Margaret Casely-Hayford

Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE
Born	Margaret Henrietta Augusta Casely-Hayford 1954 (age 69–70) London, England
Education	Streatham and Clapham High School
Alma mater	Somerville College, Oxford Inns of Court School of Law
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, businesswoman and public figure
Relatives	J. E. Casely Hayford (grandfather) Gus Casely-Hayford and Joe Casely-Hayford (brothers)
Website	margaretcasely-hayford.com

Margaret Henrietta Augusta Casely-Hayford^[1] CBE (born 1959)^[2] is a British lawyer, businesswoman and public figure who is active in the voluntary sector. She is at the forefront of working to create diversity on boards^[3][4] and is joint-manager of a rap artist and digital media entrepreneur.^[5][6] Casely-Hayford was a candidate in the 2024 University of Oxford Chancellor election, described by The Times as an outside bet for the role,^[7] with William Hague eventually being elected.^[8]

Biography

Background and education

Margaret Casely-Hayford was born in London, England, into the prominent Ghanaian Casely-Hayford family: she is the daughter of Victor Casely-Hayford,^[1] an accountant who had trained as a barrister,^[2] her grandfather was the Gold Coast lawyer, writer and politician J. E. Casely Hayford, and her brothers are historian Gus Casely-Hayford, designer Joe Casely-Hayford and Peter Casely-Hayford, formerly managing director of TV production company Twenty Twenty.^[9][10][11] In 2008, the Casely-Hayfords were named on "The Black Powerlist" as the most influential black family in the UK.^[12]

Casely-Hayford was educated at Streatham and Clapham High School, a private day school for girls;^[13] she studied law at Somerville College, Oxford, graduating in 1982, and did her Bar finals at the Inns of Court School of Law, being called to the Bar in 1983 (Gray's Inn).^[2][14]

Career

Casely-Hayford worked for 20 years with the law firm Dentons, where she was made a Partner, becoming the first black woman to hold such a position in a City firm.^[9] She specialised in planning matters, and in 1995 wrote a book entitled Practical Planning: Permission and the Application.^[15]

From 2000 to 2008, she was a government-appointed trustee of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity and of the Geffrye Museum and was on the development board of the Young Vic theatre.^[16] During 2012–16, she was a non-executive director of NHS England, and on the Board of the British Retail Consortium. She also serves on the Metropolitan Police panel overseeing the investigation into police corruption.^[17] She is in the forefront of working to create diversity on boards.^[12][3]

For nine years, until 2014, she was Director of Legal Services and Company Secretary for the John Lewis Partnership.^[17] She was also on the Board of the British Retail Consortium for four years to 2014.^[18]

She became Chair of the charity ActionAid UK in 2014, and in 2016 she became a member-nominated Director of The Co-op.^[18] She is an ambassador of Board Apprentice and Chairs the advisory board of Ultra Education, working to develop young entrepreneurs, and a non-executive director of WetZebra Media.^[3] She is also a trustee of The Radcliffe Trust, one of Britain's oldest charities supporting classical music performance and training,^[19]

She chaired the diversity review conducted by CILIP in 2017 into the awarding of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals.^[20][21] Committed to encouraging all business leaders to promote diversity on boards, she has said: "That is the future. There is a whole slew of people who still feel that they aren't part of the game. We are a mixed society – that's what Britain has been for so long. We just need to be more positive rather than negative, and showcase it. We are now at a crossroads."^[12]

Additionally, she is the former mentor of rap artist and media entrepreneur Kelvyn Colt.^[22][23][24]

In July 2017, Casely-Hayford was named the new Chancellor of Coventry University, the first woman to hold the position.^{[22][25][26][27]} She was appointed for a second term in 2020^[28][29] and stood down in 2024.^[30][31]

In February 2018, she was announced as the new chair of the board of Shakespeare's Globe, taking over the appointment from Michael Bichard.^{[32][33][34][35][36]} Casely-Hayford stood down from the role in 2023.^[37][38]

In 2024, Casely-Hayford was named as a candidate in the running to be Chancellor of Oxford University.^[39][40][41]

Awards and recognition

In 2014, she was voted Black British Business Person of the Year at the Black British Business Awards (BBBA) founded by Melanie Eusebe.^[12]

In 2016, Casely-Hayford was awarded an honorary doctorate by Middlesex University.^[3]

She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours, for charitable services in the UK and abroad.^[42]

In October 2019, it was announced that Casely-Hayford would be featured in the 2020 Powerlist as one of the 100 most influential black people in the United Kingdom.^[43][44] The following year, Casely-Hayford was included in the 2021 edition of the Powerlist, for her contributions to the education sector.^[45]

In 2020, she was elected an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.^[46]

In 2021, Casely-Hayford was elected a Master of the Bench at Gray's Inn.^[47]

She was again named on the Powerlist in 2022, listed in the "Public, Third Sector & Education" category.^[48]

