2020 Natwest judges
Judges
Sarah stepped down from all her other business interests to run the charity she founded 4 years ago: The Listening Place (www.listeningplace.org.uk). She is a member of the State Honours Committee. Sarah stepped down as a NED of various private companies; as a Public Appointments Assessor and as a Commissioner for the EHRC, (Equalities & Human Rights Commission). She was previously the Chair of the SME Council of the CBI.
Maxine Benson’s early work experience took her from Barclay Bank in Poole, Dorset, to the travel industry in Australia, then to a film casting company in New York. Maxine returned to the UK in 1999 and, with her business partner Karen Gill, started everywoman to support women in business. Today Maxine leads everywoman’s cross-industry awards and forums that raise awareness of the full range of opportunities for all women in many sectors. Maxine was awarded an MBE for her service to women’s enterprise in 2009 and in 2017 the government’s Women’s Business Council acknowledged everywoman’s outstanding commitment to the advancement of women in business.
Rosaleen Blair is the founder and Chair of Alexander Mann Solutions, a global talent acquisition and management company. AMS has established itself as a market leader, employing 4,500 people and serving many of the world’s leading brands in over 90 countries worldwide.
Rosaleen has won numerous awards, including UK Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year, E&Y London Entrepreneur of the Year, Tatler Woman of the Year, and Strategic Leader of the Year, National Outsourcing Awards.
Additionally, Rosaleen enthusiastically supports many charities and invests her time and resources in entrepreneurs and small businesses through coaching, investment, sponsorship and mentoring.
After having run a gamut of careers, ranging from Army Officer to waitress, Suzanne found herself working in the pet food industry in early 2009. Following a change in the management and ethos of the company she was working for, Suzanne quit and decided to set up on her own to produce a better product and create a company with passion for both staff and customers. . The result was the multi-award winning Nutriment Ltd, making the very best Raw dog food on the market. In four years the company has grown from a standing start to a £7M turnover, shipping over 240 tonnes of dog food per month nationwide. This year also sees Nutriment starting to export to Europe and beyond. Suzanne is divorced, has two teenage children and two very badly behaved dogs.
Annoushka was founded by Annoushka Ducas and her husband, entrepreneur John Ayton, in London in 2009. The founder and creative director of her eponymous jewellery brand, Annoushka grew up in London, later studying at the Sorbonne. From Paris, she moved to Hong Kong in the late Eighties and began to work with local artisans, designing jewellery for herself and her friends and family. Travelling the world to discover extraordinary stones and inspirational production techniques, Annoushka’s designs exude an irreverent sense of fun juxtaposed with a timeless elegance. The Duchess of Cambridge frequently wears her Annoushka Baroque Pearl Earring Drops to complete her ‘classic contemporary’ daytime wardrobe, and Rihanna and Gwyneth Paltrow are loyal supporters of Annoushka’s layered style. In 2012, Annoushka was awarded Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to British jewellery industry, beginning with Links of London, which Annoushka and John founded in 1990. She has been named Jewellery Designer of the Year, Gift Designer of the Year, Brand of the Year (twice), and she was short-listed for the Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year. She has also taken an active role in nurturing creative talent, initiating an annual jewellery design project with students at Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design which is now in its fourth year.
Celia Duncan is Women’s Editor of the Daily Mail. She joined the paper five years ago from The Times, where she was Deputy Editor of the Saturday Times Magazine, before which she was Acting Associate Editor of Vogue and Special Projects Editor at Hearst Magazines. During her career in journalism she has won numerous industry awards and chaired the prestigious British Society of Magazine Editors.
Formerly an international travel industry director for Intercontinental Hotels, Karen Gill is now one of the UK’s experts on gender equality in the workplace. In 1999 she launched everywoman with her business partner Maxine Benson. Their business idea was inspired by a belief that there had to be a better way to support and advance women to achieve their professional potential. Today Karen works with multinational companies from all over the world to ensure their inclusion and diversity plans are in the best interest of all those in the workplace. Karen was awarded an MBE for her service to women’s enterprise in 2009 and in 2017 the government’s Women’s Business Council acknowledged everywoman’s outstanding commitment to the advancement of women in business.
“Kelly Hoppen MBE is a multi-award winning interior designer with over 40 years of experience. Having changed the face of the design industry with her East Meets West style, she is one of the most sought-after designers of her generation and proudly creates multi-faceted interior spaces all over the world. Kelly’s ever-evolving style, defined by a subtle fusion of clean lines and neutral tones and intuitively balanced with an opulent warmth, has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards and accolades globally.
Passionate about making her design ethos accessible to the masses, Kelly has authored 9 books, partnered with select brands to create a range of products for the home and is often featured on some of the biggest Television shows including ITV’s This Morning sharing her expertise to members public. As a highly successful business woman who often advises international clients on UK property investments, she is a proud ambassador for the government GREAT campaign and avidly supports The Princes’ Trust and anti-bullying charity The Diana Awards.”
