John Ayton

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 1962/1963), is a British businessman and investor in the

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

industry, and the co-founder of Links of London and Annoushka, an English jewellery brand founded in 2009.

Early life

Ayton was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and graduated in modern history from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1983.

Career

After university, Ayton worked in corporate law in London and Hong Kong. Leaving the legal profession in 1995, he was on the advisory board of Halston Borghese Inc, a US-based

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

company, responsible for restructuring their Japanese and German operations. In 1990, together with his wife, jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas, Ayton co-founded Links of London, a jewellery brand with sales of over £50m. In July 2006, they sold the company to

Folli Follie Folli Follie is a Greek-based international company which designs, manufactures and distributes luxury jewellery, watches and fashion accessories. History The company was established in 1982 in Greece by Dimitris Koutsolioutsos ( el, Δημήτ ...

SA. In October 2007, Ayton stepped down from the company. In July 2009, Ayton and Ducas launched English jewellery brand Annoushka Jewellery.

Investment and mentoring

Ayton has invested at the earliest stage in emerging luxury brands including Bremont Watch Company, Orlebar Brown, Mr Hare, Boticca.com, and Grind & Co. He also acts as a

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and advisor to the founders, and is chairman at both

Bremont Bremont Watch Company is a luxury aviation-themed British watchmaker based in England. Annual production is approximately 10,000 pieces for an approximate annual revenue of £40 million. History Bremont was founded by brothers Nick and Giles En ...

and Mr Hare. Ayton was the founder of Walpole Brands of Tomorrow and its chair and a director until 2014. Since 2007, he has been mentoring and supporting British emerging talent within the luxury goods industry.

Other

Ayton and wife Ducas were ambassadors for Team 2012, the campaign to support British

athletes An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-develo ...

in their quest for medal success in the London Olympics. The campaign raised over £18 million.

Honours

In the 2012

New Years Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, Ayton was awarded an

for his services to the UK jewellery industry.

Personal life

Ayton and Ducas live in a Georgian cottage in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

, London, since 2007, having previously lived in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

. They also have a seaside house in

Bosham Bosham is a coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, centred about west of Chichester with its clustered developed part west of this. Its land forms a broad peninsula projecting into natural Chiche ...

, West Sussex. They have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayton, John Living people British chief executives Members of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people) 1960s births British company founders People from Pimlico People from Notting Hill People educated at Oundle School People from Bosham