Carolyn Fairbairn is a British economist whose versatile career spans global institutions, media, consultancy, and business leadership.
After earning a double-first in Economics from Cambridge, an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from INSEAD, she began as an economist at the World Bank and later served as a journalist at The Economist. She subsequently became a partner in McKinsey's media practice and advised the Prime Minister’s POLICY Unit in the mid-1990s.
Carolyn went on to lead digital and strategic transformation at the BBC, helping launch the landmark Freeview service, held senior strategy roles at ITV, steering it through post-crisis recovery, and is currently Senior Independent Director at Tesco plc. From 2015 to 2020, she served as Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), representing and advocating for UK business at home and abroad.
She has extensive governance experience as a non-executive director across major organisations, including Lloyds Banking Group, Capita, the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK Statistics Authority, and currently chairs the Royal Mencap Society.
She also sits on the HSBC Board as an independent non-executive director and chairs its remuneration committee. Carolyn was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2021 for services to UK business, and is an honorary fellow of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and a visiting fellow of the said business school, Oxford.