About
Baroness Helena Morrissey DBE
Baroness Helena Morrissey DBE is a versatile individual, excelling as a financier, advocate, author, and the proud mother of nine. She is known for her leadership and achievements in business, diversity, family life, and empowering others. Her book “A Good Time to Be a Girl” received recognition from The Evening Standard and Forbes for its unique perspective as someone who achieved success while raising children.
Helena started her career in the financial world in New York before returning to London, where she faced the challenging circumstance of being the sole woman in a team of 16 fund managers. Despite her qualifications, she encountered obstacles, including missing out on a promotion due to doubts about her dedication as a new mother. This experience led her to take control of her own career, provide for her family, and support other women in their professional journeys. Her tenure at Newton Investment Management, under the mentorship of its founder Stewart Newton, was transformative. It taught her the invaluable lesson of embracing true diversity of thought. After seven years, she ascended to the role of CEO, presiding over a period of extraordinary growth, with profits more than tripling and assets increasing from £20 billion to £50 billion.
In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at improving the gender balance on UK corporate boards, endorsed by board chairmen across the nation. Today, women occupy over 40% of FTSE350 directorships, a significant increase from the previous figure of less than ten percent. Remarkably, this progress has been achieved without the need for legislative mandates. There are now twenty 30% Clubs throughout the world that support individuals at every stage of their careers, from the classroom to the boardroom, becoming the world’s largest cross-company mentoring scheme.
Helena’s exceptional leadership has garnered her recognition on a global scale, with Fortune magazine naming her one of the world’s 50 Greatest Leaders and the Financial Times honouring her as Person of the Year in 2017. In 2022, Financial News acknowledged her as one of the 25 most influential figures in the City over the past 25 years.
For her significant contributions to promoting diversity within the financial industry, Helena was appointed a Dame in the Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours list. In 2020, she was further honoured with the title of Baroness Morrissey, of Chapel Green in the Royal County of Berkshire.
As a highly sought-after speaker, Helena offers a captivating vision and practical solutions to corporations and individuals alike, offering an exciting vision and practical solutions for both companies and diverse talent.
Posts featuring Baroness Helena Morrissey DBE
“Superwoman” Helena Morrissey Joins Kruger Cowne
Thank you so much for speaking so brilliantly – you absolutely lit up the stage! It was a privilege for us to have you there.
Harper’s Bazaar
"Helena's stage presence encapsulated our audience, whilst engaging them with her story, and making them feel that she was one of them. Empowering, real, and a great story teller. Women in Data were thrilled to have Helena contribute at our event on the empowerment stage and would not hesitate to invite her back again to hear more."
Women in Data UK
"The feedback was fantastic as mentioned and we thought you set a very balanced, constructive and yet encouraging tone during your speech and that was very helpful for both women and men in the discussion as well as across different levels within the firm."
Chartwell
Helena is an inspirational speaker. She delivers her message with clarity and passion in a way that really resonates. Even when discussing complex and challenging issues, her story telling skills and practical advice make it accessible and engaging.
When she spoke before an internal EY audience of over 1000 people she held the room in the palm of her hand. Her open and honest style had an impact on the crowd that was palpable on the day and the feedback from the audience was overwhelmingly positive.
EY Ireland
WINN UK had the privilege of welcoming Dame Helena Morrissey as our keynote speaker for the WINN UK annual event 2019 yesterday (20 November).
Helena spoke passionately on the topic of “Why finance needs more women”. A wide audience of women and men from Natixis London Branch and other UK affiliates, as well as external guests, were inspired by the event. We look forward to continuing the positive and effective work WiNN does into 2020 and beyond.
WINN UK
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