Mary Portas

Businesswoman, author, activist, presenter, podcaster, and Queen of the High Street Mary Portas made her name by creating change.

After transforming Harvey Nichols into a cutting-edge retail space, Mary founded her consultancy Portas. She’s since worked with businesses such as Louis Vuitton, Mercedes, and Cult Beauty, raised more than £30 million for Save The Children, and conducted a review of the future of high streets for the British Government.

Outside of her illustrious retail career, Mary has become an icon of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2014 when the law was changed to allow same-sex couples to be married, Mary and her now-wife Melanie were the first couple in the UK to be married under the new law, converting their civil partnership into a marriage. Expressing how important the change in law was to allow marriage, Mary is passionate about raising awareness and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community, ensuring that they are given the same freedoms as everyone else.

Mary has presented shows for BBC2, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4 & 2 and penned several bestselling books—most notably Work Like A Woman and Rebuild: How to Thrive in the New Kindness Economy. The #1 business podcast of the same name was followed by her latest podcast Beautiful Misfits in which Mary interviews fellow changemakers. Mary is also co-chair of the Better Business Act

To Book Mary for your event please call Prime Performers on 020 3500 3331