Available to book
Julie Deane
Entrepreneurship
Business Strategy
Transform entrepreneurial vision with Julie Deane CBE, speaker, manufacturing and business growth expert. Julie works with organisations to develop British craftsmanship and sustainable business models, delivering insights from her journey building The Cambridge Satchel Company into a global brand.
International Women's Day
Women's History Month
Designer
Entrepreneur
Business Leader
Women in Business
Fashion
Julie Deane CBE graduated from Cambridge University in 1987. She joined Deloitte and qualified as a Chartered Accountant before returning to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she became the first woman appointed as Fellow for Development and the Registrary in the college's 650-year history. In 2008, Julie founded The Cambridge Satchel Company with a modest fund of £600. The company has grown into a global brand, employing over 140 people and selling products in more than 120 countries.
In January 2014, it secured $21 million in funding from Index Ventures. Julie is dedicated to supporting British manufacturing, establishing a production base in Leicester that produces 10,000 bags monthly. The operation has received several awards, including The Insider's British Manufacturer of the Year in 2014. She is an Ambassador for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), which supports British craftsmanship.
In December 2014, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Entrepreneurship and is currently the Entrepreneur in Residence at The British Library. The Cambridge Satchel Company has collaborated with renowned designers and retailers such as Vivienne Westwood and Comme des Garçons. The brand's bags have appeared on catwalks from London to New York and have been carried by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Emma Stone, and Lady Gaga. The bags have also been featured in TV shows, including Girls, The Good Wife, and Gossip Girl, and were the official end-of-filming gift for the cast of Mad Men. Julie was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2021 for services to Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing.
Julie Deane CBE, OBE is proof you can start a successful business at your kitchen table. Book Julie to inspire your team with her remarkable journey from a £600 startup to a global brand, demonstrating the power of resilience and innovation. Her unique insights into entrepreneurship, British manufacturing, and high-profile collaborations will provide invaluable lessons for any business. Julie's prestigious accolades and real-world success make her an authoritative and motivational figure for any audience.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email julie.deane@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Julie's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Julie Deane draws on her own founding journey — building The Cambridge Satchel Company from a £600 budget to a global brand — as a case study to illustrate the practical steps and decisions involved in scaling a business from scratch.
Julie Deane CBE speaks on entrepreneurship, business strategy, and British manufacturing. She founded The Cambridge Satchel Company in 2008 with £600, scaling it into a global brand operating in over 120 countries and securing $21 million in funding from Index Ventures, and was awarded a CBE in 2021 for services to Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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