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New bbc chair to “confront hard choices” amid “tough” financials, wants to provide a “sanctuary”.

Samir Shah says he is joining the U.K. public broadcaster "at a crucial time."

By Georg Szalai

Georg Szalai

Global Business Editor

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Samir Shah started his work as the new chair of the BBC , the U.K. public broadcaster, on Monday. And he warned of tough choices ahead amid what he called a “tough financial position,” while also outlining his hope that the BBC could provide “a sanctuary” in an age of division.

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The BBC “must be the home of the most trusted news across the U.K. and, indeed, the world,” the new chair argued. “We must be the home for showcasing the full range of British culture and talent — geographically, of course, but also in terms of class and thought (in all its diversity), alongside race, gender and disability. And we must also simply be a home.”

Shah expanded on that point, explaining: “In a world where there are forces fracturing society, we should be a sanctuary for empathy and understanding. We are a thread that binds the fabric of society, a place where people from all walks of life, with every kind of view, can find something to enjoy.”

Given that the BBC’s work is financed via a license fee paid by taxpayers, “in the coming years there is going to be a national debate about how to fund what we do,” the new chair also argued. “Whatever our longer-term funding model, there are also nearer-term budgetary pressures and a clear imperative to invest in digital technology now.”

His warning: “But we will still need to live within our means in a tough financial situation. That involves thinking very hard about what we should stop doing or do very differently. My role — and that of the board — is to work with the organization as we confront hard choices and tough decisions.”

Concluded the new chair: “I’m confident that with your collective help, we will ensure the BBC continues to flourish now and for generations to come.”

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New BBC chairman will return to corporation after 25-year absence

Dr Samir Shah is a veteran of the television industry who has been celebrated for his work championing diversity and the role of BBC chairman will bring him back to the corporation for the first time since 1998.

After a short stint in the Home Office Intelligence Unit, he began his television career at London Weekend Television in 1979.

He first joined the BBC in 1987 to head its television current affairs and later ran the corporation’s political journalism department at Millbank.

In 1998, he left the broadcaster to take over production company Juniper TV, where he is chief executive and creative director.

Among Juniper’s current productions are Politics London for BBC London and The Political Slot for Channel 4, while the company won awards for The Qu’ran and for Bare Knuckle Boxers, about black boxers in Georgian England .

Dr Shah was made a CBE for services to television and heritage in 2019 and in February 2022 he was bestowed with the outstanding contribution award by the Royal Television Society (RTS) for commitment to diversity in television journalism.

He is a member of the Bafta board and a fellow of the RTS.

Away from television, he was chairman of the Museum of the Home and deputy chairman of the V&A museum, chairman of the Runnymede Trust, member of the Cultural Recovery Board (2020-2021); and of the Heritage Advisory Board in 2020.

He was born in India and came to England in 1960. He is married to Belkis with one son, Cimran.

Dr Shah will appear before MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny.

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Who is Samir Shah, the likely new BBC chairman?

The government has named the veteran TV executive Samir Shah as its choice for the role of BBC chairman following Richard Sharp’s resignation in April.

Shah has been formally confirmed as the preferred candidate of Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, for the three-day-a-week position, which pays a salary of £160,000.

A statement from Frazer said: “With a career spanning more than 40 years in TV production and journalism, Dr Shah has a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC chair. He has a clear ambition to see the BBC succeed in a rapidly changing media landscape and I have no doubt he will provide the support and scrutiny that the BBC needs to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.”

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Former jpmorgan banker joins pantera capital as coo.

Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.

Samir Shah, formerly JPMorgan Chase’s head of asset management sales, has left the bank to take up the position of chief operating officer at cryptocurrency-focused investment firm Pantera Capital.

Shah said on a LinkedIn post that after “12 fantastic years with JPMorgan” spanning roles in sales, strategy and digital, it was time to start a new professional chapter.

“As for my next step, I am thrilled to share that I will be joining Pantera Capital as chief operating officer. Pantera is one of the industry’s leading investors in blockchain technology, and I’m excited to partner with Dan Morehead, Joey Krug and the broader Pantera team to help take the organization to new heights!” Shah said in his post.

