Welcome to our list of 23 of the most prominent women leaders in business in 2023.
We have compiled the list to mark International Women's Day, marked every year on March 8 to highlight women's achievements and the vital, continuing campaigning for gender equality. BusinessLive has been taking a look at some of the inspirational business leaders from across the UK, including senior executives and self-made millionaires and those representing business at the highest levels.
We hope our list reflects how the best leaders lift up those who follow by campaigning for women in the workplace - whether that is about mental health wellbeing or gender equality. Most importantly, this list is far from definitive and fully comprehensive and we are well aware that there are thousands more around the regions that deserve to be named and celebrated every day, not just on International Women's Day, so please mention them in the comments, or on Linkedin and Twitter.
Anne Boden
Anne Boden spent 30 years working for financial leaders including Lloyds Banking Group, Allied Irish and the Royal Bank of Scotland, before launching mobile-only Starling Bank in 2014. After seeing the potential for digital technology to revolutionise the way people carry out their banking, Starling has since been voted Best British Bank three times. She also sits on the board of UK Finance and is an adviser to the Board of Trade. She was awarded an MBE for services to financial technology in 2018.
Henrietta Brealey
Henrietta Brealey, chief executive, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, first joined the organisation 11 years ago as a part-time intern, and worked in a variety of roles before becoming one of its youngest ever directors at 25, when she took on the newly created position of director of policy and strategic relationships. Just months after becoming chief strategy officer in 2021, she was appointed to the top job at the Chamber.
Denise Coates
Denise Coates CBE is the founder of online gambling giant bet365, having made a gamble pay off when she took out a £15m bank loan to launch the business from a portable cabin more than 20 years ago. The £2.85bn turnover business, based in Stoke-on-Trent, now employs more than 5,000 people in the UK and is embarking on an ambitious North American expansion strategy.
Roisin Currie
Roisin Currie became CEO of Greggs Plc last May, moving into the role from her retail and property director position. She first joined Greggs 12 years ago, after working at Asda where she held people director roles, responsible for the organisation’s retail and distribution operations. She is a trustee of the Greggs Foundation and is chair of the Employers Forum For Reducing Re-offending.
Susan Davy
Susan Davy, was appointed Chief Executive of the FTSE100 firm in July 2020, having spent five years as CFO. Her industry knowledge has underpinned Pennon's growth strategy, which has included the acquisition of Bournemouth Water in 2015. She is also a former chair of the CBI South West and she is also a non-exec director at Restore Plc.
Helen Dickinson
Helen Dickinson has led the team at British Retail Consortium since 2013 and has worked with retailers for over 25 years. In 2016 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Retail. She also acts as the BRC’s Social Mobility Commission ambassador and takes part in the Timewise Innovation Unit, looking to support more flexibility in jobs.
Mehmooda Duke
Mehmooda Duke is the founder and CEO of Leicester based Moosa – Duke Solicitors, which specialise in medical negligence claims. She initially defended health professionals before switching to act for victims of the NHS and GPs. She was awarded an MBE in the New Year honours 2019 for services to the legal profession and female entrepreneurship.
Rosie Ginday
Rosie Ginday trained as a high-end pastry chef and worked in top London hotels and in Michelin-starred restaurants before setting up macaron business Miss Macaroon, with £500 of her own money in 2011. Since launching the Birmingham company she has won a number of accolades , including an MBE for her work mentoring young people with multiple and complex needs.
Poppy Gustafsson
Poppy Gustafsson co-founded the Cambridge-based cyber security firm Darktrace in 2013 when she was just 30 and in 2021 launched the firm on the Stock Exchange. Under her leadership, the company has experienced significant growth and global expansion, with 6,500 customers and 1,700 employees worldwide. She was awarded an OBE for services to cyber security in 2019.
Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk CEO
Tristia Harrison has been the CEO of TalkTalk since March 2017, having previously served as managing director of the company's consumer business. She is also chair of homelessness charity Crisis.
Shevaun Haviland
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, became the head of Business Relations at Number 10 in 2017, a year after joining the civil service as Deputy Director of Business Partnerships at the Cabinet Office. She has worked for a range of other private sector firms including agency group WPP, the Walt Disney Company and Datamonitor based in London, Paris and New York. She also sits on the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing and supports The Danson Foundation.
