In 2009, Neil Jurd was looking forward to a fresh start in the Lake District with his wife Michelle and their two young daughters.
He had left the Army after 17 years, started a new high-powered job as Head of Logistics at British Sugar and was in the middle of renovating their family home.
But on his 40th birthday, just weeks into his new civilian life, Neil’s world was shattered when his wife was killed in a car crash – a lorry driver later admitted causing her death by careless driving. Overwhelmed by grief, Neil threw himself into raising their children, then aged two and four, quitting his job so he could be there for the girls full-time.
Keen to find a way he could still work and raise his daughters, he decided to start his own business, offering leadership training. His military career, which included training officers at Sandhurst, meant he was already a skilled leader and he was keen to pass on his skills to others.
What started as a way to work flexibly as a full-time father soon became a flourishing business with Neil and his team providing training for major organisations including corporate businesses, universities and the public sector. Neil is now the bestselling author of The Leadership Book and he was made an OBE in 2021.
He has just launched a new online training platform called Leader Connect where anyone can improve their leadership skills through a comprehensive library of video tutorials. Neil can talk about his journey from bereavement to being an entrepreneur.
Neil Jurd OBE is the founder of Leader Connect, an online leadership video platform, and the bestselling author of The Leadership Book – a step by step guide to excellent leadership.
