Laura Wade-Gery (born 1965) is a British business executive.

Early life

Wade-Gery (daughter of the late Sir Robert Wade-Gery) was educated at

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...

and

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 ...

, where she studied history and also achieved an ice-hockey

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

.Bolland lures Tesco's Laura Wade-Gery to run M&S's online operation
''The Guardian'', London, 7 February 2011 As a student she accompanied

William Dalrymple William Benedict Hamilton-Dalrymple (born 20 March 1965) is a Delhi-based Scottish people, Scottish historian and art historian, as well as a curator, broadcaster and critic. He spends nine months of each year on his goat farm in India. He i ...

on a journey across Asia which is described in Dalrymple's book ''

In Xanadu ''In Xanadu: A Quest'' is a 1989 travel book by William Dalrymple. Overview ''In Xanadu'' traces the path taken by Marco Polo from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to the site of Shangdu, famed as Xanadu in English literature, i ...

''. Dalrymple has said of Wade-Gery: “Stories of her feats of endurance were common currency; if half of them were true, she had by the age of 21 made Freya Stark look like a dilettante. ... When travelling with her I could never decide whether she reminded me more of Boadicea or

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo show ...

..."

Career

After working at Gemini Consulting and

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

, Wade-Gery joined

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

in 1997 and rose to become chief executive of its online business. She was to have become commercial director of Tesco's non-food operation in 2011 but instead joined the

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

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 ...

as executive director of multi-channel

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

. She is also a member of the British Government's Digital Advisory Board, a trustee of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, and a director of

Snape Maltings Britten Pears Arts is a large music education organisation based in Suffolk, England. It aims to continue the legacy of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, and to promote the enjoyment and experience of music for all ...

Trading Limited. On 1 August 2018 Laura Wade-Gery became a non-executive director of

NHS Improvement NHS Improvement (NHSI) was a non-departmental body in England, responsible for overseeing the National Health Service's foundation trusts and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care. It supported providers to ...

. Wade-Gery caused controversy by promoting a merger of national agencies of NHS England, NHSx, Education Health England and NHS Digital. The resulting merger projected a 40% reduction in headcount at a time that care services were under pressure from the aftermath of the pandemic response. Job losses were not relayed in dispatches in January 2023 in both the House of Commons or the House of Lords. Wade-Gery as of January 2023 held Executive Director positions for the British Land Company plc and directorships including Britten Pears Arts (Suffolk) and Legal and General Group. Whilst as executive director of NHS Digital, Wade-Gery presided through the merger process which was challenged by NHS Unions citing lack of consultation and constrained timeframes. Following the merger Wade-Gery has taken a non-executive role for NHS England. On 15th October 2023 Laura became the Chair of the Board of Governors at

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist National Health Service (NHS) eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthal ...

but resigned on 3rd March 2025

References

1965 births Living people People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British women business executives Tesco people Marks & Spencer people {{UK-business-bio-1960s-stub