Dame Mary Colette Bowe (born 1946) is an English entrepreneur and former civil servant. Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Bowe has a PhD in economics from

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

. In her executive career, she was in the UK civil service from 1975 to 1987. She was involved in the

Westland affair The Westland affair in 1985–86 was an episode in which Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and her Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Heseltine, went public over a cabinet dispute with questions raised about whether ...

as she was ordered by her boss,

Leon Brittan Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 193921 January 2015) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1999. As a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he serv ...

, the

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

, to leak a letter highly damaging to

Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...

. As she was the chief information officer at the Department of Trade and Industry, it led to Brittan's resignation from the cabinet as well. In an interview given to Charles Moore for his authorised biography of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, Bowe ended her long-standing refusal to discuss the issue having not said before who had ordered the leak. She was chairman of Ofcom from 2009 to 2014, chairman of

Electra Private Equity Unbound Group, formerly Electra Private Equity, is a British-based online company specialising in clothing and specialist footwear. Listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2022, it is listed on the Alternative Investment Market. History The ...

plc from 2010 to 2014 and chairman of the Council of Queen Mary University of London from 2004 to 2009. She has also served on the boards of

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltsh ...

Utilities,

London and Continental Railways London and Continental Railways (LCR) is a property development company owned by the Government of the United Kingdom for developing former railway land. The company was originally established in 1994 as a private consortium to own European Pa ...

, Axa IM,

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

and the

Yorkshire Building Society Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The society also owns the Chelsea Building Society a ...

. She founded and was first chairman of the Telecoms Ombudsman Service (now Ombudsman Services) in 2002–2003. She was the first chairman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel (2003–2008), and has worked as the executive chairman of the distribution arm of Fleming Asset Management. Bowe is the chairman of the

Banking Standards Board The Banking Standards Board (BSB) is a body established in April 2015 in the United Kingdom, to promote good practice among banks and building societies. The original idea for the body came from the work of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking S ...

and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, the president of the Voice of the Listener & Viewer, a trustee of ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

'' and the Nuffield Foundation, and is also a visiting fellow of Nuffield College. She is also a board member of the

UK Statistics Authority cy, Y Bwrdd Ystadegau , seal = , logo = UK Statistics Authority logo.svg , formed = , jurisdiction = United Kingdom , headquarters = 1 Drummond Gate London SW1V 2QQ , employees = 3685 , budget = £256m (2018) , minister1_name = Jeremy ...

and a non-executive director of the Department for Transport.

Honours

She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year honours 2014 for services to media and communications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowe, Colette 1946 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Civil servants in the Department of Trade and Industry English people of Irish descent English Roman Catholics Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford Place of birth missing (living people)