Sian westerman biography definition

The BFC is also setting out goals around the environment, sustainability, workplace ethics and building businesses for the future. There are opportunities for creating new business models, and maybe looking for opportunities for collaborations. In the meantime, the BFC is continuing to support designers whose businesses have been wracked by the pandemic.

Later this week, the organization plans to reveal a second tranche of grants to designers as part of its COVID emergency fund, handing outpounds to help designers through hard times. It has given in excess of one million pounds to designers already, and Rush said the organization will continue to raise money for the fund at least through the end of the year.

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Sian westerman biography definition

In other projects. Anderson and Mary Katrantzou. This is a very pertinent question! Exactly, a real point of view is essential! And that they are true to themselves, with a clear focus and voice to show what they believe in. It is also down to the people around them. Some designers have strong teams that can help them and put them on the right track.

Stay tuned for our follow-up piece tomorrow on the Grants recipients, and visit the BFC's website to learn more about British fashion and funding. May 24, Fashion. Anabel Maldonado. Tania: I approached Caroline Rush, the CEO of the BFC, sian westerman biography definition in to discuss the opportunity of creating a trust made up of a group of very dynamic people to support British fashion designers.

Sian: And for me with you! Tania: I tend to work closely with the designers on creative issues. Tania: I think London is a very tolerant city. What do you think are its unique challenges? Sian: The challenges are around manufacturing. Tania: Especially surrounding leather goods. Sian: Although, the BFC launched a website this week with a directory of access to high-end manufacturing and hopefully that will start to change things.

Who are your top three designers to watch right now? I worked on both the British Gas and BA privatisations - it was early days of privatisation and a lucky time as there was little expertise, so even as a junior you could add value and have relatively deep knowledge. I compiled the first draft of the BP underwriting agreement which caused such a problem in At the time, I was working with merchant bankers and my view of them was that they went home at 6 o clock, gave poor instructions and got paid twice as much as I did.

So, when Rothschild offered me a job, I thought I would give it a go for a couple of years and come back to Slaughter and May with more commercial experience. There were no mentors - you were simply expected to figure it out. You then embarked on a long tenure with Rothschild where you became a Managing Director in the Global Financial Advisory division before becoming a Senior Advisor focused on retail and luxury.

Can you share some details about that journey in banking, perhaps demystifying what a banker actually does, the highlights and drawbacks and some of the deals that you worked on? There are lots of different type of bankers - some who love the modelling, analysing the business plan and formulating valuations. Personally, I enjoyed the strategy around putting businesses together, and raising investment.

I was quite unusual in having the ability to read legal documents in addition to understanding the technical legal, regulatory, tax aspects of the transaction. The transaction that was most exciting for me was Royal Dutch Shell who got into trouble with the SEC in terms of their reserve reporting, which prompted them to look at their whole corporate structure and culture.

We had to make sure all institutions were satisfied and nobody lost the stock market indexation that they wanted. It was really interesting and took two years of my life. I was devising the structure and dealing with all of the political implications relating to either being UK or Dutch incorporated and we felt we achieved both. People were amazed that we could create a shoe business in the UK that had that high a valuation - it is a bit like the Charlotte Tilbury deal which I also had a role in - the market was surprised that a UK beauty business could attract Sequoia Capital and I think this deal changed people's mind-set.

How did these come about, did you get headhunted or was it more organic and how do you choose which boards you are interested in joining? I learnt a big lesson however, to only sit on boards where I really like and understand the product and the people. This made my skin crawl, so I resigned - thinking lesson learnt. I was on the Anya Hindmarch board as I introduced her to her first investors and Nicholas Kirkwood as I advised on his investment and he subsequently asked me to join the board.

Similarly, Roksanda because I did the investment. Generally, I like to be on the board where I invest or have a close personal interest in the outcome rather just handing over the money. What do you think are some of the key ingredients to make an effective board and what do you like to bring to the table as a member of a board? As a director, you are responsible so you have to be prepared to look across all aspects of the business and understand what is going on.

I like to think I am empathetic to creators and have an ability to understand the financial side and the tightrope there. When I work in fashion, I bring a lot of experience of the market and an understanding of what peers and competitors are doing and therefore different ways to solve problems. It is good to have people who bring different areas of expertise.