BBC Board Flux Continues Amid Turmoil: Deputy Chair Damon Buffini Extends Term, CFO To Join Top Table
EXCLUSIVE: BBC chair Samir Shah may be facing significant pressure over his leadership, but he has the support of his deputy — at least in the short term.
Damon Buffini, a former chairman of private equity giant Permira, has quietly extended his term by six months until the end of June 2026. He was due to vacate his seat next month.
Buffini’s extension will be seen as a much-needed vote of confidence for Shah, who is facing questions about the way he has marshalled the BBC board over the bombshell Michael Prescott memo, which revealed the botched Donald Trump edit.
It follows the resignation of Shumeet Banerji from the board last Friday. Banerji’s term also ended in December, but he quit citing governance concerns in his resignation letter, according to BBC News.
Banerji complained of being cut out of conversations related to the resignation of director-general Tim Davie, in remarks that were widely interpreted as a parting shot at Shah.
The BBC chairman will face questions from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Monday, during which he is expected to reflect on events of this month and Trump’s $1B lawsuit threat.
Buffini’s short-term extension will help the board through a period of flux, but he has not yet committed to a full second term. He is one of five non-executives on the board, with his appointment — and any term extension — being decided by the BBC’s nominations committee. Buffini also chairs the BBC’s commercial board.
In addition to Buffini’s extension, Deadline hears that the BBC is expected to elevate the role of CFO to the board once the role is filled. Alan Dickson, the BBC’s current CFO, resigned over the summer and is currently seeing out his notice period. Dickson did not serve on the board.
BBC executives are only occupying half of the four board seats allocated for employees. Davie has one, while chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva is the other BBC executive board member.
The board did not replace content chief Charlotte Moore after she left earlier this year, while the other vacancy belonged to Deborah Turness, who resigned over the Trump fiasco this month.
The remaining five spots on the board (including the chair) are political appointments. This includes Robbie Gibb, who was installed by Boris Johnson’s government in 2021, and has been accused of staging a right-wing coup at the BBC over the Prescott memo. He denies the allegation.
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said this month that the Labour government will reconsider political appointments to the board as part of BBC charter renewal. “There is a real concern, which I share, that political appointments to the board of the BBC damaged confidence and trust in the BBC’s impartiality,” she told Radio 4’s Today show.
