Miranda K. Brawn is a British businesswoman, non-executive director,

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. She was born and raised in London. She founded The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation, a registered UK charity, in 2016. She is best known for her activism to eliminate diversity, equity, inclusion and sustainability gaps.

Early life and education

Brawn is of Kashmiri descent on her father's side, while her maternal family are from

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

. Brawn completed the

Bar Vocational Course The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court ...

at the

University of Law The University of Law (founded in 1962 as The College of Law of England and Wales) is a Private university, private Proprietary college, for-profit university in the United Kingdom, providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, busi ...

in 2011 and was called to the Bar of England and Wales by The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn to become a

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...

. She also holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) degree from the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

Business School. Brawn was elected to be a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

in 2016. She was awarded 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 ...

from the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

in 2017 and honorary

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

s from the

in 2019.

Career

Brawn started her banking career as one of the first women of colour on London's

trading floor Open outcry is a method of communication between professionals on a stock exchange or futures exchange, typically on a trading floor. It involves shouting and the use of hand signals to transfer information primarily about buy and sell orde ...

, progressing to become an

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

sales trader, and senior lawyer. On 1 September 2022, Professor Miranda Brawn has been elected to be a senior visiting fellow at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

. She was a candidate to be a City of London Alderman in May 2022. On 1 July 2021, she was appointed to the corporate board of electric vehicle manufacturer Switch Mobility Limited (formerly known as

Optare Switch Mobility (Optare until 2020) is a British bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company is responsible for the EV operations of the group with Ashok Leylan ...

, a subsidiary of

Ashok Leyland Ashok Leyland Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturer, with its headquarters in Chennai. It is now owned by the Hinduja Group. It was founded in 1948 as Ashok Motors, which became Ashok Leyland in the year 1955 after collab ...

, part of the

Hinduja Group Hinduja Group is an Indian Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The group is present in eleven sectors including automotive, oil and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, IT and ITeS, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure proj ...

’s global business group) as an independent non-executive director. Brawn holds other board roles, which include serving as an advisory board member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn for the Investment Committee, Social Mobility Committee, Chapel Committee, and Bar Representation Committee as of 1 January 2021. Brawn also works as an Equality Commissioner at

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour ...

as of 2016. She was elected to the Board of the

Black Cultural Archives Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is an archive and heritage centre in Brixton, London, devoted to the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in Britain. Also known as BCA, it was founded in 1981, by educationalist and historian Len G ...

(BCA) as Vice-Chair from 2014 to 2016, and then Patron from 2016 to 2018. In 2014, Brawn was also the first Patron of the Black British Academics. Brawn is a media contributor for a range of media platforms and publications, including

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...

, both television and radio.

Philanthropy

The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation

Brawn founded and is the President of a UK-registered charity in England and Wales called The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation (TMBDLF). The mission of this charity is to eliminate the diversity, equity, and inclusion gaps in the professional workplace through education and empowerment for future diverse leaders. On 15 October 2016, the charity launched the UK’s first diversity leadership lecture, and on 1 March 2021, the UK’s first ‘Black Women on Boards’ initiative. Their work has been recognised by Prince of Wales,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

, and the former

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

. In 2021, Brawn launched The Dr Miranda Brawn Award with Oxford University in partnership with The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation. This award is to empower students from underrepresented groups to excel in the education and future careers.

Other charitable work

From 2017 to 2018, Brawn served on the Board of

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

Women of Influence as a board advisor. In 2021, Brawn joined Action Aid UK Arise Fund as a founding board advisory member.

Awards

*2016 - Brawn was elected to be a

*2016 -

UK Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

'Points of Light' Award *2016 - Highly Commended Diversity Champion by UK Diversity Legal Awards *2017 - Top 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance by

Financial News ''Financial News'' is a weekly financial newspaper published in London and news website, founded in 1996. It is published by eFinancial News Limited, and provides news and opinions regarding the financial services sector, and information ab ...

*2018 - Honorary Freedom of the City of London by personal invitation for the centenary of votes for women. *2019 – The Empower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives 2019

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 ...

and

Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance is a media property that is part of the Yahoo network. It provides financial news, data and commentary including stock quotes, press releases, financial reports, and original content. It also offers online tools for personal fina ...

& EMPower *2019 – Woman of the Year and Ambassador of the Year by the Women in Finance Awards *2019 - The HERoes Top 100 Role Model Women Executives 2019 by

and EMPower *2020 - Top 10 Most Inspirational Women of the City by Brummell Magazine *2020 - Top 12 Inspirational Women in the City of London Photography Exhibition at London

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guil ...

Hannah Starkey Hannah Starkey (born 1971) is a British photographer who specializes in staged settings of women in city environments, based in London. In 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. ''Hannah Starkey: In Real Li ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brawn, Miranda Living people 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century British philanthropists Alumni of the University of Law Alumni of the University of Westminster British anti-racism activists British women's rights activists English people of Dominica descent English people of French descent English people of Kashmiri descent Lawyers from London Members of Lincoln's Inn Year of birth missing (living people)