"We saw the departure of our previous chair in difficult circumstances, the board was subject to unprecedented amount of publicity, the like of which we haven't experienced before, and I think there was a loss of confidence amongst ourselves a little bit."

"It was obviously a very difficult period for the board."

"Loss of confidence" among board members."

"Unconscious bias" had affected recruitment for the board, which decides when serious offenders in England and Wales can leave jail."

"My mission is to continue to make sure the product offer is right for the high street retailer’s customers, and not “look over her shoulders” at what competitors are doing."

"I’m also proud of our team and their growth, having played a part in their progression as a manager. It’s very rewarding to help people achieve their career objectives."

"I did plan my move to digital as I thought it would offer me more longevity, but my career was never plotted out from start to finish."

"I was a working mum for a long time which affected my options, but I did make sure that I was abreast of changes that were happening as I looked for the best opportunities for me."

"I’m Head of Customer Services and am responsible for the customer service team and all interactions between Passenger and customers."

"I’ve worked for Passenger for almost 3 years, beginning my career here in July 2018."

"“I am a hypersensitive introvert determined to do things that require vision and boldness. I do things that frighten me, and my anxiety is sometimes at 11.”"

"I am a witness to the powerful impact of philanthropy and understand that these efforts, large and small, help move the needle for so many and can improve the trajectories of families and entire communities."

"“Who am I speaking for that I don’t speak to?”"

"Courage is a renewable resource. None of us is perfect. There are times when we fail to walk boldly into our destinies. But often, we get second chances, we must move forward with courage."

"We’re looking for “Good People, Bad Asses.We want the baddest of the bad as it relates to your area of expertise, your knowledge, what you do well – but at the heart of that, we want good people; people who are humble and kind, no matter their title."

"Know what drives you, and if you truly believe you are on the right path, keep going. But stay open to the possibilities, even those that scare you."

"“I am deeply committed to bringing underserved populations into the critical energy dialogue and promote energy efficiency as foundational to our energy futures. Women will play an important role in this effort as we continue to be leaders in energy education and awareness.”"

"Keep innovating and pushing the business forward because also as we found lots of competitors start cropping up and they just relentlessly copy everything you do without really bothering that they are not being different. If you just stayed the same then all of your work would be washed away so I think it’s important to keep innovating."

"I did have a lot of determination. I think you can get to a point of say eighteen months old, or maybe a year – which I think is a real danger point, because that’s when you have spent all your money – and it’s not working and a lot of your initial enthusiasm and optimism has just been ground down. I am quite good at reinventing my energy, so whilst I can get very depressed, the next day I suddenly think ‘Right, I’m going to fight this and keep going’."

"Everyone you speak to wants to run a business. It’s interesting, but everyone thinks ‘Yes, I could have done that’, or ‘One day I’m going to do that’, but not all people have got the guts to leave their job or put their savings in so it becomes a pipedream that they talk about, but you can tell they will never actually do it. So I think there is a little bit of resentment. All those people are secretly hoping that it will fail because it makes them feel better about the fact that they are still in their secure jobs."

"Women in business have just got so much positive energy and determination. It’s almost scary because they know exactly where they are going and nothing can stop them. Almost having a no-holds barred approach, nothing can stop them achieving what they want"

"Access what makes you happy"

"Being astute and positive"

"Remember kindness in business & in life"

"Have you done your best."

"Are you ready to go."

"Being kind will be considered cool"

"I was particularly interested in attending this series of talks because I personally love hearing about the journey that successful business people have taken to get to the positions they’re in now."

"from a traditional brick-and-mortar business to an online platform, which required a significant shift in mindset and resources. There were also regulatory challenges, especially as we expanded into new markets. However, I’ve always believed that challenges are opportunities in disguise. By staying focused, adapting to changes, and surrounding myself with a talented team, we were able to navigate these obstacles and grow the business."

"The success of Bet365 can be attributed to a few key factors. First and foremost, we focused on creating a user-friendly platform that made online betting accessible to a wide audience. We invested heavily in technology and innovation, ensuring that our site was always ahead of the curve. Customer experience was also a top priority—we listened to what our customers wanted and continually improved our offerings based on their feedback. Additionally, our commitment to responsible gambling and ethical practices helped build trust with our customers, which is crucial in this industry."

"My journey began with a strong determination to make something of myself in the business world. I grew up in a family that was involved in the betting industry, which gave me early exposure to the business. I started by working in the family’s betting shops and eventually took over the chain. However, I knew that the future of the industry was online, so I decided to take a risk and develop an online betting platform."

"I’ve always believed that actions speak louder than words. My focus has always been on building the business and ensuring its success, rather than seeking the spotlight. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved at Bet365, but I prefer to let the company’s performance and reputation do the talking."

"I believe that resilience, determination, and a strong work ethic are essential for success. You need to be willing to take calculated risks and make tough decisions. Leadership is also about vision—being able to see where the market is going and positioning your business accordingly. Lastly, integrity is crucial. No matter how successful you are, it’s important to conduct business in a way that is ethical and fair."

"I think if you are talented, and super technical, the way you can have the biggest impact is by building a startup. The reach that you can get and the impact you can have as one or two people is unparalleled in terms of career choice."

"I suppose our ethos is that the most exciting type of startups are the technical problem solvers or the people that are working on deep tech problems. They are building defensible technology – technology that could be patented - and using it to solve the world’s biggest and hardest problems."

"Entrepreneurs First is an early stage investor in technical individuals and we spend a year helping those individuals build their companies from scratch. We help them find their co-founders, develop their ideas; help them find their first customers and we invest and then help them raise their seed rounds. So, we are like a talent organisation – a large"

"The broad idea is that you can learn anything, its just about whether you have a ‘growth mindset' or a ‘fixed mindset’. You can be both in different parts of your life. You can have parts of your life where you think ‘I’m terrible at Maths, I’ll never be able to code’ and that’s a fixed mindset. Then in another area you’ll be, ‘of course I can run faster’."

"And that’s the growth mindset. I think as a founder you have to learn so much all the time, and often stuff that you don’t want to learn or are not interested in… like accounting. I think the best founders we invest in have the strongest growth mindsets."

"So if we said to Erdem or Roksanda, “Help, we’ve run out of stock,” they would be incredibly helpful about making more for us."

"They were all quite new at the same time as we were launching on the internet."

"Tom smartly put computers in even back then and we gathered everyone’s address, and that became email, and so we already had all the data we were really connected to our customers by the time we launched online."

"I would spend my Saturdays rifling through thrift stores and saving up for things I couldn’t afford."

"I was always fascinated by the power of clothes and how clothes and fashion are evolving."

"They all had powerful personalities and a lot of it was expressed through their clothes."

"Art has been woven into our lives. The children have taken it up, too. Our 15-year-old does wonderful paintings."

"We have the same approach to art that we do when buying fashion."