Lilian Margery Bennett (née Barnett, 1922–2013), was a British businesswoman, and the chairman and chief executive of Manpower UK from 1990 to 1998. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', she had an important role in the growth of the use of temporary staff in business.

Early life

She was born Lilian Margery Barnett on 22 August 1922 at 8 Dunsmure Road,

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

, London, the eldest of four daughters of Maurice Sidney Barnett, a schoolmaster, and his wife, Sophia Barnett, née Levy. Her mother's father was the Rev Jacob Baer Levy, a

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues, representing the central Orthodox movement in Judaism. With 62 congregations (including 7 affiliates and 1 associate, ), comprising 40,000 members, it is the largest ...

minister. She was educated at West Ham secondary school, Brentwood School (although it was a boys' school), and in 1941, won a scholarship to study medicine at London's Royal Free Hospital, but did not take her place, as she started a business career instead.

Career

In 1942, she started work in

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

, Bedfordshire, for a plastic aircraft component manufacturer, Thermo-Plastics Ltd, as an office junior, rising to sales and marketing manager in 1945, and sales director in 1957. In 1968, she joined

Manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

, as the marketing director of its UK operations. She became general manager of operations, and then a main board director in the early 1970s, with "responsibility for strategic planning and business development". In 1990, she became chairman and chief executive of Manpower UK in 1990, and retired in 1998.

Honours

She was appointed OBE in 1993 for "services to employment".

Personal life

On 2 November 1952, she married Ronald Bennett (1925–1974), a businessman and photographer, and they had one son, Jonathan.

Later life

Bennett died on 12 August 2013 at her home in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, London, and was survived by her son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Lilian 1922 births 2013 deaths People educated at Brentwood School, Essex Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Stamford Hill People from Wimbledon, London British women business executives British women chief executives