Dame Susan Carol Langley (''née'' Walford; born 2 July 1963), is a British

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

and

risk manager In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...

. Since 2015, she has been the

Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Arthur J Gallagher Holdings (UK) Ltd. Elected in 2018 as

Alderwoman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...

for Aldgate Ward, on 28 September 2023, Langley became

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

ic Sheriff of London for 2023/24. In July 2024 she was chosen as the next Lady Mayor of London.

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

Early life

Langley was born in 1963 at

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

, then in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, the daughter of James Walford, later of Spring Hill Farm,

Fordcombe Fordcombe is a village within the civil parish of Penshurst in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is located on the northern slopes of the Weald, five miles (8 km) west of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The church, part of a unit ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and his wife, Shirley ''née'' Hammers. She was educated at

Redden Court School Redden Court School is a secondary school with academy status located in Harold Wood, Romford, Havering, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its ...

before reading geography at

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, graduating (BSc).

Career

Having travelled in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

after university, she joined Thomson Tour Operators as a Programme Manager (1987–96), then

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

as a Principal Consultant working with a range of FTSE companies (1996–98), before becoming

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

Hiscox Hiscox Ltd. is an Anglo-Bermudan insurance provider, listed on the London Stock Exchange. An underwriter at Lloyd's of London, the company largely specialises in niche areas of the market, offering property and casualty insurance aimed at compa ...

. With Lloyd's of London from 2007 until 2012, Langley served as Director for North America and Market Development, Director of Lloyd's Asia and Chairman of Lloyd's Japan, before joining the Department for International Trade (DIT) as

CEO 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 ...

for Financial and Professional Services (2013–15). Since 2010, Langley has served as Senior Independent Director for UKAR (Northern Rock Asset Management & Bradford and Bingley). She was Lead non-executive director at the Home Office (2014–22) and a

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of Macmillan Cancer (2017–21). Star Knight Commander of the British Empire

Honours and appointments

National honours

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

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 ...

(

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

) **

Officer 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 ...

(

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

) *

: Member of the Order of St John (2023); Serving_Sister_of_Order_of_St_John_Ribbon

Civic appointments

* Alderwoman of London (2018) * Sheriff of the City of London (2023/24) ** Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers ** Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Drapers **

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. * Lady Mayor of the City of London – see Lord Mayor of the City of London

References

External links

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, Susan 1963 births Living people People from Essex Alumni of the University of Southampton Councilmen and Aldermen of the City of London Confreres of the Venerable Order of St John Sheriffs of the City of London Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English financial businesspeople