Stella Rimington

Dame Stella Rimington is a lady of extraordinary talents. Not only did she reach the pinnacle of success in a truly male dominated career, but she is now one of the most distinguished, interesting and articulate speakers on the corporate circuit. Dame Stella is hugely popular as both a conference speaker, covering topics of leadership, teamwork and women's issues and an after-dinner speaker with unbelievable anecdotes from her time at MI5. Her extraordinary life and career ensures she is a highly sought-after speaker.

In 1969 she joined the Security Service as a full-time employee. She worked in all the main fields of the Service's responsibilities, counter subversion, counter espionage and counter terrorism, becoming successively director of all three branches. She was appointed Director General of MI5 in 1992, the first woman to hold the post and the first Director General to be publicly named. During her time as Director General she pursued a policy of greater openness for MI5, giving the 1994 Dimbleby Lecture on BBC TV and several other public lectures and publishing a booklet about the Service. She retired from MI5 in April 1996.

She has been Non-Executive Director of BG Group plc and Associate Director of CPS, a company focusing on boardroom coaching and mentoring. She is a Governor of Town Close House Preparatory School, Norwich. She has also been a Non-Executive Director of Marks & Spencer Plc and BG Group Plc, an Associate Director of CPS, she was previously Chairman of the Institute of Cancer Research and Trustee of the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust.

Stella was made a Dame Commander of the Bath in the 1996 New Year Honours List. She has received honorary degrees from Nottingham, Exeter and London Metropolitan Universities.

A real-life agent, Stella is the inspiration for her fictional counterpart, the character “M” played by Dame Judi Dench in the James Bond 007 films.

Her Autobiography Open Secret was published in 2001, and since then she has become one of the UK’s most celebrated secret service fiction writers, publishing countless bestsellers. Since she has written countless fictional titles, drawing on her experience in the secret service. Her literary prowess has also seen her sit on the chair for the Man Booker Prize in 2011.

An excellent keynote speaker, she is available to discuss security and risk, terrorism and leadership, drawing on her wealth of brilliant experience.