Q&A: Karren Brady ('The Apprentice')

When she left our screens a couple of years back, we didn't think that anyone would be able to replace ex-Herbert Smith partner and famous papyrus fan Margaret Mountford in our hearts. Karren Brady, though, has managed the impossible by both effortlessly sliding in to Mags's business suit while also putting her own personal stamp on the role. As she gets ready to judge the teenagers vying for the enterprise section at the Ambition AXA Awards, we got on the phone to quiz her about the scheme and, of course, this year's Apprentice and Junior Apprentice.

What can you tell us about these awards?
"The AXA Awards are aiming to find five young people between the ages of 11 to 18 who really want to succeed, whether that's in sport, enterprise, arts, science or community. The prize will help them to develop their ambitions and their business. It might be the money spent on coaching, mentoring or development. So it's a task to find five exceptional young people."

What's the best way to get young people into enterprise and business?
"Things like Junior Apprentice really encourage people to start thinking about being an entrepreneur and thinking about business. A lot of young people I've met are already starting to think about it. Over 50% of people's ambition is to run their own business. I think that's a great thing for young people. I think the internet has opened up a lot of opportunities for young people - you can open a business in your bedroom."

Do young people get depicted fairly in the media?
"I think that's why Lord Sugar started the Junior Apprentice. He felt that teenagers in this country have a very bad press and he wanted to show that being an entrepreneur is not so much about academic qualifications you can achieve, but about the spirit, drive and ambition. Anything that champions young people, that encourages them to think about business, enterprise and working is a great thing."

Why has the prize changed for this year's Apprentice?
"I think that Alan thought it would be a good idea for somebody to have the opportunity to own their own business, with him as a 50% partner and £250,000 setup prize fund. It's a great opportunity in this market for him and a talented individual to set up a business together."

Will you, Nick Hewer and Alan be looking for something different in this year's winner?
"Definitely. The tasks will be all geared to starting up a business, setting up a business, coming up with an idea for a business. It's going to have a really different feel about it, because it's going to be focused much more on how you make money out of an idea."

Have the applicants been less sales-focused than in previous years?
"Yes, and I think also somebody who wants to own their own business has a different sort of personality to somebody who wants to work in somebody else's business. I think that you'll find that they're far more driven individuals that have invented things, have run their own businesses and have managed businesses."

Will Junior Apprentice manage to capture the public's attention in the same way this year, given that it's on at the same time as The X Factor and Strictly?
"I think so. Obviously, they'll be on different nights... when you're staying at home to watch TV, I think you get used to a pattern of sitting down as a family to watch and you enjoy it. That's why The X Factor is so popular and that's why The Apprentice is so popular, really. Being the Junior one, it is really great family viewing."

You've said you're a business person, not a celebrity - do you worry that doing The Apprentice gives the public the wrong impression of you?
"No, I don't think so at all. What you see on The Apprentice is me doing my business, making my contribution in a business way to Alan's selection process. I think you cross that line into celebrity when you do things that are outside of your expert opinion. When you start doing cookery, dancing and all of that."

Did you ever feel like the new person at work on the show? Do you feel more settled now?
"I didn't ever feel like the new girl - obviously I'd known Alan for a very long time and I'd been involved with the show with the Comic Relief version and of course the interviewing, so I knew a lot of people behind the scenes who obviously have stayed with the show. Everybody made me feel very welcome."

Are there any advantages to being a woman in male-dominated environments like business and football?
"The great thing that people need to understand is that women are different to men. In the '80s there was this view that women should try to emulate men and their style, whereas women are now celebrated for having a different style and accepting their differences in the way that they nurture and manage teams. I think that's a great thing."

How does it feel to be a role model to young women in the world of business and enterprise?
"I think it's really important. One thing our young girls need is lots of self-esteem and lots of role models to understand that whatever you want to achieve, if you set your mind to it, set out your goals and work really hard, you can. The more good role models we have who are professional and inspiring, the more we will create a new generation of women that go on and do great things... we want to carve out a path for newer, younger, more dynamic people with exceptional talents."

How did you feel about Richard Keys and Andy Gray getting hired so quickly by TalkSport after their comments about Sian Massey and yourself?
"I don't have any opinion on it to be honest. I think that the comments that were made about Sian were very unfair and it's very unfair generally to judge anybody's ability just by their gender. But in terms of them as individuals and the work that they do, I don't have any comment to make on it."

I've read you're a big Arsenal fan - are there divided loyalties now you work for West Ham and before at Birmingham?
"That's incorrect! My family are all Arsenal fans - I come from an Arsenal-supporting family, I'm very much a supporter of West Ham now! I support the club that I work for."

The Ambition AXA Awards were launched this week and the winners will be announced on November 30.