Judges biographies
Beverley Aspinall
Managing Director, Fortnum & Mason PLC
Beverley Aspinall joined Fortnum & Mason PLC as Managing Director in February 2005. Having overseen a £24million refurbishment of the celebrated Piccadilly store, she is now refocusing the business on its core areas of strength – food and drink, celebration and entertainment.
Beverley joined the John Lewis Partnership as a graduate trainee in 1981 and went on to become Managing Director of John Lewis Peterborough in 1995 before taking up the post of Managing Director of Peter Jones, Sloane Square, from 1997 to 2005.
Karen Barter
Founder, Women in Retail
Karen is a proven leader of retail brand development and management throughout an established corporate career based in the UK. Brands include Pied a Terre, The Pier Retail Ltd, Waterford Wedgwood Group and Le Creuset. She has worked as a consultant in the Middle East advising on private retail portfolios and shopping malls. Karen has over 20 years senior leadership and direct management experience operating and communicating at board level.
Karen joined Penna as an Executive Search Consultant in September last year where she specialises in Retail and FMCG recruitment. She is an accredited
Bar-On EQi assessor working with and mentoring leading senior board members in industry. Karen is Chairman and co-founder of Women in Retail, a networking organisation for senior women within the industry.
Maxine Benson
Co-founder/Director of everywoman
Maxine Benson's career has spanned both the airline and film industries where she developed a flair for managing image and brand.
During the 80's, Maxine was responsible for implementing sales and marketing strategies in the Pan Pacific region for World Airways. It was during this time, while living in Australia, that Maxine first met Karen Gill, who later co-founded everywoman with Maxine.
In 1989, Maxine embarked on a career in the film industry in New York, establishing herself as an independent casting agent, casting for a number of award-winning films. Whilst in New York, Maxine witnessed the Internet phenomenon taking the USA by storm. By teaming her creative acumen with Karen's proven corporate experience, everywoman was conceived – initially with a purely Internet-based presence. In 2003 Karen and Max launched the everywoman Awards to recognise the extraordinary achievements of women business owners in the UK.
Maxine and Karen's contribution to the credibility and visibility of women business owners was recognised with the 2001 Joyce Award, presented by the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs.
Sue Brownson OBE
Managing Director and Dealer Principal, Blue Bell BMW Group
Sue Brownson is the managing director and dealer principal of seven BMW outlets. With previous experience as a financial director for Blue Bell, she also extensive experience in the antique and catering trades. She enjoys responsibility and organisation of companies and promotional events.
Ann Chan
HR Director, New Look
Ann’s started her career in retail as a part time assistant in a shoe shop (Mansfield part of BSC) whilst she attended college to study sociology. The opportunity to work for Arcadia allowing her to pursue her love of fashion came along in 1983 where she spent 12 years working in various roles across several functions including Learning and development manager before progressing to Area management for Dorothy Perkins and IS Retail.
In 1995 Ann joined New Look as Area Manager for the Midlands Region at that time the Company had 200 stores (now at over 600 – many of which Ann has helped to open including the first stores in Scotland, Germany, Northern and Southern Ireland ). She has remained in retail (mainly to feed her love for shoes), where her career has flourished progressing to Head of Retail and Retail Operations Director.
More recently Ann has been promoted to Retail HR Director where her primary focus is to develop the culture within business and fulfilling her passion for working with the people who work there and have made the business the high street success it is today.
Ann is also a founder member of Women in Retail - which started in September 2005. The organisation now has over 160 senior contacts. Her passion for the organisation sits clearly within her personal value set and supports her need to ‘make a difference’.
Jo Delbridge
Director of Public Relations, Specsavers
Jo Delbridge (MCIPR) is Specsavers Director of Public Relations with responsibility for the reputation and brand awareness of more than 750 optical and hearing stores in the UK and Ireland.
A former journalist, Jo joined Specsavers in 1996 and is based in Guernsey, where Specsavers is the island’s largest private employer.
Jo believes that a woman’s ability to build good relationships with key people is an important attribute to any business and that success is down to the strength of your team.
Gaynor Gillespie
People & Corporate Development Director, The Mall CorporationGaynor began her career in the Hospitality sector in the late eighties, posts included HR Director of Malmaison Hotels, and Director of Personnel and Training with Macdonald Hotels plc. She enjoyed a period as HR Director Ashbourne plc, a leading private Healthcare provider, prior to joining The Mall in 2002.
