Penny Hughes

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Penny Hughes
Born
Penelope Lesley Hughes

1959 (age 64–65)
Birkenhead High School
Alma materUniversity of Sheffield (BA)
OccupationBusinesswoman
TitleChair, IQ Student Accommodation
Children2 sons

Penny Hughes CBE (born 1959) is a British businesswoman, and the chair of IQ Student Accommodation. She is the former chair of Aston Martin and The Gym Group.

Early life

Hughes was born in West Kirby, the youngest of three daughters in a middle-class family.[2]

Hughes was educated at

Birkenhead High School.[3][4] While at the school she represented the county at hockey and lacrosse.[3] She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Sheffield in 1980.[3][5]

Career

She joined Procter & Gamble, as a technologist, then moved to the sales and marketing department. She was then recruited by the Milk Marketing Board, and later joined Coca-Cola as a brand manager. By 1989, having successfully overseen the merger of the bottling interests of Coca-Cola UK and Schweppes, she was appointed commercial director. In 1993, at the age of 33 she became president of the UK and Ireland businesses of Coca-Cola.[6][7]

She has been a director of the

Royal Bank of Scotland Group between 2010 and 2018 and a member of the boards remuneration committee.[8] She is a non-executive director of Morrisons, Cable & Wireless and Home Retail Group.[3] She is a trustee of the British Museum and president of the Advertising Association.[7]

In February 2018, Hughes was appointed as the chair of IQ Student Accommodation, the UK's largest provider of student housing.[9]

In September 2018, Hughes was appointed as the chair of Aston Martin.[10] In January 2020 it was announced that Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll would replace Hughes as chairman after purchasing a 25% stake in the company.[11][12][13]

In July 2022, Hughes stepped down as chair of The Gym Group.[14]

Honours

She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to the media industry.[15][16]

Personal life

She has two sons.[17][2]

Notes

  1. ^ West Kirby was part of Cheshire in 1959. It later became part of Merseyside upon the county’s establishment in 1974.

References

  1. ^ "Companies House Profile". Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Milk and Coca Cola make Penny Woman of the Year". Wirral Globe. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Business big shot: Penny Hughes, incoming non-executive, Wm Morrison". 16 December 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2018 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Notable alumnae". gdst.net. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. ^ Sheffield, University of (14 June 2011). "Sporting star and University graduate receives MBE - Latest - News - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Penny Hughes – Business Speaker". 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b Farey-Jones, Daniel (13 June 2011). "Advertising Association president awarded CBE". Campaign Live. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  8. ^ RBS Press Announcement Archived 5 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Curry, Rhiannon (18 February 2018). "RBS director to chair UK's largest student digs company". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  10. ^ Neate, Rupert (10 September 2018). "Aston Martin names first female chair as it prepares for £5bn float". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Billionaire Stroll Takes Stake in Aston Martin In $655 Million Rescue Deal". Forbes. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  12. ^ "F1 billionaire owner in Aston Martin rescue deal". BBC News. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Aston Martin has been bailed out by Formula 1 billionaire". CNN. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  14. ^ Maatouk, Michele. "The Gym Group chair Penny Hughes steps down". Sharecast News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  15. ^ "No. 59808". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2011. p. 7.
  16. ^ "Main list of the 2011 Queen's birthday honours recipients" (PDF). BBC News UK. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Penny Hughes". growthcompany.co.uk. 1 October 2000. Retrieved 10 September 2018.