Cui Bono, Philo ?

BBC News CEO Deborah Turness has welcomed staff back to the new term with the news that BBC Company Secretary Phil Harrold is joining her board as Transformation Director, a post which few knew was available.  I'm sure it was openly, fairly and transparently boarded, as a man embedded with the BBC Values and Corporate Governance would have expected from BBC News. "In his new role he will lead our work to keep pace with consumers as they shift to digital and to respond to the BBC’s significant financial challenges"

Key question: Did Debs ask for his services, or has he been sent ?

Lines supporting request theory: 

• Phil is the executive sponsor of the BBC's LGBTQ+ staff group, BBC Pride. The forthcoming workplace culture review, post Huw Edwards, may get a number of tricky contributions from News staff. News and World Service have marginally more gay men than other divisions, fewer 'out', and more who don't declare their sexuality. 

• Phil has some skills: he 'ran' the fast turnaround move of the Eurovision Song Contest from Ukraine to Liverpool. He recently joined the Board of the BBC 'news charity', Media Action. 

Lines supporting the 'he's been sent' theory. 

• BBC News is notoriously slow in delivering the savings requested by the centre. It has always relied on claiming "This was a very expensive year", and will be trying that again, with Ukraine, Gaza, the Election and the riots. Twas always thus; Phil may do work exposing the argument. 

• Tim Davie likes him, and wants to bolster his career, with some sort of succession planning. Or, Phil is miffed at the creation of a new executive post handling Transformation & Strategy, and, at 48, wants out from the centre to boost his future salary chances (current pay £205k)

Apart from reading Board papers on change (and writing uninteresting minutes about them), it's hard to find things in the Harrold cv that point to experience of work in news, transformation, or digital. Though he takes nice pictures on Instagram.