Kate Hardcastle

Customer Insight Speaker

Kate Hardcastle MBE, a.k.a. The Customer Whisperer is the UK’s leading ‘go-to’ business expert and speaker on consumer insight for National TV & Media.

Kate has added her unique brand of knowledgeable commentary to hundreds of interviews for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky News and Radio channels BBC 2, BBC 4, BBC 5 Live and commercial stations.

She has also presented & provided expertise for leading consumer shows Rip Off Britain (BBC 1), Watchdog (BBC 1) What Britain Bought (Channel 4) Battlefront (Channel 4) and Inside Out (BBC 1) as well as being the consumer champion for hit ITV 1 consumer show – Eat Shop Save.

Kate Hardcastle was honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018 and was the recipient of the Prime Ministers Point of Light Award. She has been celebrated with 26 National & International commerce awards including Business Woman of the Year, Inspiration Award and Influencer of the Year.

Her work is respected globally, projects have included the successful turnaround of ailing retail brands & shopping centre, the creation of powerful consumer brands & consultant to oversee business redevelopment, restructure & takeovers.

Kate Hardcastle is a valued business speaker on topics including consumer behaviour, developing talent, women in business & strategic alliances. As a Keynote speaker at over 200 events including Retail World Congress, Arabian Business Conference & The Business Show alongside a wide selection of fellow speakers such as former POTUS Bill Clinton.

Kate is also an experienced Chair, Moderator and Host for live events and conferences, the most recent include The Tech Show 2023(London), Shop Talk (Las Vegas), Seamless (Dubai), The Retail Summit (Dubai).

Kate is the founder owner of Insight with Passion – a business transformation organisation partnering clients to greater commercial success. Insight with Passion has delivered change for brands including The Co-op, Trutex, and retail & leisure property investor NewRiver REIT plc.

She was the driving force behind the businesses Access for All commitment, which sees the business donate an impressive 20% back to good causes & was flagged as a case study for Big Society by Downing Street.

Kate is a Trustee for the Diana Award, a charity supporting young people and ambassador for several charities including Women In Sport & northern branches of R.S.P.C.A. She has been a significant supporter of various charities and has donated time for over 50 free workshops & training events which has assisted over 1000 Yorkshire small businesses & charities with commercial advice & strategy.

Kate born in Yorkshire UK, and with her husband, is proud parent of 3 children, spending time at her family home in Yorkshire, London and with her international clients based in U.S.A, Middle East & Australia.

SPEAKING TOPICS

Kate can speak on a whole range of topics from Customer insight, Digital Commerce, and the Circular Economy and recent talk topics have included:

• The Unstoppable Advancement of Digital Commerce
• Activating a Borderless Economy
• Omnichannel retailing 2020-23: The good, the bad and the ugly
• Meeting Consumer expectations around convenience
• Upcycled products and the Circular Economy
• Building a Modern brand
• Meeting heightened Consumer expectation
• Building unified Retail experiences
• Strategic Alliances and Partnerships

Kate recently has developed some talks which have evolved from her Rock ‘n’ Roll Business platform and her podcast  – using her exclusive insights into the music business, the secrets of success and the business learnings from some of the world’s biggest stars in music and using these lessons to apply to wider businesses.