‘My husband couldn’t care less about what I do!’ Karren Brady on how she makes her marriage work and becoming a gran
SHE’S one of the country’s best business brains, the undisputed First Lady of football, queen of the exasperated eye roll, and a Baroness, to boot.
Over the last 30 years, Karren Brady CBE has worn many hats, but her latest role may just trump the lot.
In the next few weeks she will become a grandmother for the first time, and the woman who famously didn’t take a holiday for 13 years, has vowed to down tools to support daughter Sophia, 27, following the birth.
“Oh, wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” she says.
“I’m really looking forward to it, and Sophia and her fiancé [Frankie Makin] are so excited.
“She’s healthy and well, touch wood, and everything’s ready and prepared.
“It’s going to be great – the first grandchild in the family.”
Although she can’t wait for the new arrival, the matter of what West Ham United vice-chair Karren, 54, is going to be called is still up for negotiation.
A few options are definitely off the table – let’s be honest, she doesn’t exactly look like a “nana”.
“We haven’t settled on that,” she says.
“It’s difficult, because my mum is ‘Nanny’, so I don’t think I can be that, otherwise it might be confusing.
“Sophia’s fiancé’s mum is ‘Grandma’, so that’s out too, right?
“I think we’ll decide when it happens.
“I’ve got a friend called DeeDee, which I quite like, so I might be BB as I think it sounds cute.
“That’s where we’re going at the minute.”
‘Waking up with no purpose or ambition is quite soul-destroying’
Throughout her high-profile career it is family that has remained at the heart of everything for Karren, who is set to return for her 13th year as one of Alan Sugar’s trusted assistants on The Apprentice next week.
She’s been married for 28 years to ex-footballer and Canadian international Paul Peschisolido, 52 – they met when he was playing for Birmingham City and she was managing director of the club.
After a brief spell in management following his retirement from playing in 2008, Paul settled into a life out of the public eye, while Karren – who is thought to be worth around £90m – has taken centre stage.
“My husband is my best friend,” she says.
“Our careers sort of went like this [she points in different directions].
“When the kids were younger, he was a footballer travelling all over the world and I was based at home.
“And then when he retired, I moved to London to run West Ham.
“We’ve always been there for each other and supported one another.
“There’s never been any jealousy or one-upmanship or anything like that.
“What we have in common is the complete love for both of our children, and their health and wellbeing is at the centre of everything we do.”
Has having a happy home life to come back to played a part in her success?
“When you have aggravation at work, what you don’t want is to come home and have aggravation there, too.
“I haven’t deliberately set out to separate my work life and family life, but they are quite separate – mainly because my husband couldn’t care less what I do!”
Daughter Sophia is a successful social media influencer based in Dubai, while son Paolo, 25, works as a tax consultant.
Karren says she and Paul have instilled in both children the importance of carving out their own careers and forging their independence.
“It doesn’t matter to me what they do, as long as it’s something they love and it fulfils them.
“Waking up with no purpose, drive or ambition I think is quite soul-destroying.
“We’re a super-close family and we do everything together.
“My daughter comes over for seven or eight weeks at a time, and when she’s not here, we speak every day on a video call.
“I probably see my son four times a week and speak to him every day.”
‘It’s terrifying being 54 and seeing your face on a 50-inch TV!’
Even today, when she’s full of the winter lurgy and dosed up on Strepsils, Karren is the epitome of chic.
She’s known for her impeccably tailored and glamorous style on The Apprentice and looks much younger than her years.
She’s open about the fact she invests time and money in her appearance, but not because she’s worried about what anyone else thinks.
“I don’t care about being under scrutiny.
“I only care about what I think.
“There’s nothing more horrifying than being 54 and seeing your face on a 50-inch television screen. It is terrifying!
“So I’m always conscious of how I look.
“Not out of vanity, but in the sense that I want to look as healthy as I feel.
“I’ve never had any surgery, but I have a lot of treatments – and I mean a lot of treatments – at the Dr Rita Rakus Clinic in London.
“I don’t do fillers, as that terrifies me, but I do have lots of laser facials.”
She’s not a gym lover, but keeps fit by cycling and walking everywhere.
Recently she’s been undergoing a new non-surgical facelift called Softwave, which uses ultrasound to reduce lines, and says the results have been “incredible”.
“I’ve had a bit of Botox [in the past], but I do like my forehead to move and I can’t stand that rubber-faced look,” she says.
Karren’s route to the top of her game might be well-known now, but it doesn’t make it any less remarkable.
After leaving school at 18, she joined advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, before moving to LBC, where she was an account executive.
It was there where her sales skills caught the eye of publisher David Sullivan, who made her a director of his company, which owned the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport, at 20 years old.
‘I’ve been asked to stand as an MP numerous times. It’s always a no.’
When she read that Birmingham City FC had gone into receivership, she convinced Sullivan not only to buy it, but to make her managing director.
Just 23, she was a young woman in very much a man’s world, but she was always capable of holding her own.
”I went to a predominantly boys’ school from age 16 to 18.
“There were about 400 boys and six girls, so I’d already learned to stand up for myself.