References

1. "Casely-Hayford, Margaret Henrietta Augusta", Who's Who 2019.
2. "Margaret Casely-Hayford", BLD, April 2010.
3. "Margaret Casely-Hayford awarded an Honorary Degree", Middlesex University UniHub, 13 July 2016.
4. Casely-Hayford, Margaret (8 March 2018). "Opinion: Equality at the heart of co-operation… It's in our DNA"". Co-Op News.
5. Bampfylde, Saxon (6 February 2018). "Margaret Casely-Hayford appointed as Chair of Shakespeare's Globe". Saxton Bampfylde - Global Executive Search & Leadership Consulting. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
6. "Interview with Margaret Casely-Hayford". Times Higher Education (THE). 28 September 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
7. Lambert, Georgia (30 August 2024). "Oxford's outside bets for chancellor: from anti-woke clergyman to hand surgeon". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
8. "Lord Hague of Richmond elected as new Chancellor of Oxford University". University of Oxford. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
9. Pears, Elizabeth (24 February 2012). "Women Making A Mark". The Voice. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
10. Oatts, Joanne (19 September 2007). "Shed productions buys Twenty Twenty". Digital Spy.
11. "Black History Month Talk & 3rd Anniversary Party", Conway Hall, 17 October 2015.
12. Currie, Lysanne (1 October 2015). "Margaret Casely-Hayford: The ActionAid UK chair talks talent, diversity and building a great company culture". The Director.
13. "Margaret Casely-Hayford". Girls' Day School Trust. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
14. Grove, Jack (28 September 2017). "Interview with Margaret Casely-Hayford". Times Higher Education.
15. Casely-Hayford, Margaret (11 December 1995). Practical planning : permission and the application. FT Law & Tax. ISBN 978-0752000633.
16. "About Margaret", Margaret Casely-Hayford website.
17. "106 seconds with… Margaret Casely-Hayford, Chair, Action Aid UK", 6th Sense, 10 August 2015.
18. "Board and directors", Co-op.
19. "About", The Radcliffe Trust.
20. Onwuemezi, Natasha (26 June 2017). "Casely-Hayford to chair Carnegie and Greenaway Medals diversity review". The Bookseller.
21. "'Get all young Britons reading to unlock potential, productivity and economic growth'" (press release), CILIP, 7 December 2017.
22. "Margaret Casely-Hayford named new Chancellor of Coventry University", Coventry University, 17 July 2017.
23. "Kelvyn Colt - Narcotic". Music video directed by Simon Frederick, produced by Margaret Casely-Hayford.
24. Wilson, Lara (20 November 2016). "10 Minutes with MND Margaret Casely-Hayford: Managing a rapper will help in my role as Member Nominated Director". Co-op.
25. "New Coventry University chancellor is black female trailblazer Margaret Casely-Hayford", Coventry Observer, 17 July 2017.
26. "Inspirational speakers secured for major business event in Warwickshire" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, 2017.
27. "Groundbreaker Becomes First Woman Chancellor At Coventry University – Another first for the acclaimed lawyer Margaret Casely-Hayford". The Voice. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
28. "Coventry Uni re-appoints Dr Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE as Chancellor". DiversityQ. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
29. "Coventry University Chancellor appointed to second term". Coventry University. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
30. "Chancellor of Coventry University Group speaks of immense pride as she prepares to leave the role" (Press release). Coventry University. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
31. "Coventry University Group announces Eng Ahmed El Sewedy as new Chancellor". www.coventry.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
32. Snow, Georgia (6 February 2018). "Margaret Casely-Hayford announced as chair of Shakespeare's Globe". The Stage.
33. Wild, Stephi (6 February 2018). "Margaret Casely-Hayford Appointed As Chair Of Shakespeare's Globe". Broadway World.
34. Press Association, "Margaret Casely-Hayford appointed chairwoman of Shakespeare’s Globe", Evening Express, Aberdeen Journals, 6 February 2018.
35. "Margaret Casely-Hayford appointed as Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe", Shakespeare's Globe Blog, 6 February 2018.
36. White, Nadine (15 February 2018). "Margaret Casely-Hayford Named Chair Of Shakespeare's Globe". The Voice.
37. "Margaret Casely-Hayford steps down as Chair of Shakespeare's Globe" (PDF) (Press release). Shakespeare's Globe. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
38. "Shakespeare's Globe appoints new Chair". ArtsProfessional. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
39. "A first look at Oxford's next Chancellor". Cherwell. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
40. Heale, James (19 October 2024). "Inside the race for the Chancellor of Oxford". The Spectator. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
41. Mishra, Anuj (24 October 2024). "Margaret Casely-Hayford: 'Some people see me as the diversity candidate, I don't mind it.'". Cherwell. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
42. "Margaret CASELY-HAYFORD".
43. Mills, Kelly-Ann (25 October 2019). "Raheem Sterling joins Meghan and Stormzy in top 100 most influential black Brits". Mirror. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
44. Busby, Mattha (25 October 2019). "Meghan and Stormzy named among most influential black people in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
45. Lavender, Jane (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021". mirror. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
46. "Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE | Honorary Fellow". Somerville University of Oxford. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
47. "New Masters of the Bench". The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
48. Motune, Vic (15 October 2021). "Microsoft tech pioneer Jacky Wright tops list of most powerful black Britons". The Voice.

External links

• Official website
• "Inspirational Woman: Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE | Chancellor, Coventry University", We Are the City, 13 August 2020.
• "Face Into the Darkness of Our History | Margaret Casely-Hayford | TEDxOxford". TEDx Talks, 28 June 2021.