The person in charge of the process of appointing a new chairman for the BBC is Dame Rennie Fritchie.

She is one of the Civil Service Commissioners and her main responsibility is as Commissioner for Public Appointments, in addition she is a consultant on Strategy and Leadership. Dame Rennie is an Honorary Visiting Professor with a chair in Creative Leadership at York University, Vice Chair of the Stroud and Swindon Building Society and Pro Chancellor of Southampton University. She is the recipient of honorary degrees from the Universities of York, Southampton, Oxford Brookes, St Andrews and The Open University, and a Fellow of the University of Gloucestershire and City and Guilds.

On 1 March 1999 Dame Rennie was appointed Commissioner for Public Appointments and a Civil Service Commissioner, and in March 2002 Dame Rennie was appointed for a further 3 year term of office. As independent Commissioner her role is to regulate, monitor, advise and report on ministerial appointments. In addition she is President of the Pennell Initiative, focussing on the health of women in later life; she is also Gloucestershire Ambassador for Gloucestershire First, Companion of the Institute of Management, Patron of the Pied Piper Appeal for a Children's Hospital and Ambassador for Winston's Wish, a grief support charity for children.

Her work in the area of conflict resolution has involved action research over five years. She is co-author of a number of books and publications: most recently 'Resolving Conflicts in Organisations' co-authored with Malcolm Leary and published by Lemos & Crane.

Otherwise not much seems to be known about Dame Rennie.  She has not had a particularly high profile.  The Guardian has this short profile of her.

She will be assisted in the selection of the Chairman by a "scrutiny panel" of senior Privy Counsellors from each of the three main political parties.