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Serial Ethical
Entrepreneur, Business Woman & Author
Deirdre Bounds has been voted as one of
the North's top 100 entrepreneurs, she is recognised as being in the top
50 influencers in the region, is the Woman of Achievement in Yorkshire
2010, sits on the board of three public sector organisations, is a
regular commentator on BBC Radio 2 and 5Live and was one of eight
entrepreneurs chosen to travel to Africa with Channel 4.
When she draws a breath, is a wife and
mum of two.
Deirdre was responsible for making travel industry
history by changing people’s perceptions of the ‘ethical travel’
movement. Her outlandish ideas in the company she created helped change
the lives of 1000’s of people and protect the earth’s environment. In
her talks she draws upon her broad range of experiences as a backpacker,
stand-up comedienne, lost soul, hugely successful entrepreneur and
bestselling personal development author.
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As a business person, her interests
range from the enterprising mindset, SME business growth, curing bland
brands, savvy marketing, zeitgeist spotting, the emotion economy,
generation Y customers, fearless innovation, women in business and
enterprising teens. Due to her international business experience she
has much to comment about the global economy and why and how companies
and individuals need to adjust to it.
As an entrepreneur, Deirdre founded and
sold the world’s largest gap year travel company to a FTSE 100 company
for an eight-figure sum. She has since set up an ethical children’s
party company - the first of its type in the UK. She therefore has a
connection both with business audiences and those aspiring to become the
next enterprising leaders. This is revealed in the huge amount of
practical advice consisting of both the successes and failures she
encountered along the way. Her audiences are left in no doubt that she
knows what she is talking about and take away much from her authentic
wisdom.
As a commentator, author and speaker,
Deirdre combines all of her life and business experience to create a
memorable and helpful exchange of ideas. She passionately believes in
helping each individual to survive the mental roller-coaster of
business – and once they have mastered that – she drives them on to take
control of their business success.
Recent subjects Deirdre has covered are, SME growth
master-classes, personal and business authenticity, the cure bland
brands, leadership, women in business, Gen Y customers along with her
outstanding and inspirational keynote about the growth and sale of her
travel company.
Awards
Judge: Everywoman National Business Awards 2008
Judge: Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year : 2007
Winner: Special Judges Award 2005 ; Institute of Directors
Finalist: Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year: 2004
Winner: Yorkshire Business of the Year 2003
Testimonials
Deirdre is a very amusing and
energetic speaker. She has a great story to tell and is an inspiring and
knowledgeable entrepreneur.
Michelle Storer, Ernst & Young
A naturally inspiring speaker, Deirdre "tells it like it is" in language
which strikes a real chord with her audience. Her enthusiasm for
business and for life in general is highly infectious!
Simon Hill, Yorkshire Forward
"Deirdre was an excellent speaker and really engaged the audience with a
down to earth approach combined with a genuine passion for what we as an
organisation are trying to do. Feedback from delegates also suggests she
delivered the right mixture of insight and observations and people felt
they could both relate to her and learn from her in equal measure. I
would thoroughly recommend her for any engagements that require an
entertaining approach combined with the need for more serious points to
be articulated."
Andrew Brocklehurst, Director, The Northern Leadership Academy
The dust is starting to settle after our Conference and feel I must
write to say how pleased we were with your recommendation of Deirdre
Bounds as speaker and host at our Awards Ceremony. She very quickly
established a positive rapport with our team and with the audience. Her
informal approach and sense of humour allowed her to get across a
serious message in a very appropriate and well-received way and it was
obvious that our award winners were thrilled to meet her. Please pass on
our warmest thanks to Deirdre.
George Derbyshire, Chief Executive - NFEA
I booked Deidre Bounds as a business speaker at the Trinity Mirror Group
Business Awards in November 2007 and I was delighted with her address.
In my experience, it is very rare to find a speaker that captivates and
maintains the attention of the whole room and Deirdre did just this. Her
animated and dynamic approach was refreshing and exciting. Her frank and
honest account of her rise to success and the trails, tribulations and
challenges on that journey was professional, and truly inspirational.
The audience were poised for the next chapter and each account was
punctuated with humour and passion. I would not hesitate in recommending
Deirdre to other people looking for a speaker.
Jenny Snell, Event Manager, Trinity Mirror Group Business Awards
2007
"On our feedback forms, Deirdre was rated the favourite speaker of the
day, and it was a tough choice as the quality of speakers was extremely
high. Our audience of events organisers and suppliers to the events
industry are exacting, very hard to please, and not easy to impress.
Deirdre's presentation was absolutely inspiring, hugely engaging,
directly relevant to the audience and most entertaining. She spoke
honestly and openly about her experiences, gave us loads of ideas on how
to be different and gave us affirmation that we were going in the right
direction. You could just see the entire audience itching to get up and
do something about their work and their lives about half way through the
presentation.' 'I think it goes without saying that Deirdre was utterly
professional in her engagement with us, and I have no hesitation in
recommending her to anyone who needs a keynote speaker of the highest
calibre."
Sarah Carroll, Conference Organisers Ireland |
