Sylvia Bailey, née Grice (born 24 January 1962), is a former

chief executive 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 ...

Trinity Mirror Reach plc (known as Trinity Mirror between 1999 and 2018) is a British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. It is one of the UK's biggest newspaper groups, publishing 240 regional papers in addition to the national ''Daily Mirror'', '' ...

, the UK's largest newspaper publisher, and a non-executive director of EMI from 2004 to 2007."Mrs Sly Bailey Authorised Biography
Debrett's She was named as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Britain" by '' Management Today''. She was also named as one of the top 20 most influential figures in media by MediaGuardian and as one of the top 50 most powerful businesswomen outside the United States by ''Fortune''. She left Trinity Mirror, six months earlier than planned, in June 2012.Mark Sweene
"Sly Bailey to leave Trinity Mirror immediately"
''The Guardian'', 15 June 2012

Early life

She was educated at St. Saviour's and St. Olave's Grammar School for Girls, in Southwark, south-east London. In 1978 she briefly attended the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...

Career

Bailey began her career as a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

for Revlon. In 1984 she joined ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper working in advertising sales. Bailey became advertising manager at ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper in 1987.

Trinity Mirror

Bailey joined Trinity Mirror as chief executive in February 2003. On 30 June 2008, Trinity Mirror issued a trading statement forecasting a 10% reduction in anticipated profits, leading to a collapse in the share price to a low of 73.5p, compared to its 12-month high of 557.5p. ''

''s media columnist Stephen Glover pointed out that the company's market value had slumped from £1.5 bn to £250m, and commented: "... it is difficult to see how Sly Bailey, Trinity Mirror's preposterously well-rewarded chief executive, can remain much longer in her job . . . " In July 2011 Bailey launched an investigation into editorial controls and procedures at Mirror Group newspapers following allegations of phone hacking. In October 2011, Bailey became the first serving media executive to appear at the Leveson Inquiry. Late on 3 May 2012 it was announced that Bailey was to leave her post at Trinity Mirror by the end of the year,Josh Halliday and Lisa O'Carrol
"Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey steps down"
''The Guardian'', 3 May 2012 but she in fact left in mid June. The General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Michelle Stanistreet, said of her at the time: "Finally, Sly Bailey is doing the decent thing and leaving the company she has led into monumental decline." Reportedly, she received a £900,000 payoff. In 2023, in a judgement against Trinity Mirror (now

Reach PLC Reach plc (known as Trinity Mirror between 1999 and 2018) is a British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. It is one of the UK's biggest newspaper groups, publishing 240 regional papers in addition to the national ''Daily Mirror'', '' ...

) and in favour of Prince Harry about the phone hacking scandal, judge Timothy Fancourt said that Bailey “knew or – what in law amounts to the same thing – turned a blind eye to it nlawful information gatheringfrom about the end of 2006” whilst she was CEO.

Other activities

Sly Bailey has been on the Press Association board since 2003. She was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of East London in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Sly 1962 births British chief executives British media executives Living people People from Dulwich The Guardian people The Independent people Reach plc Women business executives 20th-century British businesswomen 21st-century British businesswomen