East Midlands Women in Business Conference 2008

Jacqueline Gold, Ann Summers and Knickerbox
Jacqueline is one of Britain’s most successful businesswomen and an entrepreneur who is an inspiration to thousands of women.

She started, doing work experience, at Ann Summers, for her father earning less than the tea lady. A chance invitation and visit to a Tupperware party changed everything - Jacqueline saw the potential of selling sexy lingerie and sex toys to women in the privacy of their own homes. Jacqueline launched the Ann Summers Party Plan - a home marketing plan. These parties were and remain popular, providing women with an excuse to meet for a party and talk about sex, and have entered British popular culture.

She was voted the second Most Powerful Woman in Retail by Retail Week, one of Britain's top 10 most powerful women by Cosmopolitan, top 12 women by Good Housekeeping Magazine and one of Britain's 100 Most Influential Women by the Daily Mail.

Cheryl Baker, Singer and Presenter
Cheryl’s bubbly personality was evident even in the early days of “Bucks Fizz” when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in1981. They went on to gain world-wide recognition with a string of hit records including, “Making Your Mind Up”.

Her popularity as a TV presenter and solo artist, together with her work with Bucks Fizz meant that the demands on her time often found her working eighteen hours a day. So at the end of 1993, Cheryl stepped down from Bucks Fizz to concentrate on her solo career and her family.

She is hugely popular with the general public, who consider her ‘the girl next door’. People relate to Cheryl – she is ‘one of them’. She is real. Cheryl is far from perfect and people love her for it!

Cheryl is renowned for her Charity work, from her own experience she knows the heartache of IVF, so made their plight public. Consequently, she is now patron to practically every infertility charity in the UK!

Dawn Gibbins, Flowcrete
With an honorary doctorate, the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year accolade and an MBE she is one, if not the most influential person in UK manufacturing.

Dawn is the founder and chairman of Flowcrete, a company which excels in specialist flooring. Some of of its major clients being world class names such as Bentley, Jaguar, Ascot Racecourse and Marks and Spencer.

In addition to her position at Flowcrete, Dawn is a member of the Government's manufacturing think tank, and has done much work to promote the industry and bring about positive change. She is also a national ambassador for the BERR Manufacturing Advisory Service. Finally, she also sits on the Executive Committee of the Feng Shui Society.

Judy Naake, St Tropez
Judy, from Nottingham, known as 'the guru of self tanning' and was the driving force behind the St Tropez self tanning range. During St Tropez’s development, extensive research was done in order to create the most advanced formulation eliminating the common pitfalls of fake tanning such as orange effect, streaking and staying power. The result – the St Tropez tanning range quite literally revolutionised the market when it launched in the UK and Ireland in 1995 becoming a cult product and a firm favourite of celebrities, style setters and beauty editors.

Judy still tans celebrities herself, and regularly appears on television programmes demonstrating the St Tropez self tanning range.

Since its launch the business has grown dramatically and today turns over in excess of £15 million. St Tropez has a record of being the fastest selling product in many high profile department stores in the UK and Ireland.

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