A beauty and wellbeing brand pioneer enthralled an audience of businesspeople from across the North West at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS).

Liz Earle MBE delivered a captivating talk on her journey from journalist to business leader, her work on normalising discussions about the menopause, and the keys to building a successful team – as well as the importance of kefir – in the first LUMS Masterclass of 2023, in association with NatWest.

The Masterclass Series aims to inspire North West businesses to new heights, and has reached thousands of SMEs over the last decade.

"The watchword for this year's Masterclass Series is responsibility, and all of us as business leaders have huge amounts of responsibility – to our customers, our employees, and to ourselves," said Liz, who cofounded the multi-award-winning Liz Earle Beauty Co., before launching Liz Earle Wellbeing and becoming well-known for her work as a champion of women's health, media influencer, TV presenter, podcast host, author, and charity founder.

"I hope I was especially able to stress the importance of promoting wellness in ourselves, of living well, as well as living longer, so that we can help both ourselves and our businesses."

From left: Professor Claire Leitch, Executive Dean of Lancaster University Management School; Liz Earle MBE; Sue Haslem, NatWest Relationship Director for Lancashire

More than 150 businesspeople from Lancashire, Cumbria, and across the wider region were in attendance for Liz's event, enjoying networking opportunities as well as Liz's talk.

The Masterclass series has been running for nearly a decade, reaching thousands of businesses. It was postponed during the Covid-19 pandemic and only returned to an in-person format for two events last year. A full schedule of events is planned for 2023.

"We were delighted to welcome Liz to Lancaster, and it was fantastic to see so many businesses from across the area represented in the audience – friends of both ourselves and of NatWest," said LUMS Executive Dean, Professor Claire Leitch.

"Liz provided us all with thought-provoking ideas and inspirational insight throughout her talk, examining how she went from being a journalist to starting her own business to becoming a globally-renowned leader in the wellness industry.

"She has achieved so much through her remarkable career, and there were so many positive messages to take about resilience, responsibility, and sustainability. The audience were actively engaged throughout the evening, and we look forward to welcoming them back for further Masterclass events later in the year."

NatWest supports the Masterclass Series as Corporate Guardians of Lancaster University.

Sue Haslem, NatWest Relationship Director for Lancashire, was pleased with the success of the first event of the year. She said: "Liz was a wonderful first speaker for this year's Masterclass Series. She was one of the most engaging presenters we have had at Lancaster over the many years of our partnership. I'm looking forward to welcoming more high-quality speakers to LUMS for the remainder of this year's series as we work in partnership to support local entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive."