BSKYB HAS announced that two of its independent directors are to leave by the end of year as it embarks on a further overhaul of its board, shifting the balance away from the Murdoch family and its largest shareholder News Corp.
The pay-TV company said in its annual review that Jacques Nasser, chairman of BHP Billiton, would step down after more than a decade on its board.
BSkyB also confirmed that Lord Wilson of Dinton, former cabinet secretary, was stepping down after a similarly long tenure.
The reshuffle follows the departure in June of independent director Dame Gail Rebuck, chief executive of Random House, and of Allan Leighton and David Evans who stepped down last year.
Those three departures came amid investor concerns that the weight of the BSkyB board had swung too far in favour of the Murdoch family.
The latest changes bring BSkyB more in line with the UK’s corporate governance code. The reshuffle is being overseen by Nicholas Ferguson, appointed chairman after James Murdoch stepped down in April. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012
