DAME HELEN ALEXANDER
Dame Helen Alexander joined The Economist as Marketing Manager in 1985 after studying at INSEAD for an MBA and completing various roles with Faber and Faber and with Gerald Duckworth & Co. She became Managing Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit in 1993 and in 1997 became Chief Executive of the Economist Intelligence Unit in 1993 and in 1997 became Chief Executive of the Economist Group, a position she held until 2008.

BOARD MANDATES
Dame Helen was President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) until June 2011 and continues as Deputy President until June 2012. She is Chairman of Incisive Media and of the Port of London Authority (PLA).

She is currently Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Centrica plc and Rolls-Royce Group plc and a Senior Adviser to Bain Capital.

She was a Non-Executive Director at Northern Foods plc and at BT Group plc.

Dame Helen is currently a Director of the Thomson-Reuters Founder's Share Company, Chair of the Business Advisory Council of the Said Business School, Oxford University and Deputy Chair of the Governors, St. Paul's Girls' School. She is also a Trustee of the World Wide Web (WWW) Foundation and a Director of the Paris-based Grand Palais and Reunion des Musees Nationaux.

She has been appointed Chancellor of Southampton University, taking up her post in August 2011.

AWARDS
Dame Helen was awarded a CBE for services to publishing in 2004, is a member of the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group and is an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford.