Having arrived in Britain as a five-year-old refugee fleeing the Nazis on the Kindertransport, Dame Stephanie Shirley went on to build one of Britain's most successful software companies. Using the pen name ‘Steve’ to be taken more seriously by clients, she built a business valued at $3 billion, turning 70 staff members into millionaires along the way. But her impact goes far beyond the business world. Dame Stephanie has dedicated the last three decades of her life to philanthropy, giving away most of her personal wealth. Once the 11th richest woman in the UK, she’s the only person to drop off the Sunday Times Rich List due to generosity.  Inspired by her late son, Giles, who was profoundly autistic, Dame Stephanie has helped transform care for those with autism along with supporting a range of other causes. In this episode she shares stories from her childhood, her career and her personal life – all of them packed with invaluable lessons. A former podcast guest of ours, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, wrote the foreword to Dame Stephanie’s brilliant memoir, Let it Go; and described her as “ ... a role model for how to build your life, not just your company.” She wasn’t wrong.     Links     Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/damestephanie_/?hl=en" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/damestephanie_/?hl=en</a> Website: <a href="https://www.steveshirley.com/" target="_blank">https://www.steveshirley.com/</a>   Book  Let It Go (2019): <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Go-Extraordinary-Entrepreneur-Philanthropist/dp/0241395496" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Go-Extraordinary-Entrepreneur-Philanthropist/dp/0241395496</a>   Charities Autistica: <a href="https://www.autistica.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.autistica.org.uk/</a> Autism at Kingwood: <a href="https://www.kingwood.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.kingwood.org.uk/</a> Prior’s Court: <a href="https://www.priorscourt.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.priorscourt.org.uk/</a> The Oxford Internet Institute: <a href="https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/</a> The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists: <a href="https://wcit.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://wcit.org.uk/</a>   Stream/buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: <a href="https://ampl.ink/qp6bm" target="_blank">https://ampl.ink/qp6bm</a>     Some Velvet Morning Website: <a href="http://www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk</a>       Your Daily Practice: Sleep by Myndstream: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5OX9XgJufFz9g63o2Dv2i5?si=b2f9397c92084682" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/track/5OX9XgJufFz9g63o2Dv2i5?si=b2f9397c92084682</a>     This podcast is brought to you by Crisis What Crisis? Productions and Coulson Partners Host – Andy Coulson    CWC team: Jane Sankey, Louise Difford, Mabel Pickering, Linus Fielder With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global       For all PR and guest approaches please contact – <a href="http://coulsonpartners.com/" target="_blank">podcast@coulsonpartners.com</a>

Having arrived in Britain as a five-year-old refugee fleeing the Nazis on the Kindertransport, Dame Stephanie Shirley went on to build one of Britain's most successful software companies. Using the pen name ‘Steve’ to be taken more seriously by...

Dame Stephanie Shirley on 91 years of resilience and brilliance