Former banker Richard Sharp to take over as BBC chairman
Jewish ex-Goldman Sachs employee, who was once the boss of Chancellor Rishi Sunak, will take the helm at the national broadcaster
Former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp will succeed Sir David Clementi as BBC chairman, BBC News has said.
His appointment comes amid a debate about the BBC licence fee and how the broadcaster is facing competition from streaming services.
Mr Sharp, who was once Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s boss, will take over from Sir David, who will stand down in February, according to BBC media editor Amol Rajan.
Mr Sharp is the son of Lord Sharp of Grimsdyke, the former Eric Sharp, who was first knighted and then given a life peerage for his services as chair of the energy company, Cable and Wireless, between 1980 and 1990.
Eric Sharp married the former Marion Freedman in 1950 and the couple, who were members of Westminster Synagogue, had three children: Richard, Nicola, who died in 1982, and Victoria, who, as Dame Victoria Sharp, is president of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court in England and Wales.
Richard Sharp married an American, also named Victoria, in 1987 in Connecticut. He has spent most of his career in banking, starting with the city banker JP Morgan, and then more than 20 years with the Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs, where he was boss to the future chancellor, Rishi Sunak.
Names previously linked with the post include former chancellor George Osborne and ex-editor of the Daily Telegraph Charles Moore, who reportedly ruled himself out.
The new chairman will work closely with new director-general Tim Davie, who is the former chief executive of the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Studios.
He took over from Lord Tony Hall in September and said the corporation needs to keep reforming “with urgency” and stressed it must be “a universal public service”.
The broadcaster currently faces scrutiny over equal pay, diversity, free TV licences for the over-75s and competition from streaming services such as Netflix, as well as the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
