Helen Alexander (businesswoman)

Dame Helen Anne Alexander DBE (10 February 1957 – 5 August 2017[1][2][3]) was a British businesswoman. She served as the chairman of UBM plc. She had an MA from Oxford, an MBA from INSEAD and in 2016 was awarded the Legion d'Honneur.[4] She was Chancellor of the University of Southampton (2011–2017).

Dame

Helen Alexander

DBE
Born(1957-02-10)10 February 1957
Geneva, Switzerland
Died5 August 2017(2017-08-05) (aged 60)
EducationSt Paul's Girls' School
Alma materHertford College, Oxford
INSEAD
OccupationBusinesswoman

Early life

Alexander was born in Geneva to Bernard Alexander, a British lawyer who worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Tania Benckendorff.[5] Her mother was Russian (with roots in Estonia)[6][7] and her maternal grandmother was Moura Budberg,[8] adventuress, muse, and suspected double agent. Through her, Helen Alexander was related to Nick Clegg, sometime Deputy Prime Minister, whose paternal grandmother, Kira von Engelhardt, Baroness von Smolensk, was Budberg's niece.[9]

Alexander was educated at St Paul's Girls' School in London. She earned a degree in geography from Hertford College, Oxford in 1978 and an INSEAD in 1984.[5]

Career

She began a career in publishing at Faber and Faber. She joined the Economist Group as a marketing executive in 1985.[6] From 1997 to 2008 she was chief executive of the Economist Group, during which time profits greatly increased and the circulation of The Economist more than doubled.[6]

In 2004 she was appointed CBE for services to publishing. Alexander's numerous directorships included Huawei Technologies, Esure Group Holdings, Rolls-Royce Group, Incisive Media, Thomson-Reuters, UBM plc and Bain Capital.[10]

In 2011, she was the first female president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and was appointed DBE for services to business.[6]

She was a trustee of Sir Tim Berners-Lee's World Wide Web Foundation, and was chairman of the Port of London Authority from January 2010 until 31 December 2015. Since September 2011 she had been Chancellor of the University of Southampton, the first woman in that role.[11] Her appointment at Southampton attracted some criticism from the student body over Alexander's role at Rolls-Royce, given the company's role in the arms trade.[12]

She was an honorary fellow of Hertford College, Oxford,[13] and sat on the board of the Said Business School, University of Oxford.[14]

Personal life

Alexander spoke fluent French. She was married and had three children. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2014.[15]

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References
  1. "Renowned businesswoman Dame Helen Alexander dies".
  2. "Our Chancellor". University of Southampton.
  3. "Helen ALEXANDER – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom.
  4. "Ambassador awards Légion d'honneur to Dame Helen Alexander". Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. Lambert, Richard; Rocco, Fiammetta (10 August 2017). "Dame Helen Alexander obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  6. "Dame Helen Alexander, former chief executive of The Economist Group, died on August 5th". The Economist. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  7. "Dame Helen Alexander". BBC Woman's Hour. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. Emmott, Bill (7 August 2017). "Helen Alexander, former Economist Group chief executive, 1957–2017". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  9. "Was Nick Clegg's great aunt a Soviet agent?". The Independent. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  10. "Helen Alexander". London Speaker Bureau. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  11. "Our People". Southampton University. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. "New Chancellor is Director of arms company". WessexScene.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  13. "Dame Helen Alexander: Honorary Fellow". Hertford College. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  14. "Boards and Councils". Said Business School. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  15. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Sir John Parker		 Chancellor of the University of Southampton
2011–2017		 Succeeded by
Ruby Wax
Business positions
Preceded by
 Executive Chairman of UBM plc
2014–2017		 Succeeded by
TBD
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