{"id":1239203373,"date":"2026-09-10T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwd.com\/?p=1239203373"},"modified":"2026-09-09T13:23:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:23:33","slug":"british-fashion-council-pavita-cooper-chair-caroline-issa-1239203373","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwd.com\/business-news\/human-resources\/british-fashion-council-pavita-cooper-chair-caroline-issa-1239203373\/","title":{"rendered":"British Fashion\u00a0Council Taps Business, Diversity Expert Pavita Cooper as Next Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tLONDON \u2014 <\/strong>Pavita Cooper, a seasoned boardroom operator and diversity advocate, has been named the next chair of the British Fashion Council, the organizer of London Fashion Week and Fashion Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tShe will take up the role on Oct. 1, succeeding David Pemsel, who is to step down on Sept. 30 after 10 years on the executive board, including four as chair.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAs reported, Pemsel\u2019s exit has been long planned, with the BFC running a monthslong search led by a nominations committee and conducted pro bono by the MBS Group. Cooper’s appointment was ratified by the BFC Executive Board on Aug. 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tCooper is an experienced chair and adviser whose career spans business, government and culture. She has held senior executive roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Christie\u2019s, sits on the boards of The King\u2019s Trust and The Old Vic and chairs the 30 Percent Club, a campaign to increase the number of women in senior corporate leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tHer appointment aligns with the BFC\u2019s objectives stated in chief executive officer Laura Weir\u2019s four-year strategy and financial plan \u201cBFC 2030: Access, Creativity, Growth\u201d to strengthen its influence with U.K. government and policymakers, expand its fundraising capabilities and position fashion more clearly as a contributor to economic growth and cultural soft power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cI am honored to take on the role of chair of the British Fashion Council<\/a>. My priority will be to champion fashion as an important driver of U.K. growth and help strengthen the environment in which British designers, entrepreneurs and businesses can start, scale and compete globally,\u201d said Cooper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWeir lauded Cooper\u2019s experience, perspective and understanding of government and policy \u201cwill be an important complement to our board\u201d as the organization focuses on delivering her plan, which aims to grow the BFC\u2019s gross annual revenue by 38 percent to 18 million pounds by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Caroline\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCaroline Issa<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\tAs part of the reshuffle, current board member Caroline Issa will take on the newly created role of deputy chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIssa is the fashion director at Tank magazine and is known for her close ties to designers and brands in the U.K. and beyond. She will support the BFC\u2019s aim to keep its leadership connected to the day-to-day realities of the designer community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe outgoing Pemsel framed the reshaped executive board, which includes executive directors Weir and Laura Strain and non-executive directors Cooper, Issa, Ciara Byrne, Clare Waight Keller, Jamie Gill, Karen Blackett, Kate Varah, Scott Morrison and Sian Westerman, as a deliberate mix of policy, finance, creative and commercial to deliver the BFC 2030 vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cThe appointment of Cooper as chair directly delivers on the need to supercharge the organization\u2019s ability to engage with government and support the industry with its policy work and access to investment,\u201d Pemsel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cooper will succeed David Pemsel on Oct. 1, with Tank magazine\u2019s Caroline Issa taking up the newly created role of deputy chair. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37460715,"featured_media":1239203411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exclude_post_from_river":false,"override_post_title":"","override_post_excerpt":"","authors":[],"contributors":[],"styled_by":[],"_image_credit":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","pmc_selected_wwd_video_media":"","pmc_top_video_source":"","pmc_top_video_duration":"","wwd_top_video_source":"","wwd_top_video_duration":"","pmc_selected_featured_media":"","pmc_selected_video_media":"","pmc_selected_variety_video_media":"","variety_top_video_source":"","variety_top_video_duration":"","pmc_featured_media_has_alt_text":true,"_pmc_featured_animated_media_id":0,"_pmc_featured_video_override_data":"","_pmc_featured_video_override_url":"","_pmc_featured_video_response_data":"","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{},"pmc_list_item_description":"","primary_category":"","primary_vertical":"","_mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"","_pmc_opengraph_title":"","_pmc_opengraph_description":"","pmc-gallery":[],"categories":0,"subcategories":0,"thr_post_headlines":"","_variety-sub-heading":"","mt_seo_title":"British Fashion\u00a0Council Taps Pavita Cooper as Next Chair","mt_seo_description":"A business and diversity expert, Cooper will succeed David Pemsel on Oct. 1, with Tank magazine's Caroline Issa taking up the role of deputy chair. 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