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Barbara Thomas Judge, Lady Judge (''née'' Singer; 28 December 194631 August 2020), previously known as Barbara Singer Thomas, was an American and British lawyer and businesswoman, based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
with dual American-British citizenship. She was the first female chairman of the
Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...
, a previous chairman of the
UK Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). T ...
(UKAEA), the chairman of the United Kingdom's fraud prevention service Cifas, a chairman of the
Pension Protection Fund The 'Pension Protection Fund'' (PPF) is a statutory corporation, set up by the Pensions Act 2004, and has been protecting members of eligible defined benefit (DB) pension schemes across the United Kingdom since 2005. It protects close to 9 mill ...
and a British business ambassador on behalf of UK Trade & Investment."Judge to chair UKAEA"
Nuclear Industry Association (30 July 2004). Retrieved 13 April 2011.
She was a trustee of several cultural and charitable institutions and a former trustee of the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
and Dementia UK. She was often considered one of the UK's most prominent business executives, featuring in power lists compiled by ''
Management Today Haymarket Media Group is a private media company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has publications in the consumer, business and customer sectors, both print and online. It operates exhibitions allied to its own publications, and pr ...
'', ''
Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John ...
'' and BBC Radio Four's ''
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 The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...
'', the latter describing her as "one of the best-connected women in Britain".


Early life

Barbara Sue Singer was born on 28 December 1946 at Doctor's Hospital in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the daughter of Marcia (Bosniak) and Jules H. Singer. Her father owned a small business; her mother was associate dean of students at
New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a Private university, private research university, research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York (state), New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long I ...
. Singer grew up in Saddle Rock, New York. Judge frequently cited her mother as the most significant influence on her life and work. In her own work, Marcia Singer devised courses helping women into work, advising them "wear white gloves" – which meant dress appropriately – write a CV, and answer advertisements even though they said "men wanted". Singer remained in work until she was 88 but was diagnosed with
dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
soon after retirement. This experience shaped Judge's belief that remaining in work is crucial to
longevity Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is defined Statistics, statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth ...
and
happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...
in old age. She has said that her mother taught her and many other women that a woman should work "not because they were poor or alone … utbecause they had a brain and they should use it and they should earn their own money, because money was independence". Her mother also taught that women "can have a serious career and also be a serious mother". In an interview with ''CNN'', Judge said, "Growing up, my milieu was like
Betty Draper Elizabeth "Betty" Draper Francis (formerly Draper, née Hofstadt) is a fictional character played by January Jones on AMC's television series ''Mad Men''. She begins the show married to protagonist Don Draper (Jon Hamm); following a separation ...
in ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' – the one who goes to a good college, marries a nice guy and lives in Connecticut and has two children and slowly goes mad, and that could have been me if my mother hadn't told me there was another way." Her personal ambition was to "...die at erdesk"


Education

She earned a B.A. degree in medieval history from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1966, writing her thesis on
John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
. She worked her way through university as a model, tutor, computer programmer and occasional waitress. She also met her first husband, Theodore Kozloff, there. In 1969, she graduated from
New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...
, where she specialised in tax law, finishing with a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
in 1969.Lady Barbara Thomas Judge – Business Ambassador Profile
. UKTI (22 March 2011). Retrieved 13 April 2011


Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 11 December 2011.

New York University School of Law, October 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
She was a member of the
Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...
, a
John Norton Pomeroy John Norton Pomeroy (April 12, 1828 – February 15, 1885) was an American lawyer, writer, and law professor. “Perhaps the most important text book writer of the last third of the nineteenth century,” Pomeroy is one of the foremost contri ...
Scholar, a former editor of the ''
New York University Law Review The ''New York University Law Review'' is a bimonthly general law review covering legal scholarship in all areas, including legal theory and policy, environmental law, legal history, and international law. The journal was established in 1924 as a ...
'' and the recipient of the Jefferson Davis Prize in Public Law. While at NYU School of Law, she received American Jurisprudence Prizes in Excellence in 15 out of 28 subjects; these prizes were awarded to the student with the highest grade in the course.


Career


Law

Her first job after graduation was in 1969 with the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where she worked as a corporate lawyer. In 1973, she joined the law firm Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays, and Handler, where she specialised in corporate law and financial transactions, becoming a partner in 1978. At that time she married Allen L. Thomas.


