Last Updated on: 24th September 2025, 04:56 pm
The woman who Steven Bartlett says “changed everything” has now signed exclusively with Champions Speakers to deliver keynote talks.
Katy Leeson worked with the Dragons’ Den entrepreneur for more than five years, eventually becoming managing director at his Social Chain business.
Praised by Steven as “exceptional”, Katy oversaw the company’s growth from just 30 employees to more than 750, spread across 24 global offices.
She later took on the role of CEO at Relentless Media, Gary Neville’s media venture, where she directed the Salford City FC media team and developed the club’s social presence.
Her leadership also steered the marketing for Stick to Football and played a key role in launching The Overlap, which has become one of YouTube’s most successful UK sports programmes and now tours the country.
Her professional journey has cemented her place as one of the most prominent businesswomen in Britain.
She was recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice in both 2019 and 2020, selected as a Campaign Female Frontier Honouree in 2020, shortlisted as an IPA Women of Tomorrow Finalist in 2016, and has grown an engaged LinkedIn following of 70,000.
Now, in an exciting new collaboration with
Champions Speakers, the UK’s leading keynote agency, Katy will share the story of her career so far, and explain why she felt able to walk away from her dream job.
Katy said: “I’m hugely excited to be working with Champions Speakers, and starting to write a brand new chapter in my career. If I help just one person by sharing my experiences then I’ve achieved my mission.
“I hope people leave my talks feeling inspired, but also equipped with practical takeaways they can apply in their own roles. I want the message to stay with them long after the event.”
Reflecting on her time working with Steven and Gary she said: “The biggest lesson I learned from Steven and from Gary was the power of visionary leadership combined with a willingness to challenge.
“They taught me to trust my instincts, push boundaries, and always put people first. The main thing that both of them have though, is an incredible way to envisage what is next, before anyone else has a clue and I’ve tried to absorb a bit of that from both of them in how I think now. Steven has been hugely supportive, and said how interesting my career arc will be to a lot of people I will be speaking to.”
Explaining how she initiated the change which Steven so famously credited her for bringing about, Katy said: “To hear that was an incredible compliment from Steven. I’m a very good reader of people, they key for me was to hire people who fitted the values of the company. For me you can have the strongest CV but if you are going to disrupt the rest of the established team by the way you approach things I don’t want to hire you. I also focussed on building a strong, values-led culture; implementing clear communication, especially around company performance, and empowering teams to take ownership and innovate.”
Jack Hayes, the Director of Champions Speakers, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Katy into the family at Champions Speakers. She’s already one of the country’s best and most inspirational speakers and we’re looking forward to supporting her in this exciting new stage of her life and career.”
