- Conference Speakers
Topics:
- Business
- Entrepreneurs/Innovation
- Women In The World
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Jacqueline Gold
'The woman responsible for bringing sex to the high street and liberating thousands of women between the sheets'
OK! Magazine
Jacqueline Gold, Chief Executive of Ann Summers and Knickerbox, is one of Britain's most charismatic and successful businesswomen and an inspiration to thousands of women. She has been voted the second Most Powerful Woman in Retail by Retail Week, the Most Inspirational Businesswoman in the UK in a survey by Barclays Bank and handbag.com, one of Britain's Most Powerful Women by many publications including Cosmopolitan, Woman, and Good Housekeeping magazines, one of Britain's 100 Most Influential Women by the Daily Mail, was voted Business Communicator of the Year 2004, and was made a new entry in Debrett's 'People of Today' 2005 for her contribution to British society. She heads an empire that is run by women, for women.
At the age of 19, after joining Ann Summers for work experience, Jacqueline saw the potential of selling sexy lingerie and sex toys to women in the privacy of their own homes. Working her way through the ranks of Ann Summers Jacqueline was made Chief Executive in 1987, and quickly transformed Ann Summers into a multi-million pound concern. Ann Summers now boasts a sales force of over 7,500 women as party organisers, has 141 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands and one in Spain, and an annual turnover of £155 million. Whilst the takeover of Knickerbox in 2000 has added another 5 stores, with Knickerbox concessions in every Ann Summers store.
Jacqueline has been the subject of several documentaries including 'Back To The Floor' (BBC2), 'Ann Summers Uncovered' (ITV1), 'So What Do You Do All Day' (BBC2), 'Break With The Boss' (Living), and co-presented the daytime business series 'Mind Your Own Business' (BBC1). She is one of the panelists on the show ‘Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway’ (ITV1), and is one of the celebrity jurors on ‘The Verdict’ (BBC2). Her autobiography 'Good Vibrations' was published in 1995 (Pavilion Books), and her second book 'A Woman's Courage' was published 2007 (Ebury). She is a columnist for Retail Week, New Business and Kent Business.
Jacqueline is set to take over as chairwoman of her family’s £525 million empire.
