NatWest chief Rose receives Damehood in King’s first new year’s honours list

The head of high street and still partly taxpayer owned NatWest Alison Rose will receive a Damehood in King Charles’s first new year’s honours list since succeeding The Queen.

Rose, 53, became the first woman to head a top UK lender when she was made chief executive in November 2019. 

She has been awarded a Damehood for her contribution to financial services. Rose has been a champion for improving female board representation in the City and authored a government backed report into boosting female entrepreneurship.

“It is a tremendous privilege to receive a Damehood in His Majesty’s New Year’s Honours List and I am immensely proud to lead an organisation that plays such a positive role in the lives of people and families across the UK,” she said.

“This honour is a reflection of the fantastic work of all my colleagues at NatWest Group and the support we provide for the customers and communities we serve; promoting enterprise, building financial capability and channelling the power of finance to tackle climate change,” she added.

City veteran and current chair of chemicals firm Croda Anita Margaret Frew will also receive a Damehood from The King

Frew was also named as the first female chair of aerospace company Rolls-Royce last year.

Dr Julie Maxton, executive director of The Royal Society, will also receive a Damehood.

Athlete Denise Lewis, president of Commonwealth Games England, will bag a Damehood, as will chief of the Office for Students Nicola Dandridge.

Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Guinness maker and FTSE 100 listed Diageo, will receive a Knighthood.
Artist Grayson Perry will also be Knighted, as will Roland Keating, chief executive of The British Library.

Oxford Brookes Professor Tim Vorley, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School, has been awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.