Government and regulation

In 1980, Barbara Thomas was appointed by
President Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 ...
as a member of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
(SEC) in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, for a five-year term. Her appointment was widely reported, being the youngest-ever SEC commissioner and only the second woman in the role. She was instrumental in opening U.S. capital markets to foreign companies. She also negotiated on behalf of the U.S. government to open the
Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...
to foreign members, against opposition from some US financial commentators, who believed that American investors would be uninterested in Japanese stocks. She later described these achievements as among the most significant of her career. Later, as Lady Judge, she was a deputy chairman of The
Financial Reporting Council The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and ...
. She also worked in various capacities for the British Government's
Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...
and its
Department for Constitutional Affairs The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003; it took over the functions of the Lord Chancellor's Department. On 28 March 2007 it was announced that the ...
, as well as a public member of the
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) develops and promotes the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards). The IESBA also supports debate on issues related ...
. In April 2010, Judge was appointed chairman of the
Pension Protection Fund The 'Pension Protection Fund'' (PPF) is a statutory corporation, set up by the Pensions Act 2004, and has been protecting members of eligible defined benefit (DB) pension schemes across the United Kingdom since 2005. It protects close to 9 mill ...
(PPF), which provides compensation to employees with pension schemes in bankrupt firms. She was the first woman to serve in the role. She was reappointed as chairman in 2013 and completed her second (and maximum) term in July 2016. She advocated that the pension regulator be given the power to block companies from deals that would harm pension scheme members, referring to
Sir Philip Green Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. In May 20 ...
's sale of
British Home Stores British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, is an online store and formerly a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to exp ...
to
Dominic Chappell Dominic Joseph Andrew Chappell (born 28 November 1966) is a British businessman who has been declared bankrupt on three occasions and was convicted for tax evasion. In 2015, his company, Retail Acquisitions Ltd, purchased the now collapsed retail ...
. Judge was a supporter of auto-enrolment in pension schemes. In May 2016, Lady Judge was announced as the chairman-elect of Cifas, the UK's fraud prevention service. Cifas is a not-for-profit company working to protect businesses, charities, public bodies and individuals from financial crime. She succeeded Ken Cherrett in September 2016. In February 2018, Judge was appointed chair of the Astana Financial Services Authority in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
.


Banking and private equity

In November 1983, after the birth of her son, Barbara Thomas left the SEC and moved to
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
with her husband to be a regional executive director at Samuel Montagu & Co.; by that appointment she became the first woman to be appointed an executive director of a British
merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...
. In 1987, she became senior vice president and group head of international private banking at Bankers Trust in New York. In 1988, she gave a character reference for Charles Keating, a former client of Kaye, Scholer. Keating was head of Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and American Continental Corporation, two companies whose collapse a year later formed part of the Savings and Loan crisis; later she was one of a number of professionals named in a resulting class action. Judge disputed the claim but settled out of court to avoid a protracted court case. In 1994, she moved from New York to London with her husband and her son, whom she wanted to raise in England. Subsequently, she worked in the
private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
industry in the UK, including an acquisition of Scotia Haven Food Group and Whitworths Food Group; she also founded Private Equity Investor plc.


Media

In 1993, Barbara Thomas was an executive director of
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
's
News International News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...
.


Education and arts

Judge was the first woman on the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School of Management at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and a founding director of the
Lauder Institute The Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies (The Lauder Institute) is an institution that offers a joint degree program at the University of Pennsylvania, combining an MA in international studies from the School of Arts ...
of Management at Wharton, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of
New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a Private university, private research university, research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York (state), New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long I ...
. Judge was on the governing bodies of the
School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
,
Sabancı University Sabancı University () is a private research university that adopts a liberal arts education approach, established in 1994 and located on a 1.26 million squaremeter campus which is about 40 km from Istanbul's city center. Its first students ...
, the Energy Institute at
University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
, and the
Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. Based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, it was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by philanthr ...
. She was a trustee of the
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...
. She was an Honorary Visiting Professor in Experiential Leadership and Head of Council for the Cass Global Women's Leadership Programme, completing her one-year term in June 2018. In January 2016, Lady Judge was appointed the first female chairman of the Advisory Board of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), succeeding Sir John Armitt. She was a trustee of Historic Royal Palaces, Inc and of the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
, where she was an active fundraiser and chairman of the Benjamin West Patrons Group. She was also a visiting fellow of the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
Saïd Business School Saïd Business School (Oxford Saïd or SBS) is the business school of the University of Oxford. The school is a provider of management education. Business and management classes started at Oxford in 1965 when the Centre of Management Studies, ...
at the Centre for Corporate Reputation. Judge funded a scholarship for black African women to study at the
School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
in London. She sat on the advisory board for Accelerate-Her, a network in support of women working in technology.


Health

Judge was chairman of the management board of SNOMED International, a not-for-profit organization that owns, administers and develops
SNOMED CT SNOMED CT or SNOMED Clinical Terms is a systematically organized computer-processable collection of medical terms providing codes, terms, synonyms and definitions used in clinical documentation and reporting. SNOMED CT is considered to be the mo ...
. She was appointed to Dementia UK's Board of Trustees in January 2015. She was an advisor to The Cambridge Code, a firm providing software-based diagnostic tools.


