40. Deborah Meaden
“The most important characteristics you need to succeed in business are resilience, determination and persistence.”
Best known for her role as one of the dragons on the popular Dragons’ Den, Deborah Meaden is an entrepreneur who ran her own multimillion-pound holiday business. After leaving school at 16 with minimal qualifications, she studied business at university before working for a glass and ceramics company in Italy.
At all of her speaking events, she can highlight these experiences and discuss how she managed to overcome them.
