Jasmine Whitbread

Jasmine Mary Whitbread (born 1 September 1963) is a British businesswoman, and the chair of Travis Perkins since 2021.[1]

Jasmine Whitbread
Born
Jasmine Mary Whitbread

(1963-09-01) 1 September 1963
London, England
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom and Switzerland
EducationKneller Girls' School
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
OccupationBusinesswoman
TitleChair, Travis Perkins
Term2021-
Spouse
Howard Exton-Smith
​
(m. 1994)​
Children2

From 2016 to 2021,[2] she was the chief executive of London First, an independent non-profit organisation whose mission is to make London the best city in the world to do business.[3] She was CEO of Save the Children from 2005 until 2015; firstly leading Save the Children UK and in 2010, creating Save the Children International.

Early life and education

Whitbread was born in London on 1 September 1963.[4] Her mother, Ursula Whitbread, is Swiss and her father, Gerald Whitbread, is English.[4][5] She was educated at Kneller Girls' School, then an all-girls comprehensive school in Twickenham, London.[6] In 1986, she graduated from the University of Bristol with a bachelor's degree in English.[4][5]

She later returned to university study. In 1998, she completed the executive program at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.[7]

Career

Whitbread began her career in marketing. From 1986 to 1988, she was a marketing manager at Rio Tinto Computer Services. She then moved to the United States and was director of global marketing at Cortex Corporation.[4][8] From 1990 to 1992, she was in Uganda with the Voluntary Service Overseas as a management trainer at the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda.[4][9] From 1994 to 1999, she was a managing director of Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters).[4]

She then joined Oxfam GB, where she was regional director for West Africa from 1999 to 2002, then international director from 2002 to 2005.[4] In 2005, she joined Save the Children UK as chief executive officer (CEO); she was the first woman to head the charity.[4] After five years, she was appointed CEO of Save the Children International.[4] She stepped down from the role on 31 December 2015.[10] In December 2016, she became the chief executive of London First.[11]

On 19 January 2011, Whitbread was appointed to the board of BT as a non-executive director, where she is a member of the Committee for Sustainable and Responsible Business and the Audit and Risk Committee.[12] On 1 April 2015, she was appointed an independent non-executive director of Standard Chartered where she chairs the Brand, Values and Conduct Committee.[13] She has served on the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities, which was jointly chaired by Goodluck Jonathan and Jens Stoltenberg, and issued recommendations to increase access to and use of 13 essential commodities for women’s and children’s health.[14]

In August 2019 she was appointed a non-executive director at WPP plc effective from 1 September 2019 serving as a member of the Compensation Committee.[15]

Whitbread regularly blogged for the Financial Times during the annual World Economics Forum in Davos.[16] In 2013, she featured in the CNN Leading Women series.[17] Acting as an ambassador for women in leadership, Whitbread spoke on the Evening Standard's panel debate with Cherie Booth QC, in 2012.[18]

Personal life

In 1994, Whitbread married Howard Exton-Smith.[4] Together, they have two children.[4][5]

Whitbread holds British/Swiss dual nationality.[19]

Honours

In 2013, Whitbread was named one of the UK’s 100 most powerful women by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.[6][20] In January 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bristol.[5]

References
  1. "London First chief Jasmine Whitbread goes to Travis Perkins". The Times. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  2. "London First CEO Jasmine Whitbread leaves for Travis Perkins". City AM. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. "About | London First". londonfirst.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  4. "WHITBREAD, Jasmine". Who's Who 2015. Oxford University Press. November 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. "Jasmine Whitbread". Public and Ceremonial Events Office. University of Bristol. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  6. "Jasmine Whitbread". Woman's Hour. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  7. "Jasmine Whitbread". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  8. Benjamin, Alison (8 November 2006). "Powers of persuasion". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  9. Lynch, Andrew (24 March 2013). "Leading edge: Jasmine Whitbread". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  10. Farey-Jones, Daniel. "Jasmine Whitbread to leave Save the Children International". Third Sector. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  11. Kirton, Hayley (3 October 2016). "This is London First's new chief executive". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  12. "Jasmine Whitbread". BT Plc. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  13. "Jasmine Whitbread". Standard Chartered. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  14. Composition of the Commission Archived 3 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine Life-Saving Commodities Practitioners’ Network.
  15. "WPP appoints Jasmine Whitbread to the Board". WPP.
  16. "Davos Day Three – press round-up". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  17. Becky Anderson (4 June 2013). "Save the Children CEO: 'Our bottom line is children's lives' - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  18. "Women on boards debate: Banking crisis 'helped women stake place in". Evening Standard. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  19. "Our CEO, Jasmine Whitbread". Save the Children. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  20. "Top 100 Powerful Women in the UK Today". Alumni and friends. University of Bristol. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
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