Fossil fuels

Judge was on the board of the US coal group
Massey Energy Massey Energy Company was a coal extractor in the United States with substantial operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. By revenue, it was the fourth largest producer of coal in the United States and the largest coal producer in Cen ...
. Her principal role there was corporate governance, but also included roles on the finance, safety, environmental and public policy committees at the time of the
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010, roughly underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. 29 out of 31 at the site were killed. The coal dust explosion ...
that killed 29 workers in
Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...
. She resigned from the board three weeks after the disaster, citing other ongoing business activities. Judge was not personally criticised in the official report into the disaster, written by the US Government's
Mine Safety and Health Administration The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) () is a small agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) to enforce compliance with mandatory sa ...
. Before the disaster, Judge and other directors were criticised by CtW Investment Group, a shareholder activist group affiliated with the
Change to Win Federation The Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), formerly known as the Change to Win Federation (CtW), is a coalition of North American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL–CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advoca ...
, a coalition of American labour unions including the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...
. CtW questioned Judge's ability to devote sufficient time to the Massey board role; she went on to be re-elected to the board unopposed.
-


Nuclear power

Lady Judge became a non-executive director in 2002, and in 2004 the chairman, of the
UK Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). T ...
(UKAEA). She was succeeded by Roger Cashmore in 2010, after the sale of the UKAEA's decommissioning business to
Babcock International Group Babcock International Group plc is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main b ...
in 2009. Judge's initial brief from government ministers was to "hold and fold" the UKAEA before shutting it down, at a potential loss of 2,800 jobs. Judge proposed an alternative plan, where the business would be built up, internationalised and then privatised. The agency's main business was decommissioning old British nuclear sites; Judge pushed for similar contracts on sites in the former Soviet Union and pursued partnerships in countries such as Korea. She also lobbied the
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
government to end its opposition to nuclear power. These activities publicised the work of the agency amid an increase in positive sentiment towards nuclear power in the mid-'00s, with governments commissioning new reactors in order to meet carbon emission targets. She describes her time with UKAEA as "like spinning straw into gold", referring to her initial brief to close down the agency. In 2010, she 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) for services to the Nuclear and Financial Services Industries. In October 2012, Judge was appointed deputy chairman of
Tokyo Electric Power Company is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, an ...
's Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee and chairman of its Nuclear Safety Task Force. The Monitoring Committee is an advisory body of domestic Japanese and international experts which supervises the activities of the Task Force. Judge has argued that it is particularly appropriate for a woman to join the group, as women are typically the most vocal opponents of nuclear power. She believed nuclear energy is critical to the security of energy supply and its associated national security, and that nuclear power has as much of a role to play in
carbon reduction Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sour ...
as
renewable energy sources Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Bioenergy and ...
. Judge has been on the International Advisory Board for the development of nuclear energy in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
and has led a trade delegation to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
to discuss how British companies could take part in the construction of six
nuclear reactors A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for commercial electricity, marine propulsion, weapons production and research. Fissile nuclei (primarily uranium-235 or plutonium-2 ...
at Jaitapur. In 2016, Judge was appointed to the International Advisory Group of the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission. She has called for a transition arrangement for the UK's membership of Euratom prior to
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
and a structured relationship with Euratom thereafter.


Institute of Directors

In 2015, Lady Judge became the first woman to be appointed as Chairman of the 113-year-old
Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...
(IoD), the British members' organisation which works in promotion of company directors and corporate governance. Judge said she had a "three part mission" to her tenure, using her position to open doors for women to become chief executives; to encourage the IoD to host entrepreneurship; and to encourage older workers to remain in the workforce as both employees and paid mentors to younger generations of entrepreneurs. She advocated for schools to instil self-belief and optimism in girls, and for female
STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...
students to be encouraged into traditionally male careers such as engineering. She believed that the emphasis on placing women into non-executive roles must be augmented by a similar effort to get women into chief executive roles, with companies helping to alleviate the "pressure points" for women with family responsibilities, which often include caring for elderly parents as well as children. Judge has advised women in business to learn accountancy, explaining, "That's where the power lies." Judge also wanted the IoD to enable young entrepreneurs to connect with older executives, by pairing them in an alumni programme. Referring to the pension deficit at British Home Stores, Judge called for the Pensions Regulator to have power of binding veto over mergers and acquisitions activity in firms of a certain size, so that a purchasing firm must present a detailed plan for addressing any deficit in the pension fund of the target firm. She also called for a corporate governance code for large privately owned companies. Judge called for the introduction of tax allowances to help adults learn new workplace skills. In a 2017 article for ''The Telegraph'' online, she argued that older workers and older entrepreneurs were needed to address the negative social impact of automation and an ageing population, and that older workers were often better placed to start their own businesses than their younger counterparts, many of whom lack contacts, capital and experience. Regarding Brexit, Judge called for Britain to establish a post-Brexit EU trade deal prior to leaving the Union, followed by a transitional period and tariff-free EU-UK trade thereafter. She also called for the British Government to clarify the rights of EU citizens already in the UK and of British citizens living in the EU, and to clarify the extent to which common rules and standards will be upheld with EU counterparts. She believed that "...creativity, confidence and patience" are the defining qualities of entrepreneurship, and that it is with these qualities that Britain will meet the challenges and opportunities of Brexit.


