Louise Botting

Elizabeth Louise Botting CBE (born 19 September 1939) is a British company director and former broadcaster. She was presenter of BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme between 1977 and 1992. After her broadcasting career, she became one of the first female directors of a FTSE 100 company, through her appointment to the board of CGNU (formerly General Accident, now Aviva). She has also held non-executive directorships of other companies such as Trinity Mirror, London Weekend Television and Camelot Group. She founded the private wealth management firm Douglas Deakin Young in 1974, serving as its managing director and then chairman until it was sold to Duncan Lawrie in 2005. Over the years she has had an extensive portfolio of business interests. Early life and professional career Botting was born into a middle-class family, attending the local grammar school, Sutton Coldfield High School for Girls (now Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls) and went on to the London School of Economics. After her graduation in 1961 she joined the British merchant bank Kleinwort Benson as one of their first female analysts. Her marriage to the writer and explorer Douglas Botting led to a career break as she gave birth to her two daughters, Anna (now a newsreader with Sky News) and Kate. Her career in journalism started in 1970 when she began writing for the Daily Mail. She started broadcasting with British Forces Broadcasting Service in 1971 and continued to do this until 1981.