Hilary Devey gained her wealth of experience in the distribution sector, having worked at Littlewood’s, followed by Tibbett and Britten, and Scorpio (part of the United Carrier network). She then spent seven years in the retail distribution sector at TNT before leaving to set up her own business.

Setting up her business Hilary had to tackle incredible odds and face untold hardships.   Her business concept was completely new - untried and untested. Bankers refused to back her proposed venture and she was forced to sell her house, and downgrade her car to fund its start up. 

She faced these difficult decisions with true entrepreneurial spirit. A very difficult decision for anyone let alone a single mother, she handled them head on. Many would have given up but Hilary persisted, knowing that her idea simply had to work.  After all it was she who was solely responsible for providing a home and a specialist education for her dyslexic son.

Massive obstacles lay ahead but Hilary managed to overcome every one of them. Today, as Chief Executive of the UK’s No. 1 palletised freight distribution network, Hilary is an inspirational role model for both male and female entrepreneurs. Having started from nothing, she now leads a network of businesses which boasts a combined turnover approaching £100m and serves numerous blue chip customers.

Hilary campaigns tirelessly for her chosen charities including The Princess Royal Trust for Carers for whom she became a patron in 2007. She generously donates one penny for each pallet distributed to her charity, through her innovative ‘Penny a Pallet’ scheme.

She is hugely inspiring and her speeches demonstrate that the skills learned as daughter, wife and mother can indeed be seamlessly transferred to the Boardroom.  She is also passionate about enticing females into the type of jobs which they often do not believe they are capable of.
In December, 2006, Hilary was invited to a reception held at Buckingham Palace by HM The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, to recognise people who had made a significant contribution to local or national life. 

 Hilary’s triumphs include such prestigious awards as the 2007 Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur Award and the Natwest Everywoman of the Year in 2008, not to mention being Vitalise Business Woman of the Year twice – in 2004 and 2008.

Her appearance on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire programme in 2008 gained wide national and international acclaim. The show saw Hilary return to her North West roots to go undercover as a barmaid in Rochdale. Once there, she discovered a number of worthwhile projects including a local community centre that’s hit a funding crisis and an innovative music project keeping kids off the street.

Hilary’s 22 year old son, Mevlit, is still in recovery from a heroin addiction that blighted his teenage years.