1. Karren Brady is a former managing director of Birmingham City FC and current vice-chairman of West Ham United FC, and an aide to Alan Sugar on The Apprentice.
25 Facts About Karren Brady
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Karren Brady is a Conservative member of the House of Lords and has been a Small Business Ambassador for the UK government.
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Karren Brady oversaw the company's flotation in 1997, thus becoming the youngest managing director of a UK plc.
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Karren Brady's most recent book, Strong Woman, published in March 2012 and aimed at inspiring women in business, was a Sunday Times Bestseller.
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On 22 September 2014, Karren Brady was elevated to the House of Lords as a Conservative life peer, taking the title Baroness Karren Brady.
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Karren Brady was brought up in Edmonton, London, and the family house was near the Tottenham Hotspur football ground.
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Karren Brady attended Salcombe Preparatory School in Southgate until she was 11, followed by Poles Convent, a boarding school in Ware, Hertfordshire, and Aldenham School, Elstree, a boys' school which accepted girls in the sixth form, where she gained four A-levels.
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Karren Brady was 23 when she started work as managing director of Birmingham City FC in March 1993.
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In 2008, Sullivan and Karren Brady were arrested by City of London Police, interviewed and released on bail as part of the investigation into the 2006 allegations of corruption in English football, which involved similar actions against players and officials from other clubs; club chairman David Gold was interviewed as a witness.
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The club stated that no charges had been brought and that Karren Brady denied any wrongdoing.
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Karren Brady oversaw the club's move from the Boleyn Ground to the Olympic Stadium in the summer of 2016.
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In October 2016, Karren Brady received further criticism after describing West Ham's move to the London Stadium as "a chance to rebrand the club".
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Karren Brady was a non-executive director of Channel 4 television but resigned to take a position at Syco, the company jointly owned by Simon Cowell and Sony.
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Karren Brady is an ambassador for Barclays Life skills, which aims to offer young people workplace experience.
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Karren Brady is the patron of the Life After Stroke Awards and an ambassador for Well Being for Women.
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Karren Brady has long been renowned for championing the cause of women in business.
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Karren Brady has repeatedly called upon her fellow female professionals to help those trying to make their way in the business world.
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Karren Brady was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to entrepreneurship and women in business.
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Karren Brady hinted that she would be interested in a career in politics in the future during an interview with The Daily Telegraph in March 2013.
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On 8 August 2014, it was reported that Karren Brady would become a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords.
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On 26 October 2015, Karren Brady was involved in a controversial House of Lords vote over proposed cuts to tax credits, voting with the Government in favour of the plan.
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Karren Brady had around six weeks off work after the birth of her second child, a boy named Paolo.
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In 2006, Karren Brady underwent a full-body MRI scan as part of a medical screen, which unexpectedly discovered a potentially fatal cerebral aneurysm.
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Doctors told Karren Brady at the time that she had a 30 per cent chance of dying from the condition, and that it was a miracle that she had survived the births of her two children.
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Karren Brady made a full recovery, and was back at work about one month later.