BBC Board Member for Wales appointed
Elan Closs Stephens has been appointed as the BBC Board member for Wales
Government has today announced the appointment of the Wales representative for the new BBC Board following an open and competitive recruitment process. Elan Closs Stephens has been confirmed as the new BBC Board member for Wales.
Overall the new BBC Board, which is responsible for overseeing a strong and independent BBC, is made up of 14 members.
- A Chair appointed via a public appointments process coordinated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The selection panel for this appointment was chaired by a Public Appointments Assessor, nominated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments
- four non-executive board members representing Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, also appointed through a public appointments process coordinated by DCMS
- five non-executive board members appointed by the BBC Board
- four executive members appointed by the BBC, including the BBC Director General, Tony Hall
Elan Closs Stephens is Emeritus Professor of Communications and Creative Industries at Aberystwyth University. She specialises in cultural and broadcasting regulatory policy, chairing the Stephens Review into the Welsh Arts Council and serving as Chair of the British Council in Wales, as a Governor of the British Film Institute and, for two terms, as Chair of S4C, the Welsh Fourth Channel. Currently she serves as Electoral Commissioner for Wales.
Secretary of State for Culture, Digital and Sport, Karen Bradley said:
Elan Closs Stephens has a proven track record of nurturing talent and championing the creative industries across Wales. She brings a wealth of experience and I am sure that her appointment will be a positive step forward for the future of the BBC in Wales.
Elan Closs Stephens said:
I feel honoured to be selected as the BBC’s Non Executive Director for Wales at this exciting time of forming the new Board. I have two fundamental aspirations. I want to contribute to a robust governance of the BBC that helps make it one of the world’s most respected broadcasters. And I am committed to seeing Wales portrayed more fully to ourselves and to the UK.
Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:
I am delighted that Elan Closs Stephens has been appointed to the BBC Unitary Board. She brings with her a wealth of experience in the media and creative industries and she will ensure that the voice of the audience in Wales is represented loudly and clearly around the table.
The BBC is a great British institution that entertains and educates while helping to showcase the best of British around the world. I have no doubt that her appointment will prove to be a huge asset to the broadcaster and I wish her every success in the role.
ENDS
Media enquiries: DCMS Press Office 020 7211 6145
Notes to Editors:
Elan Closs Stephens is Emeritus Professor of Communications and Creative Industries at Aberystwyth University. During her time at Aberystwyth, she taught and supported numerous young people who have since had distinguished careers as writers, actors , directors and programme commissioners. She specialises in cultural and broadcasting regulatory policy, chairing the Stephens Review into the Welsh Arts Council and serving as Chair of the British Council in Wales, as a Governor of the British Film Institute and, for two terms, as Chair of S4C, the Welsh Fourth Channel. She is an Authority Member of S4C, until 31 October 2018. For the last six years until the end of the Charter, she has been the Wales Trustee on the BBC’s governing body, the BBC Trust. She is a Non Executive Director of the Permanent Secretary of Wales’s senior Board and has chaired the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee since 2008. She also chaired the Recovery Board for the Isle of Anglesey County Council. She received the Royal Warrant to act as Electoral Commissioner for Wales from April 2017.
Elan is a first language Welsh speaker from the Nantlle Valley in North Wales and a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2001 for services to broadcasting and the Welsh language. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. As set out in the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Elan Closs Stephens has declared no such political activity.
Under the terms of the BBC Royal Charter, appointment of the BBC Chair and board members is made by HM The Queen on recommendation from Ministers (the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, through the Prime Minister).