The Heart and Soul of FEO - Jan Brumby

Jan Brumby has dedicated her career to empowering people – first through banking, The University of Hull, Young Enterprise, and now as the Chief Executive of FEO, which has spent 14 years supporting Hull and East Yorkshire’s entrepreneurs through peer-to-peer guidance, practical programmes and unshakeable community spirit.

Jan’s role is broad. Supported by FEO Manager, April Thurston, she spends time meeting members, planning events, facilitating peer groups, FEO’s business programme breakfast forums and guest speaker lunches. She listens to FEO stakeholders to find out what they need and does her best to provide it. Jan is also available at the end of the phone for members who are experiencing problems and frustrating barriers within their business, often becoming the first person they call when things feel overwhelming.

A Career Built on People and Possibility

Jan started at 16 with Midland Bank (later HSBC), progressing from branch work to regional service and sales at King William House in Hull, where she supported 25 branches with everything from mortgage campaigns to innovative outreach like wedding fairs and University freshers days. “You can’t just wait for people to walk through the door,” she recalls of those creative tactics to connect banks with people in real life.

After having two daughters in the early 90s, Jan continued to work full-time at the University of Hull on the Investors in People project, coordinating staff across campuses and halls without taking a career break. Supported by a flexible husband working offshore and her “superwoman” mum for childcare, she kept all the plates spinning. Although she puts her success in raising a family down to the constant need to be organised, equality is second nature to Jan, without the need for labels. Her equal partnership at home enabled her career and supported her daughters’ career progression too.

 “FEO’s ethos mirrors that; everyone chips in and feels respected, gender irrelevant.”

Jan volunteered with Young Enterprise – HSBC’s scheme back then – before landing a paid role as Humberside Manager. There, she ran programmes from primary schools to graduates, matching business volunteers to teams of Students and watching “non-academic” pupils shine, much like FEO’s NxGen does today. “FEO feels like the ‘grown up’ version of Young Enterprise,” she says, seeing a clear thread from early enterprise education to the entrepreneurial ecosystem she now helps to steer.

The Passion That Bleeds FEO

Jan is so committed to FEO that, as colleagues say, if she had a cut, she would “bleed FEO”. She treats the organisation as if it were her own business and has the utmost respect for anyone who has taken financial and personal risks to start a business. Now, members regularly pick up the phone to Jan when they have a problem, and she quietly matches them with peers who’ve faced the same issue - from cash flow and people challenges to growing pains. She loves being able to help when a member calls, about an issue they feel is beyond their control. Jan has the inside knowledge to connect them with someone who offers practical support – and sometimes tough love - that shows there is a way through.

Entrepreneurs’ biggest hurdles remain timeless – money, people and attitude - and FEO’s programmes are built around those realities. For example, Unleashing the Entrepreneur empowers employees to step up, whilst Step Change supports founders to lead more confidently whilst ‘letting go to grow’ and scale sustainably.

FEO seeks mature, experienced members with time to help others, and Jan is the first person a potential new member will meet to discuss whether or not FEO is the right organisation to join. “FEO is not a business referral group. Instead, our members contribute and volunteer their time to ‘give back’ ” That clarity of purpose keeps the culture focused on giving, not getting.

Intrinsic Value to Hull’s Entrepreneurs

From FEO’s origins - sparked by David Kilburn, Andrew Horncastle, David Hall, Jonathan Elvidge, Thomas Martin and other successful local entrepreneurs - to fill support gaps, starting with the Ignition programme for start-ups, Jan has been there to help and encourage members as they created and evolved additional programmes such as 360, Step Change, End Games and Unleashing, alongside members’ needs. Plus, FEO NxGen ignites sparks in school students, sometimes providing role models where none currently exist. “Schools are surprised how pupils who struggle academically come alive.”

Thank You for Creating FEO’s Magnetic Force

Jan’s intrinsic value is FEO’s “magnetic pull” - a community where over 220 members support each other, form friendships and lead peer to peer programmes for the community interest company to remain relevant. In challenging times, as members thrive or adapt, Jan remains the steady guide, quietly holding the network together. Successful entrepreneurs, in her view? “They never give up.” Even failures pivot to success when resilience is present.

Thank you, Jan, for being the heart of FEO. Your experience, passion and quiet matchmaking make Hull’s entrepreneurial ecosystem stronger. Members are lucky to have you – and so are Hull and East Yorkshire.