Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, (born 23 June 1962) is a Ugandan-born British investment banker, and has been chair of

Prudential plc Prudential plc is a British-domiciled Multinational corporation, multinational insurance and asset management company headquartered in London and Hong Kong. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working peop ...

since January 2021, having joined the board in May 2020. Until September 2009, she was a government minister jointly for the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...

and 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 ...

. She was chair of

Santander UK Santander UK plc (, ) is a British bank, wholly owned by Banco Santander, a Spanish bank. Santander UK plc manages its affairs autonomously, with its own local management team, responsible solely for its performance. Santander UK is one of th ...

from March 2015 to October 2020, the first woman to head a major British bank.

Early life

Vadera was born in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in 1962 to Indian Gujarati parents. She is from a family who owned a small tea plantation but fled to India in 1972 following the Ugandan government's expulsion of Ugandan Asians, and then later to the UK. She was educated at

Northwood College Northwood College for Girls is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls aged 3 to 18. The school was founded in 1870 and is located in Northwood, London, Northwood, London, England. History Northwood College for ...

before taking a degree in philosophy, Politics, and Economics at

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

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 ...

Private sector career

For over 14 years Vadera was employed at investment bank

UBS Warburg UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major fina ...

, where her work included advising governments of developing countries, and debt relief and restructuring. She also played a role in the partial privatisation of South African Telecom.

Government adviser and minister

Vadera was on the Council of Economic Advisers at

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

from 1999 to 2007, where she led on policy for business, competition innovation, productivity and international finance and development issues and the management of the Government's shareholdings, asset sales and public private partnerships for infrastructure. Following his appointment as Prime Minister in June 2007, Gordon Brown appointed her as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

. As she was not a member of either of the Houses of Parliament, 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 ...

on 11 July 2007 as Baroness Vadera, 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 & Chelsea. ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' reported that

Gus O'Donnell Augustine Thomas O'Donnell, Baron O'Donnell, (born 1 October 1952) is a former British senior civil servant and economist, who between 2005 and 2011 (under three Prime Ministers) served as the Cabinet Secretary, the highest official in the Br ...

, the

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

, "flatly refus dto allow her to cross the threshold of No 10 as policy enforcer" and "no

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

could stand her" – although he later denied making these comments. Following criticism of her working style Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses (also a Merton Labour

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

) said: "If the Civil Service is complaining about her, then probably more ministers should be like her; she gets things done." After six months as a Minister in International Development, she was moved to the

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade ...

. In October 2008, she also became a Parliamentary Secretary in the

. In January 2009 she gave an interview on ITV's Lunchtime News, which concluded: :

Alastair Stewart Alastair James Stewart OBE (born 22 June 1952) is a retired English journalist and newscaster. Stewart joined Southern Television in 1976, then joined ITN in 1980, where he served three years with ''Channel 4 News'' and went on to become a ma ...

: "Final and briefest thought possible – you're a former banker and business person yourself and now a minister – when will we see the green shoots of recovery? :Baroness Vadera: "Well, it's a very uncertain world right now globally but I wouldn't want to be the one predicting it. I am seeing a few green shoots but it's a little bit too early to say exactly how they'll grow." Her reply generated commentary from a number of sources, including shadow chancellor

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

and former chancellor

Norman Lamont Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer i ...

, who first used the phrase " green shoots" in 1991. Lamont said: "It is extremely premature to use a phrase like that." Later that year the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' reported that Vadera was instrumental in the creation of an unprecedented banking rescue package. On 24 September 2009, it was announced that she would be stepping down as minister to take up a new role advising the G20. Vadera has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords since December 2011.

Life after politics

In April 2010, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' reported that Vadera had taken up a consultancy to give strategic advice in restructuring

Dubai World Dubai World () is an investment company that manages and supervises a portfolio of businesses and projects for the Government of Dubai across a wide range of industry segments and projects that promote Dubai as a hub for commerce and trading. A ...

's US$26 billion debt. In July, 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 foun ...

'' reported Vadera had become consultant to Singaporean investment company Temasek. :"The reason people like Shriti are getting these offers is because there are very few people who understand the international finance world and the geopolitical world at a time when the financial world clearly has some issues with the political world." said Martin Armstrong of recruitment consultants Somerton Partners. In 2019, Vadera was mentioned by British news media as a candidate to succeed

Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...

. In 2021, Vadera was appointed chair of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, the first woman and person of colour in the role. In 2023, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

's president Ajay Banga appointed Vadera as co-chair – alongside

– of the Private Sector Investment Lab.

Other activities

Corporate boards

, Non-Executive Chair (since 2021) *

, Non-Executive Chair (2015–2020) * BHP, Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors (2010–2020) *

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

, Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors (2010–2018)

Non-profit organizations

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

, Senior Advisor *

Institute of International Finance The Institute of International Finance (IIF) is the association or trade group for the global financial services industry. It was created by 38 banks of leading industrialized countries in 1983 in response to the international debt crisis of the ...

, Member of the BoardBoard

Recognition

In 2016, Vadera was included in that year's list of the BBC's 100 Women.2016
BBC, Retrieved 26 November 2016

Notes

References

External links

parliamentary profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadera, Shriti Vadera, Baroness Living people 1962 births Ugandan emigrants to the United Kingdom Ugandan people of Indian descent British Hindus British women bankers British economists British women economists Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Labour Party (UK) life peers British special advisers Labour Party (UK) officials Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British people of Indian descent British people of Gujarati descent British people of Indo-Ugandan descent Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at Northwood College