True is pleased to announce the appointment of Susanne Given as non-exec chair of portfolio company hush, the first in the role at the company.
Susanne has a wealth of experience in retail over an executive career that included roles as Chief Operating Officer at Superdry plc, Buying Director at John Lewis & Partners and UK/Ireland Managing Director at TK Maxx.
Her non-executive career spans a number of roles. She is chair of Made.com, as well as being a non-executive director of FTSE100 company Morrisons Plc, Tritax BB REIT Plc, Trent Holdings (India) and Al Tayer Group (UAE).
Paul Cocker, co-founder of True, said: “We have known Susanne for a number of years and are excited to welcome her to both hush and True. I am very much looking forward to being able to draw on her vast experience to help further accelerate hush’s growth over the coming years.
“The business’s performance during the first six months of our ownership has been exceptional. We now have a fantastic team in place that will allow us to capitalise on the significant opportunity that the current climate presents for a digitally native brand such as hush.”
hush founder Mandy Watkins commented: “We’re really excited to start working with Susanne on this next stage of our journey.
“She has amazing experience of scaling brands, both in executive and non-executive roles, which will be invaluable over the coming years as we look to our expand and introduce our brand to new customers and new markets.
“In addition, we particularly value her digital expertise as well as the emphasis she puts on brand building.”
Susanne said: “hush has an authentic core which shines through in both its proposition and its culture. I am excited to be joining the business at this stage, to work with the very successful founding team that is Mandy and Rupert, as well as Kate Bartman, who has recently stepped up to the CEO role after working alongside Mandy and Rupert for the past eight years.
“During this extraordinary time where consumers are turning to digitally native brands rather than physical stores, hush is particularly well positioned to take advantage of the tailwinds fanning the online sector. Working with a brand which is so well placed for this time and a highly talented threesome in Mandy, Rupert and Kate is going to be a real privilege and one I am very much looking forward to.”