Sheila Valerie Noakes, Baroness Noakes, (née Masters, born 23 June 1949) is a British Conservative politician and former corporate executive.

Education and early career

Sheila Masters was educated at

Eltham Hill Grammar School Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

, followed by the University of Bristol, where she studied Law. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant and became a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

in Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co, which is now part of

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

. For three years from 1988, she was seconded to the National Health Service where she modernised its financial management. In 1999 she became the first female President of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...

. At the same time, she was a non-executive director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

and a governor of the London Business School, while still overseeing privatisations and other public sector work at KPMG. Trade journal '' Accountancy Age'' described her as "the country's most high profile accountant".

Political career

Baroness Noakes was the Opposition spokesperson for the Treasury (2003–2010), Work and Pensions (2001–2006) and Health (2001–2003). In January 2006 she moved, with

Lord Phillips Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, (born 21 January 1938) is a British former senior judge. Phillips was the inaugural President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, holding office between October 2009 and O ...

, an amendment to the Identity Cards bill which led to it being defeated in the House of Lords and sent back to the House of Commons. She is a co-director of the Reuters Founders Share Company and the British carpet retailer, CarpetRight. She was made a Non Executive Director at RBS in August 2011.

Honours

She was appointed a

Dame 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 ...

(DBE) in the

1996 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

. She 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 ...

as Baroness Noakes, of

Goudhurst Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079. The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown and ...

in the County of Kent on 7 June 2000.

References

External links

PeerageProfile: Baroness Noakes, conservative Treasury spokeswoman
''Accountancy Age'', 16 August 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Noakes, Sheila Noakes, Baroness 1949 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Conservative Party (UK) life peers People from Goudhurst Women accountants British accountants NatWest Group people