A correspondent writes:
THE Revd Sally Muggeridge, who has died, aged 76, was a distinguished business leader and charity chief executive, dedicating much of her life also to the Church of England in several posts.
In 2015, coinciding with her 66th birthday, she was ordained deacon by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, serving her title at St Stephen Walbrook in the City of London.
She was the niece of the journalist and broadcaster Malcolm Muggeridge and managed the literary estate from 1990 after her uncle’s death. This led to the republication and publication of several religious books either by, or about, him. A republication of Jesus, The Man Who Lives was under way at the time of her death and will appear freshly in print this year, the first time in 50 years. The new edition carries a foreword by the journalist Peter Hitchens and an afterword by Sally, and will be published by Creed and Culture.
Sally Muggeridge was a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and her professional life began in acting. She soon switched to the commercial sector, where she rose through senior posts at British Telecom and Cable and Wireless, including a three-year overseas assignment in Singapore.
In 1999, she joined Pearson as Management Development Director, overseeing global initiatives in leadership, diversity, ethical policy, and organisation development across the international education and media group.
In 2003, she was appointed Chief Executive of the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT), the educational charity that fosters understanding between Parliament and business. Under her seven-year leadership, the IPT was substantially strengthened, financially stabilised, and internationally widened. Hundreds of MPs, Peers, MEPs, and senior civil servants undertook placements that she helped to design. They gained first-hand experience in industry and commerce in the UK, Europe, and beyond.
Sally became, in 2010, the first woman appointed to the UK Board of Total Oil Exploration and Production, serving as a Non-Executive Director until 2015, with particular responsibility for ethics, diversity, employment, and safety.
Alongside her professional career, Sally devoted herself to public service. She was a Freeman of the City of London, Master of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, International President of the Malcolm Muggeridge Society, Trustee of the Tutu Foundation UK, and Council Member of the University of Kent.
She was elected to the General Synod in 2010 and soon after became a Church Commissioner. She shared responsibility for the closed-churches portfolio, visiting many as part of her post.
Notwithstanding these considerable achievements, one of the great turning points in her life came with her call to ordained ministry. Her pastoral warmth, eloquence, and intelligence were deeply valued by colleagues and congregation alike. She enjoyed a close life-long relationship with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whom she had known since the age of 14, when Tutu had been a young curate at Golders Green. They had frequently visited each other in London and South Africa. Sally had also been influenced by her uncle’s religious writing and broadcasting and organised seminars in the US and London at the time of Malcolm’s centenary in 2003.
Sally was the recipient of numerous honours, including the Chartered Institute of Marketing President’s Award (1999), the Women in Public Life Voluntary Sector Achiever of the Year (2007), and honorary life membership of the Academy of Marketing (2013) and of the International Alliance for Women’s World of Difference Award (2015).
Outside her professional and clerical work, she was a devoted mother and a lover of dogs, especially English Setters, of which she owned three over the years, and was a member of the Kennel Club.
Sally brought energy, distinction, and a strong moral compass to every sphere that she entered, be it corporate, civic, charitable, or ecclesiastical. Her career demonstrated a rare combination of executive ability, public purpose, and pastoral generosity.
Sally died on 2 December, and is survived by her husband, Lt. David Williams, and her three children, Pippa, Ginny, and Jo. A memorial service will be held at St Stephen Walbrook, in London, on 6 May.