Amanda James, finance director Next Plc
Amanda James first joined Next back in 1995 and, having risen through the ranks, in 2009 she was appointed commercial finance director. She was promoted to brand finance director in 2012 and appointed to the fashion giant’s board in 2015.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op CEO
Shirine Khoury-Haq became the Co-op's permanent chief executive last August, three months after being appointed as interim CEO, becoming the first female CEO in the group's history. Ahead of her appointment she said she wanted to see action to get more people from ethnic minority backgrounds into top roles in British business.
Carolyn McCall
Dame Carolyn is the first female chief executive of ITV, joining in 2018 from her previous role as CEO of easyJet. Prior to joining easyJet, she was chief executive of Guardian Media Group plc. Awarded a Damehood in the 2016 New Year Honours list, she was also a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from 2017 to 2020.
Rachel McGill
Rachel McGill set up McGill Motorsport in Kirkcaldy 18 years ago, after her husband's hobby of racing stock cars led to him buying parts abroad for himself and other drivers. The company has grown to become a major specialist supplier of motorsport racers' hardware, race parts and racewear. Business award wins include the coveted Family Award at the eBay for Business Awards.
Deborah Meaden
Serial entrepreneur and millionaire investor Deborah Meaden ran successful Weststar Holidays in Exeter before selling the company in 2006, but she is best known for her appearances alongside fellow panellist Sara Davies on Dragons' Den. The TV Dragon has made many investments into firms that have pitched on the show, and she has a majority stake in West Country textile mill Fox Brothers.
Bina Mehta
Bina Mehta is the chair of KPMG in the UK, and the first woman to hold the position in the company's history. She has spent 30 years working with businesses in the UK, India, US and Canada. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for services to trade and investment in the UK and supporting female entrepreneurs. She is also a member of the Institute of Fiscal Studies Council and an Honorary Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Alison Rose
Dame Alison Rose was appointed chief executive of NatWest in 2019, rising through the ranks after joining the bank as a graduate in 1992. She is the first woman to lead one of the UK’s big four banks after holding a number of senior leadership roles. Dame Alison was commissioned by the government to report on the barriers to women starting businesses and in February 2023 the latest Rose Review Progress Report was published, showing that a fifth of new incorporations last year were all-female led.
Carrie Rose
Carrie Rose founded creative agency Rise at Seven in 2019 as a team of two with Stephen Kenwright - but last year the 29-year-old took 100% ownership of the company and announced ambitious growth plans. The Sheffield business now turns over £7m in revenue across four offices in the UK, EU and US and she is eyeing further mergers and acquisitions.
Joanna Swash
Joanna Swash has risen though the ranks at Moneypenny, starting as its first sales person in 2005 to becoming group CEO of the outsourced communications provider, which now employs more than 1,000 people across the UK and the US. In 2021, she was Management Today CEO of the Year and joined the Forbes Business Council, an invitation-only growth and networking community for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.
Sandra Wallace
Sandra Wallace is partner and joint managing director for UK and Europe at DLA Piper. Based in Birmingham, she serves on the global law firm's executive board and its diversity and inclusion council. She was appointed as interim chair of the Social Mobility Commission in 2020.
Emma Walmsley
Dame Emma became CEO the FTSE 100 firm GlaxoSmithKline six years ago, joining from her role as CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare, a joint venture between GSK and Novartis. She had previously worked for L’Oreal for 17 years, holding a variety of marketing and general management roles in Paris, London and New York. From 2007 she was based in Shanghai as General Manager, Consumer Products for L’Oreal China. She was appointed Dame (DBE) in 2020 for services to the pharmaceutical industry and business.
Sharon White
Dame Sharon White became the sixth chair of the John Lewis Partnership in 2019, moving from her chief executive role at UK media regulator Ofcom. She has also held a number of roles within the civil service, including second permanent secretary of the Treasury from 2013 to 2015. Dame Sharon has worked at board level within the Ministry of Justice and the Department for International Development. She was appointed a Dame in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list.
