Margot James

Margot served as a Member of Parliament between 2010 and 2019 and has held a number of ministerial offices, latterly as Minister of State for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport where she championed the interests of both industry and consumers in the digital world. In her role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Margot had responsibility for small businesses, consumers and corporate governance, including labour markets and the retail sector. Prior to serving as an MP, Margot founded Shire Health Group in 1985, which provided public relations and medical education services to pharmaceutical companies, and led its growth to over 100 staff. She led the successful transitioning of Shire Health Group to the multinational WPP in 2000 and subsequently joined the European Board of Ogilvy & Mather, one of WPP's larger advertising-led networks, between 2003 and 2006. Margot has also served as a non-executive director of Parkside NHS Trust.

Margot is executive chair of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, a department of the University of Warwick which seeks to drive innovation in applied science, technology and engineering through successful collaboration between academia and the public and private sectors. She also serves as a Member of the Court of Governors of London School of Economics.