Diana Boulter
Born in London, Diana obtained a Double Honours Degree in French and Italian from the University of Exeter then applied her skills as a multi-lingual Tour Director working throughout Europe. She later worked in London for a global investment firm handling mergers and acquisitions for high-tech and skincare firms. She was then tempted back into travel by a bespoke travel company organising tailor-made holidays in France and Italy. A unique opportunity led to a role working for a British aristocrat and running a stately home in Suffolk. Diana later joined the sales team of a speaker-booking agency in London.
Diana founded DBA Speakers in 1995 in response to requests from clients and speakers. She is renowned for personalised attention to detail, care of her speakers and clients, and her address book is legendary….
She is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers. She volunteers at the North Hampshire Repair Café where she repairs textiles and soft toys. A keen amateur gardener, Diana successfully completed the new RHS Practical Courses at both Levels 2 and 3. Her current project is to enhance and transform her own garden, and she works on gardens for a small number of private clients in her spare time. Unsurprisingly, she books the guest speakers for the growing Gardening Club in her village.
Diana and her husband Simon Stacey live in Hampshire. Simon runs a company supplying props to the film and TV industry – www.handlesetcetera.com. They recently adopted an elderly, abandoned, tabby cat: the new feline joins their two British Shorthair cats. Diana enjoys cooking, travel (especially India, Italy and South Wales), gardening, more gardening, and writing.
Maxine Dunnage
Born in London, Maxine has enjoyed a wide-ranging professional career. She worked in the NHS as a foot hygienist, then curated displays of tropical plants in leading hotels. Aged 25, she returned to college to train full-time as a beauty therapist and worked in professional salons for 15 years. Her interest in plants led to becoming PA to the international garden photographer Nicola Stocken, whom she regularly accompanied to RHS Wisley and the Flower Shows at Chelsea and Hampton Court.
Maxine joined DBA in 2011 and she is our database expert. With her partner, Peter, she has a daughter Olivia and two guinea pigs. Maxine is a mine of information on films and music … unsurprising, when you know that her Dad was the drummer for Ronnie Wood’s brother.