Businesswoman turned author will be among guests at first ever Work and Family Show

Jo Kane is a personal and leadership development coach who founded the coaching organisation Trailblazers, which lists Puma and Sky among its clients.

Her book The Suited Hippy – Germaine’s Story, co-written with Seb Adams, is published this month.

It is a fictional story about a high-flyer in a London advertising agency and her journey of transformation through tough challenges with the Suited Hippy at her side.

Jo will be sharing her experience in the Language of Success panel at the Work & Family Show, on Friday and Saturday at the ExCeL in London.

Organisers of the show say it was born from a demand from families in need of help when returning to work or starting their own business.

Jo was the first female board director in a search and selection agency and says she often felt she had to be “one of the boys”, working long hours and putting pressure on herself “to be brilliant”.

She said: “I didn’t realise it then but now looking back I can see that at some deeper level I was continually questioning whether I really deserved to be there.

“On the outside I looked like a success as I had the senior position, the flash car, the big bonuses, but on the inside I felt like a bit of a fraud and I’m certainly not the only female in a leadership role to feel like this.”

She said she eventually “hit a brick wall” and left to explore South America.

After returning home, she discovered she had cancer, which left her unable to have children. But she is now the mum of two young boys, one from adoption and one via surrogacy.

She set up Trailblazers in 2004 and recently launched a one-day coaching event called Femmefilment.

She said: “I wish I could have gone on a programme like this when I was younger as it would have really helped me believe in myself more and gain clarity on what might have been ‘running the show’ at a deeper level. “Perhaps I could have avoided some of those brick walls!”

Employment relations minister Jenny Willott will introduce the show and visitors can hear from inspirational experts and employers on the lookout for motivated staff.

Details are at theworkandfamilyshow.co.uk