Name: Penny Newman
Age: 50
Business: PreviouslyCafédirect (from 1998-2008)
Role: CEO
Where: London, but operates internationally
Penny was at the helm of the UK’s first fairtrade hot drinks company Cafedirect for the ten years, after moving from a top job at the Body Shop.
She is highly respected for her business prowess and social outlook and was recently awarded an OBE. In 2006, Penny was voted Ethical Idol in a poll of the business community by Venture Finance.
In 1993, after working for numerous traditional companies, Penny started working for the Body Shop in a variety of high-profile roles. There, she developed a great taste for doing business efficiently but with a social purpose. However, she says her social streak was “always ticking away” when she worked for traditional companies.
In 1998, Penny took a post at fairtrade coffee company Cafédirect as financial controller. The company had four staff at the time, but has now increased to 30 and has a turnover of more than £20 million.
To add to her Ethical Idol accolade, Penny has won the Dods and Scottish Widows Businesswoman of the Year and she was also shortlisted for the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards in 2007.
More on Cafedirect
Cafédirect was set up in 1991 and its brands, Cafédirect, Teadirect and Cocodirect are sold through most of the major supermarkets and now in the food service industry.
The business buys from 39 producer organisations in 13 countries, ensuring more than a quarter of a million growers receive a decent income from trade.
As part of its Gold Standard Fairtrade policy, Cafedirect puts 86% of its operating profits back into tailor-made support and training initiatives with its growers.
Name: Penny Newman
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