Denise Patricia Byrne Kingsmill, Baroness Kingsmill CBE (née Byrne 24 April 1947) is a British Labour peer. She was appointed as a life peer in 2006 after practising as a solicitor in personal injury, trade union and employment law. She was born in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and emigrated to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

during her childhood. She studied at Croesyceiliog School. She holds a degree in Economics and Anthropology from

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Then one of six female undergraduates in Economics studying alongside 300 male undergraduates, Baroness Kingsmill now encourages others to blaze their own trail, saying 'you must do that which excites you'. She is a member of the Economic Affairs Committee. She was a Deputy Chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (later known as The Competition Commission), which undertook inquiries into banking, cruise liners, equity underwriting, energy supply, and other subjects during her time. She was appointed in 1996, stepping down in 2003. Baroness Kingsmill undertook a number of cases relating to rights of women, while specialising in employment law. She also acted in behalf of Peter Wood, founder of Direct Line and other leading business figures. She undertook two inquiries for the government in gender equality and human capital management. Baroness Kingsmill was appointed a CBE for her services to competition and employment law in the 2000 New Year Honours. She was created Baroness Kingsmill, of

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

on 1 June 2006. Kingsmill has been awarded five honorary doctorates from universities across England, Scotland and Wales, including a doctorate from Cranfield University in 2007.). Other roles she holds or has held include: * non-executive director of IAG (International Airlines Group) * non-executive director of E.ON (German Energy Company) * non-executive director of KornFerry International (world's largest executive search firm) * Member of international advisory board of

IESE Business School IESE Business School is the Catholic Church, Catholic graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It was established in Barcelona in 1958 by Opus Dei. From 1963, in collaboration with Harvard Business School, it offers a two-year Maste ...

. * Deputy Chairman of the Advisory board at Price Waterhouse Coopers * Member of the Advisory board at

Inditex Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. (Inditex; , ; ) is a Spanish multinational clothing company headquartered in Arteixo, Galicia, Spain. The largest fast fashion group in the world, it operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide. The compa ...

(Zara) * Member of the Board of Directors of

(appointed on 19 July 2016) Kingsmill writes a monthly column for ''Management Today'' magazine. Previous roles include: * non-executive director of

Betfair Betfair is a British Gambling, gambling company founded in 2000. Its product offering includes betting exchange, sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, alongsi ...

* Non-executive directorship of

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

* Senior adviser to the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

* Trustee of the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Judge Business School * Pro-chancellor of

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

* Trustee of The Design Museum *Chairman of the Board at Monzo She has held other non-executive director and advisory roles, including Laing O’Rourke, Royal Bank of Scotland and Telewest Communications. A former partner in a firm of London solicitors, Kingsmill, along with two other defendants—His Honour Judge Peter Clark and DJ Freeman & Co solicitors (the relevant firm)—was found liable for professional negligence by the Court of Appeal in 2001 for advice given in the late 1980s. Kingsmill has said that she defends this as a 'professional judgment' which she would take again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsmill, Denise, Baroness 1947 births Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge British solicitors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) life peers Living people People associated with Brunel University London People educated at Croesyceiliog Grammar School New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Directors of Inditex New Zealand expatriates in England