News: Dame Julie Kenny, champion of Rotherham business, dies at 67
Dame Julie Kenny DBE DL, one of the Yorkshire region’s most dynamic and respected businesswomen and the champion of Wentworth Woodhouse, has died suddenly at the age of 67.
A mother of three, grandmother of eight, wife to Iain and step-mother to his three children, she died after a short illness on Friday, February 21, at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Her success as a self-made entrepreneur, and the numerous accolades and honorary roles bestowed on her, made her an inspirational figure across every sector she touched.
Dame Julie was down-to-earth but aimed high, smashing through glass ceilings and pulling others through at the same time. She often said that surviving a difficult childhood gave her the motivation to succeed.
Leaving her Sheffield home at 18, Julie travelled to the opposite end of the country and found a job as a junior secretary in a Cornish law firm. Ten years of part time study led to the second career as a lawyer.
Returning to South Yorkshire with a belief in a new security system, Julie set up Pyronix with her then husband in 1986. Becoming a single mother of three on the break-up of her marriage, she grew Pyronix, which is still based at Hellaby in Rotherham, into an award-winning organisation supplying 65 countries. When she sold the company in 2016 its turnover was £25m.
She was awarded a CBE in 2002 for her services to industry in Yorkshire and Humberside and made an Honorary Freewoman of Rotherham in 2021.
Other roles include being the chair of the first academy school in Rotherham at Maltby, taking a commisioner role at Rotherham Council, being the first female president of Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and the second Lady Master Cutler in the history of the Cutlers' Company, and being a High Sherriff for South Yorkshire.
Dame Julie's business acumen was also harnessed with director roles at growing Rotherham companies: AES Engineering; SBD Apparel; and IntelliAM AI.
In recent years it was spearheading work to rescue Wentworth Woodhouse, Rotherham’s Grade I Listed masterpiece, from decay and decline, which she described as "one of the most inspiring, yet hardest, challenges of my life.”
She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2019 in recognition of her five-year campaign with SAVE Britain's Heritage to buy the house in 2017 and her ongoing leadership of Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT).
Tim Cooke, Deputy Chairman of the Trust, said: “Dame Julie Kenny and Wentworth Woodhouse became synonymous with one another. Her personal impact on the house has been enormous.
“Julie chaired the board of trustees and committed her time and numerous talents on a daily basis. It would be nowhere near its current status without her.
“Everyone involved - employees, volunteers, trustees and patrons - will feel her loss very keenly. Our best way of remembering Julie is to continue our work on the house that she loved so much, and which is a monument to her remarkable personality and capabilities.”
Rotherham MP and Defence Secretary John Healey MP, who had known and worked closely with Dame Julie for nearly 30 years, paid tribute. “Julie was a truly remarkable woman who was proud of her roots and wanted to make life better for others,” he said.
“I first met her when I visited her Pyronix factory. She knew all her staff and they adored her.
“Over three decades, Julie took on a list of public life roles as long as your arm - at local, regional and national levels. She took on challenges others would shy away from, with a commitment that was always total.
“She became President of the Rotherham Chamber of Commerce to rescue it from the brink of bankruptcy and rebuild it into one of the country’s leading chambers.
“She became Trust director of Doncaster Children’s Services when the Government took it out of the council’s hands and in 2010 became Chair of Yorkshire Forward to wind it up after a change in government.
“She brought brilliant business insight, plain common sense and a warm personal touch to every organisation, and she inspired those she worked with to achieve more.
“Julie’s sudden untimely death leaves a massive gap in the lives of so many of us who knew her and public life is now so much poorer without her.”
Carrie Sudbury, Chief Executive, Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber said: “Julie will be remembered as a progressive visionary who brought out the very best in everyone she met. She will be fondly remembered by many in the Chamber community for her tireless work, drive and sheer will to succeed, often against all the odds. My thoughts and sympathies are with her family and loved ones during this sad time.
“From the very beginning of her business career, Julie didn’t just break through glass ceilings; she smashed them, often in her own inimitable way. She was proof that with drive, energy and self-belief that anything could be possible.
“Julie always brought out the best in the people she met. She was a source of inspiration, guidance and support, particularly when it came to nurturing the talents of women in business, always on hand to help those who followed in her footsteps and she will be greatly missed.
“Perhaps her true legacy isn’t just in the business success she achieved during her lifetime, nor in the good causes she passionately supported, or even in the transformational projects she delivered which played such key roles in reshaping South Yorkshire. She will be remembered for the lives she changed, the opportunities she created and the belief that anything can be possible, which she inspired in so many.
"Her leadership and dedication to making South Yorkshire a better place to live and work were inspirational. From founding Pyronix and growing it into a globally recognised company to her tireless efforts in preserving Wentworth Woodhouse, Dame Julie’s contributions to our region leave an enduring legacy in Rotherham and beyond.
