Previous speaker profiles

2011

Beverley Aspinall, Managing Director, Fortnum & Mason PLC

Beverley Aspinall joined Fortnum & Mason PLC as Managing Director in February 2005 after leaving Peter Jones. She committed to an extensive programme of activities which included the celebration of the company’s tercentenary in October 2007. She has overseen a £24million refurbishment of the celebrated Piccadilly store, refocused the business on its core areas of strength. After graduating from the University of York in 1981, Beverley joined the John Lewis Partnership as a graduate trainee. She held various management positions in retail and buying. After having her two children, she was appointed as Assistant General Manager Oxford Street in 1994. In 1995 she became Managing Director of John Lewis Peterborough and was appointed Managing Director of Peter Jones, Sloane Square, in 1997. In 1999 she added the role of Project Director to her responsibilities when she headed the £100 million refurbishment project at Peter Jones.

Marco Capello, Chairman, Liberty 

Marco Capello is the founder, Managing Partner, Member of the Board and Member of the Investment Committee of BlueGem Capital Partners, a Board Member of Olicar S.p.A., The Private Clinic Ltd, Fintyre S.p.A., Neomobile S.p.A., Management Consulting Group Plc, Liberty Ltd and Ufi Filters S.p.A. From 2002 to 2006 Marco was a Managing Director of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, Marco started his professional career in Investment Banking where he worked for over 18 years at Credit Suisse First Boston, Wasserstein Perella and, since 1994, at Merrill Lynch. During his career in Investment Banking Marco worked primarily in mergers and acquisitions both in New York and London. At the age of 30, while at Wasserstein Perella, he became a member of the European Executive Committee. At 34 he became Head of Investment Banking for Merrill Lynch in Italy. Key deals include the sale of Alfa Romeo, the acquisition of the Selenia Elsag group, the privatisation of SME, the sale of Omnitel to Vodafone, the creation of Agusta Westland, the privatisation of Enel. While at Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, Marco worked on the acquisition and sale of Spirit and Debenhams and the aquisition of Rexel and Necta Vending.

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium

Stephen was appointed Director General of British Retail Consortium in 2008. Based in Westminster, Edinburgh and Brussels, the BRC represents UK retail, large and small, in lobbying governments and near-government organisations as well as producing key retail data. Stephen appears frequently in tv, radio and press to discuss business issues. Stephen's career has spanned 14 years on the boards of major UK retailers following earlier management roles with Mars Inc, Unilever and Alberto-Culver, seven years as Marketing Director at B&Q plc before leading the acquisition of Screwfix Direct. He went on to become Director of Communications at Kingfisher plc and took the helm of the Ellen MacArthur sponsorship. More recently Stephen served for 3 years on the retail board at Woolworth plc. In a non-executive capacity Stephen served for 3 years at Fresca, the leading fresh food supplier, and is currently a board member of the National Portrait Gallery Company. Stephen has recently joined the board of Timpson Group, (shoe repair and key cutting) and Max (photographic services) through 870 shops nationwide. He is a former Chairman, and now Fellow, of the Marketing Society.

Tony Wheeler, Managing Director, Peter Jones, John Lewis Partnership

Tony Wheeler has been in the John Lewis Partnership for 26 years and has held various senior leadership roles over the past eight years. He is currently Managing Director, Peter Jones, where he is responsible for turnover in excess of £190m and approximately 1100 staff. After finishing his A levels, Tony joined John Lewis Oxford Street and has worked in 9 different shops, and has been Managing Director at Norwich, High Wycombe and Kingston. Shop-keeping is his passion and he relishes leading a team to deliver market leading results. Tony also has a keen interest in developing people and is often used as a mentor, and has coached for the Partnership at Ashridge Business School and Warwick University.

2010

Joseph Wan, Chief Executive, Harvey Nichols

Joseph Wan, a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Arbitrator, became Chief Executive of Harvey Nichols in August 1992, having previously been the group finance director of Dickson Concepts for five years. Prior to that, he spent nine years working for KPMG in Hong Kong and London. He is the non-executive chairman of S.T. Dupont SA, which is listed on the Paris Bourse, a fellow subsidiary of Harvey Nichols.

Susan Aubrey-Cound, Director of Multi Channel Development, Marks & Spencer

Susan started as a buyer/merchandiser in Womenswear mail order before moving into marketing at BAA airport retail (Duty & Tax Free). After launching the BAA e-commerce shopping and loyalty platform, she moved to Moss Bros as Managing Director before joining M&S as Head of Marketing in 2001. Susan was promoted to Director of Multi Channel Development in August 2009.

Mark Newton-Jones, Group Chief Executive, Shop Direct Group

Mark Newton-Jones is the Group Chief Executive of Shop Direct Group Ltd, the UK’s leading online and home shopping retailer. Mark’s career in retail began at Next where he spent 18 years, during that time he attended the Oxford Summer School as a delegate. He moved to Littlewoods Stores in 2003 and started a modernization process resulting in the formation of the Shop Direct Group in 2005.

2009

Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership

Charlie became the Partnership's fifth Chairman in March 2007. He joined the Partnership in 2000 as Head of Business Development, joining the Board as Development Director in 2001. He became Managing Director of John Lewis in January 2005 prior to taking up his appointment as Chairman of the Partnership in March 2007. Mr Mayfield began his career as an officer in the army, and worked for SmithKline Beecham and McKinsey & Co before joining the Partnership.

Marigay McKee, Director of Fashion & Beauty, Harrods

Marigay joined Harrods in 1999 as a Senior Buyer of Perfumery and Cosmetics, with an already extensive background in the Beauty industry. In 2005 Marigay became the Director of Women’s Fashion at Harrods, in addition to Beauty. In 2007 she became the Fashion Director of the Harrods group, responsible for Menswear, Childrenswear and Sports also. Today she oversees more than 2,000 staff and 1,000 brands, representing some 50% of the stores total turnover and was appointed to the Harrods Main Board in 2005. Marigay is a passionate and driven retailer widely regarded as an expert in the industry. Fluent in Spanish, French and Italian, Marigay has built a solid reputation both in the UK and further afield within Fashion and Beauty circles.

Nick Robertson, Chief Executive, Asos

Nick started his career in 1987 with the advertising agency Young and Rubicam and in 1991 moved to Carat, the UK’s largest media planning and buying agency. In 1995 he founded Entertainment Marketing, a marketing services company representing a number of blue chip companies. In 2000, Nick founded ASOS.com, a pure play online fashion and beauty retailer, aimed at fashion forward, internet savvy 16-34 year olds. In October 2001, ASOS was admitted to AIM, and in 2003, became the second most popular online fashion store in the UK behind Next, Today ASOS is one of the fastest growing retailers in the UK.