Karren Brady

Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge CBE is one of the most influential, high profile and respected female business leaders in the UK.

Karren Brady is now known as the first woman in football.  She was Managing Director of Birmingham City Football Club from 1993 to 2009 and during that time turned the Club’s fortunes around. Karen took over Birmingham City FC when it was in administration, and in her first year at the helm, the Club recorded a financial trading profit. In 1996 the Club made an overall profit for the first time in modern history and in February 1997 she launched the Club on the Stock market; she was the youngest Managing Director of a PLC in the UK. In October 2009 her business was valued at over £82million and she sold it.

Keynote speaker Karren Brady was appointed Vice Chairman of West Ham United FC, under her leadership campaign, WHU was awarded as preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium.

Having achieved professional excellence, the prestigious speaker Karren Brady has attracted much media attention in her career, and was the subject of an hour long documentary ‘Inside Story’ – The Real Life Manageress’ shown on BBC 1. She has hosted her own TV show, and has also presented on ITV.  To date, Karren has written four books.

Karren Brady is a columnist for The Sun newspaper; the UK’s biggest selling national daily newspaper. She is also a columnist for Women & Home. Karren is a judge of the Cosmopolitan Women of Achievement Awards, the Sports Industry Awards, Red Magazine Women Awards and Women & Home Women Awards.

An Ambassador for The Stroke Association, WellChild and Teenage Cancer Trust, Karren Brady is also Chair of the Mothercare Group Foundation. She has been a Board Director of Mothercare PLC, Channel 4 Television and Sport England and is currently a non-Executive Director of Arcadia. She is an honoree Fellow of the Institute of Sales and Marketing.

The sought-after speaker Karren Brady was voted by Cosmopolitan as ‘One of the 100 most powerful women in the world’ and in 2004 and again in 2006 attended The Queen’s Lunch for Women Achievers and Business Leaders. She was acknowledged as ‘One of the most influential women in Britain’ by the Daily Mail and voted as ‘One of Britain’s Most Inspirational Women’ by Good Housekeeping magazine.

In November 2006 Karren Brady won the Cosmopolitan Woman of the Year, in the category of Women Who Have Changed the World.

In October 2007 the keynote speaker Karren Brady was again voted Business Woman of the Year and in November 2008 she was named as ‘One of the top leadership role models’ in a national poll.  This recognition was quickly followed in December 2008 when she was presented with the coveted Spirit of Everywoman Award at the NatWest Everywoman Awards, acknowledging her ‘Outstanding achievements in changing the landscape for women in business’.