Ofcom Board
Ofcom's Board provides strategic direction for the organisation.
It has a non-executive Chair, executive members (including the Chief Executive), and non-executive members.
The Executive runs the organisation and answers to the Board.
The Ofcom Board meets at least once a month (with the exception of August). Agendas, summary notes and minutes are published regularly on the Ofcom website.
Board members

Lord Grade of Yarmouth
Chair
Michael Grade has had a long career in broadcasting, encompassing London Weekend Television, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. He has chaired the BBC, ITV and Pinewood/Shepperton Film Studios. He is co-founder of the GradeLinnit company, which produces for the theatre.
He is Chairman of the Arora Group’s Heathrow Expansion Advisory Board, having also been Chairman of Ocado, First Leisure Corporation, Camelot, the Charity Fundraising Regulator and Bradford’s Media Museum as well as being a member of the former Press Complaints Commission and a trustee of the Science Museum.
Michael Grade sits in the House of Lords as a non-affiliated Peer. His Peerage was created in January 2011.
- Appointed: 1 May 2022
- Tenure: 4 years
- Membership: People Committee

Maggie Carver
Deputy Chair
Maggie has extensive experience as a non-executive director on the boards of 19 companies, public, private and not-for-profit. These include chairing news and programme provider ITN, the RCA, multiplex operator SDN, and the British Board of Film Classification, as well as being a director on the boards of Channel 5 Television, RDF Media plc, Satellite Information Services, armed forces broadcaster BFBS, and British Waterways.
Maggie’s executive career was in investment banking, television production, broadcasting and retail.
- Appointed: 30 September 2018
- Tenure: 4 years
- Membership: Content Board; People Committee; Risk and Audit Committee

Melanie Dawes
Chief Executive
Dame Melanie Dawes joined Ofcom as an Executive Board Member and Chief Executive in March 2020.
Prior to joining Ofcom, Melanie was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2015. She has held a range of senior roles across the Civil Service, working in partnership across the public and private sector, including as Champion for Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion.
She started her career as an economist and spent 15 years at the Treasury, including as Europe Director between 2002 and 2006. She was Director General of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at the Cabinet Office between 2011 and 2015, and prior to that she served on the Board of HMRC. As Director General for Business Tax she had responsibility for all the business taxes and duties alongside leadership of the department’s relationships with the largest companies.
Melanie has held various non-executive roles including with the consumer body Which? and is a trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, which helps under-represented young people get involved in democracy.

Kevin Bakhurst
Executive member
Kevin Bakhurst joined Ofcom in October 2016 as Group Director for Broadcasting and Online Content, overseeing our broadcast and online regulation and policy. He was appointed to the Ofcom Board in March 2020 and is also a member of Ofcom’s Content Board.
Prior to joining Ofcom, Kevin was Managing Director, News and Current Affairs, Deputy Director General, and then Acting Director General with Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ.
After graduating from Cambridge University, Kevin worked at Price Waterhouse before joining the BBC as a researcher in 1989. He went on to edit the Ten O’Clock News, becoming Deputy Head of the BBC Newsroom and Controller of the BBC News channel and BBC News at One. During his time editing BBC news bulletins, the programmes won awards from organisations including BAFTA and the Royal Television Society.
Outside work, Kevin was a Magistrate from 2000 until 2006.
- Membership: Content Board; Election Committee

Lindsey Fussell
Executive member
Lindsey Fussell joined in Ofcom in 2016 and is Group Director for Networks and Communications, leading Ofcom’s work in the telecoms, post and network sectors, where we aim to protect consumers’ interests and promote competition. She was appointed to the Ofcom Board in December 2020.
Before joining Ofcom, Lindsey held a range of senior leadership roles in the Civil Service. She was Public Services Director at HM Treasury, where she led on devolution, education and culture, defence and criminal justice, and was responsible for delivering key aspects of the 2013 and 2015 Spending Reviews. Lindsey is also a lay member of York University’s governing Council.