“I knew that if you didn’t stand up for yourself, no one would.”
Case in point: when she boarded the Birmingham team bus for the first time, one of the players shouted: “I can see your tits from here!”
In a flash, Karren shot back: “Well, when I sell you to Crewe, you won’t be able to see them from there.”
The player in question was duly sold shortly after.
Over her 16 years at Birmingham, she proved an incredible force.
She was ruthless (at one point even selling her husband), ambitious and shrewd, and she turned the finances around.
When she floated the club on the stock market in 1997, she became the UK’s youngest-ever boss of a public limited company and, in 2009, Sullivan was able to sell the club he’d bought for £700k for £82m.
By the time Karren left to join him at West Ham (where she has performed similar financial miracles), 75% of the senior management were female.
Today, she is unequivocal about the need for more women in business, politics and decision-making positions, and has been outspoken about the lack of affordable childcare and the gender pay gap, which, she points out, kicks in when women take maternity leave.
“The gender pay gap report was brought in to try to embarrass companies into paying people equally, but it hasn’t really happened.
“Women have to give birth to every taxpayer on the planet.
“You have to take time off when you have a baby and when you come back to work, you need flexibility from your employer as you have another human being who relies on you.
“Women are often overlooked for promotion and there’s that built-in lack of confidence, where they feel they should be grateful just for having a job at all.
“There’s also the perception that working mothers are less committed, and that’s simply not true.
“I’m living proof!
“The women on my team are organised, strong, determined and smart.
“We have integrity and we are the backbone of the organisation.”
She’s also campaigned for menopause policies in the workplace, and last year West Ham became the first Premier League club to receive Menopause Friendly Accreditation.
Three years ago, Karren began HRT after Davina McCall advised her to seek help for her symptoms.
“I had really bad night sweats and that feeling my grandma would have described as ‘the blues’, when you’ve got that can’t-be-arsed-to-do-anything attitude.
“Davina said: ‘You need to go and sort it out.’ I did and I’ve never looked back.”
For all her business achievements, it is The Apprentice that has made Karren a household name.
Since 2009, her expertly timed withering looks while the candidates screw it up have made her a meme’s dream.
She plays the silent observer to perfection, but isn’t it frustrating not to be able to step in and prevent the looming catastrophe?
“It used to be, but not now.
“Alan doesn’t want to employ or invest in me.
“So if I help them, he’s not really seeing the true them.
“We sometimes start at 5am and finish at 10pm, and when they’re making stupid mistakes, there is the possibility that patience starts to wear thin.
“I don’t step in, but I do sometimes feel like walking out!”
‘I don’t take a penny from the House of Lords – it’s a privilege to serve’
Do the show’s producers ever deliberately cast a few duds for their entertainment value?
“I can assure you they don’t,” says Karren.
“At the end of the series, someone will get a quarter of a million pounds and a partnership with Alan Sugar and while me, Tim [Campbell, winner of series one and now Lord Sugar’s assistant] and the production team go off, he’s left with them.
“He’d never allow them to cast for a TV show and not as potential partners for him.”
Karren’s friendship with Lord Sugar goes back decades.
She even holidays with him and his wife Ann.
“We’ve been very good friends for 25 years, we go on holidays together.
“He is respected by everybody on the show, including the candidates.
“He’s a great wit and a real pleasure to work with.”
Away from the TV cameras and the day job of running a football club, Karren sits in the House of Lords.
She was made Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge CBE and a life peer in 2014, and it’s a position she treats extremely seriously.
“I dedicate a lot of time to that role and I’ve never taken a penny out of the House of Lords, no expenses or fees.
“I do it as it’s a privilege and an honour to serve.”
She won’t discuss the recent scandal of the £200m PPE contract engulfing Michelle Mone, but her remarks seem in stark contrast to the behaviour of her fellow peer.
However, when asked if she’d consider standing as an MP, the answer is instant.
“No. I’ve been asked numerous times, and the answer’s always been no.
“I’ve built a life where, when I say yes, I do so because I want to, and when I don’t it’s because I’ve chosen not to do it.
“That is a real privilege.
“It’s taken me 30 years to build that for myself.”
She had said she’d planned to retire at 40. Then 50. She now leaves it open.
“They say nothing’s work unless you’d rather be doing something else,” she says.
“So, until I get to that point, I’ll be working.”
- Watch The Apprentice, Thursday, 9pm, BBC1 and iPlayer.
Karren’s 5 tips to get ahead in your career
- When asking for a pay rise, always provide your boss with clear evidence why you deserve it – have you over-delivered on a project, taken on extra responsibilities or smashed a target?
- You can never prepare too much for a job interview. Reread your CV, rehearse potential answers and plan what comfortable but professional clothes you’ll wear. And smile!
- “Working mother” is the most difficult of all the jobs I have. Finding a balance between work and parenthood will always be a work in progress, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
- If you’ve missed out on a promotion, you’re allowed to feel disappointed. Then use it as a chance to upskill with courses and training – so that next time you’re successful.
- Want to change career? Don’t let fear or age be a barrier. Have faith in yourself, come up with a plan and leverage your existing network.