Business Age concurs, naming Lucy as “one of the 10 women changing the direction of British business”. In fact, Lucy’s wide range of experience and her 360º perspective on business issues have seen her published and quoted in an array of journals, from the FT to the Wall Street Journal to Newsweek. 

So, what does she do? And more to the point, what makes her so special?

Following stints in government, software and the internet, Lucy set up Marcus Venture Consulting in 1999. Aiming to help investment firms become ‘smart money’ in an increasingly cut-throat climate, she flew in the face of the received wisdom of the time, which suggested VCs didn’t want, or even need advice. As the spectacular bursting of the dot-com bubble and its continuing aftershocks have unequivocally proved though, straight-talkers like Lucy were in fact bang on the money all along. 

In March 2000 Lucy founded HighTech Women, an on and off line mentoring and meeting place for women in technology related businesses. Born from a single e-mail to a handful of friends and colleagues, the forum now boasts over 2,000 members worldwide. Proof positive of Lucy’s belief that: “HighTech Women was something that had to be done: I kept going to conferences and being one of four women in a roomful of 200 CEOs. I found that I'd meet the most interesting people in the ladies' room!”  

Lucy also sits on several boards, among them Cambridge University Business School’s the Judge Institute of Management Studies Advisory Board and the Advisory Board of the Asian University for Women.  

A gifted and memorable presenter, Lucy’s ‘go-ahead’, open style inspires and enlightens in equal measure. She speaks with authority, clarity and experience on a wealth of topics, such as Women in Business, Entrepreneurship and Leadership to name but a few. Whatever she’s addressing though, one philosophy underpins her message: get to the roots of an issue, understand it and find ways to deal with it.  

Simply put, the Lucy Marcus take on business is one that audiences not only respect, but one they can also act upon. In her own words: “My job is like being a metal detector on a beach - finding the gem, the essence of anything, is so exciting. It's the Hegelian way of looking at things… to find what existed before and what exists now, and then pull that together into what's going to happen next.”