Chair

Ian Haythornthwaite

Ian joined the Board as Chair on 1 September 2021 and brings a breadth of experience in executive Board level roles.

Ian's Executive roles have included being the Chief Finance and Operating Officer for the all the Nations and Regions of the BBC, and prior to this he was the Director of Finance for the BBC with responsibility for the financial management of the BBC and the leadership of the Finance function.

Before joining the BBC Ian was the deputy Chief Executive at the North West Regional Development Agency where, among his responsibilities, he led on the economic regeneration of Cumbria, and the management of all European funding for the North west of England.

Ian was Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) from 1999 until 2003. For 11 years before that he was UCLan’S Finance Director.

Ian has over 10 years experience on Trust Boards and is a Non Executive Director of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of their Audit Committee.

Ian is a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, with extensive public sector management experience.