Judges

	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.
	Sue Brownson OBE Group Managing Director, Blue Bell BMW Group Sue Brownson is Group Managing Director of Blue Bell BMW. Sue was President of the Retail Motor Industry and worked with their training company. She is currently on the Board of the Automotive Sector Skills Council, which has just merged with the Institute of the Motor Industry. Sue is also Vice Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club and chairs the Elections Committee and is a Board member of the Motor Sports Association.
	Jo Delbridge Director of Public Relations, Specsavers Optical Group A former journalist, Jo Delbridge has worked for Specsavers for 13 years, where she is director of Public Relations for Specsavers’ 750 optical stores and hearing centres in the UK and Republic of Ireland. She was recently voted one of the top three in-house PR professionals of the year by the Public Relations Consultants Association. Jo is married to PR managing director and musician Jim Delbridge and lives in Guernsey with her 14-year-old stepson Jake and a mad dog called Poppy.
	Rose Foster Rose is a true retailer, having started her career as a Sales Assistant in 1977. She is currently launching an exciting new fashion retail start up for Ministry of Sound's Hed Kandi brand. Until February 2009 she was Chief Executive of La Senza, the UK's largest independent high street lingerie retailer with over 210 Stores in the UK, Eire and Europe. As well as overseeing new product launches and the expansion of the Store portfolio, Rose implemented a major re-branding and refit rollout whilst at La Senza. Prior to La Senza, Rose was Chief Executive of Monsoon Accessorize between 2001 and 2007, having moved there from New Look where she had been Retail Operations Director since 1999. Before New Look, Rose spent 22 years at Next (starting off at Kendals which became Next in 1982) in various Store, Field and HO roles before becoming Retail Sales Director in 1997.
	Gaynor Gillespie People & Corporate Development Director, The Mall Corporation Gaynor spent her early career in the hospitality and leisure sector, posts included Director of Personnel and Training with Macdonald Hotels plc and Human Resources Director of Malmaison Hotels. She was then HR Director Ashbourne plc, a leading private healthcare provider before moving into the commercial and retail property sector. She joined Capital & Regional in 2002 as HR Director of the Mall, the UK's leading community shopping centre brand. With 20 Malls located at the heart of local communities across the country, from Aberdeen to Southampton. Home to over 1,800 retail units, the Malls cover 7.3 million sq ft and attract 4 million shoppers every week of the year. Gaynor is now People & Corporate Development Director.
	Jane Guillaume Trustee, Retail Trust Jane has over 25 years of retail experience, her early years in Retail were spent at Bhs and Heal and Son. Jane joined Debenhams, part of The Burton Group, in 1989 and in 1993 was appointed Personnel Director. In 1998 Jane was appointed to the Plc Board.In 2004 after a successful transition back to a private Company Jane left and set up a plural portfolio. Jane is a Director of a Property Company, Chair of Circle Anglia Commercial Services - a Housing Association and Trustee Director for Norfolk and Norwich Heritage Trust. Jane joined the Board of Retail Trust in 2006.
	Kim Morton Chairman of the Fashion Retail Academy Kim Morton is the Chairman of the Fashion Retail Academy, the first of the National Skills Academies. She was responsible for the development of the Academy from the beginning, leading the team who delivered the successful project, and building the Academy to the strong position that it has today. She also runs a successful Consultancy, specialising in HR consulting, Executive coaching and Management Development. Kim’s previous experience includes 17 years at the Arcadia Group where she held a number of HR Director positions both in the Brands and in the specialist HR areas before her appointment as Group HR Director in 1998.
	Julia Reynolds Chief Executive, figleaves.com Julia joined Figleaves.com in January 2008 as CEO, prior to that she had worked as a Buying and Merchandising Director for Tesco in clothing. Her former career years were spent in the Arcadia Group and Mackay’s stores. In total she has spent 26 years in the clothing industry launching Brands from concept through to delivery, developing ethical trading policies, marketing and developing successful operating models for retail.
	Carrie Rubin Director of Pentland Group Carrie Rubin is a Director of Pentland Group plc and is the third generation involved in the family business. She has a special interest in fashion footwear and textile design and is a keen supporter of Graduate Fashion Week. In addition she contributes to the introduction of talent into the Pentland Group. Carrie is a Trustee of the Rubin Foundation Charitable Trust, supporting a variety of causes in the UK and overseas and is also involved with several organisations including; Chair of the recently formed IFB Women’s Forum and a Board member of the WEC (Women’s Executive Circle) of New York.
	Anne Seaman CEO, Skillsmart Retail Ltd 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.
	Sue Shipley Partner & Head of Retail Practice, Odgers Berndtson Sue Shipley is the London based partner who heads up the Ray & Berndtson Global Retail practice. She focuses on senior level and main board appointments in the retail sector and specialises functionally in General Management, Buying, Marketing and Operations appointments. Her client base includes both UK and multi-national retail businesses including quoted companies and private equity backed businesses. She was appointed Partner in November 2002. She began her career in export sales before switching to the retail sector where she worked in a variety of management roles with Asda, Boots, Kingfisher, Dixons and Storehouse. A former management consultant with Gemini Consulting, Sue has also worked with e-commerce start-up businesses, both as a Director and Consultant.