Ruby McGregor-Smith, Baroness McGregor-Smith, CBE (née Ahmad; born 22 February 1963) is a British business executive and politician.[2] McGregor-Smith was the former CEO of Mitie Group PLC, a UK facilities management business, from 2007 to 2016.[3][4] She was nominated as a Conservative life peer in August 2015.[5]
McGregor-Smith joined Mitie as group financial director in 2002 and was promoted to CEO in 2007. She was the only Asian female chief executive of a FTSE 250 company at this time.[6] She was awarded a CBE in 2012 for services to business and promoting diversity.[7] During the decade she spent at Mitie, the firm increased its turnover by £1.5bn billion, which passed the £2bn mark for the first time in 2012.[8] Upon her appointment to the House of Lords in 2015, after eight years as Chief Executive, McGregor-Smith asked the Mitie board to begin the process of looking for a replacement as Chief Executive.[9] In October 2016 a handover period with new CEO Phil Bentley began, ending in December 2016.[9]
She moved to England aged two with her mother, joining her father who was training as an accountant in London.[4]
She 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 University in 1985 with a degree in economics.[10]
She was nominated as a Conservative life peer in August 2015 for services to British Business[5] and took her seat in the House of Lords on 16 October 2015.[13] In July 2017 she was appointed to the House of Lords EU Market Committee which looks at the impact of EU Regulation on business.[14]
In December 2015, she was appointed non-executive board member of the Department for Education, a position she currently holds.[15]