Veteran businessman Ian Cheshire has been appointed the next chair of U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, media regulator Ofcom revealed on Sunday. Cheshire will join the broadcaster’s board on Apr. 11, succeeding interim chair Dawn Airey.
Cheshire is currently chair of Spire Healthcare plc, chair of the environmental investment trust Menhaden plc, and a non-executive director of BT plc. He is also chair of the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund, and of the Mental Health at Work leadership council. He was group chief executive of Kingfisher plc from 2008-2015 and before that he was chief executive of B&Q from 2005. He has also served as chair of Barclays U.K., the British Retail Consortium, Debenhams plc and Maisons Du Monde SA, and as senior independent director at Whitbread plc.
In public service roles, he was lead non-executive director at the Cabinet Office, has chaired the Ecosystem Markets Task Force, the Economy Honours Committee and currently chairs the independent Food Farming and Countryside Commission. He has several awards, including lifetime contributions to retailing and green business.
Cheshire will take up his role at a time when Channel 4 is awaiting a government decision regarding its privatization, which was proposed last year and has gone through an industry consultation process. The government is yet to announce a decision, which, if it goes through, would significantly alter the remit of Channel 4, a publicly owned not-for-profit corporation.
Cheshire was knighted in 2014 for services to business, sustainability and the environment and is a Chevalier of the Ordre National du Merite of France. His appointment for a three-year term has been approved by U.K. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.
None of the people involved in the process addressed the privatization issue directly in their prepared statements.
Dorries said: “I am delighted to approve Sir Ian Cheshire to be the new chair of Channel 4. Sir Ian has an impressive record at the helm of some of Britain’s biggest businesses and I am confident his proven leadership will help Channel 4 go from strength to strength and ensure it thrives long into the future amid a time of rapid change for the sector.”
Maggie Carver, Ofcom’s interim chair, said: “Sir Ian is a terrific appointment for Channel 4. He has a distinguished track record in both public and private service, and will ensure the highest standards of governance and accountability as a hugely experienced chair of other major boards. I would like to thank Dawn Airey for serving so brilliantly as Channel 4’s interim chair since January, and Charles Gurassa for his excellent six years of service before that.”
Cheshire said: “I am excited to be joining Channel 4 at this vitally important time for public service broadcasting. As it transforms for a new era of media consumption, I look forward to helping Channel 4 deliver for viewers right across the U.K. for many years to come.”