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Gavyn Davies | |
|---|---|
 Davies in 2011 | |
| Born | (1950-11-27)27 November 1950 (age 75) |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Former Chairman of theBBC |
| Political party | Labour Party (until 2001) |
| Spouse | Sue Nye |
| Children | 1 daughter, 2 sons |
Gavyn Davies,OBE (born 27 November 1950) is a formerGoldman Sachs partner who was thechairman of theBBC from 2001 until 2004.[1] On 28 January 2004 he announced that he was resigning his BBC post following the publication of theHutton Inquiry report which heavily criticised the organisation.
Davies was born inSouthern Rhodesia, nowZimbabwe, where his father was head teacher at what was then its only black high school. The family moved to the UK in 1961 where he was educated atTaunton's School, Southampton,St John's College, Cambridge andBalliol College, Oxford, where he conducted research.[2][citation needed] He worked inHarold Wilson's Policy Unit from 1974 to 1976 and then as an economic advisor toJames Callaghan from 1976 to 1979. Afterwards he had stints as Chief Economist atSimon & Coates andGoldman Sachs.[3] He was later promoted to internationalmanaging director of the bank. During this time he also served as one of theChancellor of the Exchequer's "wise men" during the 1992–1997 Parliament.[citation needed]
In 1999 he chaired an inquiry into the future funding of the BBC. His suggestions – to sell off a portion of BBC Worldwide (the corporation's commercial wing) and to raise thetelevision licence fee by around 20% in order to fund new digital channels – were swiftly rejected by theCulture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
In January 2001, he was appointed vice-chairman of the BBC Board of Governors. He was promoted to chairman just 10 months later for a five-year term after being recommended byTessa Jowell. Upon becoming chairman, Davies resigned his membership of theLabour Party.[4] In January 2004, he resigned from the board after the publication of theHutton Inquiry which heavily criticised the BBC's news reporting, for which Davies had pledged support. In his resignation statement he said he was "happy to accept ... ultimate responsibility" for everything the BBC does. However, he raised questions about the conclusions of Lord Hutton, including the question of the use of unverifiable sources and possible threats to the freedom of the press.
Davies has in the past donated part of his wealth to theLabour Party, of which he had been a long-term supporter. His appointment as BBC chairman sparked allegations ofcronyism from Opposition political parties – Davies' wifeSue Nye was a private secretary ofPrime MinisterGordon Brown and the pair are known to be good friends. Defenders of the appointment pointed out that Davies had been selected by a panel independent of Government. It has been suggested that the behaviour of Davies andGreg Dyke during theDavid Kelly affair was in part due to a wish to demonstrate their independence of government. After his resignation, he became somewhat of a critic of the then Labour government.
In 2005, he set up a $1.35 Billionhedge fund to invest inmacroeconomic situations. He also wrote a weekly column onmathematics andstatistics,Gavyn Davies does the maths, forThe Guardian. Since August 2010he has written a blog onmacroeconomics forFinancial Times.
He is a founding partner of Active Private Equity, Anthos Capital,[5] and Prisma Capital Partners, as well as Chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management.
Davies and his wife live inWandsworth, having moved there to give their daughter the opportunity to attend a better school.[6] They also have two sons and a further home inCroyde,Devon.[7][8]
Davies is a fan ofSouthampton FC and was part of a consortium alongsideSir David Frost to take over the club in 1996[9]
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| Preceded by | Vice Chairman of theBBC Board of Governors 2001-2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of theBBC Board of Governors 2001-2004 | Succeeded by |