Dame Irene Lucas-Hays (née Lucas; born 4 February 1954) is a British businesswoman and former civil servant, and the chair of

Hays Travel Hays Travel Limited is an independent travel agent chain headquartered in Sunderland, England. According to recent statistics, the company has the largest number of retail travel shops in the United Kingdom. As an independent agent, Hays Travel ...

, the largest independent travel agent in the UK, which she jointly owned with her husband John Hays until his death in 2020.

Early life

She was born Irene Lucas in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

on 4 February 1954, the daughter of Vincent and Isabelle Lucas.

Career

Hays worked in local government, rising to chief executive of

South Tyneside Council South Tyneside Council is the local authority of South Tyneside in Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Loc ...

and Sunderland City Council. She was later an advisor to Ministers and Secretaries of State in Whitehall, and a Permanent Secretary. In 1980, her late husband John founded

in the back of his mother's children's wear store in

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. John Hays owned 56.42% and Irene owns 43.58%. Hays has been the chair of Hays Travel since 2011. Since January 2019, Hays has been a non-executive board member and chair of the

Education and Skills Funding Agency The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency of the government of the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Department for Education. The ESFA was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of the Education Funding Agency an ...

(ESFA) management board.

Honours

She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to local government and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to training, education and young people. In December 2018, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Sunderland , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emel ...

. Hays has been awarded an honorary MBA. She was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne & Wear in 2020.

Personal life

In 1997, she married John Hays, and they have one son and one daughter. John was the company's CEO. John Hays died on 13 November 2020, after collapsing from a cardiac arrest at the company's Sunderland head office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Irene Living people 1940s births British women business executives Civil servants in the Department for Communities and Local Government British Permanent Secretaries Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Tyne and Wear