After completing her degree in Business Studies and Spanish, Kerrie Eade was promoted to work in New York City and live life in the fast lane as a Vice President in banking in a male dominated industry. She was just 27 years old when she completed her PADI Divemaster in her free time and left the corporate banking world altogether for a career in scuba. Now, a PADI Platinum Course Director and owner of a Five Star Career Development Center, Kerrie is inspiring others to take the plunge to create their best career – especially for women in diving.

Learn how Kerrie Eade Create Her Most Fulfilling Career as a PADI Pro and Business Owner!

Q: Why did you change careers?

A. I grew weary of the toxic corporate culture.

At first everything was great. I was earning fantastic money, working hard and playing hard, wearing heels and sharp suits with a copy of the Financial Times tucked under my arm and feeling like I’d made it in the “city”.  But, the more senior I became, the more things soured at work with toxic culture and cut-throat pursuit to the top no matter what, or who, got in your way.  Everything changed for me when my (female) boss advised me to wear lower cut tops and shorter skirts if I wanted to succeed. 

In the same meeting she also told me that a male colleague and I were competing for a single position. The winner will be promoted while the loser will be made redundant.  The guy I was up against was lovely, with a young family to support. All I had to support was my scuba habit.  Despite my anger, I couldn’t suppress my competitive desire to prove myself. 

At the end of the year my female boss called me into her glass office overlooking Canary Wharf in Docklands, and triumphantly announced I won the promotion.  I smiled calmly and slid my resignation letter across the table. I explained my position, then turned around and walked out.  She was absolutely fuming as it reflected very poorly on her to lose her female protégé. It only made my smile broader.  I congratulated my colleague on his promotion, picked up my things, and left the world of banking behind me.

I wanted to feel excitement each morning on my way to work and I suspected it was through diving. (Spoiler alert – I still get that feeling!)

Q: How did running a small business prepare you for dive shop ownership?

A: I learned how to capitalize on a female niche in a predominantly male industry.

While working as a banker, I noticed an opportunity in construction. I discovered it was hard to find good tradesman. By trial and error, I had hired a series of lazy, poorly skilled tradesmen to do various work in my apartment. I always returned home from work to a mess and shoddy work. I knew I could do it better! My first independent endeavor was to set up “A Woman’s Touch” – the first all-female building company in London.  I employed a team of highly skilled female tilers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians and decorators and we whizzed around London doing small and medium size refurbishment jobs, always leaving our client’s homes clean and tidy for them to return to from work. Being a woman in a male dominated industry wasn’t a disadvantage in the slightest. I managed free publicity from newspapers, radio and TV stations who were fascinated by my story “from riches to painting rags”.  I applied for and won several Female Entrepreneur awards from companies desperate to look like they were supporting the advancement of women!  I ran the company for seven years and expanded it to several UK cities and into Spain, before selling it when I was pregnant with my first child. I didn’t realize it then, but that experience helped prepare me for managing my own scuba team in the future.

After the birth of my second daughter, I decided to uproot the family to Spain for a few years (so they could pick up another language). There, I stumbled upon a gorgeous little dive center that changed my direction completely.  I popped in to get my regulators serviced and book a dive. I pretty much stayed.  I worked as a divemaster, leading dives, conducting DSDs and assisting in training. Then I became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and serviced the increasing number of English-speaking clients we were attracting. 

By the time our family was ready to move back to the UK, I knew working in the diving industry was the place I needed to stay. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a dive shop for sale – Ocean Turtle Diving – only half an hour from my home.

I was determined to be taken seriously and to push Ocean Turtle to achieve what I knew was possible, so I worked my way up the ranks to Course Director, and then Platinum Course Director. I wanted to be a great Course Director with a strong reputation. I was driven to market myself beyond just the confines of Ocean Turtle and the UK so I could work around the world conducting IDCs in some really amazing places, combining my love for travel with the most rewarding job.  I reached Platinum in my first full year of being a Course Director and have managed to stay there every year since.

Q: How is it working now?

A: We’re growing and recruiting more people to fight for our ocean planet.

I’m running an all-female IDC in July 2024 which coincides with PADI Women’s Dive Day. The IDC will be held in Spain and I’ll also be running an women’s divemaster course alongside. 

I’m not some crazily passionate feminist, and I’m not anti-men in the slightest (I employ many, love many, work with many and have even married one, well two actually as the first one didn’t work out!). I believe there should be more women AND more men in the dive industry – we need to grow and recruit more people to fight for our ocean planet.  I just feel that the statistics speak for themselves, and that we will all benefit from giving women a safe route into become a PADI Pro.

Q: What’s your advice to others facing a similar challenge?

A: PADI Will Support Your Vision & Growth.

I truly believe that if we want the industry to survive and grow we need more women at all levels. And, I know from experience that some men, and many women, prefer to be trained by a woman. There are also some women who, for personal reasons (such as a past experiences, religious reasons or just pure preference), would rather be in an all-female learning environment.  The ethos behind a women’s IDC is to empower them to learn and grow in an environment they feel safe in, and give them the tools, strength and confidence to be fantastic instructors in today’s and tomorrow’s dive industry.

Are you ready to learn more about all of the benefits of PADI membership? Contact your PADI Regional Office and get started on a custom solution to drive growth in your business.

More Case Studies:

My PADI Helps Me…GROW
My PADI Helps Me…INCREASE MY PRO BUSINESS
My PADI Helps Me…ELEVATE TRAINING STANDARDS
My PADI Helps Me…EXPAND MARKET SHARE
My PADI Helps Me…DO MORE BUSINESS
MY PADI Helps Me…STREAMLINE MY BUSINESS

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