Lindsey Fealey. Founder CANCERactive.
CEO CANCER active 2002 - 2007
After leaving Rickmansworth Grammar School in the mid 1970’s, Lindsey entered further education choosing Business Studies with finance and law.
A career that spans over three decades, Lindsey has enjoyed the benefits of working for a number of organisations, and gained a wealth of experience in Logistics, Sales and Marketing. Her first position was with The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London arranging International Conferences. Then moving on to IPC Media (now a Time Warner company), Amersham International (the world leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences) and Oral-B (who helped The Gillette Company become the worldwide leader in both the manual and power toothbrush markets).
She then spent nearly eighteen years with Interface Inc. the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in the world. In addition, Interface is a leader in industrial ecology. With the vision of becoming the world’s first environmentally restorative company by 2020, Interface is pioneering management and manufacturing processes that will achieve this goal. Lindsey recalls how, Ray Anderson, then CEO and founder of Interface, addressed his management team concerned about the detrimental effect that his business was having on the environment. He made Lindsey aware that we should all be concerned about ’Tomorrow’s child’. She began to realise that she wanted to "put something back into society and make the world a better place for this and future generations to live in". Her problem was how? And she knew marketing Interface carpet tiles wasn’t the way.
Early in 2002 Lindsey took the difficult decision to leave Interface. She set up her own PR and Event Management company. Then soon afterwards, she received a phone call from her cousin, Chris Woollams. Her life changed again. "As a family, we had all been shocked to learn how Catherine, Chris’ eldest daughter had been diagnosed with a life threatening brain tumour. When Chris told me that he had written a book as the guide for people who have cancer and everyone who wants to prevent it and had the idea for a magazine on the same line, I knew this was the calling I had been waiting for".
Lindsey has dedicated the last two years to setting up and running Health Issues and icon magazine with Chris. She speaks with cancer sufferers and their supporters each day from the office set up within the grounds of her home. She has been instrumental in the founding and set up of CANCERactive. She, like Chris, is determined to make CANCERactive Britain’s number 1 Prevention charity. Her personal aim to is ensure all children are educated in the ways to prevent cancer and the need to improve their lifestyle through diet, nutrition and exercise. Although still a Trustee of the charity, Lindsey is now using her expertise to help a local hospice to acheive their financial needs and as such has stopped working with the charity on a day to day basis.
Lindsey is married with four sons, the eldest, James is 26 (just a few months older than Catherine) and the youngest, and William aged 15. Her stepsons Richard and Matthew fit in the middle of the age span! "My husband Patrick and I have always wanted the best education possible for the boys" she recalls. "By James winning a scholarship to Stowe school, we have experienced the pro’s and con’s of both state and private education". Lindsey has an excellent insight into the merits of both ’systems’. She has enjoyed two terms of office as school governor ranging from Key Stages 1 through 4. The second term, within the local secondary school, where over 1000 pupils receive an excellent and broad education maximising their opportunities and reaching their full potential before going on, in many cases, to further education.
Lindsey is an active member of the Buckingham Rotary Club, which she joined as their first lady member. She is now chairman of their Youth Activities committee and playing a key role in development of the policies for Youth locally and supporting the International Rotary commitments and in 2006 she was President.
Although somewhat on the ’back burner’ Lindsey still has her PR and Event Management company. She occasionally organises conferences and management training programmes for organisations including the British Society of Integrated Medicine (BSIM). In her spare time, Lindsey enjoys listening to music, entertaining friends and spending time with her family.
Lindsey now works for a Hospice in Buckingham, but will always have a special place in our hearts.