Sylvia Bailey, née Grice (born 24 January 1962), is a former

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 ...

of Trinity Mirror, the UK's largest newspaper publisher, and a non-executive director of EMI from 2004 to 2007."Mrs Sly Bailey Authorised Biography
Debrett's She was named as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

" by ''

Management Today Haymarket Media Group is a privately held media company headquartered in London. It has publications in the consumer, business and customer sectors, both print and online. It operates exhibitions allied to its own publications, and previously on ...

''. She was also named as one of the top 20 most influential figures in media by

MediaGuardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

and as one of the top 50 most powerful businesswomen outside the United States by ''Fortune''. She left Trinity Mirror, six months earlier than planned, in June 2012.Mark Sweene
"Sly Bailey to leave Trinity Mirror immediately"
''The Guardian'', 15 June 2012

Early life

She was educated at St. Saviour's and St. Olave's Grammar School for Girls, in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, south-east London. In 1978 she briefly attended the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...

Career

Bailey began her career as a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

for

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brother ...

. In 1984 she joined ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' newspaper working in advertising sales. Bailey became advertising manager at ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' newspaper in 1987.

Trinity Mirror

Bailey joined Trinity Mirror as chief executive in February 2003. On 30 June 2008, Trinity Mirror issued a trading statement forecasting a 10% reduction in anticipated profits, leading to a collapse in the share price to a low of 73.5p, compared to its 12-month high of 557.5p. ''

''s media columnist Stephen Glover pointed out that the company's market value had slumped from £1.5 bn to £250m, and commented: "... it is difficult to see how Sly Bailey, Trinity Mirror's preposterously well-rewarded chief executive, can remain much longer in her job . . . " In July 2011 Bailey launched an investigation into editorial controls and procedures at Mirror Group newspapers following allegations of phone hacking. In October 2011, Bailey became the first serving media proprietor to appear at the

Leveson Inquiry The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series o ...

into phone hacking. Late on 3 May 2012 it was announced that Bailey was to leave her post at Trinity Mirror by the end of the year,Josh Halliday and Lisa O'Carrol
"Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey steps down"
''The Guardian'', 3 May 2012 but she in fact left in mid June. The General Secretary of the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Structure There is ...

, Michelle Stanistreet, said of her at the time: "Finally, Sly Bailey is doing the decent thing and leaving the company she has led into monumental decline." Reportedly, she received a £900,000 payoff.Roy Greenslade & Mark Sweene
"Bailey goes – with a £900,000 payoff"
guardian.co.uk (Greenslade blog), 15 June 2012

Other activities

Sly Bailey has been on the

Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...

board since 2003. She was awarded an Honorary Degree from the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Sly 1962 births British chief executives British media executives British women in business Living people People from Dulwich The Guardian people The Independent people Reach plc Women business executives 20th-century British businesswomen 21st-century British businesswomen