- Ellie Wilson, who graduated with a BSc Business and Spanish degree, is the co-founder of Virtalent
- The 35 Women Under 35 list aims to champion successful women in senior leadership positions
- It highlights those who have made a significant impact across all areas of the business world.
An Aston University alumna, Ellie Wilson, has made Management Today's 2023 list of successful and accomplished women aged under 35.
The 35 Women Under 35 list aims to champion successful women in senior leadership positions who have made a significant impact across all areas of the business world.
After graduating from Aston University in 2014 with a BSc International Business and Spanish degree, Ellie launched a virtual assistant service, Virtalent, with the support of Birmingham Skills for Enterprise and Employability Network (BSEEN). BSEEN offers Aston University students and recent graduates a package of support to kick start their new ventures in Birmingham.
At the age of 22, she set out to champion female talent and provide personal assistance and marketing support to business owners.
Ellie saw a big problem in the business world, where talented women lose out on leadership positions because of their life choices or circumstances. She created a way to match them with long-term clients, ensuring fair wages, a sense of community, flexibility and fully remote working. Virtalent also offers mental health support for all team members which includes access to counselling, financial advice and wellbeing courses.
Ellie’s team has grown to 200 women who, for many reasons, are unable to enter the workforce in the traditional sense, such as stay-at-home mothers, military spouses, carers or retirees. Virtalent has achieved growth of over 368% over the last two years.
Ellie said:
“I'm thrilled and honoured to be featured on this prestigious list among such incredible women like Stella McCartney, Martha Lane Fox and Karen Blackett.
“Helping more women realise they can go after their dreams gets me out of bed in the morning, so this win is for everyone contributing to making real change.
“Seeing progress for women with fewer opportunities means a lot to me. I'm grateful and excited for the future.
“This is just the start.”
Carolyn Keenan, project manager of BSEEN at Aston University, said:
“Ellie was passionate about championing female talent right from the start and wanted to provide personal assistance and marketing support to business owners.
“Virtalent has professionalised the rise of flexible working arrangements during and post-pandemic, which has led to a 368% growth over the last two years.
“We at BSEEN are extremely proud of Ellie’s achievement.”
- Notes to Editors
About Aston University
Founded in 1895 and a university since 1966, Aston is a long established university led by its three main beneficiary groups – students, business and the professions, and the West Midlands region and wider society. Located in Birmingham at the heart of a vibrant city, the campus houses all the University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our students. Professor Aleks Subic is the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive.
Aston University is ranked 22nd in the UK in the Guardian University Guide, based on measures including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects. The Aston Business School MBA programme was ranked in the top 100 in the world in the Economist MBA 2021 ranking.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Sam Cook, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44)7446 910063 or email: s.cook2@aston.ac.uk
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