This is the text of a message to all BBC staff from the Chairman, Michael Grade:

1130 am Thursday October 12, 2006

The new governance arrangements will take effect with the new Charter on 1 January 2007.  This means the Board of Governors will be abolished and replaced by the BBC Trust.  Today the Government has announced the names of the 8 Trustees who will join Richard Tait, Dermot Gleeson, Jeremy Peat and me as members of the BBC Trust.  They are:

Chitra Bharucha – Vice-Chairman, who is a former consultant haematologist and member of the ITC (Independent Television Commission).  She now chairs General Medical Council panels that decide on the fitness of doctors to practise medicine

Diane Coyle – an economist, member of the Competition Commission and former economics editor of the Independent newspaper.

Alison Hastings – Trustee for England, who is a former editor of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle

Patricia Hodgson – former Chief Exec of the ITC and Director of Policy & Planning here at the BBC

Rotha Johnston – Trustee for Northern Ireland, who is an independent businesswoman

Janet Lewis-Jones – Trustee for Wales, who is Vice-President of the British Board of Film Classification and a former board member of S4C

David Liddiment – the Producer of the Old Vic Theatre Company and former Director of Programmes at ITV

Mehmuda Mian Pritchard – a member of the Independent Police Complaints Commission

The BBC Trust has a very different role from that of the Governors.  The Charter requires us to be independent of BBC management, representing the interests of licence fee payers.  Our role will be to 'face outwards' ensuring we consult the public before making big decisions including setting the strategic direction of the BBC which will be set out in the new documents of the future: purpose remits and service licences.  

Separate to the Trust, a number of new external non-executive directors will soon be appointed to the Director General's Executive Board and it will be their job to support the management team in developing and implementing the BBC's creative strategies.

Michael Grade