Samir Shah

Samir Shah, CBE (born 29 January 1952), is a British television and radio executive. He has worked for London Weekend Television, the BBC, and is the chief executive of Juniper TV, a British company.

After co-authoring, in 2021, HMG Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report, on 6 December 2023, Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, put Dr Shah forward to be the next Chairman of the BBC.

Born in 1952 at Aurangabad, India, to Amrit Shah and Uma Bakaya, the family moved to England in 1960. Educated at Latymer Upper School, an independent school in West London, he went up to read Geography at the University of Hull, graduating BSc. He then pursued further studies in Anthropology and Geography at St Catherine's College, Oxford, taking a doctorate of Philosophy (DPhil) in 1979 with a thesis titled "Aspects of the geographic analysis of Asian immigrants in London".

Shah joined London Weekend Television in 1979, where he was to work with two major figures in his career, John Birt, later director-general of the BBC, and Michael Wills, from whom he was to purchase Juniper TV, both of whom became Life Peers. In 1987, he was appointed BBC's head of television current affairs and from 1994 to 1998 was head of the BBC’s political journalism programmes. Shah has said that his decision to leave the BBC for the commercial world was influenced by a very long and expensive executives' residential course given by the London Business School which was "incredibly useful and covered proper, grown-up things";"the importance of obvious stuff like talking to the people who work for you"; and "it is perfectly possible to make better programmes for less cost". The downside was that, having experienced a feel for the commercial world, the course was "quite significant" in his choosing to move on from the BBC.

In 1998, Shah purchased Juniper TV from Wills on the latter's appointment as a member of parliament, since when he has operated as its CEO and creative director. Juniper's programmes have been broadcast on the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, Discovery, TLC and Netflix.

Shah's appointment as one of the then three non-executive directors of the BBC in 2007 led to a potential conflict of interest, as Juniper was supplying programmes to the BBC, with Greenslade in 2007 reporting that Shah "steps out if the board touches on any area that might affect his business expertise in broadcasting is considered". Shah was involved in advising director-general Sir Mark Thompson over the Crowngate affair which resulted in BBC1 controller Peter Fincham resigning from the BBC.Shah was reported as claiming in 2008 that "One BBC ethos" presented a "monolithic posture that makes it appear anti-competitive".

• Arts and Heritage: Deputy Chairman (2012–14) & Trustee (2005–14) of the V&A; Chairman of the Museum of the  Home (2014–22); member of the Cultural Recovery Board (2020–21); and of the Heritage Advisory Board (2020).
• Media: Non-Executive Director of the BBC Board (2007–10); member of the Future of public service broadcasting (2021); Board member, BAFTA; Chairman of One World Media (2020–)
• Multicultural: Commissioner on HMG Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities; Chairman of the Runnymede Trust (1999–2009); Member, PM Holocaust Commission (2014–15).
• Academic: 2019 Visiting Professor of Creative Media, Oxford University (Faculty of English), 2006–17; Special Professor, University of Nottingham

Appointed OBE "for services to equal opportunities in broadcasting", Dr Shah was elected a Fellow of the Royal Television Society in 2002. In 2019 he was promoted CBE "for services to heritage and television". The Guardian in June 2008 referred to Shah as “one of the most successful figures in modern British broadcasting”. February 2022 saw Shah given an Outstanding Contribution Award by the Royal Television Society for services over 40 years and commitment to diversity in television journalism.

• Shah, Samir (2008). "The BBC, Viewed from Inside and Out". In Gardam, Tim; Levy, David A. L. (eds.). The Price of Plurality: Choice, Diversity and Broadcasting Institutions in the Digital Age (PDF) (Report). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. ISBN 978-0-95-588890-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2021.

• Arts Council England (2021). "Culture Recovery Board". www.artscouncil.org.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• Bates, Stephen (27 June 2008). "People". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• BBC Press Office (January 2007). "Biographies: Dr Samir Shah OBE". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• Brown, Maggie (12 May 2008). "Samir Shah: why the BBC needs radical reform". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
• Choppen, Chloe (21 April 2020). "One World Media delighted to announce Samir Shah as new Chair". One World Media. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• "Journalism Award for Samir Shah". Eastern Eye. 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022 – via PressReader.
• FT (9 February 1998). "Inside track for Shah". Financial Times (London ed.). ProQuest 248581104 – via ProQuest.
• Gov.UK (2021). "Commissioner - Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: Dr Samir Shah CBE". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• Gov.UK (2021b). "The Heritage Advisory Board". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• Greenslade, Roy (28 November 2007). "So what is the point of these five non-execs sitting on BBC board?". Evening Standard. London. Media Analysis – via ProQuest.
• Juniper TV (November 2021). "Samir Shah: Chief Executive and Creative Director". www.junipertv.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• Juniper TV (2021c). "Television Archive". www.junipertv.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
• One World Media (2021). "About:Meet Our Trustees". One World Media. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
• OUP (December 2021). Who's Who 2022 (174 ed.). doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U45444. ISBN 978-1472979070. Shah, Samir.
• Robins, Jane (22 February 2000). "Media: Fancy Harvard? join the BBC if Harvard Business School appeals, but you can't afford the fees, become a BBC manager. Auntie may be able to help you out". The Independent (Final ed.). ProQuest 311622243 – via ProQuest.