What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others? “Business success is built on great people and great brands, so go be great!”
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do? Drinking a glass of Penfolds at the Melbourne Cup.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? Step-changing the focus on the development of the English wine market and our Chapel Down vision with investors, customers and press.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year? Keep focusing on what really makes the difference and looking after my team though the turbulent times ahead.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? The 2023 Ashes series and running our horse Diamond Egg over hurdles for first time!
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given that you’d pass onto others? To appreciate and embrace the value that a healthy sense of curiosity can bring to your professional and personal lives – shared with me by a former professional and personal mentor.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do? Probably the first time that I experienced the value that a well formed and clearly articulated thoughtful strategy can bring to an organisation, and the resulting drive in motivation and sense of passion that it ignites within the people of an organisation.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? Our organisation’s eager adoption of new and very different hybrid ways of working while striving to not lose the culture that we have worked so hard to nurture and develop over the years.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year? To support and foster the next generation of leaders within our organisation. Helping them to reach their maximum potential and to ensure that the legacy of our beautiful brands are well poised for years to come.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? We will be sending our beautiful twin daughters off to university in the fall of 2023.
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others? I have usually been more inspired by how my bosses have acted, and trying to emulate their behaviours, than by advice they have imparted. One exception that comes to mind is Alexander Gilkes, with whom I worked at Paddle8. He once encouraged me to consider anything I might regret in my role and, in particular, to fully leverage meeting as many interesting people as possible. Pre-empting future regret (not wallowing in actual regret) is a great way to make sure you make the most of any role or phase of life.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do? A client once told me that they had invited a terminally ill friend for a week’s holiday on board their sailing boat. Watching the sun set together, sharing moments of pure friendship and experiencing nature's beauty had transformed the final weeks of her life. Design, architecture and interiors don't just create beautiful spaces, we have an opportunity to bring them moments of joy and have a positive impact on their lives.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? Having become employee-owned in the summer of 2021, this year I have been particularly proud of establishing a brand new group of non-execs and forming a complex but effective governance with a trustee board overseeing the operating board, on behalf of the employees. It has been enriching and inspirational to work with such experienced individuals as Sir Nigel Carrington, Jamie Mitchell, Patrick Lewis and Sue Lawrence.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year? In everything that I do, I will be encouraging 'shareholder thinking' in my teams. I have no doubt 2023 will bring its set of challenges, together with opportunities, and I would love for our employee owners to feel free to take initiative, find solutions to problems and share their ideas.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? Family holidays are always a highlight. This year we hope to travel further afield with our teen/tweens. Our happy place is our home in Majorca, but we are keen to show them more of Europe and the world. I am also looking forward to the Coronation. I want to be a British subject by then – I've lived in the UK for 23 years and never found the need to apply for citizenship. The Coronation feels like the right moment to do so!
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others? Pierre-Yves Roussel, the former President of LVMH's Fashion Division, used to remind me, “you cannot sprint a marathon”. It's something I have shared many times with others to help pace themselves, avoid burn out, and vary the tempo of work to conserve energy when possible, to power up for sprinting when needed.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do? Immersing myself in the rich design archive of our heritage brands and understanding the value that can be unlocked. I absolutely love every day, working alongside our creative and passionate teams.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? Working with landscape architect Ruth Willmott, who won the Gold Award for our main avenue Morris & Co garden at RHS Chelsea in May. Ruth presented the idea to us shortly after I started in 2019 and it was a true joy to see the garden come to life in 2022.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year? To bring awareness to the art and craft of our teams from the hand-painted designs to the skilled printing techniques in our UK factories.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? I love to throw a party and already have a summer celebration planned, then later in the year a trip to Mexico for Dia de los Muertos!
sanderson.sandersondesigngroup.com
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others? When I was working at a magic circle law firm in the City, a client advised me to follow my passion. I had followed the legal route without giving it much consideration, but that conversation prompted me to shift into commercial roles, which ultimately led me into the luxury drinks sector.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do? The first time I heard a consumer explain why our champagne meant so much to her. She gave a vivid account of a cherished memory. It is a real privilege working with luxury products that elevate occasions and build lifelong memories.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? I am most proud of the results we have achieved in our annual employee engagement survey, where we rank in line with the best workplaces in most areas and are accredited as a great place to work.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year? 2023 looks like it will be a much more challenging year economically. In the face of this, some luxury brands may pull back on marketing investment. My goal is to protect and enhance brand investment in 2023, so that the Laurent-Perrier brand exits the year stronger than it came into it.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? I have been doing more wild swimming and am aiming to swim from the mainland across to the Isle of Wight in 2023.
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you would pass onto others? To have confidence in yourself, self-belief is one of the most important factors to being fulfilled in your work. You can be successful without this – I know I was. However, once you learn to believe in your own ability, success becomes all the more enjoyable and you will deliver even greater things. I was fortunate enough to have a great coach, Rudi Kindts from The Coaching House, who worked with me for three years together with some great bosses who have supported my development.
What moment in your current role cemented the passion for what you do? I joined as a consultant for a year and here I still am! I just couldn’t leave, I love the variety, the challenge and energy of the place. Most of all, I realised I could be part of the legacy of Goodwood and the family. I felt I could make a real difference to its future and do my bit to making sure its still here in another 300 years. Goodwood isn’t just a job, it gets under your skin and becomes part of your life. When you feel that passionately about something, sharing that with potential customers gives you a different perspective and lens to look through.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? I am so very proud at the launch of our new event this year, Goodwoof! Being a dog lover, this event was always going to be a winner for me. Innovative, fun, different, this was no ordinary ‘dog show’, a pure celebration of the love of the dog. Driving the commercial innovation, working with new brands and planning their activations was incredibly fun and very rewarding. 8000 dogs over two days, who all brought their delightful owners with them.
