Steve Shirley

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Dame Stephanie Shirley (born September 16, 1933), is a British businesswoman and philanthropist.

Steve Shirley was the founder of the IT company, F.I. Group (now Xansa) in 1962. Shirley adopted the name "Steve" to help her in the male-dominated IT industry. She originally arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied child refugee. She officially retired at the age of 60 in 1993 and has taken up philanthropy since then.

Shirley was awarded an OBE for services to industry in 1980 and a DBE in 2000. In 1987, she gained the Freedom of the City of London. She was President of the British Computer Society from 1989 to 1990. In 1985, she was awarded a Recognition of Information Technology Award (RITA).

She has given much of her wealth away during her retirement. Beneficiaries include the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and the Oxford Internet Institute, part of the University of Oxford, through the Shirley Foundation. She has a special interest in autism.