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The Government’s Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, has today confirmed the widely expected (here) decision to appoint Sir Ian Cheshire as the next Chairman of the UK’s telecoms, internet and media regulator, Ofcom – replacing Michael Grade (Lord Grade of Yarmouth) in the post after his 4-year term came to an end.
Sir Ian is the former Chair of Channel 4 (2022 to 2025) and his career spans senior leadership roles across both the public and private sectors. Ian was also previously the CEO of Kingfisher plc and has held a number of senior non‑executive and advisory roles spanning business, sustainability and public policy, including as Chair of Barclays UK, Debenhams plc, Maisons du Monde and Menhaden plc.
In April 2015, Sir Ian was appointed government Lead Non-Executive, a role he was reappointed to for a further 3 years in April 2018. That same year, he also became Lead Non-Executive Member of the Cabinet Office Board. Suffice to say that the government considers Sir Ian to be “ideally suited to lead Ofcom through its next chapter“.
Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, said:
“Sir Ian brings exactly the kind of leadership experience that Ofcom needs as it enters this next critical chapter.
The Online Safety Act must be enforced robustly and without compromise, and Ofcom has a central role in making the UK the safest place to be online.
From protecting consumers and tackling online harms to driving growth across our communications sectors, the regulator has never had a more important role to play. I look forward to working with Sir Ian as he leads Ofcom into this next phase.”
The new Chair’s greatest areas of focus are likely to be on Ofcom’s ever-expanding role in the regulation of internet content, as well as the switch to IP/Streaming based broadband TV services (i.e. moving away from terrestrial signals via the air waves), the future roll-out of 6G mobile and preparing for the next big phase of fixed line telecoms regulation in 2031 (the recent 2026 market review was more about continuity than radical change).