Vanessa Johnson
Campaign Head, Make your Mark in Retail Campaign
Vanessa has worked within the retail industry for over 13 years in a diverse range of roles spanning from Store manager to Regional management these were held in various sectors including electrical retailing and hospitality. Most of her career years were spent in the fashion retail industry with her last role being within The Arcadia Group, having held senior roles with several major retailers she now heads up a campaign funded by the BERR focused on fuelling a culture of enterprise and innovation within the Retail industry in the UK with a core focus on Women in Retail and Business. Vanessa has an academic background in employment law and HR management and is currently part of the steering group developing and writing The Retail Diploma to be rolled out in 2010 across the UK.
Judith McKenna has been Chief Financial Officer at Asda since 2001. The business has a turnover of £17bn and operates 353 stores throughout the UK.
Judith joined Asda in 1996, has held a variety of roles across the finance function and, prior to the Wal-Mart acquisition in 1999, was Group Financial Controller of Asda PLC. She was a key contributor in the highly successful acquisition and integration of Asda into the Wal-Mart business. She has also managed a number of different operational functions at the retailer, including board responsibility for Property, Construction, Store Development and Format Design, and has led teams of up to 500 people. She describes herself as a retailer at heart but with a head for finance!
Judith previously worked in the brewing and pub retailing industry for Carlsberg Tetley and Allied Domeqc, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant whilst with KPMG in London.
Sandra Mclumpha
CEO, Fake Bake
When Sandra’s mother had a benign melanoma removed – a direct result of years of sunbathing – Sandra realised that the only safe tan is a fake one. Determined to raise awareness of the dangers of sun beds and sunbathing, Sandra set about finding a really good fake tan product. When Sandra came across the Fake Bake brand, already hugely successful in America, Sandra saw the potential of the product for the UK market and started importing it. There was already a well-known and respected fake tan brand in the UK salon market. Totally undeterred by this obstacle, with a staff of only two people and a very limited budget, Sandra set about converting the salon industry to her product, salon by salon. Now after five years, Fake Bake is considered one of the leading fake tan brands in the UK while turnover is in the multi-million pound bracket.
Michelle Mone
Founder & CEO, Ultimo
Michelle Mone is currently 36 years old and is married to Michael. Entrepreneurial Spirit was prevalent from an early age and whilst her friends had posters of Duran Duran on their wall, she had Richard Branson. Following on from her success in modeling, Michelle decided she wanted to gain some business experience so took a job with Labatt Breweries as an office junior. By the age of 22 Michelle was running Labatt’s Scottish Sales & Marketing team.
In October 1996, whilst attending a dinner dance with Michael, Michelle was wearing a very uncomfortable cleavage enhancing bra. This was when she decided that she could invent a bra that was more comfortable, visually pleasing, and would create more cleavage. MJM International Ltd was set up by Michelle and Michael in November 1996.
It took nearly three years of research and development, testing many different methods of
cleavage enhancement to come up with the Ultimo bra. In July 1999, Michelle had her third child Bethany yet Ultimo was launched at Selfridges, London, just one month later in August 1999.
InApril 2000, at a ceremony in the Epcot Centre, Florida, Michelle won the coveted World Young Business Achiever Award, beating off top entrepreneurs from 14 countries.
In October2000, Michelle was the winner of Business Woman of the Year at the Corporate Elite Awards.
Michelle won the Sunday Mail Great Scot of the Year Business Award in November 2000.
In 2001 HRH Prince Charles asked Michelle to join the Board of Directors for The Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust.
June Poster
Development Director, Frank Usher Group
June Poster started her career in the fashion industry as a catwalk model and joined Frank Usher in the late seventies and over the years has been an integral part of the brand’s continuing success.
June has developed five businesses, under license, and promotes her fashion jewellery on the QVC shopping channel. She also puts on spectacular fashion shows at Wentworth, Cliveden, The Grosvenor House Hotel, The Grand and Ashdown Park.
She is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, which promotes excellence in marketing practice and education and supports the interest of the City.
She is also on the ball committee of the Brain Tumour Research Campaign, which provides seed funding for research into the cause of brain tumours, with their ultimate goal being the creation of an international research college of excellence at Imperial College and Charing Cross Hospital.
She is absolutely thrilled at being asked to be a judge at this prestigious Award, as she strongly believes, that people thrive through encouragement.
MT Rainey
Founder and CEO, horsesmouth.co.uk
MT (Mary Teresa) is founder and chairwoman of Horsesmouth.co.uk, a social networking site for universal online “mentoring” which launched in January 2008 and has been named one of the top 20 Web 2.0 start-ups in the UK.
