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Martha Lane Fox
Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (born 10 February 1973) is a British businesswoman, philanthropist and public servant. She co-founded Last Minute during the dotcom boom of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public service digital projects. She sits on the boards of WeTransfer and Chanel, as well as being a trustee of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust. She previously served on the board of Channel 4.
She entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher on 26 March 2013, becoming its youngest female member; she was appointed Chancellor of the Open University on 12 March 2014. In October 2019, she was named by media and marketing publication The Drum as the most influential woman in Britain's digital sector from the past quarter of a century.
Born in London, Lane Fox is the daughter of classicist, ancient historian from Oxford University and gardening correspondent of the Financial Times Robin Lane Fox, the scion of an English landed gentry family seated at Bramham Park. She was privately educated at Oxford High School, an all-girls in Oxford, and at Westminster School in London with a coeducational sixth form. She studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford where she was an undergraduate student of Magdalen College, Oxford graduating with a lower second class honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, her BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA) degree.
Lane Fox joined information technology and media consulting firm Spectrum, where she met Brent Hoberman. In 1998, Lane Fox and Hoberman founded Last Minute, an online travel and gift business. She stepped down as managing director in 2003. Last Minute was bought by Sabre Holdings in 2005.
Following her departure from Last Minute, Lane Fox was tipped to take over day-to-day operations at Selfridges but was involved in a car accident before she could assume that role. At the suggestion of advertising executive Julian Douglas, Fox teamed up with Nick Thistleton to launch karaoke company Lucky Voice. In 2007, Lane Fox joined the board of Marks & Spencer.
From 2009 to 2013, she was the Digital Champion for the UK and helped to create the Government Digital Service – this team launched gov.uk, and was given the task of spearheading a two-year campaign to improve computer literacy. The following year she was assigned to establish the Digital Public Services Unit within the Cabinet Office. and invited to sit on the Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Board. The following month Lane Fox was honoured by David Cameron for her "Manifesto for a Networked Nation", a challenge to increase British internet engagement.[citation needed] She resigned from her position as Digital Champion in late 2013.
She entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher on 26 March 2013, becoming its youngest female member. In her maiden speech, she addressed the need for digital literacy in all sectors of the economy. That same year the Open University appointed her Chancellor. In the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, Lane Fox signed an open letter opposing Scottish independence.
In 2017, Lady Lane-Fox was appointed a member of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. In 2018, she was appointed Non-Executive Director of Chanel as well as Donmar Warehouse and a Trustee of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Lane Fox continues to be a Patron of AbilityNet, Reprieve, Camfed and Just for Kids Law. She was on the board of social networking company Twitter, Inc. from June 2016 until its takeover by Elon Musk in October 2022. In 2020, Lane Fox was appointed to the board of directors of the company WeTransfer. She was appointed president of the British Chambers of Commerce in October 2022. In November 2024, Lane-Fox joined the board of Multiverse, a British apprenticeships company co-founded and led by Euan Blair.
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Martha Lane Fox
Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (born 10 February 1973) is a British businesswoman, philanthropist and public servant. She co-founded Last Minute during the dotcom boom of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public service digital projects. She sits on the boards of WeTransfer and Chanel, as well as being a trustee of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust. She previously served on the board of Channel 4.
She entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher on 26 March 2013, becoming its youngest female member; she was appointed Chancellor of the Open University on 12 March 2014. In October 2019, she was named by media and marketing publication The Drum as the most influential woman in Britain's digital sector from the past quarter of a century.
Born in London, Lane Fox is the daughter of classicist, ancient historian from Oxford University and gardening correspondent of the Financial Times Robin Lane Fox, the scion of an English landed gentry family seated at Bramham Park. She was privately educated at Oxford High School, an all-girls in Oxford, and at Westminster School in London with a coeducational sixth form. She studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford where she was an undergraduate student of Magdalen College, Oxford graduating with a lower second class honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, her BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA) degree.
Lane Fox joined information technology and media consulting firm Spectrum, where she met Brent Hoberman. In 1998, Lane Fox and Hoberman founded Last Minute, an online travel and gift business. She stepped down as managing director in 2003. Last Minute was bought by Sabre Holdings in 2005.
Following her departure from Last Minute, Lane Fox was tipped to take over day-to-day operations at Selfridges but was involved in a car accident before she could assume that role. At the suggestion of advertising executive Julian Douglas, Fox teamed up with Nick Thistleton to launch karaoke company Lucky Voice. In 2007, Lane Fox joined the board of Marks & Spencer.
From 2009 to 2013, she was the Digital Champion for the UK and helped to create the Government Digital Service – this team launched gov.uk, and was given the task of spearheading a two-year campaign to improve computer literacy. The following year she was assigned to establish the Digital Public Services Unit within the Cabinet Office. and invited to sit on the Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Board. The following month Lane Fox was honoured by David Cameron for her "Manifesto for a Networked Nation", a challenge to increase British internet engagement.[citation needed] She resigned from her position as Digital Champion in late 2013.
She entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher on 26 March 2013, becoming its youngest female member. In her maiden speech, she addressed the need for digital literacy in all sectors of the economy. That same year the Open University appointed her Chancellor. In the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, Lane Fox signed an open letter opposing Scottish independence.
In 2017, Lady Lane-Fox was appointed a member of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. In 2018, she was appointed Non-Executive Director of Chanel as well as Donmar Warehouse and a Trustee of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Lane Fox continues to be a Patron of AbilityNet, Reprieve, Camfed and Just for Kids Law. She was on the board of social networking company Twitter, Inc. from June 2016 until its takeover by Elon Musk in October 2022. In 2020, Lane Fox was appointed to the board of directors of the company WeTransfer. She was appointed president of the British Chambers of Commerce in October 2022. In November 2024, Lane-Fox joined the board of Multiverse, a British apprenticeships company co-founded and led by Euan Blair.