Graham Mather
Non-executive member
Graham was a member of Ofcom’s Consumer Panel from 2004 to 2008. He served as a member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and, between 2000 and 2012, was a member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Graham is currently the President of the European Policy Forum and Chairman of its Regulatory Best Practice Group. He also served as a board member of the Office of Rail and Road.
He was appointed CBE in the Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours list for services to economic regulation, competition and infrastructure development.
- Appointed: 1 June 2014
- Tenure: 8 years
- Membership: People Committee

Ben Verwaayen
Non-executive member
Ben is currently a General Partner at investment fund Keen Venture Partners and holds various Board positions, including at Akamai in the US and Renewi Ltd, a major player in the circular economy in the BeNeLux and the UK. He is a former Chief Executive of BT, KPN in the Netherlands, and Alcatel Lucent. He has also served as a Chairman of Endemol, and as a Board Member of AkzoNobel in the Netherlands and of the mobile operator Bharti Airtel in India.
- Appointed: 1 January 2016
- Tenure: 8 years
- Membership: People Committee

Bob Downes
Non-executive member (Board member for Scotland)
Bob Downes was appointed to the Ofcom Board with effect from 1 February 2018. He is a member of the Content Board and the People Committee. Bob is the current Chairman of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. He also chairs the Commission for Communications Regulation’s Independent Oversight Body, which will oversee the implementation and operation of an enhanced Regulatory Governance Model in Ireland by Eir. Bob Chairs Cryptic, an arts production company. He is an advisor to a number of small technology businesses, including Kube Networks.
- Appointed: 1 February 2018
- Tenure: 8 years
- Membership: Content Board; People Committee

Angela Dean
Non-executive member (Audit and Risk Board member)
Angela is currently a trustee of York Museums Trust and Chair of its Capital Projects Board. She is a Senior Independent Panel Member for Public Appointments. She has been non-executive director of a number of not-for-profit organisations including Chair of International House Trust, Vice Chair of the Council of King’s College London, trustee of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and a member of the Museums, Archives and Libraries Council.
Angela's executive career was in international finance, mainly as a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley where she headed its global technology research team. She was a member of the Working Group of the United Nations Global Compact for corporate social responsibility issues in investment.
- Appointed: 30 September 2018
- Tenure: 4 years
- Membership: People Committee; Risk and Audit Committee

David Jones
Non-executive member (Board member for Wales)
David is currently a non-executive director of Ofwat and Qualifications Wales. He was the founder of Travelink Systems Limited until 1995 and Executive Chair of TigerBay Software from 2011 to 2015. David is an occasional guest lecturer on Digital and Cyber security at Cardiff University.
- Appointed: 8 April 2019
- Tenure: 4 years
- Membership: People Committee; Risk and Audit Committee

