RUTH Badger survived several brushes with serial entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar in BBC2's hit TV series of the year, The Apprentice.
But she will be assured a much warmer welcome as guest speaker at this month's Liverpool ECHO Enterprise Champions Awards, when she shares her experiences at our spectacular finale in the Albert Dock's Pan Am bar and restaurant.
Ruth, 27, forged a formidable reputation as a turbo-charged saleswoman and no-nonsense opponent during the show's run, which culminated in her pushing eventual winner Michelle Dew-berry every step of the way.
She is a classic self-made winner and will be tremendous inspiration for the short-listed finalists in our fifth annual Enterprise Champions competition.
After dropping out of full time education at 16 to join a YTS scheme, she got her break with a financial services company, inspired her underachieving team to new heights and was hailed Employee of the Year.
Moving to a new firm, she drove sales and profits ever upwards and helped the company float on the Aim stock market, before quitting to take her chances with the irascible Sir Alan on The Apprentice.
Ruth said awards like Enterprise Champions fulfil a vital role for burgeoning business talents: "The biggest accolade I receivedwasn't anything to do with money, it was recognition."