Shah follows a well-trodden path from Wall Street into crypto. At the beginning of May, Christine Moy, a longtime crypto and blockchain lead at JPMorgan, left the bank to become head of digital assets at private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

In early April, Pantera announced plans to close a blockchain fund with about $1.3 billion in committed capital.

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Samir Shah to be appointed as next chair of BBC

Veteran TV executive to replace Richard Sharp, who resigned after breaching rules over loan to Boris Johnson

The veteran TV executive Samir Shah is set to be appointed as the next chair of the BBC.

Shah, 71, who has previously served as a non-executive director at the broadcaster and was the co-author of the government commission’s controversial racial disparities report in 2021, has been announced as the culture secretary’s “preferred candidate” for the three-days-a-week position, which pays a salary of £160,000.

Before being appointed to the role, Shah will be questioned by a cross-party group of MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee, at a hearing expected to be held next Wednesday.

The culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, said Shah’s 40 years of experience in TV production and journalism gave him “a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC chair”.

She added that Shah’s “knowledge of the BBC and his belief in its role as a national broadcaster alongside his extensive work to promote diversity in broadcasting will be invaluable in helping to ensure that the BBC reflects, represents and serves communities across the whole of the UK.”

Shah succeeds Sharp, who resigned as BBC chair in April after he breached rules on public appointments in connection to a secret £800,000 loan made to Boris Johnson. Frazer thanked Dame Elan Closs Stephens, who has acted as the chair in the interim.

Shah will take up the post at a challenging time for the BBC. On Sunday, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak , said BBC cuts – in which its flagship news programme Newsnight cut to 30 minutes and transformed into a debate show – were “welcome” amid reports of licence fee curbs. This week, Frazer, in effect confirmed that the broadcaster would receive a below-inflation increase to the licence fee.

The £159 annual fee has been frozen for two years, and if it were to increase in line with inflation it would go up by about £15. During an interview round on Monday, Frazer said this was unlikely to happen.

Shah was critical of the BBC during his time as non-executive director, saying in 2008 that the “One BBC ethos” unwittingly created a “monolithic posture that makes it appear anti-competitive”.

His views were contained in an essay, called The BBC, Viewed from Inside and Out, in a book, The Price of Plurality , published in 2008.

In the essay, Shah raised the question of whether the BBC should be the sole beneficiary of the licence fee in future. He is thought to be an ally of Robbie Gibb, formerly the Downing Street director of communications for Theresa May, whom Emily Matlis accused of being “active agent of the Conservative party” since he became a BBC board member for England in April 2021.

One insider at the BBC said that while the government may have been attracted by Shah’s “anti-woke” credentials, within the corporation Shah’s journalistic expertise and understanding would be valued.

On Wednesday, Shah said he was “delighted” to be chosen by the government, saying the BBC held a “great place in British life”.

“The BBC is, without doubt, one of the greatest contributions we have made to global culture and one of our strongest calling cards on soft power,” he said. “If I am able to put what skills, experience, and understanding of public service broadcasting I have built up during my career to help this brilliant organisation meet the complex and diverse challenges it faces over the coming years, it would be an honour.”

He added that the BBC had a “unique duty” to reach a wide audience right across the country” and promised to do “all I can to ensure it fulfils this in an increasingly competitive market”.

It is not the first time Shah has been in the employment of the BBC. He headed the broadcaster’s TV current affairs when he joined the corporation from the commercial broadcaster LWT in 1987 and went on to run its political journalism department at Millbank.

He left in 1998 to become the chief executive of the production company Juniper TV, which has produced programmes for Channel 4 and the BBC, including several BBC Radio 4 programmes. Shah’s brother is Mohit Bakaya, the BBC Radio 4 controller.

In 2021, he co-authored the 2021 Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report , which was accused of downplaying the effects of discrimination. He sat on the interview panel that year for Ofcom board appointments .

A fellow of the Royal Television Society, he is also a Bafta board member and chairman of One World Media, which promotes independent media coverage from developing countries.

He was awarded a CBE for services to television in 2019 and an OBE in the 2000 new year’s honour list.

