How To Chase Your Dreams Without Fear Holding You Back with Fran Millar

6 snips

Feb 8, 2021

Fran Millar, the CEO of Belstaff and former head of Team INEOS, shares her incredible journey through the male-dominated cycling industry. She discusses the importance of embracing confidence as a woman in leadership roles while navigating career transitions. Fran reflects on the emotional complexities of teamwork and the need for a supportive culture amid competition. The conversation takes a deeper turn as she emphasizes living authentically and prioritizing meaningful experiences over wealth, inspired by personal challenges in life and health.

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ANECDOTE

David Millar's Doping Scandal

Fran Millar's brother, David Millar, a talented cyclist, was drawn into the world of professional cycling.
The sport's pervasive doping culture ultimately damaged him emotionally and mentally.

INSIGHT

The Pressure to Dope

Doping was rampant in cycling during David Millar's early career, creating a culture of pressure to cheat.
He initially resisted but succumbed to the pressure, leading to his arrest and public shaming.

ANECDOTE

The Difficult Woman

Fran Millar embraces being a "difficult woman," challenging traditional expectations of women in business.
She encourages young women to be assertive and authentic, even if it means facing criticism.

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My guest this week is an inspiring woman and a brilliant leader, Fran Millar. Fran was recently appointed CEO of the UK fashion brand, Belstaff. Prior to Belstaff, Fran was the former CEO of Team INEOS (formerly Team Sky), the world famous cycling team. Fran led the development of the team’s operational and governance systems alongside all of the business and engagement strategies. Fran has been with team INEOS from the very beginning and during this time she has played a key role in the successes and gained considerable experience in all areas of the team.

She previously held a dual role as both Director of Business Operations and Head of Winning Behaviours at Team Sky. Returning to head up all the team’s ‘off bike’ functions in 2015, her responsibilities included overseeing the team’s marketing and communications strategy, stakeholder management, and all the commercial and legal aspects that come with running the world’s number one cycling team. Fran worked alongside the incomparable Sir Dave Brailsford for over a decade, as well as leading sports psychiatrist, professor Steve Peters.

Prior to working at Team Sky, Fran set-up and ran her own successful athlete and event management agency for 7 years, initially representing her brother, David Millar and going on to represent some of the UK’s highest profile cyclists, including 2011 Sports Personality of the Year winner Mark Cavendish and 2018 Tour de France winner and 2018 Sports Personality of the Year winner, Geraint Thomas. During her career in cycling, Fran had to deal with some tough challenges including getting caught up in tan infamous doping scandal that involved her pro cyclist brother David.

Fran’s story is a fascinating one, one that has twists and turns, one that would have left a lot of people behind but not Fran. Fran is tough, she’s tenacious, she’s inspiring.