Margaret McDonagh was appointed to the House of Lords in 2004. She has held a range of senior positions within both public and private organizations and is currently a Non-Executive Director of investments company, Standard Life, healthcare property developers, CareCapital, and airport owners, TBI. In recent years McDonagh has also been a Director and founder of BBM Consultants Ltd and Chief Executive Officer of AM Creative Ltd, both talent management agencies. Prior to this, McDonagh spent fifteen years working for the Labour Party, latterly as a member of Blair’s inner circle and General Secretary of the party. On gaining this post in 1998, she became both the first woman and youngest person to occupy the position. She won the promotion after acting as General Election Coordinator for Labour’s landslide General Election victory in 1997. McDonagh had previously been a party organiser in London. She was born in 1961.