Margaret Casely-Hayford

Margaret Casely-Hayford
Born 1954
London, England
Nationality British
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford, Inns of Court School of Law
Occupation Lawyer, businesswoman and public figure
Relatives J. E. Casely Hayford (grandfather);
Gus Casely-Hayford, Joe Casely-Hayford, Peter Casely-Hayford (brothers)
Website margaretcasely-hayford.com

Margaret Casely-Hayford (born 1959)[1] is a British lawyer, businesswoman and public figure who is active in the voluntary sector. She chairs the board of Shakespeare's Globe, and was formerly chair of ActionAid UK and company secretary and head of legal services for leading retailers the John Lewis Partnership.[2][3][4] She is in the forefront of working to create diversity on boards.[5][6]

Biography

Margaret Casely-Hayford was born in London, England, into a prominent Ghanaian family: her grandfather was the Gold Coast lawyer, writer and politician J. E. Casely Hayford, and her brothers are historian Gus Casely-Hayford, designer Joe Casely-Hayford and Peter Casely-Hayford, formerly managing director of TV production company Twenty Twenty.[3][7][8] In 2008 the Casely-Hayfords were named on "The Black Powerlist" as the most influential black family in the UK.[4]

She studied law at Somerville College, Oxford, graduating in 1982, and did her Bar finals at the Inns of Court School of Law, being called to the Bar in 1983 (Gray's Inn).[1][9] She worked for 20 years with the law firm Dentons, where she was made a Partner, becoming the first black woman to hold such a position in a City firm.[3] From 2000 to 2008 she was a government-appointed trustee of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity and of the Geffrye Museum and was on the development board of the Young Vic theatre.[10] During 2012–16 she was a non-executive director of NHS England, and on the Board of the British Retail Consortium. She also serves on the Metropolitan Police panel overseeing the investigation into police corruption.[11] She is in the forefront of working to create diversity on boards.[4][5]

For nine years, until 2014, she was Director of Legal Services and Company Secretary for the John Lewis Partnership.[11] She was also on the Board of the British Retail Consortium for four years to 2014.[12]

She became Chair of the charity ActionAid UK in 2014, and in 2016 she became a member-nominated Director of The Co-op.[12] She is an ambassador of Board Apprentice and Chairs the advisory board of Ultra Education, working to develop young entrepreneurs, and a non-executive director of WetZebra Media.[5] She is also a trustee of The Radcliffe Trust, one of Britain’s oldest charities supporting classical music performance and training,[13]

She was chosen to chair of the diversity review conducted by CILIP in 2017 into the awarding of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals.[14][15] Committed to encouraging all business leaders to promote diversity on boards, she has said: "That is the future. There is a whole slew of people who still feel that they aren't part of the game. We are a mixed society – that's what Britain has been for so long. We just need to be more positive rather than negative, and showcase it. We are now at a crossroads."[4]

Additionally, she co-manages rap artist and media entrepreneur Kelvyn Colt, who is a friend of her daughter.[16][17][18]

In July 2017 Casely-Hayford was named the new Chancellor of Coventry University, the first female to hold the position.[16][19][20][21]

In February 2018, she was announced as the new chair of the board of Shakespeare's Globe, taking over the appointment from Michael Bichard.[22][23][24][25][26][27]

Awards and recognition

In 2014 she was voted Black British Business Person of the Year at the Black British Business Awards (BBBA) founded by Melanie Eusebe.[4]

In 2016 Casely-Hayford was awarded an honorary doctorate by Middlesex University.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Margaret Casely-Hayford", BLD, April 2010.
  2. ↑ Margaret Casely-Hayford website.
  3. 1 2 3 Elizabeth Pears, "Women Making A Mark", The Voice, 24 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Lysanne Currie, "Margaret Casely-Hayford: The ActionAid UK chair talks talent, diversity and building a great company culture", The Director, 1 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Margaret Casely-Hayford awarded an Honorary Degree", Middlesex University UniHub, 13 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Margaret Casely-Hayford, "Opinion: Equality at the heart of co-operation… It’s in our DNA", Co-Op News, 8 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Joanne Oatts, "Shed productions buys Twenty Twenty", Digital Spy, 19 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "Black History Month Talk & 3rd Anniversary Party", Conway Hall, 17 October 2015,
  9. ↑ Jack Grove, "Interview with Margaret Casely-Hayford", Times Higher Education, 28 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "About Margaret", Margaret Casely-Hayford website.
  11. 1 2 "106 seconds with… Margaret Casely-Hayford, Chair, Action Aid UK", 6th Sense, 10 August 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Board and directors", Co-op.
  13. ↑ "About", The Radcliffe Trust.
  14. ↑ Natasha Onwuemezi, "Casely-Hayford to chair Carnegie and Greenaway Medals diversity review", The Bookseller, 26 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "'Get all young Britons reading to unlock potential, productivity and economic growth'" (press release), CILIP, 7 December 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Margaret Casely-Hayford named new Chancellor of Coventry University", Coventry University, 17 July 2017.
  17. ↑ "Kelvyn Colt - Narcotic". Music video directed by Simon Frederick, produced by Margaret Casely-Hayford.
  18. ↑ Lara Wilson, "10 Minutes with MND Margaret Casely-Hayford: Managing a rapper will help in my role as Member Nominated Director", Co-op, 20 November 2016.
  19. ↑ "New Coventry University chancellor is black female trailblazer Margaret Casely-Hayford", Coventry Observer, 17 July 2017.
  20. ↑ "Inspirational speakers secured for major business event in Warwickshire", Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Groundbreaker Becomes First Woman Chancellor At Coventry University – Another first for the acclaimed lawyer Margaret Casely-Hayford", The Voice, 9 August 2017.
  22. ↑ Georgia Snow, "Margaret Casely-Hayford announced as chair of Shakespeare’s Globe", The Stage, 6 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Margaret Casely-Hayford Appointed As Chair Of Shakespeare's Globe", Broadway World, 6 February 2018.
  24. ↑ Press Association, "Margaret Casely-Hayford appointed chairwoman of Shakespeare’s Globe", Evening Express, Aberdeen Journals, 6 February 2018.
  25. ↑ "Margaret Casely-Hayford appointed as Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe", Shakespeare's Globe Blog, 6 February 2018.
  26. ↑ PA, "Margaret Casely-Hayford appointed chairwoman of Shakespeare´s Globe", Mail Online, 6 February 2018.
  27. ↑ Nadine White, "Margaret Casely-Hayford Named Chair Of Shakespeare’s Globe", The Voice, 15 February 2018.
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