Victoria Barnsley

Victoria Barnsley OBE (born 4 March 1954) is a British businesswoman and entrepreneur. In 1984 she founded the publishing house Fourth Estate. In 2000 the company was acquired by HarperCollins Publishers, a subsidiary of News Corporation, when Barnsley was made CEO and Publisher of HarperCollins UK. In 2008 she was promoted to CEO and Publisher of HarperCollins UK and International, a position she remained in until July 2013. While at HarperCollins, she helped to develop its digital and international content business.

Barnsley has held various high profile industry roles including President of the Publishers Association and Chair of World Book Day. She also represented the publishing sector on the Creative Industries Council. In addition to literature Barnsley has an extensive interest in the visual arts and is a former trustee of both Tate and The National Gallery. At Tate she chaired the Tate Britain Council and remains a trustee of the Tate Foundation and a director of Tate Enterprises Ltd.

Barnsley has a BA in English Literature from U.C.L. and an MA from the University of York. She was made a Fellow of U.C.L. in 2005, and was appointed an OBE for services to publishing in the 2009 New Years Honours List.

Barnsley is the daughter of Thomas E. Barnsley, who was also appointed an OBE and his wife Margaret Gwyneth Barnsley (née Llewellin). Since 1992 she has been married to The Hon. Nicholas Howard, son of the cross-bench life peer George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe. They have one daughter.