Bio

Rita is a company chair and portfolio non-executive director, as well as being a speaker, writer and practitioner in brand strategy and business leadership. Current NED board roles include John Lewis Partnership and Ascential plc; past roles have included ASOS plc, Nationwide Building Society, Dixons Retail plc, Bupa, Emap plc, and as non-executive chair at Populus Group. Non-profit board and Trustee roles include Green Alliance, WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) and as Chair of the global sustainability organisation Forum for the Future. Previous roles have included Chair at The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Commission. She became a Visiting Fellow at Saïd Business School, Oxford University in 2019, and is also a board mentor and advisor. Rita's early career was in advertising, becoming Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi. She then moved into brand strategy consultancy as London CEO at Interbrand, and later became Chairman for a ten year term. She has worked with many of the leading organisations around the world, as well as start-ups and growth stage businesses of all shapes and sizes. In 2013, she co-founded the global consultancy BrandCap, which she later sold on to the management group. She received a CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours list in 2014. Rita is a regular columnist and commentator, including for CNN, BBC, Sky and social channels, and was a business mentor and judge on the CNBC award-winning TV series ‘Pop Up Start Up’. Writing has included the best-selling book ‘The Future of Brands’ and two editions of The Economist book ‘Brands and Branding”. Her latest book 'Love Your Imposter' about new types of business leadership has recently been launched by Kogan Page and available to order here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Your-Imposter-Flaws-Confident/dp/1789667003. She regularly gives keynote speeches, chairs panel discussions and leads workshops around the world. Further details on https://www.ritaclifton.com/, or please contact Lorraine Ellison MBE on lorraine@ritaclifton.com with any enquiries.