Lord Burns

"After a career mostly spent in academia and government, Lord (Terry) Burns was very much the businessman rather than the showman when his appointment as chairman was confirmed last week. With no personal press officer, he expressed his delight in a statement about "a time of great change … in the communications sector" in which "Channel 4 has a very special and continuing role to play."..

"A former permanent secretary at the Treasury who once chaired Marks & Spencer and now chairs Abbey National, Burns is a liberal economist who believes firmly in competition. Yet those who groan over the choice of an establishment, white, male figure to head the once-maverick broadcaster, which launched 27 years ago this month, may be missing a central point. Ofcom, struggling to redeem itself in the eyes of a Conservative leadership that has called for its abolition, wanted, and found, a big hitter, a safe pair of hands, and an ultra-experienced chairman with support on both sides of parliament."

• Chair, Channel 4