Karen Baxter
Non-executive member (Board member for Northern Ireland)
Karen has a distinguished 30-year policing career, retiring as Commander from the City of London Police in 2020. She commenced her service as an officer in Northern Ireland and has extensive experience across a wide range of complex investigations including, safeguarding, homicide, counter-terrorism, serious and organised crime. As a result, she has a strong understanding of the unique needs of communities living in Northern Ireland.
More recently as Commander and National Coordinator for Economic Crime, she had oversight for the most serious financial investigations in the United Kingdom. Karen was also the Police executive lead for Cyber Crime Prevention working with key stakeholders and the third sector to address emerging risks in the online space.
In 2020 Karen joined UK Finance as the Managing Director for Intelligence Strategy working across the banking sector to review the use and management of intelligence. More broadly her role involved multiple sector engagement in respect of the online harms threat and proposed legislative changes.
- Appointed: 28 March 2022
- Tenure: 4 years
- Membership: People Committee
Historically, the regulatory regimes for broadcasting, telecommunications and spectrum management have encompassed a broad range of governance models.
These have included oversight by Government-appointed Commission, by Director-General and by Government Agency.
Ofcom's governance structure is different. It is based upon a model which is familiar to the commercial sector but which marks a departure from the past.
Ofcom has a Board with a Chair and both executive and non-executive members. The Executive runs the organisation and answers to the Board, while the work of both Board and Executive is informed by the contribution of a number of advisory bodies.
The Ofcom Board provides strategic direction for Ofcom. It is the main statutory instrument of regulation with a fundamental role in the effective implementation of the Communications Act 2003.
The membership of the Ofcom Board is published and it may comprise up to twelve members. This number includes the Chief Executive of Ofcom and up to three members of the Executive.
The Ofcom Board meets at least once a month (with the exception of August). Agendas and notes of meetings are published regularly on the Ofcom website.
The Board has a central governance function, with oversight over the fulfilment of Ofcom's general duties and specific statutory responsibilities as well as its adherence to the ethos of a public service organisation. The Board also has oversight of Ofcom's overall funding and expenditure.
The Board acts on a collective basis. As the body charged with governing Ofcom's strategic direction, the Board has agreed that its members will abide by the following principles:
- The Board will operate on the principles of collective responsibility, support and respect.
- Board members should have access to all the information necessary to ensure vigorous debate and effective decision-making.
- In all situations, all Board members will be deemed to have agreed with all decisions.
- External pressure will not alter Board processes except for potential timelines.
- Board members' behaviour in response to decisions is required to be the same inside and outside Ofcom.
- Minority views will not be made public internally or externally.
- Nominated Board members (other than those who disagreed with a decision) may be required to explain and articulate specific decisions.
- If a Board member resigns he or she may state the basis for the disagreement, but may not publicly rehearse the arguments of other Board members.
The Board provides strategic direction for the performance of Ofcom’s regulatory functions by reference to its statutory duties and has overall responsibility for financial and operational matters.
The Board may take any decision it considers it is appropriate to be taken by the Board notwithstanding the delegations approved by the Board through the Delegations Framework. The delegations in the delegations framework are also subject to the reservation of the following matters to the Board:
- approval of Ofcom's annual budget, overall financial policy and Financial Authorities Framework;
- approval of Ofcom's annual report and accounts;
- approval of any contract value in excess of £5,000,000;
- approval of Ofcom's annual plan, long term objectives and overall strategic policy framework;
- undertaking a formal regular review of the Board’s own performance and that of Board committees;
- approval of terms of reference of Board committees;
- approval of appointments and remuneration of Non-Executive members to Board committees;
- approval of appointments of non-executive members of the Channel Four Board (subject to the formal approval of the Secretary of State) and decisions as to the number of members of the Channel Four Board; and
- decisions concerning appointments to MG Alba (the Gaelic Media Service).
Approved by the Ofcom Board, 24 May 2016
The Board is scheduled to meet on the following dates.
15 December 2021
9 February 2022
9 March 2022
6 April 2022
18 May 2022
15 June 2022
20 July 2022
21 September 2022
12 October 2022
9 November 2022
14 December 2022
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 15 June 2022 (PDF File, 101.0 KB)
Published 14 June 2022
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 6 April 2022 (PDF File, 109.5 KB)
Published 4 April 2022
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 9 March 2022 (PDF File, 104.2 KB)
Published 7 March 2022
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 9 February 2022 (PDF File, 94.3 KB)
Published 9 February 2022
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 15 December 2021 (PDF File, 104.9 KB)
