Karren Brady

“I took it as my personal responsibility to be able to juggle. I didn't want anybody to help me and I didn't expect my office to make it easy for me.”

“On holiday, I don't want any plans or structure. If I want to wake up at lunchtime or have breakfast for dinner, then I will.”

“My greatest mistake? I once took a three-day maternity leave. I had my daughter on a Wednesday, and then went back to the office on the Monday to sack a manager.”

“Any board executive can forget just how many people helped them get where they are. Those women who have got to the top need actively to ensure there is a pipeline of younger women, whether...”

“It's rubbish to say you can't be proper friends with the opposite sex.”

“It's really important that young people realise very rarely do you become an overnight success.”

“Too many women don't see themselves in senior leadership and so don't push themselves to advance their careers as their male peer group do.”

“I worry I look posh and fat. I can't do anything about posh - I'm accentless - but I've spent 20 years battling my weight.”

“Deep in my soul, I'm secretly a redhead.”

“Life is very short, and if you worry what people think of you, if you second-guess yourself, you're in trouble.”

“I love business and that's why I go on other people's board because it is my hobby. Some people join a tennis club to do things in their spare time. I join boards because that's what I love.”

“Most women who work and have a career and a family sympathise with one another because they know just how difficult it is to try and manage it all and sometimes if the pressure's too great a...”

“You take responsibility for your children but you're not always the taxi driver and that doesn't make you a bad parent.”

“You have to have a very thick skin to run a business.”

“I look at people like Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Goldie Hawn, they're the people I want to be.”

“I always wear a suit jacket, a smart blouse or a top, with my hair and make-up done. Under the desk, what no one knows, is that I'm wearing jeans and trainers.”

“For clubs, free movement plays a big role in transfers and players' contracts. Players from the E.U. can sign for U.K. clubs without needing a visa or special work permit, making it quicker...”

“English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish football gains so much from being in Europe. Clubs and fans all benefit from European action, laws and funding.”

“The worst kind of businesses are ones where there are no expectations set out for employees.”