Kirsten Charlotte Valeur (born January 1964) is a Danish former merchant banker, corporate governance expert, and a former chair of the UK's Institute of Directors.

'"[10] Valeur earned a bachelor level degree in Accounting & Economics in 1983 from Copenhagen Business College (Danish: Købmandsskolen i København).

Valeur returned to Købmandsskolen i København in 1988, earning a Bachelor of Commerce when she graduated in 1990, specialising in organisation, management, financial planning, and investments.

[13] In 1991 she moved to the London office of Nordea A/S as Head of the UK Fixed Income Sales group,[14] later becoming Vice President of SG Warburg.

[15] In 2015, Valeur oversaw the sale of AIM-listed company, Renewable Energy Generation, where she was an independent director,[16] to BlackRock in 2015.

Valeur founded Brook Street Partners in 2003, a private equity firm, which raises finance for investment.

[17] By 2011, Brook Street Partners counted many top UK and Scandinavian institutions as clients, to whom it provided an advisory service, matching their investment needs by sourcing appropriate [asset] managers.

[6][7][8] In an interview with The Sunday Times, Valeur said she set the organisation up because "I kept hearing directors say, 'We would like to appoint more women but there are none with board experience'.

Valeur said, "a lot of young people are complaining that they are not getting connections in business and they want to be involved at a higher level...Companies are losing out because they don't get what is going on in the current climate.

"[23] Valeur is currently a visiting professor in Governance at the University of Strathclyde and on the advisory board of the Møller Centre at Churchill College, Cambridge.

[11] In her appointment statement, Valeur said "I see it as an exciting opportunity to contribute to the IoD as it embraces the needs of the modern business leader.

"[26] Throughout her time with the IoD, Valeur was a vocal advocate of boardroom diversification, often speaking publicly on the issue and criticising large, listed companies for not achieving diversity targets.

[28] UK business secretary Andrea Leadsom was reported to have welcomed the development, achieved without having to threaten companies with fines or penalties for failing to appoint women to their boards.

[28] Valeur said it was right to celebrate the progress made, showing that focussing the spotlight on diversity can change the behaviours of big companies.

There is still a glaring lack of diversity at executive level and among chairs, and firms must continue to strive towards a more inclusive culture or they risk slipping backwards.

[28][29] On 30 June 2020, Valeur launched the IoD Centre for Corporate Governance, a new initiative seeking to explore how companies are — and could be — run.

[30][31] In August 2020, When the IoD announced proposals for a significant restructure to deal with the impact of COVID-19, Valeur said this meant she could no longer provide the necessary leadership.

[33][34] By bringing all neurodiverse groups together, ION aims to create a single, unified community that supports and celebrates the multitude of contributions of neurodivergent people throughout all sections of society.

[33] Talking to the Financial Times, Valeur said: "We [neurodiverse people] are everywhere in everything, all layers, all cultures, but all marginalised to degrees, which is something that needs to stop.

The ION wants reform of "conversion therapies" that aim to "cure" neurodiversity but which Valeur regards as cruel and discriminatory.

"[32] ION also wants businesses not to expect employees who are neurodiverse to assimilate, and to work toward eliminating institutional discrimination.

[5] In an interview with Raconteur, Valeur said: "Once you've climbed the very greasy corporate ladder, then you can become concerned about losing the gains you've made.

"[9][37] An HR industry magazine report viewed speaking out about her diagnosis as an act of bravery when no other such business leaders had "come out with autism or similar neurodiverse conditions".

Many bright autistic people… feel overwhelmed by the traditional interview process, or struggle to thrive in a workplace that celebrates extroverts, so they miss out.

"[12] Valeur's work in banking helped: she excelled as a banker in both Copenhagen and London – "a bit of a female trailblazer in capital markets" and a blunt-speaking "one of the boys".

[40] In 2018, Valeur was listed as one of Denmark's 100 most influential women, chosen because they have influence, create results, or move the agenda.