Karren Brady scores with a peerage

Football club boss, Lord Sugar's sidekick on The Apprentice, a board member of major business consortiums and fashion chains including Sir Philip Green's Arcadia which owns half the High Street and Simeon Cowell's Syco, as well as being an entrepreneur and thoroughly good egg, Karren Brady wowed a Telford audience.

While the next day came the news that she is about to be elevated to the peerage. And who better?

Forget such honours for those who didn't quite make but are still rewarded with a seat in the Lords. What the upper chamber and the country needs is whole teams like Karren Brady. Not with exactly the same skills and experience of course – diversity should be a key part of its strength.

And what a thrill for all those women who turned up at the town's International Centre at the end of last week to hear pure inspiration from Karren, whose latest top-of-the-tree role has been as a government champion for women and small businesses.

But phew and thank goodness she is very human as well and can be just as disorganised as the rest of us. Like, she had lost her contact lenses, couldn't find her glasses despite a mega rummage in her bag, so abandoned the hunt and cheerfully announced that she would peer instead. Of course you warm immensely to such charming confessions in the midst of high-powered business acumen and common sense, while she turned down lunch, whispering to me: "I'm on a diet actually."

Karren Brady also understands the frailty of the human body very well. The 45-years-old whirlwind had a routine medical check in her 30s which identified a life-threatening aneurysm demanding instant surgery. She doesn't talk publicly about it when in spirit-lifting mode but maybe she should. Because she admits she realises how fragile and short life is.

And so her priorities are clear – children, husband, home on one hand, on the other hand, business, commitment, contribution. But she says wisely: "Never let the one area of your life drain energy from the other."

A lesson we could all take on board. Big time!

Her Telford host (when Karren also supported the local Georgia Williams charity) was Lucy Allan, the town's parliamentary Tory candidate who says: "I was delighted that Karren accepted my invitation to come to Telford to talk to business women at our Inspiring Women event. It was a great boost for the town. Telford is hub of entrepreneurship, innovation and ambition. I meet people every day who share Karren's drive, determination and work ethic.

"And it is great news for women up and down the country that she may be heading for the House of Lords. We all need role models to help us reach beyond the horizons which society may traditionally set for us.

"I have been actively encouraging women to get involved and to stand for councils so they can help shape their community and play their part. I am a great believer in helping others be the best they can be."

That certainly goes for Karren Brady. Though while treasuring family and home, she is as consistently tough in a cut-throat business world as anyone else.

She is 45 now but in 1993 aged 23, was working for publisher David Sullivan when she spotted an advertisement in the Financial Times for a football club on the market. "I thought that was pretty unusual and suggested that we buy it and I ran it."

A surprised chairman delivered the killer line that she would have to be twice as good as a man to do that and with the now famous Brady directness, Karren said: "Well that's not difficult."

So ouch, then.

All these years on she points out: "That was on a Friday and on the Monday, we had a football club!"

It was Birmingham City and she moved in as managing director. Shock, horror, much macho flouncing to be dealt with.

Indeed early on one player looked her up and down "and said he could see my boobs in what I was wearing. Except that he didn't use the word boobs. I just said 'don't worry, when I sell you to Crewe you won't be able to see them.' Three days later, I sold him."

Oh joy, Karren. Joy.

But she also sold her footballing boyfriend (now her long-time devoted husband) Paul Peschisolido. Twice. However, that was football. And Paul and their children Sophie aged 18 and Paolo who is 15 are certainly not for sale to anyone, anywhere.

Business-wise, Karren lists leadership, ambition, direction, and persistence amongst her signposts

Since she was the first female managing director of a British premier league club, the youngest-ever managing director of a PLC, is now vice-chairman of West Ham and big in business, something works well.

I was at the Tory conference in Manchester last year when Karren introduced Chancellor George Osborne to delegates. And believe me, the on-stage warmth, humour and sparkle came from only one direction. Sorry George.

Baroness Brady? Sounds good to me!