What is a key professional goal you have set for yourself over the coming year? I am a firm believer that the day you stop learning is the day you die. So, I am going back to university part-time for six months to study to become a business coach. Given the benefits I received personally from that experience, I am keen to broaden by skillset to enable me to support other professionals who have great ambition. I am a pretty good listener, so I think I might be quite good at it!
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? I have three! Visiting my goddaughter, Holly, in La Tania whilst she does a ski season there before she starts her first job in law. I'm very proud of her. Supporting my husband with his first half-Iron Man in Marbella. And, finally, going to watch Andrea Bocelli in Rome. Life’s full of experiences!
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you would pass onto others? My boss at the BBC, Greg Dyke, told me to make the effort to greet staff and talk to them - especially in the lift and especially if you don’t know them. His predecessor had famously been aloof and used a private lift. Word of mouth about how approachable, interested, and ‘human’ Greg was soon spread around the company.
What moment in your current role cemented the passion for what you do? When I look out of the office window across the marina, and can see a new Oyster yacht, fresh out of the yard, now in the water, and soon to be with a new owner. That brings it all together and reminds me that that’s what we do: delivering owners their dreams.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year and what excites you about the coming year? Seeing our boat yards, all three of them, full to capacity with new yachts being built. With the challenges that Covid, supply chain issues, inflation, and global financial uncertainty have brought, my number one goal for the business is, from henceforward, to deliver these beautiful yachts to schedule and to budget, whilst always maintaining the quality that our reputation is built upon.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? Hoping to get married this year! Having had a baby boy, Max, in 2021, and having got engaged in 2022, we are looking to tie the knot this year in 2023. Yet to choose a location or date though!
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others? I have worked for excellent leaders in the past and they all consistently emphasised on the importance of having integrity at all times and always act or decide with the right intentions in mind. This means that you always tend to do the right thing.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do? I always say to my teams that we are here for one purpose which is to make people around us happy, guests and staff alike. There is no better job and I feel blessed to do what I do. I never take it for granted.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? The team at the hotel has managed, despite tremendous challenges and adversity, to achieve a record year since the opening of the hotel in every aspect of the business: revenue, profitability, reputation and quality. I could not be prouder of their efforts and courage.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year? I am keen for a few of my direct reports to develop and win awards due to their dedication and commitment to their current job. I look forward to mentoring them further and hopefully help them along the way.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? My three children give me a lot of pride and satisfaction. My eldest will be graduating from a London university this year in psychology and now wants to do a doctorate. My other two are 15 and 17, and are still at school, but they have all turned out to be kind and good human beings. We are planning our next holiday together which should be the Highlands in Scotland. Such a beautiful part of the world.
What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you would pass onto others? One of the founders of the first major travel companies that I worked for told me to always stay true to my values and principles (even when everyone around me may be saying different) and to lead from the front. It’s advice that I live by still today and share with anyone looking to move into leadership roles. He also was a staunch advocate of holding your nerve in challenging times, which is something that I have always tried to uphold where I can during the many challenges that my industry has faced over the years.
What moment in your current role cemented the passion for what you do? I have always had a passion for the travel industry. But in this role, my passion was truly ignited when I took my first trip with Abercrombie & Kent and not only witnessed their absolutely unique service delivery with true end to end guest service, but also their dedication to philanthropy and the effect that their projects have on so many lives every day of every year. Travel has the ability to change you, it’s not just about the material things that money can buy, but the difference to people’s lives that we can really make. Seeing that first hand was a game changing moment for me.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year? Leading the business through the pandemic was incredibly challenging. Leading the business out of the pandemic and into solid recovery, and the agility that has been required to navigate the changing market and staff and clients needs and successfully returning the business to a solid footing whilst doing so, is an achievement that I am really proud of.
What is a key professional goal you have set for yourself over the coming year? I am in a new role for the business and my key professional goal is to effect the change needed to bring alignment to global source markets that have historically operated as completely separate businesses. It’s a huge challenge, but so needed to enable the transition and digital enhancements needed to ensure the longevity of any business like ours.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023? As am empty nester, I try to take at least one holiday every year where my grown up sons join me. It’s time that I treasure now that I don’t have them at home every day. Over recent years we have taken some great trips. Most recently was gorilla trekking and visiting our philanthropy projects in Uganda. This year’s trip isn’t finalised yet, but wherever it is, it is definitely that I am most looking forward to.
Kenya Hunt is the Editor-in-Chief of ELLE UK. Her career spans working for some of the world's most influential women’s titles on both sides of the Atlantic from her post-graduate days as an Assistant Editor at the seminal magazine, Jane, to her time as Deputy Editor of Grazia UK and ELLE UK. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Essence, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Refinery29, The Evening Standard and other publications. She has made a number of appearances on BBC Woman’s Hour, Sky News and more.
As the founder of R.O.O.M. Mentoring, she advocates for greater diversity within the fashion industry by providing a supportive network for some of the many talented aspiring designers, journalists and image makers of colour London has to offer. In 2021, she was recognised by The British Fashion Council for her work and given a Global Leader of Change Award at its annual Fashion Awards. An American based in London, she lives south of the river with her husband and two sons. Her critically-acclaimed book, Girl: Essays on Black Womanhood is out now.
