Dame Heather Jane McGregor (born 27 March 1962) is a British executive, journalist, and academic, known for writing under the moniker "Mrs Moneypenny".

Biography

She is the Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai since 1 September 2022. Prior to that and since 2016, she has been Executive Dean of

Edinburgh Business School Edinburgh Business School (EBS) is the Graduate School of Business of Heriot-Watt University (est. 1821), Edinburgh, Scotland. Heriot-Watt University awards degrees by royal charter. Heriot-Watt University was featured in the Academic Ranking ...

, Heriot Watt University. She wrote a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

for 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 ...

'' from 1999 to 2016 as "Mrs Moneypenny", and was the chief executive of Taylor Bennett from 2000 to 2016. In 2008, McGregor established the Taylor Bennett Foundation, a charity that encourages

black, Asian and minority ethnic A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...

people to consider a career in communications and PR. She was a founding member of the

30% Club The 30% Club is a campaign group of business chairpersons and CEOs taking action to increase gender diversity on boards and senior management teams. It was established in the United Kingdom in 2010 by Helena Morrissey with the aim of achieving a ...

, which campaigns for more women on the boards of

FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most market capitalisation, highly capitalised ...

companies. In 2013, she appeared on a celebrity special episode of

Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...

. She was also elected as a fellow to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in March 2021. McGregor was a columnist for ''

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 ...

'' between September 2019 and March 2021.

Awards

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) in the 2015 Birthday Honours for services to business, especially employment skills and diversity in the workplace, and

Dame 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 ...

(DBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to education, business and heritage in Scotland.2023 New Year Honours List
gov.uk. Accessed 29 July 2023.

References

External links

"Mrs Moneypenny"
''Financial Times''. Accessed 30 December 2022.
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Edinburghreporter.co.uk. Accessed 30 December 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Heather 1962 births Living people British chief executives British women chief executives British columnists Financial Times people Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Academics of Heriot-Watt University Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh