Interview Entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox
In addition to serving on the board of some of the world’s most prominent brands, including Chanel and WeTransfer, she is the president of the British Chambers of Commerce and a director of Peers for the Planet, which is helping to put climate change top of the political agenda. In March 2013, she also entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher and became its youngest female member at the time, at the age of 40.
THE WICK: Tell us about your typical Monday.
Martha Lane Fox: It always starts with exercise and physio. Then, unless I have a board or travel, I use Mondays to write my weekly Sunday Times column if all goes well.
TW: What do you attribute your success to?
MLF:
I am so lucky that I was brought up by unconventional parents who never tried to box me in but always encouraged me.
TW: What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?
MLF: I am not the youngest anymore – gulp! I wish I’d used my voice when I felt intimidated. If you’re in the room, you deserve to be there.
TW: You have overcome huge physical and mental challenges to achieve what you have – how do you stay resilient?
MLF: Just keep going, even if it isn’t very far. Don’t think about yourself too much – try to find the joy in small things.
“I am so lucky that I was brought up by unconventional parents who never tried to box me in but always encouraged me.”
