Dame Helen Jean Sutherland Fraser, (born 8 June 1949) is a British executive and publisher. From 2010 to 2016, she was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Girls' Day School Trust. She previously worked in publishing, and was an editor then managing director at a number of publishers including Heinemann and

Penguin UK Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

Early life and education

Fraser was born on 8 June 1949.'FRASER, Helen Jean Sutherland', ''

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 14 Nov 2017
/ref> Her father was George Sutherland Fraser, the poet and literary critic. She was educated at the Collegiate Girls' School, an all-girls grammar school in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. She studied English language and literature at

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...

, and graduated with a

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 in 1970; as per tradition, her BA was later promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Oxon) degree.

Career

After graduating from university in 1970, Fraser spent nine months teaching English in Paris, France. She then went travelling in Southeast Asia with the money she had earned teaching. In 1972, Fraser joined

Methuen Publishing Methuen Publishing Ltd (; also known as Methuen Books) is an English publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen (1856–1924) and began publishing in London in 1892. Initially, Methuen mainly published non-fiction acade ...

as a "trainee-cum-secretary". By her second year with the company she was commissioning books; one of her first was ''The Novels of Virginia Woolf'' by

Hermione Lee Dame Hermione Lee (born 29 February 1948) is a British biographer, literary critic and academic. She is a former President of Wolfson College, Oxford, and a former Goldsmiths' Professor of English Literature in the University of Oxford and Pr ...

. In 1974, she left Methuen to start an independent publishing company with two colleagues: it was called Open Books, specialised in academic works, and was funded by Mitchell Beazley. Mitchell Beazley withdrew their funding from the company in 1976. In 1976, Fraser joined

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

as a non-fiction editor. She helped edit the

Fontana Modern Masters The Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists who shaped the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana ...

alongside the series editor

Frank Kermode Sir John Frank Kermode, FBA (29 November 1919 – 17 August 2010) was a British literary critic best known for his 1967 work '' The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction'' and for his extensive book-reviewing and editing. He wa ...

. In 1981, she was promoted to editorial director at William Collins, the parent company of Fontana. She was made head of Flamingo, the "

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

paperback list", and also became involved in

hardback A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy ...

publishing in 1986. She was fired from William Collins in 1987. Fraser joined Heinemann in 1987 as a publisher. She moved to its subsidiary Reed Trade Books in 1992 as publishing director before being appointed managing director in 1996. She moved to

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

in January 1997 as managing director of its general division. In 2001, she was appointed managing director of

. She stepped down from that role in 2009. In January 2010, Fraser became the chief executive officer of the Girls' Day School Trust, a group of

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

in England and Wales. She retired in August 2016. She was succeeded as CEO by Cheryl Giovannoni.

Personal life

On 15 April 1982, Fraser married Grant James McIntyre. Together they have four children: two daughters and two step daughters. Fraser is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Christian. From 2013 to 2018 she served as a

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

of St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, London.

Honours

In the

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Chris ...

, Fraser was appointed a

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) "for services to the publishing industry". On 14 July 2010, she was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt) degree by the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. In the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, she was promoted to

Dame Commander ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...

of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for "services to education", thereby granting her the title ''dame''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Helen Jean Sutherland 1949 births Living people British book publishers (people) Women book publishers (people) British editors British book editors British women editors British chief executives British women chief executives People from Leicester Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Churchwardens British Anglicans