Susie Wolff

Susie Wolff is a former Formula One driver and the Founder and Managing Director of F1 Academy, the all-female racing series backed by Formula One that is developing the next generation of women in motorsport. She made history in 2014 as the first woman in over two decades to take part in a Formula One race weekend and later served as CEO of Venturi Racing in Formula E, before launching F1 Academy in 2023 with support from all 10 F1 teams. Named an MBE in 2017 and recognised as a 2026 CNBC Changemaker, Susie has built a commercially sustainable model through partnerships with global brands, ensuring talent rather than funding determines opportunity. Her sessions equip leaders with strategies for challenging industry norms, building high-performance teams, and creating pathways for underrepresented talent through resilience and commercial innovation.

At just 13 years old, Susie Wolff earned the title of British Kart Racing Driver of the Year, setting in motion a career that would see her not only compete at the highest levels of motorsport but ultimately reshape its future. A former Formula One driver, she made history in 2014 as the first woman in over two decades to take part in a Formula One race weekend, driving in practice sessions at both the British and German Grands Prix. Today, as Founder and Managing Director of F1 Academy, the all-female racing series backed by Formula One, she has built a platform that addresses the structural barriers preventing talented female drivers from reaching motorsport's elite tier, ensuring progression is determined by ability rather than personal funding.

Susie's competitive journey took her through Formula Renault and British Formula 3 before she spent several years racing in the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) with Mercedes-Benz. In 2012, she joined the Williams F1 Team as a development driver, a role that positioned her at the heart of Formula One's technical and competitive environment. After retiring from racing in 2015, she transitioned into leadership as Team Principal and later CEO of Venturi Racing in the FIA Formula E World Championship, where the team achieved its best-ever results under her guidance. In 2016, she co-founded Dare to Be Different, a not-for-profit initiative that later became part of the FIA's Girls on Track programme. Named an MBE in 2017 for her services to women in sport and recognised as a 2026 CNBC Changemaker, Susie launched F1 Academy in 2023 with the backing of all 10 F1 teams, establishing a sustainable business model that has since attracted global sponsorship from brands including Charlotte Tilbury, American Express, Gatorade, TAG Heuer, Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, Lego, and Morgan Stanley. Her memoir, Driven, released in 2025, was shortlisted for the 2026 Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards and will be published in the United States in 2026.

Since its founding, F1 Academy has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in subsidies for young female drivers worldwide, with races now broadcast in over 170 territories and expansion into new markets including China and Canada. In 2025, the series became the second-most followed motorsport championship globally after Formula One itself, according to the Global F1 Fan Survey, and the Netflix docuseries F1: The Academy, produced with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, brought the drivers' stories to a worldwide audience. The new Cadillac F1 team confirmed its participation from 2027, reinforcing the series' role as a critical pathway for emerging talent. In her speaking work, Susie draws on her experience competing under pressure and leading commercial innovation in a traditionally male-dominated industry. She equips leaders with practical strategies for building high-performance teams, challenging industry norms, and creating sustainable pathways for underrepresented talent through resilience, strategic thinking, and a clear focus on measurable outcomes.