Marcia Kilgore is a Canadian born entrepreneur who has founded several global companies in the beauty and footwear industries.
Her ventures include industry revolutionising Bliss Spa, sold to LVMH after only three years from its launch; bath, body and cosmetics brand Soap & Glory, sold to British Drugstore giant Alliance Boots/Walgreen; biomechanics meets fashion footwear brand FitFlop; and naturally-derived bath & body product brand Soaper Duper.
Most recently, in October 2016, Kilgore founded Beauty Pie, her radical new luxury beauty product buyers’ club, aimed at democratising the luxury beauty industry by disrupting the existing business model.
Through its fully digital marketplace, Beauty Pie sells luxury beauty products without the luxury beauty prices, by sourcing these from manufacturers - and cutting out intermediaries, avoiding expensive real estate and advertising - while focusing its attention on quality.
Using the elite third-party luxury labs that Kilgore worked with for the last 25 years, Beauty Pie is flipping the luxury beauty industry upside down, with a direct-to-consumer membership business model and totally transparent pricing. Beauty Pie is not about exclusivity or privilege; it is bigger than that. It is all about empowering customers, and teaching them that they deserve better.
Kanya King CBE is an internationally recognised entrepreneur and innovator in the British music industry. As CEO and founder of the MOBO Group, Kanya King is the dynamic force behind the MOBO brand and has played an instrumental role in elevating Urban music and culture to mainstream popular status in the UK and around the world.
Whilst most people know the MOBO Group for the flagship awards show, Kanya is equally proud of the work MOBO does behind the scenes. MOBO continues to work with artists, partners and brands that support and inspire fresh talent throughout the year and runs a calendar of events including tours, acoustic sessions, digital talent competitions with artists development programmes and industry events next to the provision of daily music content.
MOBO has become the essential destination for urban music and has created the ultimate community digitally whilst remaining the place that up & coming talent use as a stepping stone to success.
Kanya’s dedication to MOBO music has since been recognised by a number of influential and prominent bodies: accolades include The Guardian Music Power 100, Real Business Britain's 100 Most Entrepreneurial Women, a BBC Radio 4 Women’s Hour nomination for the 100 most influential women in Britain and recently the Daily Telegraph’s List of Britain’s Most Powerful Women in Arts. Furthermore, she has received numerous honours, fellowships and doctorates for her business and community achievements including an Honorary Fellowship at Goldsmith University and a Doctorate of Business at both London and Leeds Metropolitan Universities as well as an Honorary Degree at Exeter University. Kanya has also been presented with the NatWest everywoman Ambassador Award.
In 1989 Anna Lee co-founded the watch brand STORM that turned the 'traditional' watch market on its head. Aside from being the first UK company to sell watches as an accessory, STORM also utilised materials and designs never witnessed in watch design before. STORM has now become the only recognised British fashion watch brand on the market today and is distributed in over 35 countries worldwide. Anna says her core achievement is retaining a brand integrity in a competitive market for 30 years whilst many have failed or lost their way.
Today, STORM is the complete brand and apart from exclusive watches also offers distinctive stylish jewellery, bags, wallets, fragrances and eyewear.
As a former swimwear model who lived and worked in Italy for many years, Melissa Odabash has an innate sense of what women want from their swimwear & beachwear. From the inception of the brand, the collection has been developed and constructed to sculpt and enhance the silhouette. Timeless pieces designed with clean lines and innovative textiles aim to adapt to all body types, making them a must- have for the distinguished global traveller. Melissa’s debut collection was launched in 1999, a collection which swiftly came to epitomise the glamour and sophistication of a luxury lifestyle brand, and which British Vogue was quick to name as ‘The Ferrari's of the bikini world.’
From a tiny idea in the back of a travel diary whilst travelling around South America with her husband Simon, the fledgling ideas for Montezuma’s grew, from a lifestyle business with clearly defined trading fairly principles into Britain’s most creative chocolate maker and retailer. Twenty years on, Helen still spends a lot of her time telling people about the joys of chocolate and establishing a values-led business. Helen and Simon invest in growing food businesses and enjoy mentoring food entrepreneurs as well as spending as much time as possible with their three girls.
Chrissie Rucker founded The White Company in 1994; 26 years later it is one of the UK’s most successful multi-channel retailers and a trusted British lifestyle brand. Chrissie grew up in Kent, left school at 16 with six O-levels, studied Couture Fashion & Design before working on magazines including Harpers & Queen, Vogue, Brides and House & Garden.
She is married to Nick and mum to Tom 24, Ella 22, India 20 and Bea 16. She’s been Awarded an MBE and OBE for services to Retail, has been Spears Entrepreneur Of The Year, PWC’s Private Business Woman Of The Year and recently given the life-time achievement Tribute Award from Veuve Clicquot.
