‘It’s difficult to be what you can’t see’

Kate sWann, 53, is married with two children and lives in hertfordshire. she is Ceo of ssP group, which operates outlets including Yo sushi and starbucks.

Growing up, I always felt ordinary. i was bright but not special. if you’d told me as a teenager i’d be a CEo, i just wouldn’t have believed you!

I remember the moment I thought business might be the path for me. i’d auditioned for a part in the school play but didn’t get it. i was disappointed but instead the teachers suggested i do ticket sales and promote the play – and i loved it.

I was the first in my family to go to university – i read business management at bradford university – and i’m quite proud of that. my parents were both encouraging but not pushy. i did saturday jobs through school so i had my own money. it was important to me to be independent, but i had no strong vocation. the companies I’ve worked for really reward performance and results. as soon as i started as a graduate trainee with tesco, i knew i’d really enjoy it. here was something i could work really hard at and progress. if i’m honest, i’d tell my younger self to relax, say “no” more and do less. but if i’d followed this advice, perhaps i wouldn’t be where i am now! I carry the can. there’s no real secret to my success – i just work hard. i put in long hours and i’m very focused. i’ve been in the right place at the right time but the harder i work, the luckier i get. i’m now in charge of 2,500 food outlets around the world, with a turnover of £2.5 billion and around 40,000 employees. one of my secret weapons for success is an old self-help title – Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by susan Jeffers. it’s a brilliant guide to focusing on what you want and having the courage to go for it. you really do have to sit in the feeling of anxiety, accept it, then just do what you need to do anyway. success is a series of trade-offs. What are you going to give up in order to get what you want? my husband stays at home to look after our daughters – now aged 22 and 15. it works for us and we’re both happy.

My priorities are work and family. i rarely take advantage of executive perks and turn down tickets to events such as Wimbledon. i want to be the best boss and mother that i can. i just don’t have time for anything else – and i’m really not that bothered.

I haven’t been treated equally to men in my career. there has been discrimination without a doubt – nothing major, just lots of small incidences when i know i’ve been treated differently. i’m known as being “feisty”; when have you ever heard a man called that? i’m fortunate to be in a line of business where i’m judged largely on the figures i produce. there’s a sort of objectivity to it. i would hate to be in some other industries where fitting into a certain culture is all-important. Women can fare worse when the measures of success are more subjective.

It’s difficult to “be” what you can’t “see”. of course it’s possible, there are more of us now and there have always been pioneers, but it’s difficult. that’s why it’s so important to have women at the top, recruiting, mentoring and modelling good business practice for other women.

trashy tV is my vice. i don’t often watch Newsnight but i can give you a full run-down on who was voted off Love Island! my husband often wants to chat when i come in but i need to switch off with what i call “mushy-brain stuff” that i don’t have to think about. w&h

“My priorities are work and family – I just don’t have time for anything else”