Michelle Dewberry

Born in Hull, East Yorkshire, Michelle Dewberry knew from an early age what she wanted out of life and that was simply, “to be a successful business woman”.
Leaving school at 16, Michelle was desperate to enter the world of work and took on an Apprenticeship which taught her valuable business skills as well as providing her much needed qualifications.  Aged 18, she cold-called Hull’s biggest telecommunications company and requested a managerial post. Her determination paid off and she was offered an admin role in the IT department.  Naturally, Michelle wanted more and through self funded, part time tuition, she quickly moved up the ranks becoming a member of the Technical management team.

Michelle’s determination continued to drive her, and in 2001 she was head-hunted by a FTSE 250 company who were impressed with her management skills. The company was undertaking massive business transformation, relocating elements of their business operations overseas. Michelle was appointed to oversee the complex project which saved the company millions of pounds and increased customer service levels dramatically.

Aged 24, Michelle established her own business transformation consultancy. She worked with a number of clients to successfully deliver multimillion pound projects. She has completed projects globally including across Europe, USA and Asia.

Driven by her belief that all opportunities should be grabbed, Michelle applied for the second series of BBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ where she fought off over 14,000 hopefuls to be crowned winner, and took her place as Sir Alan Sugar’s apprentice.

After 9 months of working under Sir Alan’s tutelage, Michelle returned to her consultancy where she worked with a number of companies including Royal Mail, the Chamber of Commerce and several business and government bodies. In March Launching in May 2009 and born out of her passion for finding good deals and her frustration at the current economy, Michelle’s latest venture helps women to live stylishly for less and to date has attracted over 20,000 subscribers.

In April 2009, Michelle was included in the Independent’s ‘Online Fashion 100’ which lists the most inspirational, interesting and influential people in the online fashion industry.   She supports a number of charities including the Action for Children and the Prince’s Trust. She is currently in training for her second London Marathon, to raise funds for the NSPCC.

Michelle lives by her mantra, “If you believe in yourself, anything is possible”. She regularly delivers seminars to inspire people to be the best they can be and shares her story in her autobiography, “Anything is Possible”. Her motivational talks have recently made a huge impact to corporate clients. In March 2009, Michelle delivered a seminar to a company who are currently struggling in the recession. She concentrated on improving staff moral and business focus. One client reported their most profitable trading day since inception 5 years prior following Michelle’s session.

Michelle also speaks on the subject of Mental health, following her recently publicly discussed battle with depression and suicidal thoughts: https://youtu.be/cJ1o-oz3y30 She speaks on the importance of mental wellbeing and how to become (and remain!) “mentally fit”.

Michelle now works as a presenter for Sky News, ‘The Pledge’ as well as reviewing current affairs each week across a number of media outlets.

“Michelle spoke at our political debate and was a stand out performer in a panel with senior figures from major political parties. She provided a unique and personal insight to the event, as opposed to the repetitive talking points that dominate most panel discussions. She was a pleasure to host and her team made organising logistical arrangements easy.” John Hampden Grammar School

“Michelle Dewberry hosted and spoke at our event. Michelle was fantastic to work with and very professional. During her speech she shared her own journey as an entrepreneur. Her story and passion resonated with the audience who were made up of representatives from over 30 UK corporations. Alongside her speech, Michelle co-hosted the awards for the evening together with one of The Trust's Young Ambassadors who was less experienced. The Young Ambassador was well taken care of and supported by Michelle, and the evening's proceedings ran very smoothly.” The Prince's Trust