PRESS RELEASE : Two Board Members appointed to the British Library [February 2024]
The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 29 February 2024.
The Secretary of State has appointed Shobi Khan and Kate Mosse CBE as Board Members to the British Library, for terms of 4 years commencing 1 March 2024.
Shobi Khan
Shobi Khan is the CEO of Canary Wharf Group (CWG). Previously, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of GGP Inc. (a S&P 500 REIT). Prior to GGP, he served as the U.S. chief investment officer at Bentall Kennedy. Mr. Khan spent 11 years at Equity Office Properties Trust (a S&P 500 REIT), where he was the Senior Vice President of Investments. Mr. Khan served on the board of Alliance Shopping Centres (ALSO3, a public Brazilian mall owner) and the Chicago Public Library Foundation.
Kate Mosse CBE
Kate Mosse is an award-winning novelist, non-fiction author, playwright, campaigner and interviewer. The author of ten novels & short story collections, including The Languedoc Trilogy – Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel – and No 1 bestselling Gothic fiction including The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter. Kate also has four works of non-fiction including the memoir An Extra Pair of Hands and Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World. Her latest international No 1 bestselling novel, The Ghost Ship, is the third in a quartet of historical novels, The Joubert Family Chronicles. Kate’s books have been translated into 37 languages and published in more than 40 countries.
In the New Year Honours list 2024, Kate was awarded a CBE for services to literature, to women and to charity. She is the founder director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction and the Founder of the global #WomaninHistory campaign. She was appointed a member of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
Kate was formerly Deputy Chair of the National Theatre. Active in her local community, Kate is a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing and Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester, President of the Festival of Chichester, Patron of the Consort of Twelve and the Chichester Festival of Music, Dance & Speech and Patron of the Chichester Cathedral Festival of Flowers for 2024. She is also an Ambassador for Parkinson’s UK.
Remuneration and Governance Code
The Secretary of State has determined that remuneration at £9,130 per annum shall be payable to Kate Mosse. Shobi Khan has agreed to forgo the remuneration. Board Members are able to claim reasonable expenses in accordance with the British Library’s own rules.
These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared; this is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Shobi Khan and Kate Mosse have not declared any significant political activity.
