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Shirley Palmer, County Antrim Business Owner, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of The Simple Series, was named “One to Watch” in Lloyds Development Capital’s (LDC) Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders Program at a prestigious London event recently.

Sponsored by The Times and now in its fourth year, the program celebrates the inspiring leaders behind some of the UK’s most successful and fastest growing medium-sized companies.

Selected from a pool of 600 nominees and 150 interviewees, Shirley is the only Northern Irish business owner to be included on the Ones to Watch list and, in fact, the only one from Northern Ireland in the entire LDC program that showcases the executives behind Mid-Market Companies and growing companies of tomorrow that are making a big impact.

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Shirley Palmer Sole NI business owner from County Antrim to list

Shirley has had a successful career to date, working in the private equity sector in London for almost 20 years before founding ShirleyPalmer.com, a consulting firm with a focus on Conscious Leadership and Mindset Mastery. During the pandemic outbreak, she founded The Simple Series, a consulting firm designed to help entrepreneurs and business owners around the world get the most out of their businesses.

The Simple Series enables business owners and entrepreneurs to access a variety of services and programs that include business strategy, business mentoring, leadership and management, change management, marketing and sales strategies, to name a few.

Shirley said, “I am absolutely honored to be named as ‘One to Watch’ in LDC’s Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders Program. To be featured alongside some of the most successful and ambitious business leaders across the UK and to be the only one from Northern Ireland to make the Ones to Watch list is a fantastic accomplishment that makes me feel very proud.

“I founded The Simple Series with the desire to help companies regardless of size or industry reach their full potential. I realized that in this ever-changing economy, some companies need a little help to realign themselves, overcome market challenges, grow or even restart, and our services are designed to help them do so.

“The events of the past 18 months have been extremely tough for companies and entrepreneurs, so I believe services like the ones offered by The Simple Series are necessary.”

Shirley returned to live in Northern Ireland in 2019 and earlier this year she partnered with corporate agency LEDCOM to bring the seed formula to market with funds from Ulster Bank. The Seed Formula is a 12 week program that aims to guide and support women in rural communities across Northern Ireland in starting a business in their chosen area. The program is currently ongoing and Shirley hopes it will have a profound impact on the number of women entrepreneurs in rural communities and then have a positive impact on the rural economy.

“It is very important to me to enable people to follow their dreams and start their own business, which was a great motivating factor for the introduction of the Seed Formula program. I believe that rural women have a lot to offer and that more women entrepreneurs outside of the bigger cities will have a very positive impact on the rural economy by creating new jobs and improving the quality of life, ”added Shirley.

“Companies make a huge contribution to the local and even the global economy. Therefore, it is extremely important to make sure that these companies are successful. Going forward, I hope The Simple Series will continue to grow and expand, as will the companies and entrepreneurs I work with. “

LDC’s John Garner added, “The past 18 months have brought about challenges none of us could have foreseen, but despite all of this, it’s fantastic to see so many business leaders have achieved truly remarkable things.

“This year’s ‘Ones to Watch’ group embodies this fighting spirit and really impressed the jury with their stories of growth and ambition.

“Congratulations to everyone featured and we look forward to their continued success and impact and contribution to the wider UK economy.”

A native of County Antrim, he has worked with thousands of startups, SMEs, entrepreneurs and visionaries in many different countries including Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Shirley’s clients also span a wide range of sectors including business services, consumer brands, software and IT services, healthcare, education, real estate, technology and finance.

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