| Hilary Devey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hilary Lorraine Devey 10 March 1957 (age 55) Bolton, Lancashire, England[1] |
| Residence | Staffordshire, England London, England Marrakech, Morocco Spain |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | White British |
| Occupation | Businesswoman, television personality, entrepreneur, commentator |
| Years active | 1996-present |
| Notable works | Secret Millionaire (Channel 4) The Business Inspector (Channel 5) Dragons' Den (BBC) |
| Net worth | £60m (approx.) |
| Title | Chairman/CEO of Pall-Ex |
| Term | 1996–present |
| Awards | Honorary Doctorate of Laws (2010) |
| Website | |
| www.hilarydevey.com | |
Hilary Lorraine Devey (born 10 March 1957) is a British businesswoman, television personality, entrepreneur and commentator. She is probably best known for her appearances on the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den.
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As a child growing up in Bolton, Lancashire, she witnessed the results of her father's bankruptcy when bailiffs came to her home and removed furniture and household goods. She left Bolton Grammar School at the age of sixteen, served for a short time in the Women's Royal Air Force, and later moved to London.[2][3]
Devey made her fortune launching Pall-Ex, a palletised freight network. Launched in 1996, Pall-Ex was the third palletised goods distribution network to be launched in the UK. (Based on the well-established hub and spoke express parcels distribution model the pallet network was pioneered by Palletline in 1992. A second network - Palletways - was launched in 1994.) Pall-Ex handles around 10,000 palletised consignments through its Leicestershire hub each day and has annual revenues of more than £100 million.
Devey is also a regular on the public speaking circuit. She has featured in television programmes including Channel 4's Secret Millionaire in 2008. She donated more than £250,000 to the Back Door Music Project and the Syke Community Centre. She later appeared on The Business Inspector on Channel 5 in March 2010. The latter was a four-part series that saw her use her business acumen and expertise by helping transform struggling small businesses into successful profitable companies. She helped their owners improve their customer service, cash flow and marketing strategies.
In February 2011, Devey joined the panel on BBC Two's programme Dragons' Den[4] following the departure of James Caan.
Her wealth is estimated to be around £60 million.[5]
Devey campaigns for various charities including The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, for whom she became a patron in 2007. She donates to charity one penny for each pallet distributed by the Pall-Ex network through her 'Penny a Pallet' scheme.[6] She also supports the Stroke Association, for whom she became a patron in 2010.
As a campaigner for entrepreneurship, Devey has utilised her media presence to support a number of campaigns to develop entrepreneurism in the UK, including backing a call by a number of leading businesswomen to introduce an entrepreneurship badge in the Girl Guides.
Devey resides near Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. She also has an apartment in London and villas in Morocco and Spain. She has been divorced twice and has stated publicly that her son is a former heroin addict.[7] Devey owns four dogs, including Alfie, a West Highland White Terrier who appeared on an episode of Devey's show The Business Inspector.
She suffered a stroke in 2009 after having an abdominoplasty operation.[8] She is a smoker, stating she has smoked 40 cigarettes per day since she was a teenager.[9]
Devey was awarded the Vitalise Woman of the Year Award in 2008,[10] and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Leicester in 2010 for her services to industry.[11] Other UK domestic awards have included the Sir Robert Lawrence Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2009 and the Personality of the Year in the International Freight Weekly Awards for 2010. She is the only woman to win either of these awards.
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