23 Facts About Ruby McGregor-Smith

Ruby McGregor-Smith was nominated as a Conservative life peer in August 2015.

Ruby McGregor-Smith joined Mitie as group financial director in 2002 and was promoted to CEO in 2007.

Ruby McGregor-Smith was the only Asian female chief executive of a FTSE 250 company at this time.

Ruby McGregor-Smith was awarded a CBE in 2012 for services to business and promoting diversity.

Ruby McGregor-Smith was born in 1963 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in northern India.

Ruby McGregor-Smith moved to England aged two with her mother, joining her father who was training as an accountant in London.

Ruby McGregor-Smith grew up in Bayswater, White City and Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow, attending Bentley Wood High School and Lowland Sixth Form College before graduating from Kingston Polytechnic in 1985 with a degree in economics.

Ruby McGregor-Smith was nominated as a Conservative life peer in August 2015 for services to British Business and took her seat in the House of Lords on 16 October 2015.

Ruby McGregor-Smith was appointed by the then Business Secretary Sajid Javid, to voluntarily lead a review looking at the issues faced by businesses in developing black and minority ethnic talent from when they start work through to the executive level.

Ruby McGregor-Smith described herself as a 'reluctant remainer' and voted against the Conservative Party whip at Report Stage of the European Union Bill in support amendments on the EEA and Customs Union.

On 18 July 2018 it was announced that Ruby McGregor-Smith was putting her name forward as the Conservative Party's candidate for Mayor of London.

Ruby McGregor-Smith came 4th out of ten candidates who were long-listed, narrowly missing out on being one of the three to be selected by the Conservative membership as the final candidate.

In 2002, after a brief spell at the facilities management firm Service Group International, Ruby McGregor-Smith joined Mitie Group PLC as group financial director.

Ruby McGregor-Smith ceased to have any financial interest in Mitie on 17 August 2017.

Ruby McGregor-Smith held a non-executive position on the board of recruitment firm Michael Page and currently holds a position as Senior Adviser to Mace Group Ltd and Chairperson of the facilities management outsourcing firm Q3 Services Group.

In 2021, Ruby McGregor-Smith was appointed as the new chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

In September 2022, Ruby McGregor-Smith was appointed as non-executive director at Everyman Media Group plc.

Ruby McGregor-Smith is a member of and past chairman of the Women's Business Council, a working group that seeks to maximize women's contribution to economic growth.

Ruby McGregor-Smith is a member of the WorldSkills UK Skills taskforce for global Britain.

In November 2013, Ruby McGregor-Smith was made Chair of the Public Services Strategy Board for the CBI.

Ruby McGregor-Smith was dubbed the "prickly peer" because of her combative style during interactions with City Commentators.

Ruby McGregor-Smith is a member of the Women's Business Council, and its chairman from 2012 to 2016.

Ruby McGregor-Smith has been married to Graham Ruby McGregor-Smith, an accountant, since 1990.