In the latest news to rock the BBC, board member Shumeet Banerji announced on Friday that he would be resigning from his post.
Banerji cited “governance issues”, as a reason for his departure, saying in a letter that he was “not consulted” about the events leading up to the resignations of the director general, Tim Davie, and BBC News chief executive, Deborah Turness.
He had held the position since 2022.
Davie’s departure on earlier this month stemmed from a scandal concerning the editing of a speech by US President Donald Trump prior to the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
The BBC board, which is led by non-executive chair Samir Shah, now comprises nine members, with the director-general also serving on the board and chairing the executive committee.
Some roles and responsibilities differ, but non-executive directors on the BBC board are mainly responsible for upholding and protecting the independence of the BBC by acting in the public interest and exercising independent judgment.
Non-executive directors receive a base fee of £33,000 per annum.
Who is Shumeet Banerji?
Banerji was a non-executive director at the corporation.
He is the founder of Condorcet, an advisory and investment firm focused on early and development stage technology companies.
In 2012 he stepped down as chief executive of consulting firm Booz And Company.
Banerji has also served on the board of directors of Hewlett Packard Company since 2011, is an independent director of Indian technology company Jio Platforms Limited, and is a member of the board of directors of Felix Pharmaceuticals, as well as the panel of senior advisers of Chatham House.
Here are the nine remaining members who make up the BBC board:
Sir Damon Buffini – Deputy chairman and chairman of the BBC commercial board
Sir Damon Buffini is the board’s deputy chairman and is also the chairman of the BBC commercial board, leading the delivery of the corporation’s commercial ambitions.
He was a founding partner of alternative asset manager Permira, where he was chairman and managing partner from 1997 to 2010, and remained a partner at the company until the end of 2015, completing a 27-year career with the firm.
In 2020, Sir Damon was appointed as chairman of the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which was granted and invested to ensure the survival and sustainability of the UK’s culturally significant organisations.
The board member is also currently chairman of the Royal National Theatre, and has served on many other boards, including Hugo Boss AG, Wellcome Trust, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Schroders PLC.
Sir Robbie Gibb – Member for England
Sir Robbie Gibb worked as a broadcast journalist at BBC News, as head of BBC Westminster and editor of Live Political Programmes, as well as deputy editor of BBC Two’s Newsnight.
He left the BBC in 2017 to become director Of communications at Number 10 Downing Street, stepping down in 2019.
Sir Robbie, who is the Westminster chairman of the Leeds United Supporters Club, also previously worked as an editorial advisor to GB News until October 2020.
Muriel Grey – Member for Scotland
Muriel Gray was appointed as chairwoman of the board of governors of Glasgow School of Art in 2013, the first woman to be appointed as chairperson.
She stepped down from the role in 2021. During her tenure two major fires significantly damaged the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed Mackintosh Building.
Gray started her career as a broadcaster, and first came to public attention as one of the hosts of Channel 4’s popular music programme The Tube, and also appeared on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 4 in the 80s.
She was the first female rector of the University of Edinburgh and has published a series of horror novels, including The Trickster and Furnace.
Chris Jones – Non-executive director
Chris Jones is a chartered accountant who was a senior audit partner at PwC specialising in the audit of banks and other financial services companies.
Since May 2020, Jones has been an independent non-executive director, audit committee chairman and a member of the risk committee of Legal And General Investment Management, and is also a non-executive director of Legal And General Assurance Limited.
He has been a member of the audit and risk committee of The Wellcome Trust since September 2016, and a board member of the Audit Committee Chair’s Independent Forum since January 2019.
Jones is a past president of the Association Of Corporate Treasurers and chaired their advisory board from 2010 to 2018, and from March 2015 to September 2023.
He was also an independent non-executive director, audit committee chair and a member of the risk committee of Santander UK.
Michael Plaut – Member for Wales
Michael Plaut is a Welsh business leader who has advised governments in both Westminster and Cardiff Bay on the Welsh economy and Welsh business.
Plaut has appeared regularly in the media commenting on business and economic issues pertaining to Wales, he is a former chairman of CBI Wales, current chairman of the Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama, and a governor of the University Of South Wales.
He started his career as an investment banker in London before returning to Wales, and has an OBE for services to business and entrepreneurship.
Michael Smyth – Member for Northern Ireland
Michael Smyth was a partner at international law firm Clifford Chance and head of the firm’s government and public policy practice for 20 years.
His textbook on Business and the Human Rights Act was one of the first of its kind and he is joint author of works on political donations and sanctions law.
Smyth has also been senior independent director at the Legal Services board, the oversight regulator for the legal profession, and a member of the Press Complaints Commission.
He is also non-executive chairman of Glastry Advisory Partners, a music management company.
Marinella Soldi – Non-executive director
Marinella Soldi is a non-executive director at digital payments company, Nexim, thermal solutions company, Ariston, and a delegate member of mutual insurance company, Reale Mutua.
Until August 2024, Soldi was non-executive chairwoman of the board of directors at Italian public broadcaster Rai, appointed in July 2021 by the Draghi government, and was also a member of the board of directors of European Broadcasting Union until the end of her term at Rai.
She was born in Italy and grew up in London, and spent five years in senior roles at MTV Networks Europe in London and Milan.
Leigh Tavaziva – Chief operating officer
Leigh Tavaziva sits on both the BBC board and executive committee, as well as the commercial board, and has responsibility at board level for key functions such as finance, operations and commercial.
Her previous roles have included managing director of customer operations at British Gas and group director of strategy and transformation at Centrica.
Earlier in her career, Tavaziva worked in the theatre as a classical ballerina and then contemporary dance artist, working in the USA, Europe and Africa.
She was paid between £465,000 and £469,999 as of July 2025.
Caroline Thomson – Senior independent director
As senior independent director, Caroline Thomson meets regularly with the chief executive and chair of the BBC to offer thoughts and advice on reputational, editorial and policy matters, she also acts as the independent point of contact for any board-led investigations put in place.
Thomson has had a long career in the media, arts and public service in the UK, serving as a member of the BBC’s Executive Committee, ending as chief operating officer when she stepped down in 2012.
For 10 years she chaired Digital UK, now Everyone TV, the body responsible for digital terrestrial television, and was a director of the media group, Cumberland News.
In the arts world, she has been chief executive, a trustee and now deputy chairwoman of the English National Ballet, a trustee of the National Gallery Trust and, until 2016, was deputy chairwoman of the National Gallery.
She lives with her husband, Lord Liddle of Carlisle, in north-west Cumbria.
