Anna Jones (born March 1975)[1] is a British business woman and entrepreneur who lives in London, UK. Jones is the Co-Founder of AllBright, a Members Club and community that celebrates and connects women at work. She served as CEO of Hearst Magazines, UK between 2014 and 2017.[2][3]
Anna Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anna Kristina Jones March 1975 (age 49) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Newcastle University |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Title | co-founder and director, AllBright |
Anna joined the Board of the Creative Industries Federation in 2015 and from May 2017 to April 2018 served on the Board of Telecom Italia as Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.
Early life and early career
editJones, whose mother is Danish, grew up in rural Yorkshire. She studied international business management at the University of Newcastle with a year at the École Supérieur de Commerce in Provence, France as part of her studies.[4] Her first job was in public relations, followed by a marketing post in the video games industry.[5]
EMAP, Hachette Filipacchi, and Hearst
editIn 2000 Jones was hired by EMAP to work in its marketing department. At EMAP, she oversaw the marketing for the launch of Grazia, the UK's first weekly glossy magazine.[6]
In 2005 she was appointed as Digital and Marketing Director at Hachette Filipacchi, the Lagardère-owned publishing company, where she worked on media brands such as Elle, Red and Digital Spy.[7] In 2010 she became Hachette's Digital and Strategy Director.[6] In 2011 Hachette merged with the Hearst-owned National Magazine Company to create Hearst Magazines, UK. Following the merger, Jones was appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Hearst Magazines, whose titles include Cosmopolitan, Elle, Country Living, Esquire and Harper's Bazaar and also an extensive digital portfolio that includes websites such as Digital Spy and Net Doctor.[8][9]
In 2014, following the departure of Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Jones was appointed as CEO of Hearst.[10] As CEO, she oversaw the launch Hearst Live, a new events-focused division, and Hearst Made, which provides editorial content for companies such as Procter & Gamble, Asda, and Jamie Oliver Magazine.[3]
Empowering Women and AllBright
editAs Hearst CEO, Jones also launched Hearst Empowering Women, 'a major new editorial brand aimed at celebrating the lives, aspirations and achievements of British women'. Partnering with Theirworld, Sarah Brown's charity for women and children, the brand established a digital hub and hosted live events.[11]
Jones stepped down as CEO of Hearst in 2017 to establish AllBright, an education and networking organisation that provides a platform, skills and connections to working women across the UK. AllBright comprises Members’ clubs, an Academy and Live Events to celebrate and connect working women and was co-founded with Debbie Wosskow, entrepreneur and former Founder/CEO of Love Home Swap.[2][12]
Sharestyle
editIn 2016 Jones and Wosskow also founded Sharestyle, a digital marketplace that aggregates style and lifestyle experts and connects them with users seeking expert assistance.[13] Its mobile app, which brings the principles of the sharing economy to the style market, was launched in the UK in February 2017 and will launch in the U.S. later in the year. Jones is currently executive chair of Sharestyle.[3][14][15]
Creative Industries Federation
editJones currently sits on the board of the Creative Industries Federation, an independent representative body for arts and creative industries.[16] Fellow board members include Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead, the Director General of the BBC, John Sorrell (designer), and Jude Kelly, the Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre.[17]
Accolades
editIn 2014 Jones was featured in Women Fashion Power, Zaha Hadid's exhibition at London's Design Museum. One of Jones' dresses appeared alongside outfits from influential women including Naomi Campbell, Diana, Princess of Wales, Miriam González Durántez, Vivienne Westwood, Natalie Massenet, and Kirsty Wark.[citation needed]
In 2015 she was listed as one of the Evening Standard’s 1000 most influential Londoners and the following year she was shortlisted for 'Pioneer of the Year' at the British Media Awards.[18][19] She also won a Women in Marketing Award in 2016 for her efforts to champion female empowerment.[20]
References
edit- ^ "Anna Kristina JONES - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ a b Loizou, Kiki (October 23, 2016). "Boost for female founders". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ a b c Goodfellow, Jessica (October 19, 2016). "Hearst UK CEO Anna Jones steps down". The Drum. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ Weinger, Mackenzie (February 14, 2016). "Women in business — Anna Jones, chief executive, Hearst UK". Financial Times. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ Turan, Cyan (September 6, 2016). "Join us for a night of networking at city hall". Red. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ a b Carter, Meg (May 12, 2012). "Anna Jones - interview". InPublishing. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ "Anna Jones: Magazines got under my skin". campaignlive.co.uk. March 7, 2015. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (2015-07-05). "Hearst chief executive brings new life to tired Cosmo". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ Williams, Oscar (2015-01-28). "Hearst UK chief Anna Jones on the enduring power of print magazines". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ "Hearst Magazines UK Names Anna Jones CEO". Folio. 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ "Introducing: Hearst Empowers". Cosmopolitan. 2014-04-03. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ Spalding, Dee Poku (November 14, 2016). "Why The Founders Of Allbright Invest 100% Of Its Funds In Women Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ Donnelly, Shane (February 6, 2017). "ShareStyle: Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones". Startups.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- ^ Millington, Alison (February 8, 2016). "The former boss of Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping launched an app that helps you live like an Instagram star". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- ^ Hedges, Frances (2017-02-06). "A new online marketplace for style services is here". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- ^ Hayes, Hayley (May 27, 2015). "My Media Week: Anna Jones". campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ "Creative Industries Federation Team". www.creativeindustriesfederation.com. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- ^ "The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2015 - Journalists". The Evening Standard. 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- ^ "Our 2016 British Media Awards pioneers of the year". themediabriefing.com. Retrieved 2017-02-08.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Judges Comments - Women In Marketing". Women In Marketing. Retrieved 2017-02-09.