Previously MT has had a long career in the advertising world. She founded Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe in 1993 and built it to a top five UK advertising agency with clients like Marks and Spencer, Virgin and News International. She left Rainey Kelly in 2005 to set up horsesmouth.co.uk as a social enterprise, combining a passion for media with a longstanding interest in social technology.
MT is a Founding Trustee of Timebank and a Trustee of the think tank Demos. She is a recent Chair of the Marketing Group of Great Britain; a Visiting Professor at the University of Glasgow and a Member of the National Skills Commission. She served on the Board of WHSmith for 6 years, until January’ 08.
She is a frequent publisher and speaker on marketing, advertising, media and social technology issues.
Anne Seaman
CEO, Skillsmart Retail
Anne Seaman is CEO of Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council which aims to increase skill levels in retail and promote it as a career of choice. She was formally Director of Enterprise and Innovation at Anglia Polytechnic University. She previously managed a sizeable department running major contracts with companies including Ford and Anglia Water and has run a three store retail business with her partner.
Carolyn Simons
Commercial Director, Homebase
Carolyn Simons joined Homebase, part of Home Retail Group, as Commercial Director in June 2004. Before Homebase, Carolyn was previously Managing Director of Homestyle Group Plc and before that Director of Management Horizons Europe, a retail consulting firm. She graduated from university with a BA Honours in French and Russian and her retail career began as a buyer for The Boots Company plc. Carolyn was a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year 2001. She is married and has two sons.
Sue West
Retail Operations Director, Selfridges
Sue started her career with Habitat, holding a number of management roles including an international position based in Paris where she was responsible for opening stores in new global markets and franchise operations. She then relocated back to the UK to become the Retail Director.
Sue joined Selfridges in 2000 as the Store Director for Oxford Street and was subsequently promoted to Retail Director the following year. She opened both the Manchester city centre and Birmingham Bullring stores in successive years. Her responsibilities have broadened again this year to include the Property division.
Sue is 43 years old and lives with her partner and 3 year old son in London and Cambridge.
Kim Winser OBE
President & CEO, Aquascutum
Kim Winser, OBE was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the British luxury fashion brand, Aquascutum, in April 2006 with a brief to significantly increase turnover and turn the loss making business to profit by 2010. In her first year she launched a highly acclaimed new advertising campaign with Pierce Brosnan and more recently with influential model Giselle Bundchen – a clear statement of intent with regard to her global aspirations for the business. Since that time Winser has formed a new global board of experienced and talented senior directors, introduced new collections which have been successfully introduced to top accounts and put in place a vitally important accessory division which will launch in 2008.
Prior to this appointment, Winser was most recently associated with the turnaround of Pringle of Scotland. Appointed to the role of CEO following its takeover in 2000, Winser “morphed one of the oldest fashion labels in the world from frumpy to fabulous in less than five years” (The Herald, March 2005). She developed a powerful brand strategy, reined the international licenses back in-house and worked on growing the brand internationally by identifying Pringle’s key global markets. She launched a retail division, opening flagship stores in Bond Street and Sloane Street, London and across the world. She hired creative director Clare Waight Keller to heighten the luxury position of the collections for the runway and markets worldwide.
Before joining Pringle, Winser was the only female director of Marks & Spencer where she ran the womenswear division. Under her direction, the women’s business grew substantially in sales, market share and profit. She joined M&S in 1977 as a management trainee and during her time there held such senior positions as executive director for menswear and divisional director of the womenswear group. She was also responsible for setting up the first marketing group for the company and was appointed director with Brooks Brothers in New York under the Marks & Spencer ownership.
Kim Winser is listed number three in the Wall Street Journal Europe’s most successful business women; she is one of Business Week’s most innovative businesswomen in Britain; and Fortune Magazine and Management Today have both named Winser as one of the most powerful women in business. She works with HRH Prince Charles with The Prince’s Trust and CHAS (children’s hospice) alongside Ewan McGregor. Winser was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Heriot-Watt University in 2003 for services to industry. She was honored by The Queen with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2006 for her contributions to the fashion industry. She was born in 1959 in Helensburgh, Scotland and educated at Purbrook Grammar School in Hampshire.
Cathy Wood
Buying and Merchandise Director, Signet
Prior to joining Signet, Cathy has 21 years experience in retail concentrating her career within the buying and merchandising disciplines across many product categories and within many retail environments, High Street, Mail Order, Catalogue Showroom and most recently TV Home Shopping. Married but with no children Cathy lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband and cat!