New Head of BBC Trust

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

You show me a capitalist, and I'll show you a bloodsucker
Malcolm X

Fairhead's early business career was spent at Bain & Company and Morgan Stanley in the 1980s before she moved to British Aerospace as an independent consultant in 1991. Later in 1991 she moved to Short Brothers shortly after it was bought by Bombardier Inc. She rose to become vice-president for corporate strategy and public affairs in 1994 and then vice-president, UK aerospace services in 1995.

In 1996, she became director of planning and acquisitions for Imperial Chemical Industries before joining the company's executive management team as executive vice-president for planning and communications in 1997, and continuing as executive vice-president for strategy and control from 1998 to 2001. From 2002 to 2006, Fairhead served as chief financial officer for Pearson PLC.[1]

Fairhead moved to the Financial Times Group (a subsidiary of Pearson) in 2006 as chief executive. She also serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several large corporations, including HSBC Holdings and as a "business ambassador" for UK Trade & Investment.[

there will shortly be no there there i think

[french frank]

Well, I readily admit to finding it difficult to understand how relevant qualifications for being head of the BBC Trust are having a successful, high-flying career in multinational business and the "accident" of being of a particular gender.

I'm simply stating what has been said to explain the lady's appointment.

Complete cop-out. How could you question her qualifications as not being relevant, if you can't say what qualifications would be relevant?

Maybe the even more successful Sir Alec Ferguson might have been offered the job if he hadn't been of the unqualified gender ... ?

I deleted the second paragraph from my previous post, suggesting as it did that you might consider her unqualified by being of "a particular gender", but I deleted it as I thought that might be mere prejudice on my part and quite unjustified

A chairman chairs meetings, acts as a figurehead and makes speeches. I'm sure she is qualified to do that. Don't expect any chairman to be the saviour of the BBC.

[subcontrabass]

What relevant qualifications would you like to see?

Perhaps some visible interest in what the BBC does? Debrett's lists her interests as "skiing, flying, scuba diving, family" and her sole club membership as "Bournemouth Flying".

[french frank]

Perhaps some visible interest in what the BBC does? Debrett's lists her interests as "skiing, flying, scuba diving, family" and her sole club membership as "Bournemouth Flying".

I think there are probably few 'private' individuals' who have taken visible interest in what the BBC does in such a general way (oh, yes, I did briefly think of applying ) unless they have been employees at some time (Grade):

Trust Chairmen

Patten [Acting Diane Coyle]
Lyons
[Grade, Acting Chitra Bharucha]

Chair of Governors

Grade
Davies [Acting Lord Ryder]
Sir C Bland
Marmaduke Hussey, Lord Hussey
Stuart Young
George Howard, Lord Howard
Sir M Swann
Lord Hill

and so on back ...

The inference is that when people have reached the 'top of some sort of tree', they have demonstrated their ability to handle a range of very different responsibilities. The role of the Trust has been defined in such a way that it is clearly distinct from (if not evidently always independent of!) BBC managers and the Executive Board who run the BBC. One would not expect a Director-General to have no experience of broadcasting/the BBC: that doesn't apply to the chairman.

[antongould]

IMVHO ff the inference is wrong.....

[mercia]

"watching TV a lot" probably wouldn't look good as a Who's Who hobby entry [hints at a couch potato lifestyle] - but probably essential for a BBC governing-type (?)

[french frank]

IMVHO ff the inference is wrong.....

Just pointing out that it is a very widely held practice. Remember when Mrs T kept appointing that person whom Bishop Jenkins called 'an imported elderly American' to run things.

[french frank]

"watching TV a lot" probably wouldn't look good as a Who's Who hobby entry [hints at a couch potato lifestyle] - but probably essential for a BBC governing-type (?)

But I think Patten agreed he'd have to do it after he was appointed, rather than his being appointed because he'd watched a lot already. Being a Radio 3 listener was regarded by some as a disqualification.

[P. G. Tipps]

Complete cop-out. How could you question her qualifications as not being relevant, if you can't say what qualifications would be relevant?

No, it's you that's saying I 'can't say' what's relevant, not me. If I had the temerity to claim that David Cameron might not have the qualifications to, say, coach Andy Murray at tennis, I would not honestly expect to be challenged to offer any great explanation as to how I had arrived at that particular opinion?

Now that you insist, I would have thought relevant experience might entail being employed in a senior position in public service or a charitable trust, maybe something along those lines, rather than a high-flyer in private industry.? Unlike the Minister for Women and Equalities gender is entirely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. If the best man is a woman, fantastic, but if it turns out to be a man, that's just fine by me as well!

I deleted the second paragraph from my previous post, suggesting as it did that you might consider her unqualified by being of "a particular gender", but I deleted it as I thought that might be mere prejudice on my part and quite unjustified .

Well it may or may not have been prejudice on your part but, as it was indeed wholly incorrect and unjustified, you were certainly correct in deleting it.

A chairman chairs meetings, acts as a figurehead and makes speeches. I'm sure she is qualified to do that. Don't expect any chairman to be the saviour of the BBC.

Good heavens, I expect no such thing ... whether it turns out to be a chairman/woman/person or simply a 'chair'!

[amateur51]

No, it's you that's saying I 'can't say' what's relevant, not me. If I had the temerity to claim that David Cameron might not have the qualifications to, say, coach Andy Murray at tennis, I would not honestly expect to be challenged to offer any great explanation as to how I had arrived at that particular opinion?

Now that you insist, I would have thought relevant experience might entail being employed in a senior position in public service or a charitable trust, maybe something along those lines, rather than a high-flyer in private industry.? Unlike the Minister for Women and Equalities gender is entirely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. If the best man is a woman, fantastic, but if it turns out to be a man, that's just fine by me as well!



Well it may or may not have been prejudice on your part but, as it was indeed wholly incorrect and unjustified, you were certainly correct in deleting it.



Good heavens, I expect no such thing ... whether it turns out to be a chairman/woman/person or simply a 'chair'!

Surely the role of Chair of a Committee is a role within the group, rather than being an expert on the organisation.The expertise should be held by the other members of the Committee.

[french frank]

The BBC Executive Board is the top tier of management, which runs the broadcasting side of the BBC. The BBC Trust is 'above' it in being responsible for ensuring that the interests of licence fee payers are safeguarded, particularly that the public funds raised by the licence fee are being used efficiently and appropriately by managers. That is why economics and business experience are considered to be 'relevant qualifications'.

For further, I refer you to aeolium's post .

[P. G. Tipps]

According to the BBC Trust's own website the Trust 'is the sovereign body within the BBC'. It appoints the BBC Director-General. It sets the 'strategic objectives' for the BBC. The Executive Board is expected to run the organisation in line with these objectives. The chairman of the BBC Trust is presumably responsible for hiring fellow-directors and altering the directorship structure between executive and non-executive if he/she deems that necessary.

Sounds pretty important to me.

[french frank]

Sounds pretty important to me.

I didn't say it wasn't important. I did say that the Trust was above the Executive Board i.e. it is the 'sovereign body'. I did say that its responsibilities included the use of the licence fee revenue, and that business and financial experience were 'relevant qualifications'.