Clara Furse, Dame of the Capital Markets
Known for fighting off unwanted bids by Deutsche Borse, Euronext, Macquarie and NASDAQ, the Chief Executive Officer of the London Stock Exchange, Clara Furse, will have the honor of becoming a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
She is being honored for her services to the financial industry on the Queen’s Birthday List which is compiled by England’s Prime Minister twice a year. Even though the Queen’s actual birthday is April 21st, her birthday is celebrated on the first, second or third Saturday in June for practical reasons. Mrs. Furse, along with 959 other people that have made outstanding contributions to their communities, will be awarded by Queen Elizabeth the 2nd herself.
Born in Canada, Mrs. Furse speaks five languages and was educated in Colombia and in Denmark. She earned her degree from the London School of Economics and began her career in derivatives and commodity futures. She was the Head of Futures and Options at the brokers Philips & Drew, now UBS, and was also Chief Executive Officer of Credit Lyonnais Rouse.
Furse joined the London Stock Exchange in 2001 when the exchange members were in disagreement about a proposed merger with Deutsche Borse. According to the United Kingdom’s Telegraph, Mrs. Furse was the first women offered the Chief Executive position at the London exchange and as one London dweller remarked “the boys had made a mess of it; why not let the girls have a go?”
Since then, her career has seen its share of ups and downs, as most women breaking the glass ceiling have experienced. She was faced with a set back when the LSE lost a bid for LIFFE, London’s derivatives exchange, to Euronext. Mrs. Furse flexed her muscles though late last year when the London Stock Exchange acquired the Borse Italiana for over US $2 Billion. She showed the capital markets that the LSE wasn’t a bid for takeover, but rather a force to be reckoned with.Clara Furse joins other women on the Queen’s Birthday List including: Bronwyn Curtis who is the chairwomen of the Society of Business Economics; Joan Bakewell who is honored as a “pioneer” of television journalism and Helen Ghosh, the permanent Secretary for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
According to Net News Publisher, the amount of women honored on the Queen’s Birthday List has increased since the last catalog was compiled and continues with the overall improving trend.
