AROUND TOWN MEETS
Julie Kenny CBE DL
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For over thirty years, Julie Kenny has been an inspirational societal architect in South Yorkshire; she’s rebuilt her life on more than one occasion using the bricks other people have thrown at her, shattering various glass ceilings along the way.
Pyronix
awards and achievements than she can count on both hands and feet, Julie was the former figurehead of multi-million pound intruder alarm specialists, Pyronix while at the same time helping regenerate the South Yorkshire region through various voluntary roles.
A beacon for women empowering each other to succeed in a man’s world, 60-year-old Julie is living proof that your past doesn’t have to define your future.
With frank honesty, Julie says she didn’t have the best start in life.
While her journey to becoming a self-made successful female entrepreneur may not have ran smoothly, Julie strongly believes it is always possible to achieve your goals, and so she did.
Racking up more accolades, 4
aroundtownmagazine.co.uk
Born in Hillsborough, Julie’s parents split when she was very young, leaving her mother to raise the children on her own before moving to Stannington when Julie was ten.
From a young age, her
upbringing and life experiences taught her what she wanted from life – but most importantly what she didn’t. She didn’t want to follow in her mum’s footsteps, constantly fearful of a knock at the door or struggling to make ends meet.
She studied hard to better herself and, as her birthday is in August, should have left school at 14. However, with ambition to be a secretary, she wanted to stay on another year.
“I could have been a singer if I believed in myself. Can I sing? Not a chance. But if you have self-belief and confidence you can make anything work.”
“I’ve no idea now why I had my heart set on being a secretary but I’d always seen it as a very glamorous job. I asked my mum if I could stay at school an extra year and she said no – I needed to go out and earn a living to support the family.
“I said ‘what am I supposed to do though, mum?’ She suggested working in a shop, not that there’s anything wrong with that but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a secretary,” Julie says.
Determined and dedicated to her goal, a 14-year-old Julie set off on her own one day to Sheffield’s education department on Leopold Street in the city centre. Here, she asked for a grant to help her mum financially while she studied.
She also asked her father for an extra £3 a week maintenance which he eventually agreed to after a serious grilling.
Sure enough, the following year Julie gained her first job as a shorthand typist at Lodge Moor Hospital.
“Against all odds, I had achieved the job that I had strived for – if that makes you happy then you are successful.
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