British web millionaire Martha Lane-Fox is fired from Twitter board as ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk makes himself sole director: Baroness who founded Lastminute.com is set to make up to £2m from sale as she is among eight top executives axed by tycoon

• British businesswoman and entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox, 49, axed from board
• She is among nine directors removed from Twitter top spots after Musk takeover
• Baroness Lane-Fox one of UK’s best-known businesswomen and entrepreneurs

Inspirational British businesswoman and entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox has been removed from the Twitter board by Elon Musk after his $44billion takeover.

Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, 49, who sits in the House of Lords, was among nine directors off the top table.

It came on Monday after billionaire Musk took over the social media company after weeks of talks.

It comes after he fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and other top company officials last week, making himself the board’s sole member.

A company filing revealed: ‘The following persons, who were directors of Twitter prior to the effective time of the merger, are no longer directors of Twitter: Bret Taylor, Parag Agrawal, Omid Kordestani, David Rosenblatt, Martha Lane Fox, Patrick Pichette, Egon Durban, Fei-Fei Li and Mimi Alemayehou.’

Shortly afterward, Musk tweeted that the move to dissolve the board ‘is just temporary,’ without elaborating.

British businesswoman and entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox was removed from Twitter board

In 2016 she and and her long-term partner, Chris Gorell Barnes, 48, a former reality TV star-turned-tech entrepreneur, become parents to identical twin boys Milo and Felix.

Martha Lane-Fox attending the Women’s Prize for Fiction awards ceremony at Bedford Square Garden, London, last year

Elon Musk attends Heidi Klum’s 2022 Hallowe’en Party at Cathedrale after the Twitter buy

Until the takeover Baroness Lane-Fox had held 34,000 Twitter shares and 4500 restricted stock units.

It meant she made some $2.1 million (£1.8 million) from the massive takeover.

She joined the board in April 2016 and in November tweeted she had been proud when Agrawal was appointed CEO. 

The online expert survived a terrible car crash in 2004 where she broke over 25 bones.

It smashed her pelvis in six places, shattered her right arm and leg, and caused severe internal bleeding which led to a stroke.

After the crash, the British entrepreneur was flown to England for treatment and spent six months in hospital, undergoing a gruelling 28 operations.

After her 2004 crash, the British entrepreneur was flown to England for treatment and spent six months in hospital, undergoing a gruelling 28 operations. 

From Westminster School to the Baroness of Soho

Lady Lane Fox co-founded Lastminute.com in 1998, at the height of the internet enterprise boom, with her friend Brent Hoberman.

However, after just over five years at the helm, she stepped down as managing director of the online discount site and the venture was later sold for £577million to Sabre Holdings in 2005.

She went on to set up the karaoke club chain Lucky Voice and Go On UK – a charity which aims to teach people about using the internet.

She later became a non-executive director of Marks and Spencer and the Women’s Prize for Fiction, as well as a board member of Channel 4 and mydeco.com.

The businesswoman was educated at Westminster School and Oxford University, where she was known as ‘Fast Lane Foxy’.

In 2009 she was appointed the UK Government’s digital champion, and worked closely with both the Labour and coalition governments. However, after three years she stepped down from the role and, while not giving any reason for the decision, said she would continue to be a ‘critical friend’ to David Cameron.

In March last year she joined the House of Lords as a crossbencher, becoming its youngest female member, and is now officially known as the Baroness of Soho.

She was appointed as Chancellor of the Open University on March 12 this year.

In 2016 she and and her long-term partner, Chris Gorell Barnes, 48, a former reality TV star-turned-tech entrepreneur, become parents to identical twin boys Milo and Felix.

They were born to a surrogate mother in the US after Baroness Lane-Fox was unable to bear children due to her injuries from the crash.    

In 2021 the businesswoman spoke of the need to be kind.

She said: ‘In 2004, I broke nearly every bone in my body in a car accident in Morocco.

‘I was in hospital for the better part of two years.

‘It changed my life for ever and reinforced my feelings for my friends and family, who were so spectacular throughout.

‘It emphasised my desire to contribute to the world and not let life pass me by, too.

‘It also made me determined to pass on to my twins the richness that the world has to offer, as long as you have eyes to see it.

‘I’m an optimist, something you can be in even the darkest moments.

‘If we’ve learned anything from the last year, it is the importance of kindness and community.’ 

By the age of 27 Lane-Fox was worth £30 million, after founding travel and gift business lastminute.com. 

She sold it to Texas-based travel firm Sabre Corporation in 2005 for £577 million.  

In April this year Musk may have hinted at his intentions when he mocked Twitter’s board of directors after they adopted a so-called ‘poison pill’ strategy in an attempt to block him from executing a $43 billion hostile takeover.

After remaining uncharacteristically silent on Twitter for nearly 24 hours, Musk responded with a laughing emoji to a version of the classic ‘Distracted Boyfriend’ meme mocking Twitter’s board.

The image depicted ‘Twitter’s board’ looking wistfully at the option to ‘keep that easy gig that gives me shares’ as ‘Twitter investors’ look on with disgust because they are ‘happy with $54.20 a share’, the amount of Musk’s unsolicited bid.

Musk appeared at the TED2022 Conference on Thursday, saying that he is pursuing a hostile takeover of Twitter not for financial gain, but for the ‘future of civilization’

Elon Musk responded with a laughing emoji to a version of the classic ‘Distracted Boyfriend’ meme mocking Twitter’s board

Musk also responded to another account’s poll showing a majority of respondents in favor of his plan to take Twitter private, writing: ‘Thanks for the support!’ 

It comes after Twitter’s board announced the dramatic poison pill plan to prevent Musk from increasing his stake in the company further.

Also known as a shareholder rights provision, the plan would have triggered a dilution of company shares if any shareholder built up a 15 percent stake without the board’s approval.

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