Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE

Martha Lane Fox’s entrepreneurial journey has been defined by a refusal to accept limits, whether breaking new ground in the early days of the internet, reshaping digital policy in the UK, or scaling mountains for charity in her fifties.

Born in 1973, she grew up in Oxford, the daughter of academic parents, and studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford. In 1998, at the age of just 25, she co-founded Lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman, betting on a future where people would buy flights and holidays online. Their timing was prescient: the company became one of the dotcom era’s most visible successes, floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2000, and was later acquired by Sabre Holdings for £577m.

Rather than retreating after her first big win, Martha continued to build. In 2005, she co-founded Lucky Voice, a chain of karaoke venues that evolved into a digital karaoke platform used in homes and venues worldwide. Today she remains its Chair.

Her career has always blended business with public service. In 2009, after surviving a life-threatening car accident in Morocco that left her in hospital for two years, she returned to public life with a new focus on inclusion. She became the UK government’s Digital Champion, working to close the digital divide, and later launched DotEveryone, a think tank exploring technology’s impact on society. Appointed a crossbench peer in the House of Lords in 2013, she has consistently spoken out on issues ranging from digital rights to inclusion in the tech economy.

Alongside her ventures, Martha has built a portfolio of influential board and advisory roles. She is Chair of WeTransfer, sits on the board of Chanel, and previously served as a Non-Executive Director at Twitter. In 2022, she was appointed President of the British Chambers of Commerce, and she is also Chancellor of the Open University. These roles reflect her ability to bridge the corporate, academic, and civic worlds.

Philanthropy has remained a defining theme. In 2024, she undertook “Martha’s Mountain Mission,” climbing five peaks across the UK and Europe to raise funds for causes close to her heart: Day One Trauma Support, AbilityNet, Horatio’s Garden, and iamtheCODE. Her drive to give back is rooted in personal experience, her own recovery from trauma has shaped her empathy for those facing life-changing challenges.

Recognition has followed. She was made a CBE in 2013 for services to the digital economy and charity, and has become one of the most respected voices on digital society in the UK.

What makes Martha’s story distinctive is not only her business success but her ongoing commitment to broadening access to opportunity. From pioneering e-commerce with Lastminute.com to pushing for digital literacy in the Lords, and from rethinking karaoke with Lucky Voice to fundraising on mountaintops, she has consistently used her platform to push boundaries and open doors for others.