She has an unstoppable global brand, her name has become a verb synonymous with class and style, she’s a former Dragon, a renowned presenter and author, and a champion of British enterprise, Kelly Hoppen is without doubt an icon.
However, Kelly’s story isn’t one of overnight success. She was relentlessly bullied at school, she’s dyslexic, she suffered from severely low self-esteem, and her father passed away when she was just 16 years old. At 16 and a half, she convinced her stepfather’s friend to let her redesign his kitchen. Around this time, her friend was having an affair with a famous racing driver, so she became the interior designer of his house as a front to their affair… and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the next four decades, Kelly has done work for some of the most well-known names on the planet, from the Beckhams to P. Diddy, and worked with homes, yachts, jets, hotels, restaurants, and more. She’s written over a dozen books and won numerous awards.
We met up with Kelly at her studio in West London to talk about how business has changed, building a global brand, being a Dragon, and much more.
Here's what we discussed:
Thanks to Hayden from the Jill Dando News for bringing us The Good News Postcard this week. Get your dose of positive news by visiting The Good News Post, a website collated by hundreds of young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. They've written real-life “news that’s good for you”, covering people, animals, stories to cheer people up, and tips to make lives better.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the world’s leading business figures.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jake Humphrey: Redefining High Performance
Wayne Griffiths: Redefining automotive leadership
Neil Mullarkey: How improv can transform your leadership
Sokratis Papafloratos: Overcoming failure to transform men's healthcare
Louise Hill: GoHenry's disruption in the world of fintech
Dr Leslie Kanthan: Navigating the transition from builder to leader
Natascha van Boetzelaer: Insights from a seasoned talent expert
Michael Yormark: Growing an unstoppable global force
Alessandro Savelli: The remarkable journey from failure to flourishing
Oliver Shah: Inside the world of business journalism
Harriet Green OBE: The leader's battle cry for innovation-led growth
Oliver Chapman: The leader behind the UK's fastest-growing company
Lewis Raymond Taylor: From felon to founder of a multi-million pound coaching business
Timo Armoo: The art of exit planning
Obediah Ayton: “The future is in the UAE”
Fred Reichheld: the Godfather of customer loyalty
John Amaechi OBE: The psychologist and 'Everyday Jedi' inspiring change
Jordan Schwarzenberger: Managing the world's biggest content creators
John Caudwell: The Making of a Billionaire
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Aligned Money Show
Gorse Culture PODcast : The H.R. Detective Agency!
HCI Leadership Revolution
The Ramsey Show
Planet Money