MUMBAI: As part of its restructuring exercise, BBC has combined the functions of chief operating officer and the chief financial officer under one person.

Anne Bulford has been made MD finance and operations, making her run the twin roles of COO and CFO.

Bulford, who will sit on the BBC?s Executive and Worldwide Boards, will oversee the finance, operations, technology, legal, risk and assurance and property functions. The role will also cover commercial rights and business affairs.

Her appointment follows the announcement last year that the BBC?s current CFO Zarin Patel will be stepping down. It also follows the closure of the COO post last September.

Incoming DG Tony Hall said, "Anne?s appointment is another significant step towards building a senior management team with the creative and strategic skills to lead the BBC for the next decade. She is a remarkable talent with a very impressive track record and we are very lucky to have secured her skills for the BBC in such a competitive market. I would also like to thank Zarin for her excellent stewardship of the Finance division over the last eight years."

Bulford is currently Channel 4 COO. She said, "I am really looking forward to returning to the BBC. I have such great respect for the organisation and cannot wait to come back and be a part of the new management team. I am also very pleased to be working with Tony once again."

Bulford begins her new role this summer. She will be paid a total package of ?395,000.

MUMBAI: The incoming BBC DG Tony Hall is building a senior team that is set to define the BBC and public service broadcasting in the UK for the next decade.

In the first in a series of appointments to the BBC?s senior management team, James Purnell, currently a senior producer at Rare Day and adviser to the Boston Consulting Group, has been appointed as Director, Strategy and Digital.

Purnell is a former Secretary of State for Culture, and is on the board of the British Film Institute and the Royal National Theatre. He is returning to the BBC, having been Head of Corporate Planning in the 1990s. He will lead on developing the BBC?s strategy, in the build up to the BBC?s centenary. To that end, his remit will include running the Policy & Strategy, Digital, Public Affairs & Communications, and Marketing & Audiences divisions.

?I?m really excited to be coming back to the BBC, to work on its future with such a great team. Over the last couple of years, producing and developing programmes has rekindled my passion for the career I had before politics. I feel very lucky to have the chance to return to the BBC at such an important time,? says Purnell.

Hall has also announced that following nearly five months as Acting DG, Tim Davie?s new role at BBC Worldwide has been expanded to incorporate a more strategic global perspective. As CEO, BBC Worldwide and Director, Global, Davie will be responsible for developing the BBC?s international brand and editorial strategy.

"I am very pleased to take on the important task of building the BBC brand globally and leading a growing, creative BBC Worldwide," says Davie.

As well as the appointments above, Helen Boaden will be taking up the post of Director, BBC Radio (formerly Director A&M).

Boaden, who is currently Director, BBC News is a former Controller of BBC Radio 4 and had a long track record in radio before joining News. During her time at Radio 4, the network won Sony Radio Academy Station of the Year for two consecutive years in 2003 and 2004.

The BBC will now begin the process of recruiting a new Director, BBC News, and Director, BBC Television. These posts will be advertised shortly.

Says Hall, ?There will be more changes over the coming months and there is a lot of hard work ahead but today?s appointments are the first steps in delivering that vision.

MUMBAI: The BBC Trust has appointed Tony Hall - Lord Hall of Birkenhead - as BBC DG following the departure of George Entwistle.

Lord Hall is currently Royal Opera House CEO. He was Chairman of the board for the Cultural Olympiad and was head of BBC News and Current Affairs from 1996 to 2001. He was a digital pioneer, launching BBC News Online, as well as Radio 5 Live, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament. At present he is Deputy Chairman of Channel 4.

Lord Hall is expected to start in early March and in the interim period Tim Davie will remain as Acting Director-General.

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said, "While there are still very serious questions to be answered by the on-going inquiries, it is in the interests of licence fee payers that the BBC now starts to refocus on its main purpose ? making great programmes that audiences love and trust.

"In doing this it will need to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects. Tony Hall is the right person to lead this.

"Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. As an ex-BBC man he understands how the Corporation?s culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world.

"But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences."

Lord Hall will take up the post on a salary of ?450,000 per year.

Lord Hall said, "This organisation is an incredibly important part of what makes the United Kingdom what it is. And of course it matters not just to people in this country ? but to tens of millions around the world too."

The appointment was made following a direct approach from the BBC Trust to Lord Hall. The Trust did not approach any other candidates. Lord Hall did not apply for the job when it last became vacant as a result of Mark Thompson?s departure.

Entwhistle had to leave after allegations of child sex abuse done by late BBC television star Jimmy Saville came out. There was also a Newsnight report that had wrongly implicated a politician in child sex abuse.