Karren Brady

Karren Brady CBE (born 4 April 1969) is an English sporting executive, politician, television broadcaster, newspaper columnist, author and novelist. She is the former managing director of Birmingham City Football Club and current vice-chairman of West Ham United. She features in the BBC One series The Apprentice as an aide to Lord Alan Sugar. She is the Small Business Ambassador to the UK Government under Prime Minister David Cameron.

=Career=

Early career and Birmingham City
Brady's first job was at the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, where she was accepted onto their graduate training programme without a degree at the age of 18. She left Saatchi after a year to join the London Broadcasting Company (LBC) where she managed an account for radio advertising with several clients, who initially did not spend much money; one of the clients, publisher David Sullivan, encouraged by Brady, spent more than £2,000,000 on advertising in six months, which earned Brady more commission than the rest of the sales team put together. Sullivan offered her a job with Sport Newspapers, and she became one of the directors at the age of 20. While in Sullivan's employ, Brady spotted an advert for the sale of Birmingham City F.C. in the Financial Times, when the club was in receivership, and persuaded Sullivan to buy it and let her run it. Sullivan later commented that he agreed to the deal because such a young, female director would attract publicity to the club, and also because Brady was a "sacker". Brady was 23 when she started work as managing director of Birmingham City F.C. in March 1993. In 2008, Sullivan and Brady were arrested by City of London Police, interviewed and released on bail, as part of the investigation into the 2006 allegations of corruption in English football, which also involved similar actions against players and officials from other clubs; club chairman David Gold was interviewed as a witness. the club stated that no charges had been brought, that Brady denied any wrongdoing. The investigation involved only tax and national insurance offences relating to two players. Gold said that it was "utterly wrong that this highly professional businesswoman has been made a victim in a witch-hunt against football". In August 2009 it was confirmed that no further action would be taken. She left Birmingham City two months later after she sold the club to Carson Yeung for £82,000,000. The same month she was appointed Chairman to the England 2018 World Cup bid advisory board.

West Ham United
In January 2010 she was appointed Vice-Chairman of West Ham United by new Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold. Writing in her newspaper column Brady said "To West Ham fans I'll make a single pledge – while we are on the board, we will hang in the Tower of London before your club again goes through the financial turmoil which so nearly brought it down". Brady said she liked the idea of changing the club's name to West Ham Olympic. David Gold subsequently said that the club shall always be West Ham United under his chairmanship but "What you might do is call the stadium West Ham Olympic stadium. I can make a case for that." Brady was responsible for negotiating a move on behalf of West Ham United from their Boleyn Ground to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, East London. Initially the intention was for West Ham to take ownership of the stadium, this bid collapsing in October 2011 following a legal delay caused by a rival bid by Tottenham Hotspur. Investigators working on behalf of Tottenham were subsequently charged with fraud for obtaining illegally the private telephone records of Brady. In December 2012 West Ham were announced as the highest ranked bidder to become the anchor concessionaire and tenant of the Olympic Stadium. Of the move Brady said "We are ambitious for our great club and aim to set the benchmark for visiting away and neutral supporters from across the globe to come and enjoy the iconic Stadium and be part of our Premier League club experience". West Ham United were named as anchor concessionaires for the Olympic Stadium on 23 March 2013. At a press conference to mark the event with Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Brady said:”'I’m delighted that we have been confirmed today as the anchor concessionaire for the Olympic Stadium. I commend my two Chairmen for their passion and commitment. I am delighted this has been rewarded now that their ambition to see the Club they love enjoy a bright future at the iconic Olympic Stadium has been realised.” In July 2013, Brady gave evidence before a House of Lords committee, where she said the club have debts of £70m that would need to be paid before the proposed move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016.