Stephanie Shirley

I always make it a point to read the Obituary section of my Economist first. So when I opened this week’s edition, the obituary was about this lady.

I have never heard of her but what a fascinating life she had.

She was one of 10,000 Jewish children who arrived in London in 1939 by train under the Kinder transport program to escape Nazi Germany. She was aged 5 then and was from Austria.

She was very good in mathematics and in 1959 after having worked in a then male dominated society and workforce, she decided to start a company doing software with only £6 as capital. She employed only university educated women who were at that time not wanted in the workforce, especially after getting married or having children. She gave them an opportunity to work from home with flexible hours enabling them to stay home and look after their children.

In 1990s that company which was then employing 8500 people, was listed and in 2000, it had a valuation of £3 billion.

She gave away her fortune to her employees and to charity when she retired and she was made a Dame and a Companion of Honour. A lot of her money was given to autism causes.

What a remarkable life. Arriving alone on a train at the age of 5, fleeing Nazism. She had been saved and she wanted to make sure that she lived a life that had been worth saving. Amazing person.