Kelsey Ramsden

Kelsey Ramsden
Born (1976-07-12) July 12, 1976
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Residence London, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Occupation Founder of SparkPlay
Founder of kelseyramsden.com
Spouse(s) Andrew Ramsden

Kelsey Ramsden (born July 12, 1976) is a Canadian entrepreneur. She is the founder of kelseyramsden.com, a business services firm and SparkPlay, a children’s subscription company. In 2005, she founded Belvedere Place Development, a construction firm and Tallus Ridge Development, a residential project management company both located in Kelowna, British Columbia.[1] Profit Magazine named her Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneur 2 years in a row (2012 & 2013).[2][3] Featured in best selling books and magazines from Forbes to Canadian Business as well as via various media outlets, she is sought after as a keynote speaker and for comment due to her unique and candid perspective on current events in business, leadership, management and entrepreneurship.

Early Life and Education

Ramsden was born in 1976 in Kelowna, British Columbia, the daughter of Bruce Kitsch and Esther Kitsch. Her father is an entrepreneur and has had business interests in construction, a restaurant and waterslides.[4] Her mother was a homemaker before becoming an entrepreneur in the gift and commercial cleaning industries. Her only sibling, brother Trent Kitsch is also an entrepreneur, founding SAXX Underwear.[5]

Ramsden attended Kelowna Senior Secondary High School where she was the captain of the senior sports teams including field hockey and rugby. She also participated in swimming and softball. She was voted “Class Clown” at her high school graduation.

Ramsden completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria. She went on to do her MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 2002.[6] She co-chaired seven student organizations and sat on the Senate while also completing her MBA. Upon graduation she received the MBAA Outstanding Contribution Award, an award for which she was nominated by her classmates.

Business career

kelseyramsden.com

Ramsden founded kelseyramsden.com in 2013 providing coaching and other services for businesses of various types and sizes.[7]

Speaking Events

In 2013, Ramsden became represented by the National Speakers Bureau of Canada.[8] Ramsden gives numerous speeches on the topics of leadership, failure, women in business, entrepreneurship, innovation and cancer survival.[9]

Ramsden has spoken for several different events and organizations including TEDx, DELL, Global Entrepreneurship Congress - Moscow, London Children's Health Foundation, University of Victoria, Ivey Business School, Rogers Media, Profit Magazine, Women's Executive Network and Business Development Bank of Canada.[10]

SparkPlay

In 2012, Ramsden founded SparkPlay, a children’s monthly subscription service based in London, Ontario.[11]

Belvedere Place Development

In 2005, Ramsden became the President of Belvedere Place Development, a civil construction firm based in Kelowna, British Columbia.[12]

Tallus Ridge Development

In 2005, Ramsden founded Tallus Ridge Development, a residential project management company in Kelowna, British Columbia.[12]

Other Work

Ramsden is currently a member of the Entrepreneurship Advisory Council at the Richard Ivey School of Business.[13] She began working as a Huffington Post Contributor in 2013.[14] Ramsden sits on the Richard Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship as a Mentor.

Personal life

Ramsden was married in 2005 to Andrew Ramsden, with whom she has three children.

Ramsden was diagnosed with cervical cancer, specifically glassy cell carcinoma in 2012. She became a cancer survivor that same year.[15]

Ramsden relocated to London, Ontario in 2009 to be closer to her husband’s business. This is where she began her latest business venture, SparkPlay. She hired management for her two ventures in Kelowna, British Columbia: Belvedere Place Development and Tallus Ridge Development.[16]

Awards and Recognition

Ramsden became a part of Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network in March 2014. She is ranked among the top 200 women entrepreneur's globally.[17]

Ramsden has been ranked 1st in PROFIT Magazine’s W100 ranking of Canada's Top Female Entrepreneurs in 2012 & 2013.[3][18] She was featured in Profit's W100 November 2013 issue with an article: "The Time-Management Secrets of Canada's Top Female Entrepreneur." [19]

In December 2013, Ramsden was named one of Canadas 100 Most Powerful Women.[20]

In November 2013, Ramsden was recognized as one of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women.[19] She was one of two Canadian entrepreneurs recognized for this award.

In October 2013, Ramsden made an appearance on The Lang and O'Leary Exchange to speak about bullying in business.[21]

In September 2013, Ramsden was featured on the cover of FORUM Magazine.[22]

In 2011, she was ranked 12th in PROFIT Magazine's W100 ranking.

In 2010, she was ranked among Top 25 under 35 by Canadian Business Magazine.

Belvedere Place Development, one of her ventures, was ranked among top 100 in the PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies in 2009.

References

  1. ↑ "Kelsey Ramsden". Canadian Business. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Beaton, Eleanor. "Different Dirt (W100 Profile)". Profit Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Canada's Top Female Entrepreneurs for 2013". Profit Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Top woman entrepreneur" (PDF). The Daily Courier. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "SAXX Underwear About Us". Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Advisory Council - Ivey Institute for Entrepreneurship". Ivey Business School. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Kelsey Ramsden". Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "National Speaker's Bureau Kelsey Ramsden". NSB. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "NSB.com". |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  10. ↑ "Events and Speaking". Kelsey Ramsden. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "SparkPlay - Kelsey Ramsden". SparkPlay. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  12. 1 2 "Kelsey Ramsden". Canadian Business. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Advisory Council - Ivey Institute for Entrepreneurship". Ivey School of Business. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Kelsey Ramsden". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Run for Ovarian Cancer". London Community News. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "10 inspiring success stories from top female entrepreneurs". Chatelaine. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network". Dell. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  18. ↑ Beaton, Eleanor. "Different Dirt (W100 profile)". Profit Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  19. 1 2 Aarts, Deborah. "The Time-Management Secrets of Canada's Top Female Entrepreneur". Profit Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  20. ↑ "Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100-Current Winners". Woman's Executive Network. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Canada's top female entrepreneur". CBC. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Entrepreneurial Winning Women". Ernst & Young. Retrieved 14 November 2013.


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