John F. Smith OBE (Chair)
PPL
The PPL Board oversees all aspects of the company’s business, including its costs, revenues, licensing and operating policies. There are up to 17 directors on the PPL Board with representation from both major and independent record companies and the performer community. It is also supported by a Finance & Audit Committee, Distribution Committee, and Remuneration Committee, and is held accountable to PPL’s members through PPL’s AGM, at which directors are subject to regular re-election and PPL’s members have the opportunity to vote on matters affecting how PPL is run.
Any person may stand for election to the office of director by giving notice of nomination in writing by two or more Members representing in excess of 0.2% of the voting share of the company subject to approval by the board. More information can be found in PPL’s Articles of Association.
Current list of PPL Board members
Board Attendees
Name |
---|
Gee Davy (AIM) |
Dr Jo Twist (BPI) |
The PPL Board currently has three committees, the members of which represent a cross-section of major record companies, independent record companies and performers. Some committee members are directors, some are not. For example, members of the Finance & Audit Committee include senior financial executives from major and independent record companies, whose financial expertise is extremely valuable to the committee. Committee remits, and all committee members are determined by the PPL Board. This ensures that the directors (who have fiduciary duties to PPL and its members as a whole) can exercise appropriate governance.
The Performer Board is a specialist sub-committee of the PPL Board with responsibility for overseeing the performer-related aspects of PPL’s operations. It includes the performer directors from the PPL Board and two other PPL Board directors.
There are six performer directors, all of whom are elected by PPL’s performer members. Elections for performer directors are held at an Annual Performer Meeting and the criteria for election candidates are set out in the PPL Articles of Association. These criteria include provisions to ensure that there are at least two performer directors who are representatives of or associated predominantly with non-featured performers.
Current list of Performer Board members
Name | From |
---|---|
Roxanne de Bastion | Performer Director |
Jackie Davidson MBE | Performer Director |
Hannah Joseph | Performer Director |
Peter Lale | Performer Director |
Peter Leathem | PPL |
David Lee | Performer Director |
Michael Smith | Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd |
Horace Trubridge | Performer Director |
Performer Board Invitee
Name |
---|
John Barclay (Equity) |
Cameron Craig (MPG) |
Naomi Pohl (MU) |
Performer Guardian Members
PPL has up to five Performer Guardian Members (with up to three appointed by the Performer Board, and one by each of Equity and the MU), who represent the performer community at PPL’s AGM. The current list is set out below.
Name |
---|
Sheila Ferguson |
John Patrick |
Pete Wishart MP |
The VPL Board oversees all aspects of VPL’s music video licensing business. There are seven directors on the VPL Board, with representation from major and independent rights holders (due to differences in how copyright law applies to music videos, the VPL Board does not have performer directors). Representatives from AIM and the BPI also attend. Similar to the PPL Board, the VPL Board is supported by a Finance & Audit Committee and Distribution Committee, with broad external industry representation.
The VPL Board is accountable to its members through VPL’s AGM, at which directors are subject to regular re-election and VPL’s members have the opportunity to vote on matters affecting how VPL is run. Any person may stand for election to the office of director by giving notice of nomination in writing by any VPL member subject to approval by the board.
Current list of VPL Board members
Name | From |
---|---|
Helen Deakin | Polydor, Universal Music |
Rob Gruschke | Beggars Group Ltd |
Geoff Kempin (Chairman) | Eagle Rock Entertainment |
Peter Leathem | PPL |
Charlotte Saxe | Warner Music UK |
Adrian Sear | Demon Music Group |
Michael Smith | Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd |
VPL Board Attendees
Name |
---|
Gee Davy (AIM) |
Kiaron Whitehead (BPI) |
Both PPL and VPL hold annual general meetings at which members have the opportunity to elect directors and vote on matters affecting how the company is run. PPL also holds an Annual Performer Meeting, at which Performer Directors are elected.
For more information, please refer to PPL’s Articles of Association and PPL’s Code of Conduct for Members.