Published 9 December 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 17 November 2021 (PDF File, 112.4 KB)
Published 11 November 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 20 October 2021 (PDF File, 95.2 KB)
Published 19 October 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 15 September 2021 (PDF File, 110.9 KB)
Published 8 September 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 21 July 2021 (PDF File, 101.6 KB)
Published 20 July 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 23 June 2021 (PDF File, 111.5 KB)
Published 22 June 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 26 May 2021 (PDF File, 113.6 KB)
Published 21 May 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 28 April 2021 (PDF File, 111.8 KB)
Published 23 April 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 22 March 2021 (PDF File, 90.8 KB)
Published 7 April 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 17 March 2021 (PDF File, 102.9 KB)
Published 15 March 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 10 February 2021 (PDF File, 97.8 KB)
Published 4 February 2021
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 9 December 2020 (PDF File, 113.7 KB)
Published 7 December 2020
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 18 November 2020 (PDF File, 111.1 KB)
Published 27 November 2020
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 21 October 2020 (PDF File, 96.9 KB)
Published 27 October 2020
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 22 September 2020 (PDF File, 104.0 KB)
Published 16 September 2020
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 15 July 2020 (PDF File, 111.5 KB)
Published 13 July 2020
Agenda for a meeting of the Ofcom Board to be held on 17 June 2020 (PDF File, 109.5 KB)
Published 11 June 2020
It is our policy to keep board and committee minutes on our site for two years only. Older minutes can be accessed via the National Archives.
Note of the 293rd meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 6 April 2022 (PDF File, 185.9 KB)
Published 18 May 2022
Note of the 292nd meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 9 March 2022 (PDF File, 256.3 KB)
Published 21 April 2022
Note of the 291st meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 9 February 2022 (PDF File, 205.8 KB)
Published 9 March 2022
Note of the 290th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 15 December 2021 (PDF File, 184.3 KB)
Published 9 February 2022
Minutes of the 289th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 17 November 2021 (PDF File, 195.1 KB)
Published 18 May 2022
Minutes of the 288th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 20 October 2021 (PDF File, 204.0 KB)
Published 6 April 2022
Minutes of the 287th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 15 September 2021 (PDF File, 220.0 KB)
Published 9 March 2022
Minutes of the 286th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 21 July 2021 (PDF File, 201.2 KB)
Published 9 February 2022
Minutes of the 285th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 8 July 2021 (PDF File, 138.6 KB)
Published 14 February 2022
Note of the 284th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 23 June 2021 (PDF File, 199.1 KB)
Published 2 August 2021
Minutes of the 284th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 23 June 2021 (PDF File, 208.6 KB)
Published 21 December 2021
Minutes of the 283rd meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 26 May 2021 (PDF File, 234.9 KB)
Published 11 November 2021
Minutes of the 282nd meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 28 April 2021 (PDF File, 200.0 KB)
Published 19 October 2021
Minutes of the 281st meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 22 March 2021 (PDF File, 172.5 KB)
Published 8 September 2021
Minutes of the 280th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 17 March 2021 (PDF File, 270.4 KB)
Published 8 September 2021
Minutes of the 279th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 10 February 2021 (PDF File, 211.7 KB)
Published 2 August 2021
Minutes of the 278th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 9 December 2020 (PDF File, 212.9 KB)
Published 11 August 2021
Minutes of the 277th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 18 November 2020 (PDF File, 235.4 KB)
Published 22 June 2021
Minutes of the 276th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held 21 October 2020 (PDF File, 210.6 KB)
Published 22 June 2021
Minutes of the 275th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 22 September 2020 (PDF File, 265.8 KB)
Published 21 May 2021
Minutes of the 274th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 15 July 2020 (PDF File, 215.6 KB)
Published 2 March 2021
Minutes of the 273rd meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 17 June 2020 (PDF File, 201.0 KB)
Published 4 February 2021
Minutes of the 272nd meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 12 May 2020 (PDF File, 144.7 KB)
Published 4 February 2021
Minutes of the 271st meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 22 April 2020 (PDF File, 221.4 KB)
Published 2 November 2020
Minutes of the 270th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 18 March 2020 (PDF File, 201.8 KB)
Published 15 September 2020
Minutes of the 269th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 12 February 2020 (PDF File, 205.6 KB)
Published 6 August 2020
Minutes of the 268th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 18 December 2019 (PDF File, 211.0 KB)
Published 26 June 2020
Minutes of the 267th meeting of the Ofcom Board, held on 20 November 2019 in Cardiff (PDF File, 240.5 KB)
Published 4 June 2020
It is our policy to keep board and committee minutes on our site for two years only. Older minutes can be accessed via the National Archives.