"Dame Julie’s passing is a profound loss to the Rotherham and wider South Yorkshire business community. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and all who knew her."
Images: WWPT
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A mother of three, grandmother of eight, wife to Iain and step-mother to his three children, she died after a short illness on Friday, February 21, at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Her success as a self-made entrepreneur, and the numerous accolades and honorary roles bestowed on her, made her an inspirational figure across every sector she touched.
Dame Julie was down-to-earth but aimed high, smashing through glass ceilings and pulling others through at the same time. She often said that surviving a difficult childhood gave her the motivation to succeed.
Leaving her Sheffield home at 18, Julie travelled to the opposite end of the country and found a job as a junior secretary in a Cornish law firm. Ten years of part time study led to the second career as a lawyer.
Returning to South Yorkshire with a belief in a new security system, Julie set up Pyronix with her then husband in 1986. Becoming a single mother of three on the break-up of her marriage, she grew Pyronix, which is still based at Hellaby in Rotherham, into an award-winning organisation supplying 65 countries. When she sold the company in 2016 its turnover was £25m.
She was awarded a CBE in 2002 for her services to industry in Yorkshire and Humberside and made an Honorary Freewoman of Rotherham in 2021.
Other roles include being the chair of the first academy school in Rotherham at Maltby, taking a commisioner role at Rotherham Council, being the first female president of Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and the second Lady Master Cutler in the history of the Cutlers' Company, and being a High Sherriff for South Yorkshire.
Dame Julie's business acumen was also harnessed with director roles at growing Rotherham companies: AES Engineering; SBD Apparel; and IntelliAM AI.
In recent years it was spearheading work to rescue Wentworth Woodhouse, Rotherham’s Grade I Listed masterpiece, from decay and decline, which she described as "one of the most inspiring, yet hardest, challenges of my life.”
She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2019 in recognition of her five-year campaign with SAVE Britain's Heritage to buy the house in 2017 and her ongoing leadership of Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT).
Tim Cooke, Deputy Chairman of the Trust, said: “Dame Julie Kenny and Wentworth Woodhouse became synonymous with one another. Her personal impact on the house has been enormous.
“Julie chaired the board of trustees and committed her time and numerous talents on a daily basis. It would be nowhere near its current status without her.
“Everyone involved - employees, volunteers, trustees and patrons - will feel her loss very keenly. Our best way of remembering Julie is to continue our work on the house that she loved so much, and which is a monument to her remarkable personality and capabilities.”
Rotherham MP and Defence Secretary John Healey MP, who had known and worked closely with Dame Julie for nearly 30 years, paid tribute. “Julie was a truly remarkable woman who was proud of her roots and wanted to make life better for others,” he said.
“I first met her when I visited her Pyronix factory. She knew all her staff and they adored her.
“Over three decades, Julie took on a list of public life roles as long as your arm - at local, regional and national levels. She took on challenges others would shy away from, with a commitment that was always total.
“She became President of the Rotherham Chamber of Commerce to rescue it from the brink of bankruptcy and rebuild it into one of the country’s leading chambers.
“She became Trust director of Doncaster Children’s Services when the Government took it out of the council’s hands and in 2010 became Chair of Yorkshire Forward to wind it up after a change in government.
“She brought brilliant business insight, plain common sense and a warm personal touch to every organisation, and she inspired those she worked with to achieve more.
“Julie’s sudden untimely death leaves a massive gap in the lives of so many of us who knew her and public life is now so much poorer without her.”
Carrie Sudbury, Chief Executive, Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber said: “Julie will be remembered as a progressive visionary who brought out the very best in everyone she met. She will be fondly remembered by many in the Chamber community for her tireless work, drive and sheer will to succeed, often against all the odds. My thoughts and sympathies are with her family and loved ones during this sad time.
“From the very beginning of her business career, Julie didn’t just break through glass ceilings; she smashed them, often in her own inimitable way. She was proof that with drive, energy and self-belief that anything could be possible.
“Julie always brought out the best in the people she met. She was a source of inspiration, guidance and support, particularly when it came to nurturing the talents of women in business, always on hand to help those who followed in her footsteps and she will be greatly missed.
“Perhaps her true legacy isn’t just in the business success she achieved during her lifetime, nor in the good causes she passionately supported, or even in the transformational projects she delivered which played such key roles in reshaping South Yorkshire. She will be remembered for the lives she changed, the opportunities she created and the belief that anything can be possible, which she inspired in so many.
"Her leadership and dedication to making South Yorkshire a better place to live and work were inspirational. From founding Pyronix and growing it into a globally recognised company to her tireless efforts in preserving Wentworth Woodhouse, Dame Julie’s contributions to our region leave an enduring legacy in Rotherham and beyond.
"Dame Julie’s passing is a profound loss to the Rotherham and wider South Yorkshire business community. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and all who knew her."
Images: WWPT
