Elizabeth Louise Botting

CBE 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 o ...

(born 19 September 1939) is a British company director and former broadcaster. She was presenter of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Money Box ''Money Box'' is a weekly personal finance radio programme on BBC Radio 4, produced by BBC News, currently presented by Paul Lewis. The programme is broadcast live each Saturday in the half-hour slot just after midday. It is repeated on Sunday ev ...

'' programme between 1977 and 1992. After her broadcasting career, she became one of the first female directors of a

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company, through her appointment to the board of CGNU (formerly

General Accident General Accident plc was a large insurance business based in Perth, Scotland. It merged with Commercial Union in 1998 to form CGU plc. History The Norie-Miller years The Employers' liability act of 1880 opened a new area of insurance and one ...

, now Aviva). She has also held non-executive directorships of other companies such as Trinity Mirror,

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

and

Camelot Group The Camelot Group is the operator of the UK National Lottery whose current franchise period started in 2009 and runs until February 2024. It has also operated the Illinois State Lottery in the state of Illinois in the United States since 20 ...

. She founded the private wealth management firm Douglas Deakin Young in 1974, serving as its managing director and then chairman until it was sold to Duncan Lawrie in 2005. Over the years she has had an extensive portfolio of business interests.

Early life and professional career

Botting was born into a middle-class family, attending the local grammar school, Sutton Coldfield High School for Girls (now Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls) and went on to the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. After her graduation in 1961 she joined the British merchant bank

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

as one of their first female analysts. Her marriage to the writer and explorer

Douglas Botting Douglas Scott Botting (22 February 1934 – 6 February 2018) was an English explorer, author, biographer and TV presenter and producer. He wrote biographies of naturalists Gavin Maxwell and Gerald Durrell (the former also being a personal frien ...

led to a career break as she gave birth to her two daughters,

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(now a newsreader with Sky News) and Kate. Her career in journalism started in 1970 when she began writing for the '' Daily Mail''. She started broadcasting with British Forces Broadcasting Service in 1971 and continued to do this until 1981. In 1974, she established the private wealth management firm Douglas Deakin Young, with the businessman George Douglas and John Deakin, a medical doctor. Her initial role was managing director, until her succession by Alan Warner in 1982, when she became chairman. She remained in this role until the firm was sold to Duncan Lawrie in 2005.

''Money Box''

In 1977, she was asked to be the founding presenter of

's ''

''. The aim of the programme was to make sensible personal financial advice available to ordinary people. The programme, which continues to be broadcast, covers a broad range of investment and tax issues, as well as covering major changes in social security. The popularity of ''Money Box'' increased, attracting up to three million listeners each week. Its political influence was highlighted by the fact that, at times, the Prime Minister's office asked to know the proposed content in advance. By 1992, Botting wished to pursue other business interests and was asked to join the board of

. This appointment was unpalatable to the BBC, and she decided to resign from the programme. She was succeeded by Alison Mitchell.

Later career

Botting has pursued many other business interests. In addition to Douglas Deakin Young and London Weekend Television, she served as non-executive director of CGNU (formerly

, now Aviva) and Trinity Mirror. She still remains a director of national lottery operator

. She also acted as a member of the Top Salaries Review Body between 1987 and 1994, and was rewarded by Prime Minister John Major with a

for her work and for services to journalism. Her interests have also extended to local radio, with ownership of a number of different stakes. In 1995 she chaired the consortium that was awarded the new local radio licence for Stratford-upon-Avon, launching the following year as The Bear. She also acted as professional pension trustee to

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, Blackwell Publishing,

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...

and the

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), incorporated by a Royal Charter, is the trade body and professional institute for agencies and individuals working in the UK's advertising, media and marketing communications industry. History F ...

. After the sale of Douglas Deakin Young in 2005 to Duncan Lawrie, she stepped down as chairman and now acts as a consultant. She is a patron of APT Action on Poverty (Registered Charity No. 290836).

Publications

* ''Making the most of your money'' (1984, 1985), with Vincent Duggleby

References

External links

BBC Radio 4 Money Box 25th Anniversary ProgrammeProfile of Money Box on TV Cream
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botting, Louise 1939 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics BBC newsreaders and journalists British businesspeople British business and financial journalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls British women television journalists British radio presenters British women radio presenters Women business and financial journalists