Dame Stephanie Shirley
Stephanie boarded the Kindertransport from Vienna to London at age five in 1939, then in 1962 built a software company from her dining table — staffed almost entirely by women working from home — that reached a valuation of $3 billion and made more than 70 of its staff millionaires. She gave away nearly £70 million before her death in August 2025.
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Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley: Technology, Innovation & Changing the Future of Work
Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley is a pioneering figure in technology whose career challenged traditional ideas about software companies and workplace culture. In 1962, she founded Freelance Programmers, a software firm built around innovative practices and a workforce that was primarily women. Her story reflects a commitment to creating opportunities, supporting others, and using technology as…
Dame Stephanie Shirley
Tammy Coron