BBC Trust on the cusp of first female chair
The BBC Trust is set to gain its first female chair in the form of Rona Fairhead the ex-chief of the Financial Times Group.
On Saturday culture secretary Sajid Javid announced Fairhead was the preferred candidate to replace Lord Patten, who stepped down in May.
Fairhead, 53 and graduate of Harvard Business School would be the first woman to chair the Trust, an operationally independent body is responsible for overseeing the BBC.
Reacting to the news she said she was "under no illusions about the significance and the enormity of the job" and was "excited" to take on the role.
"The BBC is a great British institution packed with talented people, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to be the chairman of the BBC Trust," she said.
Fairhead served as chief executive of the Financial Times Group between 2006 and 2013 and is A non-executive director of HSBC. In 2012, she was appointed British business ambassador and was later awarded a CBE for services to UK industry.
The ultimate decision on who will be the Trust's next chair will come down to the Queen on a recommendation from Sajid Javid. Furthermore, Fairhead will face questioning from MPs on the Media Select Committee on 9 September.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said: "We welcome the announcement of Rona Fairhead as the preferred candidate for chair of the BBC Trust.
"We will comment further once the process is complete."