A Warrington businesswoman has been celebrated as one of the North West’s most inspirational women at a prestigious awards ceremony honouring the region’s pioneering female figures.
Karen Turton, 52, received the Seed Bomb Award at the Girls Out Loud Shining Stars Ball last month in recognition of her work disrupting the status quo within corporate leadership teams.
With three decades of commercial and leadership experience in the hospitality sector, Karen Turton established performance consultancy, Purple Story, with a vision of fostering better leadership and to make the working lives of every individual at each organisation better.
The Seed Bomb Award, sponsored by Stanmore Insurance, is given to an individual who spreads the message about Girls Out Loud and the need to invest in the next generation, acting as an ambassador for the non-profit organisation.
Girls Out Loud was founded by entrepreneur, campaigner and female champion, Jane Kenyon, in 2009, with a pledge to empower and inspire the next generation of teenage girls. The multi-award-winning social enterprise is the leading provider of programmes supporting teen girls in the North West, working with more than 80 schools and impacting the lives of over 30,000 girls.
Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, Purple Story has had year-on-year growth since starting. With a dedicated team of 16, the company has successfully implemented new leadership development programmes for renowned UK hospitality brands including Bella Italia, Prezzo and Flight Club.
Karen Turton said: “I had no idea whatsoever that I was going to win the Seed Bomb Award but it is a massive honour, especially to be recognised amongst so many incredible women and young girls.
“I started Purple Story with a mission to drive operational excellence. I was well-known in the hospitality sector, having worked as Operational Director at Nandos, but I abandoned this stable path and followed my dream of redefining leadership.
“In a nutshell, we blow up past perfect leadership and instead drive future fit leaders through our programmes. As someone who has always been fairly non-conventional and challenged the corporate mould, it’s a privilege to support other businesses on their path to achieving this too.
“Jane and I have a lot of shared ambitions, so I’m incredibly proud to be an ambassador for Girls Out Loud and show my support in every way imaginable. At every opportunity, I’m finding people to connect with the non-profit, enabling the girls that I work with to become Big Sisters, and shouting about Girls Out Loud on my social media platforms.
“This year, I’ll be working with Jane more directly as a thinking partner for how she scales Girls Out Loud up and continues her mission – there’s a lot of exciting plans in the pipeline.”
Jane Kenyon, founder of Girls Out Loud, said: “Karen has taken Girls Out Loud to her heart and shares our message at every opportunity with her clients, her suppliers, her social media connections, even people she sits next to on the train!
“Her enthusiasm has generated some awesome attraction for our brand – she truly sprinkles purple fairy dust wherever she goes and we’re incredibly grateful for her support.”
The Shining Stars Ball was hosted by Manchester-based social enterprise Girls Out Loud to celebrate the North West’s top inspirational women and female pioneers.
The event, held at Hilton Manchester Deansgate, honoured nine women and girls who have gone above and beyond to champion women and equality in their personal lives and careers.
It forms part of Girls Out Loud’s 14-year commitment to inspiring and empowering young girls, having impacted more than 30,000 young girls in the region.
The non-profit was founded by entrepreneur, campaigner and female champion, Jane Kenyon, in 2009, with a pledge to empower and inspire the next generation of teenage girls. The multi-award-winning social enterprise is the leading provider of programmes targeting teen girls in the North West.
For more information and to help change the lives of teenage girls across the North West, please visit: https://girlsoutloud.org.uk/
