Taverne is the daughter of
Dick Taverne, a former Labour MP. Prior to her role at the British Museum she worked as director of finance for the
Financial Times, as a consultant at
Saatchi & Saatchi and as finance director of
The Independent. During her tenure she worked in tandem with
Robert Anderson. Taverne was the first person from outside the museum sector to be appointed to this kind of senior role in the organisation. In 2002 she was appointed Director of Operations at Imperial College, a role she held until 2005. She was reappointed in 2015. In 2023 she was Chair of the Board of Directors of
openDemocracy. As of 2024 she was Deputy Chair of the Council of the
British School at Rome. == References ==