Louise Alexandra Virginia Charlotte Patten, Baroness Patten (born 2 February 1954) is a British businesswoman and author, who is the wife of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician, John Patten and the granddaughter of the RMS ''Titanic'' Second Officer,

Charles Lightoller Charles Herbert Lightoller, (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952) was a British mariner and naval officer. He was the second officer on board the and the most senior member of the crew to survive the ''Titanic'' disaster. As the officer in ch ...

.Louise Patten
, ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 2009-08-27

Background

Patten went to

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England. History St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...

and then to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She married John Patten in 1978 and has one daughter, Mary-Claire Patten.

Business career

Patten is one of the few women who has held a senior position in British business. She states that "business is still organised for the majority, who are men" and this lifestyle is a major issue for women in business. During her career she has tended to choose companies that are family-friendly and has had a "portfolio career" - multiple part-time jobs at several companies. She started work at

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

in 1977. Four years later she moved to

Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and inter ...

and then in 1985 became a partner in

PA Consulting PA Consulting Group (formerly Personnel Administration) is a professional services firm that works with public, private and third-sector organisations. It was founded in 1943 by Ernest E. Butten, Tom H. Kirkham and Dr David Seymour, who used a n ...

. In 1993 she left PA Consulting and became a non-executive director at the

Hilton Group Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...

and at

Harveys Furniture Harveys Furniture was a British retail chain, specialising in living room and dining room furniture, and was once the largest furniture specialist in the United Kingdom, with over 150 stores. History Harveys Furniture was established in the U ...

. She joined global strategy advisers

Bain & Company Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was fou ...

Inc in 1993 where since 1997 she has been a Senior Adviser.Intu non-executive director biographies
'' Intu Group'' In 1998 she started as NED of

Somerfield Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative ...

, a chain of small supermarkets. She rose to become chairman and stayed there until it was taken over by

The Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

in March 2009. In 2006 she started as a

non-executive director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

plc. She was later the chairman of Brixton plc, a

FTSE 250 The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...

property business. In 2003 she was nicknamed "Queen of the Sheds" and described "the most powerful woman in property" due to this role.Business big shot: Louise Patten, head of M&S remuneration committee
''

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'' (fou ...

'', 2008-06-06 She was a non-executive director of

Bradford & Bingley Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's mem ...

when the company failed and was nationalised in 2008. She has remained on the board and is now an NED of

UK Asset Resolution UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) is a British financial services holding company with headquarters in the West Yorkshire village of Crossflatts (near Bradford & Bingley's former headquarters in Bingley). It was established in October 2010 as a ba ...

, which combines the run-down mortgages of the former Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

Novelist

She is the author of the novels ''Bad Money'', a thriller based in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, and ''Good as Gold'', a historical novel about the ''Titanic'' disaster. In ''Good as Gold'' she said that the sinking had been caused by an error on the steering deck, due to confusion between competing systems of navigation orders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, Louise 1954 births Living people British baronesses British women in business Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Spouses of life peers