Dr. Yvonne Thompson
Business leader, president of the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners, Founder WinTrade Global Talks, Public Speaker
Speaker Bio
Dr. Yvonne Thompson is a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), founding member of radio station Choice FM, music editor of Root magazine, managing director of marketing and PR company ASAP Communications.
She has chaired many governmental committees, including the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) and the Learning and Skills Councils.
Her work has a focus on women-owned businesses, as well as on diversity and gender equality in the workplace.
Yvonne Thompson received the European Women Of Achievement Award in 2001.
In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Services to Black and Ethnic Minority Business.
In 2005 she received an honorary doctorate from London Metropolitan University for services to small business, and mass communications, and has also been awarded an honorary degree from Plymouth University.Other honours accorded her include the declaration by the Mayor of Houston, Texas, of 4 January 2004 as "Yvonne Thomson Day".
Author of the book "7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards: Views from the top and how to get there" (2014).
Speech
So my name is Dr. Yvonne Thompson and I'm based in the U.K. I have been... I've lived in the UK for most of my life, originally from South America, Guyana. First of all, thank you so much for inviting me to be part of this absolutely inspiring, really necessary and very, very cutting-edge debate and discussion. What you guys or what you guys what you ladies are doing. It's just an amazing opportunity to bring so many different people from so many different backgrounds globally together to talk about a really important question. So, you know, looking at the very first topic, I just feel that right now the challenges and the crises that humanity are facing and will continue to face in the near future, do you know what I think? First and foremost, that is one of trust. That is one of trust. It's one of kindness, and it's one of caring, because until the world learns to trust each other, until we're in the position of trusting each other, until we're in the position of caring for each other and thinking about what is each of our place in humanity, we're heading down a very, very dangerous road. I think there's, for me, something called personal social responsibility. Until everybody learns what their personal social responsibility is, the world will not be able to move forward in the way, certainly, that I think it should, in a kind and caring manner.
When I think everybody has to take their place in the world moving forward. And it's up to the individuals, what their responsibility [is], what they're passionate about, what they want to see happen. And the more we get on the side of good is the better.