Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Lord Williams has been re-appointed as an ordinary member of the BBC Trust for the period 1 December 2015 to 30 November 2017.
The Lord Williams of Baglan studied at University College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London where he gained his Ph.D. and M.Sc. before starting his career with Amnesty International. In 1984 he joined the BBC World Service as an editor, where he formed a lifelong bond with the corporation its people and its ethos.
Following his time at the World Service, he moved to the United Nations where he was based in Cambodia as Deputy Director for Human Rights; in former Yugoslavia as Director for Information; Geneva as Adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and New York as Director, Office for Children and Armed Conflict. Between 2000 and 2005 he was Special Adviser to two Foreign Secretaries: Robin Cook, and then Jack Straw. During that time he also continued his contribution to the BBC as a board member of the BBC World Service Trust.More recently he has worked once again for the United Nations and returned from Beirut in 2011 after three years as Under-Secretary General, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon.
He was appointed to the House of Lords in October 2010 and joined the BBC Trust in December 2011.
Suzanna Taverne has been re-appointed as an ordinary member of the BBC Trust for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019.
Suzanna worked at S.G. Warburg & Co Ltd from 1982 to 1990 as a senior manager in corporate finance. She joined The Independent newspaper as Head of Strategic Planning and subsequently Finance Director at a time when it was becoming the first digitally-produced newspaper. She then worked as a consultant at Saatchi & Saatchi, Director of Strategy and Development at Pearson Plc and Managing Director of FT Finance. In 1999, she became Managing Director of the British Museum, where she oversaw the Great Court redevelopment scheme. From 2002 to 2005 she worked as Director of Operations at Imperial College, London.Since 2005, Suzanna has pursued a portfolio career. She was a non-executive director at Nationwide Building Society and is currently non-executive director at Ford Credit Europe. She is also a Trustee of StepChange Debt Charity and the Shakespeare Schools Festival and sits on the Advisory Board of Manchester Business School.