Roly Keating

Joined the Board on 5 December 2016. His appointment runs until 5 December 2022. Roly Keating has been Chief Executive of the British Library since September 2012. In his tenure so far, he has overseen a series of significant developments including: the launch in 2015 of Living Knowledge, an ambitious new vision and strategy; a major expansion of cultural and learning activities, including landmark exhibitions on Magna Carta and Harry Potter; new pan-UK partnerships with public libraries including the successful Business & IP Centre national network; digital initiatives including Save Our Sounds to preserve the UK's audio heritage; the creation of the Knowledge Quarter, an innovative partnership of knowledge-based organisations near the Library's London HQ; and the initiation of major new capital projects in London and Yorkshire, including full-scale renewal of the Library's Boston Spa campus and creation of a major new public space in Leeds. Roly joined the Library after a long and successful career as a programme-maker and broadcasting executive at the BBC, where he played key roles in the launch of UKTV, as its first Head of Programming, and BBC Four, as its launch Controller in 2002, before moving on to become Controller of BBC Two and Director of Archive Content, with editorial oversight of the BBC's online services including BBC iPlayer. Roly is a Trustee of the Clore Leadership Programme, the British Library Trust, the American Trust for the British Library, the Gilson Trust, the Friends of the National Libraries and the Busby Trust and he chairs the Conference of European National Librarians. Roly holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Lincoln, Warwick and York.