Gavyn Davies,
OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 27 November 1950) was the chairman of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
from 2001 until 2004, a former
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
banker and a former economic advisor to the British Government. On 28 January 2004 he announced that he was resigning his BBC post following the publication of the
Hutton InquiryThe Hutton Inquiry was a British judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the United Kingdom Labour government with the terms of reference "...urgently to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly"...
report which heavily criticised the organisation.
Davies was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge and
Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.Traditionally, the undergraduates are amongst the most politically active in the university, and the college's alumni include three former prime ministers. H. H...
.
Gavyn Davies,
OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 27 November 1950) was the chairman of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
from 2001 until 2004, a former
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
banker and a former economic advisor to the British Government. On 28 January 2004 he announced that he was resigning his BBC post following the publication of the
Hutton InquiryThe Hutton Inquiry was a British judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the United Kingdom Labour government with the terms of reference "...urgently to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly"...
report which heavily criticised the organisation.
Davies was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge and
Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.Traditionally, the undergraduates are amongst the most politically active in the university, and the college's alumni include three former prime ministers. H. H...
. He worked in Harold Wilson's Policy Unit from 1974-76 and then as an economic advisor to
James CallaghanLeonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
from 1976-1979. Afterwards he had stints as Chief Economist at Simon & Coates and
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that engages in investment banking, securities services and investment management. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street and has its secondary office at 30...
. He was later promoted to international
managing directorManaging director is the term used for the chief executive of many limited companies from English speaking countries...
for the bank. During this time he also served as one of the
Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
's "wise men" during the 1992-1997 Parliament.
In 1999 he chaired an inquiry into the future funding of the BBC. His suggestions - to sell off a portion of BBC Worldwide (the corporation's commercial wing) and to raise the
television licenceA television licence is an official licence required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts...
fee by around 20% in order to fund new digital channels - were swiftly rejected by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
In January 2001 he was appointed a vice-chairman of the BBC. He was promoted to chairman just 10 months later for a five-year term. In January 2004, he resigned after the publication of the
Hutton InquiryThe Hutton Inquiry was a British judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the United Kingdom Labour government with the terms of reference "...urgently to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly"...
. It heavily criticised the BBC's news reporting that Davies had supported. In his resignation statement he said he was "happy to accept ... ultimate responsibility" for everything the BBC does. However he raised questions about the conclusions of Lord Hutton, including the question of the use of unverifiable sources and possible threats to the freedom of the press.
Davies is reported to have amassed a wealth of £150m through shrewd investments. Davies has in the past donated part of his wealth to the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
of whom he had been a long-term supporter. His appointment as BBC chairman sparked allegations of
cronyismCronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy...
from Opposition political parties - Davies' wife
Sue NyeSue Nye is the Director of Government Relations and former diary secretary to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Working in 10 Downing Street, she is employed as a special advisor.Married to Gavyn Davies, former BBC chairman...
was a private secretary of
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party. Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party...
and the pair are known to be good friends. Defenders of the appointment pointed out that Davies had been selected by a panel independent of Government. It has been suggested that the behaviour of Davies and
Greg DykeGregory Dyke is a journalist and broadcaster. He was Director-General of the BBC from January 2000 until 29 January 2004 when he resigned following heavy criticism of the BBC's news reporting process in the Hutton Inquiry.-Early years:...
during the David Kelly affair was in part due to a wish to demonstrate their independence of government. Since his resignation, he has become somewhat of a critic of the government.
In 2005 he set up a $1.35 Billion
hedge fundA hedge fund is an investment fund open to a limited range of investors that is permitted by regulators to undertake a wider range of investment and trading activities than other investment funds, and that, in general, pays a performance fee to its investment manager...
to invest in macroeconomic situations. He also writes a weekly column on
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
and
statisticsStatistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with collecting and interpreting data. According to other definitions, it is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. Statisticians improve the quality of data with the...
,
Gavyn Davies does the maths, on Thursdays for the
GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
newspaper.
He is currently working as a founding partner of Active Private Equity and Prisma Capital Partners, as well as Chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management.