Michelle Elizabeth Mitchell is the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

. She has worked extensively in the charity sector, having led

Age UK Age UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 25 February 2009, and launched on 1 April 2009, which combined the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern England and Help the Aged to form the UK's largest cha ...

, the

Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain The Multiple Sclerosis Society (MS Society) is the UK's largest charity for people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Based in London, it has offices and local groups in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It gained charitable company ...

and the

Fawcett Society The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. Originall ...

. She is a non-executive director of

NHS England NHS England, officially the NHS Commissioning Board, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the ...

Education and early career

Mitchell grew up in

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

. She was the first in her family to attend university, and studied economics at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1994. She worked for

Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...

after graduating, completing a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in political administration in the evenings. In 1997 she joined

Charter 88 Charter 88 was a British pressure group that advocated constitutional and electoral reform and owes its origins to the lack of a written constitution. It began as a special edition of the ''New Statesman'' magazine in 1988 and it took its name f ...

, a political campaigning group who worked on the

House of Lords Reform Bill 2012 The House of Lords Reform Bill 2012 was a proposed Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in June 2012 by Nick Clegg. Among other reforms, the bill would have made the ...

. She earned an International Executive Diploma from

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

in 2005 and an Innovations in Governance qualification from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in 2006.

Career

Mitchell was appointed the governmental affairs adviser to the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New York ...

(NSPCC) in 2000. Mitchell worked at

Age Concern Age Concern is the banner title used by a number of Charitable organization, charitable organizations (NGOs) specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four cou ...

as Head of Public Affairs from 2002 and Director of Communications from 2007. From 2005 to 2008 Mitchell was Chair of Trustees of the

. She worked as Charity Director at

from 2010. At

Mitchell launched ''Let's Talk Money'' to get the charity to tackle several political issues, aiming to improve old people's incomes. She spoke about her work on

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

. When she left she appointed Hannah Pearce and Angela Kitching to job share as Head of External Relations. Mitchell served as Chief Executive of the

from 2013 to 2018. She oversaw a 40% increase in access to treatments for MS and launched a £100 million fundraising campaign. During this time she wrote regularly for the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

. She is a non-executive director of

and on board of trustees of Power to Change Trust. As non-executive chief director she visits NHS facilities and evaluates their progress. She was appointed the Chief Executive of

in 2018.

Awards and honours

Mitchell was appointed

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 ...

(OBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to Older People and the Voluntary Sector. She was named by

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

as one of the 100 Women to Watch in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Michelle 1972 births Living people Women chief executives Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of University College London