Neil Francis Jeremy Mendoza, Baron Mendoza, (born 2 November 1959) is a British businessman,

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

, and

member of the House of Lords This is a list of members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual 26 bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops of Canterbury and ...

. Provost of Oriel College Oxford since September 2018, Lord Mendoza also serves as

HM Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal coat of arms of t ...

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

for Cultural Recovery and Renewal since May 2020.

Early life and education

Neil Francis Jeremy Mendoza was born on 2 November 1959 in London. Mendoza was educated at

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a me ...

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

, before going up to read

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1978. He was a founding member of the Piers Gaveston Society.

Career

After periods in banking and film finance Mendoza co-founded Forward Publishing with

William Sieghart William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart (born 1960) is a British entrepreneur, publisher and philanthropist and the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. He is former chairman of the Somerset House Trust. Education and career Born in 1 ...

in 1986. Forward pioneered the

custom media Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a ...

business in the UK and became one of the leading independent contract publishers. The company specialised in international and multilingual projects with corporate partners including IBM,

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

and Patek Philippe & Co. In 2001, Forward was sold to

WPP plc WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many compan ...

. Mendoza was appointed the UK Government's Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal in May 2020, and, on 31 July 2020, he was elevated to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, taking his seat on 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 ...

benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. During 2020 he played a leading role in the creation of the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

£2-billion

Culture Recovery Fund The Culture Recovery Fund is a grants programme issued by the UK Government as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund aims to financially support cultural organisations in England (such as theatres, museums, and music venues) which had bec ...

and is a member of its Board. He chairs the Culture and Heritage Capital Board. He co-chaired a report, Boundless Creativity, for the

and the

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts an ...

. In 2016 Mendoza was appointed as

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

by the

, before being appointed as a DCMS non-executive board member. In 2017 he published the Mendoza Review of Museums in England for the UK Government. In the same year Mendoza was also the lead reviewer on the Strategic Review of DCMS-sponsored museums conducted under Cabinet Office guidelines. Lord Mendoza is currently Chairman of The

Illuminated River ''Illuminated River'' is a large-scale public art commission which lights up nine bridges in central London across the River Thames. Designed by American artist Leo Villareal in collaboration with British architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandiland ...

Foundation. He is a non-executive director of Meira GTx, a

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human DN ...

company with research facilities in New York and London. He sits on the Board of Visitors for the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

. In 2020, he was elected an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. Previously, Chairman of

The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts Children & the Arts is an independent charity that provides access to professional arts venues for young people in the UK who would otherwise grow up having had no, or very limited opportunity, to engage with the arts. The charity works across th ...

, Vice-Chair of

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

, on the board of the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

and the Shakespeare Schools Foundation, he also was an independent trustee of ''

The Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' charity, Mail Force. Appointed to the panel of The Taylor Review: Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals, he was a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

s for

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

for 2010 and 2011. Mendoza then served as Chairman of the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...

, a UK historic building preservation charity, from 2011 to 2021. Mendoza 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 o ...

(CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to arts and culture.

House of Lords

In July 2020, it was announced that Mendoza had been nominated for a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

by Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

. On 16 September 2020, he was created a

Life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Mendoza, of King's Reach in the City of London''. He sits in the

as a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

peer, and made his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 10 November 2020. Lord Mendoza has spoken in the Upper House only once more, on 15 December 2022 during a debate on

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

funding.

Personal life

Mendoza married Amelia Wallace in 1993. They have a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Neil 1959 births Living people English people of Portuguese-Jewish descent People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford English philanthropists English businesspeople Conservative Party (UK) life peers Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Provosts of Oriel College, Oxford Life peers created by Elizabeth II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire