BBC Appoints Leigh Tavaziva as Group COO

The BBC has appointed Leigh Tavaziva, who has worked in a range of senior executive positions spanning operations, finance, strategy and transformation roles, as its group chief operating officer.

Tavaziva takes up her role on February 1, 2021, responsible for critical functions including design and engineering, finance, legal, commercial rights and business affairs, quality, risk and assurance, and procurement. She will join both the BBC’s executive committee and the BBC Board, reporting to Director-General Tim Davie.

Tavaziva’s previous roles have included managing director of customer operations at British Gas and group director of strategy and transformation at Centrica.

Davie said: “This is an important appointment for the BBC as we look to become even more efficient and offer greater value to every license fee payer. Leigh has an extremely impressive track record of leading change, driving efficiency and helping big organizations simplify to realize their full potential. We are very pleased that she will be joining us at the BBC in the New Year.”

Tavaziva commented: “The BBC plays an incredibly important role at home and abroad. I have huge respect for the organization and look forward to playing my part in ensuring its continued success in a fast-changing world.”