Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (born 10 February 1973) is a British businesswoman, philanthropist and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. She co-founded Last Minute during the

dotcom boom The dot-com bubble (or dot-com boom) was a stock market bubble that ballooned during the late-1990s and peaked on Friday, March 10, 2000. This period of market growth coincided with the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web and the Interne ...

of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public service digital projects. She sits on the boards of

WeTransfer WeTransfer B.V. is a Dutch Internet-based computer file transfer service company that was founded in 2009 and based in Amsterdam. In 2024, the company was acquired by Bending Spoons. History Early history WeTransfer was founded in 2009 by Rinke ...

and

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

, as well as being a

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

of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust. She previously served on the board of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. She entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

on 26 March 2013, becoming its youngest female

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

; she was appointed

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

on 12 March 2014. In October 2019, she was named by media and marketing publication ''The Drum'' as the most influential woman in Britain's digital sector from the past quarter of a century.

Education and early life

Born in London, Lane Fox is the daughter of

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and gardening writer

Robin Lane Fox Robin James Lane Fox, (born 5 October 1946) is an English classicist, ancient historian, and gardening writer known for his works on Alexander the Great. Lane Fox is an Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford and Reader in Ancient History, ...

, the scion of an English

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

family seated at

Bramham Park Bramham Park is a Grade I listed 18th-century country house in Bramham, between Leeds and Wetherby, in West Yorkshire, England. The house, constructed of magnesian limestone ashlar with stone slate roofs in a classical style, is built to a l ...

. She was privately educated at Oxford High School, an all-girls in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

in London with a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

. She read Ancient and Modern History at 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 ...

where she was an undergraduate student of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

graduating with a lower second class honours

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree; as per tradition, her BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA) degree.

Career

Lane Fox joined information technology and media

consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad ra ...

Spectrum, where she met

Brent Hoberman Brent Shawzin Hoberman (born 25 November 1968) is a British entrepreneur and investor. During the dot-com boom, he co-founded lastminute.com with Martha Lane Fox in 1998, where he was CEO from its inception, before selling the business to Sabr ...

. In 1998, Lane Fox and Hoberman founded Last Minute, an online

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...

and gift business. She stepped down as managing director in 2003. Last Minute was bought by

Sabre Holdings Sabre Corporation, a travel technology company headquartered in Southlake, Texas, is the largest global distribution systems (GDS) provider for air bookings. The company's primary product, the Sabre Global Distribution System, and others lik ...

in 2005. Following her departure from Last Minute, Lane Fox was tipped to take over day-to-day operations at

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...

but was involved in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

before she could assume that role. At the suggestion of advertising executive Julian Douglas, Fox teamed up with Nick Thistleton to launch

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

company Lucky Voice. In 2007, Lane Fox joined the board of

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

. From 2009 to 2013, she was the Digital Champion for the UK and helped to create the Government Digital Service – this team launched gov.uk, and was given the task of spearheading a two-year campaign to improve

computer literacy Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with skill levels ranging from elementary use to computer programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer t ...

. The following year she was assigned to establish the Digital Public Services Unit within the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

. and invited to sit on the Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Board. The following month Lane Fox was honoured by

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

for her "Manifesto for a Networked Nation", a challenge to increase British internet engagement. She resigned from her position as Digital Champion in late 2013. She entered the

as a

on 26 March 2013, becoming its youngest female

. In her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

, she addressed the need for digital literacy in all sectors of the economy. That same year the Open University appointed her

. In the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, Lane Fox signed an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

. In 2017, Lady Lane-Fox was appointed a member of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. In 2018, she was appointed Non-Executive Director of Chanel as well as Donmar Warehouse and a Trustee of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Lane Fox continues to be a Patron of AbilityNet, Reprieve, Camfed and

Just for Kids Law Just or JUST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Just" (song), 1995, by Radiohead * ''Just!'', Australian author Andy Griffiths' children's story collections * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just", a 2005 song on ''Lost and Found ...