Chrissie Founded The White Company’s White Heart Foundation in 2014 to support vulnerable women and children. She is also The Founding Patron of The Change A Girls Life campaign for Women Supporting Women at The Prince's Trust and an Ambassador for Everywoman.
Roni, is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Geologist and SiLC (Specialist in Land Condition). A graduate of University of Portsmouth with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management. She has worked on many major construction schemes, including the widening of the A406 and M25. She received the highly prestigious presidential invitation to Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2019. She was formerly Associate Director of one of the UK’s largest Engineering Firms. In 2009, after gaining several years of industry experience, she established Jomas Associates, serving land developers across the UK, and achieving a turnover of £2m in 2017, with further plans for growth. Jomas undertake site investigations, engineering and environmental surveys on construction projects across the UK. Under Roni’s stewardship, Jomas focus on providing their clients with high quality, high value, expedient, engineering solutions, with emphasis on delivery. In 2017, Jomas was acknowledged as a high growth company by Goldman Sachs, and Roni took part in the 10kSB business programme run with University of Oxford, Said Business School.
A mother to three boys, Roni is extremely passionate about gender diversity and social mobility, volunteering her time to mentor and coach others.
As Managing Director of the world-renowned Jo Hansford Hair Salon in the heart of Mayfair, Joanna Hansford manages a highly complex business. She has experienced many facets to running her mother’s vibrant Mayfair salon which is home to 60 staff and the first port of call for a number of high profile and celebrity clients. Over the past twenty years she has been responsible for the creation of numerous innovations that have kept the Jo Hansford name at the forefront of the hairdressing industry including the development and launch of the Jo Hansford Expert Colour Care range of premium hair products which have won numerous awards. Joanna’s current focus is the expansion of the brand.
Sam Smith remains the only female Chief Executive of a City broking firm. She established her firm, finnCap, in 2007 having orchestrated the buy-out of a small broking subsidiary of a private client stockbroking firm - today finnCap is ranked No1 Nominated Adviser and Broker to AIM companies. Sam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG and is a University of Bristol alumni. Sam is passionate about ensuring that girls and women see only opportunities rather than barriers to success in whatever industry they want to be in. Outside her duties as the CEO, Sam is actively involved in various mentoring projects and organizations such as Pinky Lilani’s “Women of the Future” awards, of which Sam is a former winner. Sam is also a patron for the Modern Muse project, aimed at millions of young girls throughout the UK to encourage and inspire them to look at business careers and entrepreneurship as a way to achieve their dreams.
Following an academic career, Sarah Wood co-founded Unruly in 2006, scaling a global video advertising marketplace that was acquired by News Corp in 2015. She currently sits on the boards of Tech Nation and City Ventures, and is an ambassador for The Prince's Trust Women Supporting Women Programme. Sarah has been named Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year, City AM Entrepreneur of the Year, and has been awarded an OBE for services to technology and innovation. Having co-founded City Unrulyversity, a free pop-up university in London with a mission to inspire the next generation of digital entrepreneurs, Sarah was awarded an honorary doctorate from City University London .She is also the author of best-selling career handbook Stepping Up: How to Accelerate Your Leadership Potential, which calls for more diverse and empathetic business leaders.
Abi Wright, founder of Europe’s leading spa booking agency Spabreaks.com, was born in Devon where she went to the local school. After university she spent a period working as a freelance journalist before deciding her skills lay in marketing. Following a number of years working with a small collection of hotel spas, she realised there was an opportunity to market spas more dynamically. In 2008 she launched Spabreaks.com just four months after her first son was born. Today turnover has exceeded £26m, Spabreaks.com sends more than 6000 people on spa days and breaks each week, and they work with more than 900 spas, acting as a leader for positive change in the industry. With no formal business training and no stand-out academic record, one of Abi’s central focuses is giving confidence to other individuals in their careers, offering mentorship, guidance and a nurturing working environment.
Award-Winning entrepreneur, Christina Vaughan has recently moved back to the role of Chief Executive Officer at Image Source, the leading global producer of premium stock photography and now video. In her time away from Image Source, she was interim Chief Executive Officer at CueSongs, a pioneering music licensing business founded by musician, Peter Gabriel that brought the commercial repertoire of top music labels to YouTube audiences.
Under her first tenure, Image Source won several awards for enterprise and international trade and she put Image Source at the centre of the international photography industry by becoming the first non-American to hold a place on the Board of DMLA, where she was Vice President and then a 4 year tenure as President of CEPIC, the European Trade body for photography licensing. Since her return to Image Source, the company has launched a high end Video line and increased its international distribution network to work with all the Major global media players including Getty Images, Adobe and Shutterstock as well as placing an increased focus on the creation of diverse and inclusive content.
Christina is a keen equestrian who has ridden across Mongolia, Burma and Argentina and lists her other interests as family, animal welfare and adventure travel.