Outgoing Ofcom chief Sharon White receives Damehood
SHARON WHITE, the outgoing chief executive of Ofcom, has been awarded a Damehood as one of a host of business figures recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.
Ms White, 52, who stepped down from the media watchdog last month to become chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, was praised for “refocusing
Ofcom’s mission around consumers” and in promoting more diversity in broadcasting during her tenure.
She had been at Ofcom since 2015 and in that time had taken on major upheavals, including overseeing the legal separation of BT and Openreach.
Ms White was not the only regulatory chief included in the New Year’s Honours list. Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets
Authority, and Jonson Cox, chairman of water regulator Ofwat, were also recognised, both with CBES.
Other high-profile names on the list included Ross Mcewan, who this year stepped down as chief of the Royal Bank of Scotland, having completed what was described as “one of the biggest UK corporate turnarounds in history”. He is joined by entrepreneurs behind some of Britain’s most innovative companies, including Rishi Khosla, chief of fintech start-up Oaknorth, who received an OBE. He topped the 2019 Telegraph Tech Hot 100, which identified the richest entrepreneurs at Britain’s fastest-growing tech firms.
Meanwhile, the co-chairmen of designer clothing empire Matchesfashion.com, Ruth Chapman and Thomas Chapman, were awarded OBES for their services to the fashion industry.