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Anna Jones is a prominent British businessperson and entrepreneur who lives in London, UK. Jones is the co-founder and current director of AllBright, an investment fund designed to support female entrepreneurship, and the co-founder and current executive chairman of Sharestyle, a digital marketplace for style services. She also served as CEO of Hearst Magazines, UK between 2014 and 2017.^{[1] [2]}

Early Life and Early Career

Jones, whose mother is Danish, grew up in rural Yorkshire. She studied international business management at the University of Newcastle and spent a year at the École Supérieur de Commerce in Provence, France, as part of her studies.^[3] After leaving university, Jones' first job was in public relations, which was followed by a marketing post in the video games industry.^[4]

EMAP, Hachette Filipacchi, and Hearst

In 2000 Jones was hired by EMAP, one UK’s largest publishing houses, to work in its marketing department. At EMAP, she oversaw the marketing for the launch of Grazia, the UK’s first weekly glossy magazine.^[5]

In 2005 Jones was appointed as Digital and Marketing Director at Hachette Filipacchi, the Lagardère-owned publishing company, where she worked on media brands such as Elle, Red and Digital Spy.^[6] In 2010 Jones became Hachette’s Digital and Strategy Director.^[5]

In 2011 Hachette merged with the Hearst-owned National Magazine Company to create Hearst Magazines, UK. Following the merger, Jones was appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Hearst Magazines, whose titles include Cosmopolitan, Elle, Country Living, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar and which also has an extensive digital portfolio that includes websites such as Digital Spy and Net Doctor.^[7][8]

In 2014, following the departure of Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Jones was appointed as CEO of Hearst, UK at the age of 39.^[9] As CEO, Jones notably championed new, dynamic approaches to the distribution of leading titles such as Cosmopolitan and Elle, while she also oversaw the launch Hearst Live, a new events-focused division, and Hearst Made, which provides editorial content for companies such as Procter & Gamble, Asda, and Jamie Oliver Magazine.^[2]

Empowering Women and AllBright

As Hearst CEO, Jones also launched Hearst Empowering Women, "a major new editorial brand aimed at celebrating the lives, aspirations and achievements of British women". In partnership with Theirworld, Sarah Jane Brown's charity for women and children, the initiative established a digital hub and hosted live events to inspire women and encourage female empowerment.^[10]

Jones stepped down as CEO of Hearst, UK in 2017 to pursue two new business ventures, one of which is AllBright, a venture capital fund that invests exclusively in female-founded businesses and also aims to create support networks to encourage female entrepreneurship. AllBright aims to improve gender imbalances in entrepreneurial activity as a way of creating greater equality in business and unlocking new sources of economic growth. AllBright's co-founder and current chair is Debbie Wosskow, entrepreneur and founder of Love Home Swap.^[11][1]

Sharestyle

In 2016 Jones and Wosskow also founded Sharestyle. Sharestyle is a digital marketplace that aggregates and showcases a broad range of style and lifestyle experts, from interior designers and dinner party chefs to personal stylists and photographers, and connects them with users seeking expert assistance.^[12] The Sharestyle mobile app, which brings the principles of the sharing economy to the style market, was launched in the UK in February 2017 and will launch in the U.S. later in the year. Jones is currently executive chair of Sharestyle.^[2][13][14]

Creative Industries Federation

Jones currently sits on the board of the Creative Industries Federation, a leading independent representative body for arts and creative industries.^[15] Fellow board members include Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead, the Director General of the BBC, John Sorrell (designer), and Jude Kelly, the Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre.^[16]

Accolades

In 2014 Jones was featured in Women Fashion Power, Zaha Hadid's exhibition at London's Design Museum. One of Jones' dresses appeared alongside outfits from influential women including Naomi Campbell, Diana, Princess of Wales, Miriam González Durántez, Vivienne Westwood, Natalie Massenet, and Kirsty Wark.^[17]

In 2015 Jones was listed as one of the Evening Standard’s 1000 most influential Londoners and the following year she was shortlisted for 'Pioneer of the Year' at the British Media Awards.^[18][19]

Jones also won a Women in Marketing Award in 2016 for her efforts to champion female empowerment.^[20]