| Kate Hardcastle MBE | |
|---|---|
 Kate.jpg | |
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | English |
| 🏳️ Citizenship | British |
| 💼 Occupation | Businesswoman Broadcaster Business consultant Entrepreneur |
| 🌐 Website | whoiskatehardcastle.co.uk |
Kate Hardcastle MBE British business broadcaster and entrepreneur.[1]
Overview[edit]
Kate Hardcastle MBE (born 17 September 1977) is a British broadcaster and business consultant, known for her retail and consumer-related work across multiple TV and radio channels includes Sky, BBC and ITV. She is the co-founder and owner of the business consultancy Insight with Passion and is known as ‘The Customer Whisperer’. Hardcastle also works as an international business and motivational speaker, specialising in consumer insight and behaviour.[2]
Early Life and Education[edit]
Hardcastle was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England in 1977. She graduated with a degree in business from the University of Salford and completed an MBA at INSEAD in 2007.
Career[edit]
Hardcastle’s career began as a teenager with roles in retail and hospitality, in addition to performing as a singer, something she still does in her spare time. Upon graduating, she worked for a UK furniture manufacturer for 5 years before joining the marketing team at Silentnight. She was promoted to Head of Marketing and her work on the firms branding earned her the Young Marketer of the Year Award. She has also been credited with developing Silentnights most successful product launch – My First Bed, which reintroduced the firms famous ‘Hippo and Duck’ characters. Hardcastle joined Halo UK as Marketing Director and launched the Halo Living brand in 2006 which won interiors website of the year in 2006 and 2007.[3] In 2009, Hardcastle co-founded Insight with Passion, an international consultancy which works with clients and household names across a number of industries and sectors. Clients have included The Co-op and Trutex.
Media Career[edit]
Since 2010, Hardcastle has been a regular contributor to shows on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky News, CNN and Radio channels BBC 2, BBC 4, BBC 5 Live and commercial stations. She has also presented and provided expertise for consumer shows including Good Morning Britain (ITV1), Rip Off Britain (BBC 1), What Britain Bought (Channel 4), Battlefront (Channel 4) and Inside Out (BBC 1) as well as being the longstanding consumer champion for ITV 1 consumer show Eat Shop Save.[3] Her work has also featured in international print media such as Forbes, The Financial Times, Grazia, The Times, and Drapers.[4] Hardcastle is positioned as a leading voice on retail and consumer insights and regularly speaks at and hosts events around the world, with previous appearances at The Business Show, the Arabian Business Conference, Global Marketplace (USA) and The Financial Times Live.[5]
Philanthropy[edit]
Hardcastle is the founder of several charities and community initiatives, giving back 20% of her time to supporting charitable causes. She is a charity ambassador and supporter of The Diana Award, Women in Sport, UK Active, the RSPCA, Endometriosis UK and Mind the Gap. Hardcastle founded the Access for All Scheme in 2009, alongside her consultancy Insight with Passion. This sees the business give back 20% of its time to supporting small/microbusinesses and community projects via workshops, mentoring and 121 support. The scheme has supported over 1,000 small businesses, working with partners including Business Wales, Welcome to Yorkshire and Marketing Lancashire. In addition, she has founded the Charity Dreamgirls, raising over £30,000 for small charities through concerts and events. Hardcastle is also the founder of Women in Sport North and the Positive Image Campaign, which works to empower young people through mentoring, events and access to new opportunities.
Awards[edit]
Hardcastle has been presented with 26 international and national awards, including:
- Young Marketer of the Year, 2004. (The Marketing Society)
- Tesco Mum of the Year, 2013
- In 2016, Hardcastle was presented with the Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award, in recognition of her charitable work, particularly the creation of the Positive Image campaign.
- Yorkshire Business Woman of the Year, 2016. (Yorkshire Choice)
- Yorkshire Media Personality of the Year, 2018. (The Yorkshire Society)
- Hardcastle received a MBE in the 2018 New Year Honours list for her services to business and entrepreneurship.
She has been celebrated with 26 National & International commerce awards including Business Woman of the Year, Inspiration Award and Influencer of the Year.[6][7]
Personal Life[edit]
Hardcastle is married and has three children.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Kate Hardcastle MBE, a.k.a. The Customer Whisperer is the UK's leading 'go-to' business expert on consumer insight for National TV & Media". whoiskatehardcastle.co.uk/. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ↑ "Kate Hardcastle, MBE: "How to evolve for long-term gain"". specialityfoodmagazine.com. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Kate Hardcastle Biography". imdb.com. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ↑ "Kate Hardcastle Contributor". forbes.com. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ↑ "Five ways to transform high streets and town centres – Kate Hardcastle". yorkshirepost.co.uk. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ↑ "Kate Hardcastle MBE". linkedin.com. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ↑ "Why independent shops are the heroes of this crisis – Kate Hardcastle". yorkshirepost.co.uk. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
