Jacqueline Gold, Chief Executive of Ann Summers and Knickerbox, is one of Britain's most successful businesswomen. She has been voted the second Most Powerful Woman inRetail Week, the Most Inspirational Businesswoman in the UK in a survey by Barclays Bank and handbag.com, one of Britain's 10 Most Powerful Women by bothCosmopolitanandWomanmagazines, and Business Communicator of the Year 2004.
At the age of 21, after joining Ann Summers as a wages clerk, 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 she was made Chief Executive in 1987, and quickly transformed the company into a multi-million pound concern.
Jacqueline has been the subject of several documentaries includingBack To The Floor(BBC2, 2001),Ann Summers Uncovered(ITV1, 2003) andSo What Do You Do All Day(BBC2, 2004); co-presented the daytime business seriesMind Your Own Business(BBC1, 2005) and appeared onFortune: Million Pound Giveaway(ITV1, 2007) andThe Verdict(BBC1, 2007). She is a columnist forRetail Week, New BusinessandKent Business.