Suspension and resignation

Judge was suspended from the role on 9 March 2018 following press reports of allegations of racism and sexism made against her in the IoD office. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that Judge was "understood to have been recorded covertly by the IoD's director general, Stephen Martin" and to have said, "We have three inexperienced people doing a job n the IoD's secretariatwhen one experienced person could do it and they are making mistakes. And so the problem is we have one black and we have one pregnant woman and that is the worst combination we could possibly have. No, two blacks and one pregnant woman. I couldn't believe it!" Later the same day, Judge resigned. In her resignation letter she wrote, "I continue to strongly refute the allegations made against me and remain deeply disturbed by the gross and conspiratorial mishandling of the process which has led to the damaging circumstances in which I and the Institute are now placed". Judge also said, "My acknowledgment that issues of race and pregnancy could complicate their removal both legally and from the standpoint of public perception is an observation I believe most lawyers would make, and that many non-lawyers also know to be true. I was addressing the likely consequences of their dismissal, not the reasons for it." In September 2018, it was announced that Judge would be succeeded by
Charlotte Valeur Kirsten Charlotte Valeur (born January 1964) is a Danish former merchant banker, corporate governance expert, and a former chair of the UK's Institute of Directors. She has chaired three international companies and has non-executive directorships ...
.


Personal life

In 1967, she married Theodore J. Kozloff. After the two divorced, Judge married Allen L. Thomas in 1979 and the two would divorce in 2001. In 2002, she married
Paul Judge Sir Paul Rupert Judge (25 April 1949 – 21 May 2017) was an English business and political figure. He served as Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, President of the Chartered Management Institute, and Deputy Chairman of the American Manageme ...
and would remain married until his death in 2017. Judge was a restaurant reviewer for ''
Forbes.com ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...
'' and formerly ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' and the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
''. Her ''Forbes'' column began in 2013 and was based on venues she visited on business trips. She had a particular interest in writing about desserts, a course she characterised as "...a free sin". Judge died on 31 August 2020 from
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
at her home in London, at age 73.


Honours and awards

In 2010, Judge 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) for services to the Nuclear and Financial Services Industries. ''
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 The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...
'' on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
listed Judge as one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK. ''Square Mile'' magazine listed her in its "Top 100 Most Powerful People in the City of London". She also appears in lists of influential individuals compiled by ''
Management Today Haymarket Media Group is a private media company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has publications in the consumer, business and customer sectors, both print and online. It operates exhibitions allied to its own publications, and pr ...
'' and ''
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''. In 2008, she was made an honorary graduate of the
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), founded as a collaboration between the University of East Anglia and the Unive ...
. In 2012, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from The University of Buckingham. In 2015, she was awarded "Non-Executive Director of The Year for A Public Sector Organisation" title, in respect of her chairmanship of the Pension Protection Fund. In 2011, the
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...
purchased a portrait of Judge, by the photographer Alexander McIntyre. In 2017, Lady Judge was listed as one of the "100 Coolest People in UK Tech" by ''
Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'' and was given the Forward Ladies ''Lifetime Achievement'' award.


Women in business

Judge was a well-known commentator and activist for
women in business The phrase women in business refers to female businesspeople who hold positions, particularly leadership in the fields of commerce, business, and entrepreneurship. It advocates for their increased participation in business. Increased participa ...
, being the first female director to be appointed to a British merchant bank, the first female executive director at News International and first female chairman of the Institute of Directors. She argued that women have a moral and social responsibility to help other women. She has said her interest in the topic stems principally from her mother, but also from not having a daughter. When asked by a job interview panel at the Bank of England to name her greatest accomplishment, she replied that she had once taken a nine-month sabbatical to help her son Lloyd cope with dyslexia.


References


External links


Interview: Lady Barbara Thomas Judge, U.K. Business Ambassador
on '' The Diplomatic Courier''
Institute of Directors

Forbes.com restaurant reviews

Dementia UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge, Barbara Thomas, Lady 1946 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century British businesswomen 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century British businesswomen American business executives American expatriates in the United Kingdom American women bankers American bankers American women business executives American women lawyers British people of American descent British women bankers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from pancreatic cancer in England Kaye Scholer partners Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission New York Institute of Technology faculty New York University School of Law alumni Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison people People associated with SOAS University of London Businesspeople from Manhattan Lawyers from Manhattan University of Pennsylvania alumni Carter administration personnel Reagan administration personnel Wives of knights