Dawn Gibbins

Dawn Gibbins MBE is a British entrepreneur who started commercial and industrial flooring company Flowcrete in 1982 in south Cheshire, England, with her late father, Peter Gibbins. She oversaw its international and domestic growth, covering 30 offices worldwide and 12 manufacturing sites in the UK, Asia, Sweden, Belgium, South Africa, US and Brazil. Flowcrete was sold to New York Stock Exchange listed company RPM in April 2008.

Since the sale, Gibbins has launched a flooring business aimed at homes, Barefoot Living, based in Congleton, South Cheshire, England, along with a social enterprise Barefoot Feng Shui. Gibbins is a keen feng shui practitioner, and sees that the clear, uncluttered philosophy supports a holistic approach to UK lifestyles, both in the home and in business.

Secret Millionaire

Gibbins was featured in a 2009 episode[1] of the Secret Millionaire Channel 4 TV series, donating £250,000 to three Bristol-based charities. Gibbins states that the experience of spending 8 days living amongst those in need "changed her life".[2] Charities that received donations at the end of the program were 'The One25 Project', a charity that seeks to enable women who are abused and trapped in a life of street sex-work, the 'Wild Goose Café' who feed and care for the homeless, sex workers and those battling addiction and the 'Teenage Parents Project' who offer support and guidance to young parents.

In 2010 Gibbins returned to Bristol to film The Secret Millionaire Changed My Life, a follow up to the original broadcast. In the program, broadcast on 11 January 2011, Gibbins explained that her experience working with her supported charities had literally changed her life. Talking about the £125,000 donation to the Wild Goose Café, Gibbins explained that she found Assistant Manager Lisa Mannion's 'dream' compelling and she 'wanted to make this girl's dream come true'.[3]

Awards

Her career achievements include the award of an honorary doctorate from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2004, the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year accolade in 2003 and an MBE in 1994. She has also been made a ‘Pioneer to the Life of our Nation’ by Her Majesty The Queen in 2004.

References
  1. "The Secret Millionaire: Dawn Gibbins". 4od. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  2. "Appearance on Secret Millionaire inspired me to change direction in life, reveals entrepreneur Dawn Gibbins". Daily Record. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  3. "The Secret Millionaire Changed My Life: Dawn Gibbins". 4od. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.

Further reading
  • David Johnson, "Feng Shui is guiding Dawn into new start", The Sentinel, April 9, 2008
  • Rachel Elnaugh, "Life after the business nightmare",Sunday Telegraph, April 27, 2008
  • Matthew Rock, "Stars of the Stage", Real Business, September 1, 2008
  • Philip Beresford, "Not just business as usual", Management Today, January 1, 2009
  • Patrick O'Neill, "Congleton, the capital of feng shui", Cheshire Life, February 1, 2009
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