland.
In January 2003 he published the Smith report on Audit
Committees on behalf of the Financial Reporting Council.
