The Lady Liddle | |
---|---|
Born | Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson 15 May 1954 |
Alma mater | University of York |
Employer | English National Ballet |
Known for | Chair of Oxfam |
Term | October 2017 – October 2020 |
Successor | Charles Gurassa |
Spouse | Roger Liddle, Baron Liddle |
Parent | George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (father) |
Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson, Baroness Liddle (born 15 May 1954) [1] was chair of the charity Oxfam [2] until October 2020. She is a former BBC executive and was the Corporation's chief operating officer, from 2006 to 2012 [3] and she stood in for Mark Thompson, the former director general, when necessary. [4]
Thomson is the elder daughter of Labour peer George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth. [5] She was educated at Mary Datchelor Girls' School in Camberwell, a grammar school, [6] and graduated from York University, where she studied history and economics. [7]
She first joined the BBC as a journalist trainee in 1975, ultimately becoming a producer on Analysis (Radio 4) and later Panorama (BBC1) before becoming personal assistant to SDP leader Roy Jenkins in 1982. She spent over a decade at Channel 4 from 1984, initially as a commissioning editor, later as Head of Corporate Affairs from 1990, before rejoining the BBC in 1996 as Deputy Director of the World Service. [8] She became the Corporation's Director of Policy and Legal Affairs in July 2000, a job description later expanded to include Strategy, before being promoted to chief operating officer in 2006. In 2011 she was paid £385,000 by the organisation. [9] The Commons Public Accounts Committee suggested that her £670,000 redundancy pay-off was effectively paid to "compensate" her for missing out on the job of director-general. [10]
In October 2013 she became Executive Director of the English National Ballet. [11] [12]
Since November 2012, she has been Chair of Digital UK. [13] She is also chair of Tomorrow's People Trust's Ambassadors group and Trustee to a number of charities including the National Gallery. [14]
Caroline Thomson is married to the Labour peer Roger Liddle, an advisor to Tony Blair while Blair was Prime Minister.
George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, was a British politician and journalist who served as a Labour MP. He was a member of Harold Wilson's cabinet, and later became a European Commissioner.
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