Dame Stephanie Shirley is one of Europe's outstanding business women, in the 'rags to riches' world. She arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied child refugee and grew up to become Founder Director of FI Group Plc, an innovative business venture to become one of Britain's leading Information Technology Groups. She was recently awarded a DBE in the New Years Honours List.

She played an active role in the management and development of F.I.Group Plc, sometimes being entitled 'The Keeper of the Corporate Culture'. She officially retired from the F.I. Group Plc in September 1993 but remains its Life President.

Her action-oriented management style, and emphasis on ethics and professional standards, led to her being awarded the OBE for services to Industry in 1980 and the Freedom of the City of London in 1987. She was President of the British Computer Society from 1989-1990 and in 1985 was awarded a special RITA (Recognition of Information Technology Award).

There have been three driving forces in Stephanie Shirley's business life: a desire to build a successful and lasting company whose management and ownership could be passed on to the staff, a growing interest in the philosophy and ethics of the private enterprise system within a world whose values were changing and a determination to make things happen rather than just talk about them.

Dame Shirley has recently been appointed to the Board of the John Lewis Partnership Plc and is a non-Executive Director of Tandem Computers Inc. She is also a non-Executive Director of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and a part-time Board member of AEA Technology, which is part of Atomic Energy.