As Chair of the Board Practice, Virginia conducts searches for Chairs, CEOs and Non-Executive Directors for plcs, private companies and major public organisations. She joined Odgers in 2000. Virginia was formerly an NED at AkzoNobel NV, BUPA, Smith & Nephew and ICC UK. She was a member of the Chugai International Council (Japan) and as part of her pro-bono activities Virginia is a Trustee of The Economist Newspaper. Virginia was a member of the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005 serving successively as Secretary of State for Health and National Heritage (now Culture, Media and Sport) in both John Major’s and Margaret Thatcher's Governments. Virginia was appointed a Life Peer in 2005. Following her first degree, Virginia gained an MSc in Social Administration from the London School of Economics.