Helena Morrissey

Morrissey was born in Bowdon, Cheshire in 1966.[2] She grew up near Chichester, and was educated at Bishop Luffa School.[2][3] Both of her parents were teachers.[3] She studied philosophy at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.[2][3]

Morrissey began her career at the New York and London bond desks at Schroders. Finding her career path blocked there, she moved to Newton Investment Management in the early 1990s[4] as a fixed income fund manager.[5][6] Morrissey became Newton's chief executive;[4] as of 2015, it manages £47 billion of assets.[7]

In 2010, Morrissey established the 30% Club to campaign for greater female representation on company boards. She is a trustee at the Eve Appeal, which raises money for gynaecological cancers, and she is a former chairperson of the corporate board of the Royal Academy of Arts.[8] She is also chair of the advisory board for The Five Foundation, the Global Partnership To End FGM, co-founded by Nimco Ali and Brendan Wynne.

In 2016, Morrissey was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cambridge.[9]

Morrissey was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to UK business and promoted Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to diversity in financial services.[10][11]

Morrissey and her husband, Richard, a former financial journalist and stay-at-home dad, are the parents of nine children, three boys and six girls, one of whom is musician Flo Morrissey.[4][12][13] They met whilst studying at Cambridge and live in Notting Hill, London.[3][14]

Morrissey is the author of a book, 'A Good Time to be a Girl ' (Harper Collins, 2018). The blurb runs: "In A Good Time to be a Girl, Helena Morrissey sets out how we might achieve the next big breakthrough towards a truly inclusive modern society. Drawing on her experience as a City CEO, mother of nine, and founder of the influential 30% Club which campaigns for gender-balanced UK company boards, her manifesto for new ways of working, living, loving and raising families is for everyone, not just women. Making a powerful case for diversity and difference in any workplace, she shows how, together, we can develop smarter thinking and broader definitions of success. Gender balance, in her view, is an essential driver of economic prosperity and part of the solution to the many problems we face today. Her approach is not aimed merely at training a few more women in working practices that have outlived their usefulness. Instead, this book sets out a way to reinvent the game – not at the expense of men but in ways that are right and relevant for a digital age. It is a powerful guide to success for us all."

She was the guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs on Sunday 22 March 2020.