. She was on the board of

social network A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

ing company

Twitter, Inc. Twitter, Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the V ...

from June 2016 until its takeover by Elon Musk in October 2022. In 2020, Lane Fox was appointed to the board of directors of the company

. She was appointed president of the

British Chambers of Commerce The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC, formerly known prior to 1996 as the Association of British Chambers of Commerce) is the national representative body of 53 chambers of commerce across the UK. The chambers represent 50,000 businesses, whi ...

in October 2022. In November 2024, Lane-Fox joined the board of

Multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...

, a British apprenticeships company co-founded and led by

Euan Blair Euan Anthony Blair (born 19 January 1984) is a British businessman who is the co-founder and chief executive of the apprenticeships company Multiverse. He is the eldest son of the former British prime minister Tony Blair and lawyer Cherie Blair ...

Charity work

Lady Lane-Fox is an advocate for such causes as human rights,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

, and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. In 2007, she founded Antigone, a grant-making trust to support

charities based in the United Kingdom A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a c ...

. She is a patron of Reprieve, a legal action charity, and

CAMFED CAMFED (also known as the Campaign for Female Education) is an international non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1993 whose mission is to eradicate poverty in Africa through the education of girls and the empowerment of young wo ...

, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty, HIV, and AIDS in rural Africa through an emphasis on

education of young women Female education is a catch-all term for a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

. She is also patron of the charity Just for Kids Law, which supports children and young people in London, as well as fighting for wider reform on behalf of young people across the UK. When the

telecommunications company A telecommunications company is a kind of electronic communications service provider, more precisely a telecommunications service provider (TSP), that provides telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many t ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

withdrew its longstanding support for the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

, Lane Fox was one of several benefactors, along with

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is the spouse of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair. Early life and education Booth was born ...

and

Joanna Trollope Joanna Trollope ( ; born 9 December 1943) is an English writer. She has also written under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Her novel ''Parson Harding's Daughter'' won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Ass ...

, who offered to sustain the contest until another major sponsor could be found.

Honours and awards

Lane Fox was appointed

Commander of the Most Excellent 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) in the 2013 New Year Honours for "services to the digital economy and charity". In February 2013 she was assessed to be one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by

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 ...

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 ...

. In the same month it was announced that she was to be 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

to sit as a crossbencher in the House of Lords. She was also recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013. On 25 March 2013, 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, ''of

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

'', and was introduced in the

the next day. On 29 October 2015, Lane Fox was ranked 15th on the Richtopia list of 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs. In February 2016, Lane Fox was elected a Distinguished Fellow of

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957. The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in ...

, after being nominated by

The Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain and the peerage of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, most recently as a Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, royal dukedom ...

. In October 2019, Lane Fox was named by media and marketing publication ''The Drum'', in association with the Futures Network, Innovate Her and WACL, as the most influential woman in Britain's digital sector from the past quarter of a century. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

in 2023.

Arms

Personal life

Lane Fox lives in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London, with her partner

Chris Gorell Barnes Christopher Michael Jack Gorell Barnes (born May 1974) is an English digital entrepreneur and marine conservationist best known as executive producer of the documentary ''The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Ea ...

. Their identical twin sons, Milo and Felix, were born in 2016. In May 2004, she was severely injured in a car accident in the tourist resort of

Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of t ...

in Morocco and was flown to England for treatment at

John Radcliffe Hospital John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR or the John Radcliffe) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe (physician) ...

, and later Wellington Hospital in London. She was discharged from hospital in December 2005.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane Fox of Soho, Martha Lane Fox, Baroness 1973 births Living people

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

People educated at Oxford High School, England People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Crossbench life peers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II 20th-century English businesspeople 21st-century English businesspeople Directors of Twitter, Inc. Fellows of the British Computer Society Honorary Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering 20th-century English businesswomen 21st-century English businesswomen Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission Chancellors of the Open University

Education and early life

Career

Charity work

Honours and awards

Arms

Personal life

See also

Further reading

Notes

References