Yvonne Thompson CBE Yvonne Thompson, , is a British business leader, who was a founding member of radio station

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on DAB Digital Radio, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and Global Player. It specialises in hip ...

, music editor of ''Root'' magazine, managing director of marketing and PR company ASAP Communications, president of the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners. Her work has had a focus on women-owned businesses, as well as on diversity and gender equality in the work place."Inspirational Woman: Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE , Entrepreneur and Owner of ASAP Communications"
(interview), We Are The City, 15 November 2016. She is frequently referred to as "Britain's first black self-made woman millionaire".Caitlin Davies

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 10 October 2007. In February 2018, her appointment as chair of The Radio Academy was announced."New Chair & Deputy appointed to The Radio Academy"
The Radio Academy.

Background

Born in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, South America, Yvonne Thompson immigrated to Britain in 1961.Cloyette HS
"Meet Dr. Yvonne Thompson: Founder Of ASAP Communications & Britain’s First Black Female Self-Made Millionaire"
''Guyanese Girls Rock'', 8 March 2014. She originally wanted to be a medical doctor, and then a nurse, leaving school at 16 and taking a pre-nursing course at Croydon Polytechnic – she has explained this change of ambition by saying: " I grew older I realised I didn't see many non-white doctors; they were all male and pale." Her jobs were working at

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

bank and, at the age of 20, being PA to the contracts manager at

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the name ...

, which led to employment at

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

and at

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, although being passed over for promotion three times caused her to resign. She went on to found in 1983 her own public relations company, ASAP Communications, pioneering the provision of bespoke PR services for black music artists. She wrote for the UK's first black glossy magazine ''Root'' and became a founding member and director of the UK's first Black music radio station

(started in 1990 and eventually rebranded as

Capital XTRA Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global Media & Entertainment, Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM broadcasting, FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB Digital Ra ...

). Thompson subsequently founded, in 1996, the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners (EFBWBO). In 2014 she published her first book, ''7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards'', in which she says she is "laying down a challenge to society, to provide a level playing field so that our young women with potential to be future leaders, can be the confident citizens of Europe, including possibility of being on the Board of a national or international corporation, and not be excluded like so many women of this generation are, purely on the grounds of her gender". Thompson has worked with many public bodies and chaired or served on the boards of numerous organisations, including government agencies. In February 2018, she was appointed chair of The Radio Academy.

Awards and recognition

Yvonne Thompson received the European Women Of Achievement Award in 2001. In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours she was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) for Services to Black and Ethnic Minority Business. In 2005 she received an honorary doctorate from

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (f ...

for services to small business, and mass communications,"Dr. Yvonne Thompson – Powerful Woman"
''Black Women In Europe'' Blog, 29 November 2012. and has also been awarded an honorary degree from

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

. Other honours accorded her include the declaration by the Mayor of

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, of 4 January 2004 as "Yvonne Thomson Day"."Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE"
official website.

References

External links

Official website

"Inspirational Woman: Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE , Entrepreneur and Owner of ASAP Communications"
(interview), ''We Are The City'', 15 November 2016.
"10 minutes of inspiration with Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE"
''Inspire'',

Harvey Nash Nash Squared (formerly known as Harvey Nash Group) is a global digital services consultancy providing outsourced digital transformation development services as well as technology talent acquisition services. They were formerly listed on the Londo ...

, 19 February 2015. * Yvonne Thompson
"7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards: Views From the Top and How to Get There"
(summary). {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Yvonne Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Guyanese emigrants to England British radio executives Black British businesspeople 20th-century British businesswomen 21st-century British businesswomen Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of King's College London Black British women writers Deputy Lieutenants of Greater London