FINANCIAL & LEGAL
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
As CEO of London Stock Exchange, Dame Julia Hoggett is the epitome of LGBTQ+ representation in a sector known for its conservative attitudes. Alongside her high-powered job, she has prioritised making City careers more accessible for all
Words Dale Fox
‘One of the privileges of being in this kind of role is that it has a potential for impact on the next young woman who’s trying to figure out whether she wants to be a sociologist or a financier, who thinks that there’s no way she can ever work in the City because she’s gay.”
These words, spoken with calm conviction, encapsulate the essence of Dame Julia Hoggett — a woman who has consistently defied expectations. Seated in her office with the historic Coat of Arms of the London Stock Exchange behind her, she is a study in purposeful presence.
Her extraordinary journey begins with an equally extraordinary lineage. “I have to say I was incredibly lucky,” Hoggett reflects, her voice carrying both humility and pride. As the only child of two pioneering legal professionals, she inherited a legacy of intellectual excellence that would both inspire and challenge her. Her mother, Baroness Brenda Hale, shattered glass ceilings as a groundbreaking Supreme Court Justice, while her father, John Hoggett QC, established himself as a distinguished legal mind of remarkable depth.