Jowell names OFCOM Board

The inaugural Board of embryonic communications regulator OFCOM has been named by the Government.
New Deputy Chairman Richard Hooper, currently Chair of the Radio Authority, joins David Edmonds, Director General of Oftel, former Channel Four News editor Sara Nathan and Urmila Banerjee, who has extensive public service experience, will relinquish her position as non-executive director of Channel Four to join OFCOM.
These four non-executive appointees join Chairman Lord David Currie on the Board, who took up his position in August.
Following a recommendation in Lord Puttnam's Joint Committee Report to extend the maximum size of the Board from six to nine members, the Government also propose to eventually make Professor of Journalism Ian Hargreaves a non-executive member along with two, as yet unnamed, executive members.
In announcing the appointments, Culture Minister Tessa Jowell said: “I am delighted that the Board of OFCOM is now complete and can start on the important job of creating a fully converged, world-class regulator for the communications industry.”
Lord Currie added: “A key task for the new Board will be to build a successful organisation that can deploy many of the different skills that currently reside in the five existing regulators in an integrated way. As Chairman, I am therefore delighted to see such a wealth of experience and expertise represented on the new Board. I have every confidence that the OFCOM Board can deliver on the demanding agenda that Parliament and Ministers will set for us.”
The Board, who all share extensive media, public service and business experience, will be responsible for recruiting OFCOM's first Chief Executive.
Initially, the time commitment of the non-executive members of the OFCOM Board is expected to be up to two days per week, for which they will receive £30,000 a year.
(GB)