Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, (born 23 June 1962) is a Ugandan-born British investment banker, and has been chair of Prudential plc since January 2021, having joined the board in May 2020. Until September 2009, she was a government minister jointly for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office. She was chair of Santander UK from March 2015 to October 2020, the first woman to head a major British bank.

Early life

Vadera was born in Uganda in 1962 to Indian Gujarati parents. She is from a family who owned a small tea plantation but fled to India in 1972 following the Ugandan government's expulsion of Ugandan Asians, and then later to the UK. She was educated at Northwood College before taking a degree in philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Somerville College, Oxford.

Private sector career

For over 14 years Vadera was employed at investment bank UBS Warburg, where her work included advising governments of developing countries, and debt relief and restructuring. She also played a role in the partial privatisation of South African Telecom.

Government adviser and minister

Vadera was on the Council of Economic Advisers at HM Treasury from 1999 to 2007, where she led on policy for business, competition innovation, productivity and international finance and development issues and the management of the Government's shareholdings, asset sales and public private partnerships for infrastructure. Following his appointment as Prime Minister in June 2007, Gordon Brown appointed her as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development. As she was not a member of either of the Houses of Parliament, she was created a life peer on 11 July 2007 as Baroness Vadera, of Holland Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. The Sunday Times reported that Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, "flatly refus[ed] to allow her to cross the threshold of No 10 as policy enforcer" and "no Permanent Secretary could stand her" – although he later denied making these comments. Following criticism of her working style Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses (also a Merton Labour councillor) said: “If the Civil Service is complaining about her, then probably more ministers should be like her; she gets things done.” After six months as a Minister in International Development, she was moved to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. In October 2008, she also became a Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office. In January 2009 she gave an interview on ITV's Lunchtime News, which concluded: Her reply generated commentary from a number of sources, including shadow chancellor George Osborne and former chancellor Norman Lamont, who first used the phrase "green shoots" in 1991. Lamont said: "It is extremely premature to use a phrase like that." Later that year the Evening Standard reported that Vadera was instrumental in the creation of an unprecedented banking rescue package. On 24 September 2009, it was announced that she would be stepping down as minister to take up a new role advising the G20. Vadera has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords since December 2011.

Life after politics

In April 2010, the Financial Times reported that Vadera had taken up a consultancy to give strategic advice in restructuring Dubai World's US$26 billion debt. In July, the Daily Telegraph reported Vadera had become consultant to Singaporean investment company Temasek. In 2019, Vadera was mentioned by British news media as a candidate to succeed Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England. In 2021, Vadera was appointed chair of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the first woman and person of colour in the role. In 2023, the World Bank's president Ajay Banga appointed Vadera as co-chair – alongside Mark Carney – of the Private Sector Investment Lab.

Other activities

Corporate boards

Non-profit organizations

Recognition

In 2016, Vadera was included in that year's list of the BBC's 100 Women.