Shah was born in Aurangabad, India, he moved to England in 1960. He has a geography degree from the University of Hull and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

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Race commissioner Shah in frame to chair BBC

Samir Shah, who began his television career at LWT in the 1970s, is among the candidates shortlisted to succeed Richard Sharp as the Corporation’s chairman, Sky News learns.

City editor @MarkKleinmanSky

Thursday 9 November 2023 14:48, UK

A former BBC board member who has spent decades in television programme-making is among the candidates to become the Corporation’s next chairman.

Sky News has learnt that Samir Shah, whose current roles include serving on the Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities, is one of the names on a shortlist to replace Richard Sharp, who stepped down last spring.

Mr Shah, whose TV career began at LWT in the late 1970s, is a well-known figure in government and cultural circles, having also been a trustee of the V&A and a member of the Holocaust Commission.

The search for a successor to Mr Sharp, who resigned in April amid a row over his role in helping to facilitate a six-figure loan to Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, is not yet at an advanced stage, according to insiders.

Interviews for the post recently got under way, with more than a handful of contenders still in the frame to take one of the most prestigious posts in the British media industry.

Dr Shah initially joined the BBC in 1987 to oversee its current affairs output on TV, before going on to run its political programming from Westminster.

He left the Corporation in 1998 to run Juniper, an independent TV production company, where he remains chief executive.

Between 2007 and 2010, he sat on the BBC board as a non-executive director.

The identity of the other candidates for the BBC chairmanship are unclear, with several leading industry figures having opted not to apply for the role.

Sir Damon Buffini, the deputy chairman and chair of the BBC's commercial arm, was expected to be the frontrunner for the job, but is reported not to have thrown his hat into the ring.

Other prominent media executives, including Sir Peter Bazalgette, the former ITV chairman, have publicly ruled themselves out.

Dame Elan Closs Stephens, the acting chair, is also thought to be in the frame to take the post on a permanent basis.

The appointment of Mr Sharp's long-term successor will come at a deeply sensitive time for the BBC, which has been plunged into a series of crises this year involving current and former presenters - including the newsreader Huw Edwards and Russell Brand .

It has also been grappling with a long-running challenge over the impartiality guidelines to which it expects its broadcasters - such as the Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker - to adhere.

Those sensitivities are likely to become even more acute during the next year with a general election on the horizon.

Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, is also wrestling with longer-term questions about the Corporation's future funding model, with recent culture secretaries such as Nadine Dorries having signalled the end of the licence fee after 2027.

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The Corporation has been forced to implement significant cost cuts affecting parts of its news and current affairs output, including long-running programmes such as BBC 2's Newsnight.

Rishi Sunak , the prime minister, will need to sign off on the identity of the Corporation's new head.

Saxton Bampfylde, the headhunter, is overseeing the search for the BBC chair.

A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesman and the BBC both declined to comment on Thursday.

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Former AIG exec joins technology start-up Ledger Investing

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Samir Shah, a former American International Group Inc. executive, has joinedSilicon Valley-funded start-up Ledger Investing Inc. as chairman and CEO,Artemis reported.

Shah previouslyserved as senior vice president and head of insurance capital markets atAmerican International GroupInc. He left the insurer in 2015 as part of AIG's globalcost-cutting and reorganization measures, TheInsurance Insider had reported.

Shah has been an adviser to the start-up, which focuses oncreating a business-to-business marketplace for insurance risk securitization,the blog said, citing an interview.

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Sebi has approved appointment of Vijay Kumar as NCDEX MD & CEO: Samir Shah

Vijay kumar is an agro-industry veteran, having worked for cargill and national bulk handling corporation.

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Ncdex slashes transaction fee in sugar futures, ncdex proposes delivery-based metals contracts to capture indian prices, banks to start trade in commodity derivatives soon, eye exchange membership, polaris consulting surges on higher indicative price for delisting, markets settle at new high, nifty ends above 10700; hdfc group shares rally, bhansali engineering polymers up 5% on robust q3 results, shree cement's uae foray, domestic expansion make it an attractive stock, capital first hits 52-week high on merger with idfc bank.

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First Published: Jan 16 2018 | 2:23 AM IST

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