Meet Catherine Bond Muir, CEO of W Series
Catherine Bond Muir is the CEO of W Series, a free-to-enter championship launched in October 2018 that provides equal opportunities for women and eliminates the financial barriers that have historically prevented them from progressing into the upper echelons of motorsport.
W Series mission is to create an inclusive environment where the championships are won by the best performing athletes and not the wealthiest ones. The aim is to create as many female role models as possible to motivate and inspire young girls to join motorsports.
The central idea of the W Series is that if you believe it, you can do it.
Catherine Bond Muir tells us about the W Series and her entrepreneurial journey:
“W Series came about when I was looking for a new challenge after having taken a career break to have my first and only child. I had started my professional life as an intellectual property solicitor before moving into corporate finance, where I worked on sports and gaming deals, such as the sale of Chelsea FC to Roman Abramovich and the acquisition of Aston Villa by Randy Lerner.
As a lifelong motorsport fan with treasured childhood memories of watching James Hunt racing on the television, I saw very few female drivers competing in the top levels of motorsport, and I wanted to do something to address it. This was at a time – around 2017 – when other women’s sports were enjoying a boom in popularity, so it seemed only right that female racing drivers should benefit from that kind of exposure.
It has now been more than 46 years since a woman competed in Formula 1, and it is W Series’ mission to change this. Initially, many people – including friends – told me W Series couldn’t be done, but after we secured the money, it began to take on a momentum of its own.
If there’s something wrong, you’ve got to change the paradigm, and W Series was a complete landscape change. This year our partnership with Formula 1 saw us race in support of eight Grands Prix, putting our talented female drivers on a global platform. I am very proud of what we have achieved in our three years’ existence and thrilled to see W Series’ mission gaining momentum as it reaches an ever-growing fanbase.”
Join our Community of exceptional entrepreneurs and share your story with us!
