Julie Deane

Founder of Cambridge Satchel Company & Business Speaker

Julie Deane is the founder & CEO of The Cambridge Satchel Company and is keynote and business speaker on entrepreneurship, creativity, and branding.

The Cambridge Satchel Company was initially set up with just £600 to make traditional leather satchels for the schoolchildren of Cambridge. Since then the company has grown and grown and employs more than 140 people selling to over 120 countries, and Julie has been awarded the OBE for services to Entrepreneurship.

Having graduated from Cambridge University, Julie began working as a chartered accountant before returning to her former college to become its Fellow for Development, as the first woman to be appointed to this role in its 650-year history.

At the end of 2007, she came up with the idea for the Satchels and the rest is history.

Julie has gone onto became a Guinness World Record holder with Virgin Media Business, having watched 160 business pitches over the course of 29 straight hours, giving entrepreneurs the chance to receive funding to grow their businesses.

An ambassador for QEST, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, Julie continues to support British manufacturing and craftsmanship and has worked with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garcons, Christopher Shannon, Alexa Chung, and Chris Benz. The bags have appeared in shows including Girls, The Good Wife, and Gossip Girl.

The company has been named Manufacturer of the Year at the Insider Made in the UK Awards (2014); the Accessories Brand of the Year at the Drapers Footwear & Accessories Awards (2013); and the Fashion & Retail Personnel Smaller Retailer of the Year at the Drapers Awards (2012).

SPEAKING TOPICS

Julie Deane is passionate about UK Manufacturing and entrepreneurship and speaks on subjects such as –

• Branding
• Retailing
• Self-Belief & Determination to succeed.
• Creativity
• Fashion