James Purnell

James Mark Dakin Purnell is a British former Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde from 2001 to 2010 and also as a Cabinet minister from 2007 to 2009. After leaving parliament, Purnell was chair of Institute for Public Policy Research from 2010 to 2012 before joining the BBC as Director of Strategy from 2013 to 2016 and Director of Radio and Education from 2016 to 2020. In 2020 he was appointed vice-chancellor of University of the Arts London before leaving in 2024 to become CEO of Flint, a British international advisory business.