Rita Ann Clifton CBE (born 30 January 1958) is a British advertising professional and a former UK Chairman of Interbrand who currently works as a speaker,

facilitator A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neutral", meaning t ...

, writer, and non-executive director of a portfolio of companies. Clifton has been called 'The doyenne of branding' by Campaign Magazine, 'Brand guru' by the Financial Times, and the

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

described her as 'The brand leading the brands'.

Early life

Rita Clifton was born in High Wycombe. Her childhood ambition was to be a ballet dancer. Her father died when she was 12. She attended the Wycombe High School, a girls' grammar school in High Wycombe, alma mater of '' Fifty Shades of Grey'' author

E. L. James Erika Mitchell (born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is a British author. She wrote the best-selling erotic romance trilogy ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', ''Fifty Shades Darker'', and ''Fifty Shades Freed'', along with the companio ...

, who was five years below her. She went to the all-female Newnham College, Cambridge, where she studied classics, graduating in 1979.

Career

From 1983 to 1986 she worked for JWT. From 1986 to 1997 Clifton worked for Saatchi & Saatchi in a variety of roles, including acting as vice chairman from 1995 to 1997. She joined Interbrand UK as Chief Executive in 1997, becoming chairman in 2002 for a ten-year stint. In 2013, she co-founded the global brand and business consultancy BrandCap, which she later sold on to the management group. She holds a number of non-executive directorships at companies such as Bupa Nationwide Building Society, and ASOS.com. She has been Chairman of Populus Ltd, President of the Market Research Society. and previously served as a non-executive director of Dixons Retail from 2002 to 2012. She has always had a keen interest in the environment and sustainability, and she has served as a Trustee on the board of WWF-UK, on the Sustainable Development Commission and as chair of the community volunteering organisation TCV (The Conservation Volunteers). Clifton previously served as a non-executive director of Dixons Retail from 2002 to 2012. In November 2020, international sustainability non-profit

Forum for the Future Forum for the Future is a registered charity and non-profit organisation that works in partnership with business, government and civil society to accelerate the shift toward a sustainable future. It works by catalysing change in key global systems ...

announced that she joined the organisation as chair of the board of trustees. In December 2020, it was announced she joined The John Lewis Partnership in February 2021 as deputy chairman.

Publications

* ''The Future of Brands: Twenty-Five Visions'', , 208pp, 31 March 2000, New York University Press * ''The Economist: Brands and Branding '', , 304pp, 19 March 2009, Economist Books * Love Your Imposter: Be your best self, flaws and all, , 288pp, 10 September 2020, Kogan Page

Personal life

Clifton met Brian Astley, the father of her two daughters, Alexandra, born November 1987, and Elizabeth, born April 1991, while they were working together on the Rowntree account at Saatchi. The couple married in August 1999 in Kensington and Chelsea. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph in September 2002, Clifton described herself as the most senior woman to have a baby at Saatchi, and said she was back at her desk 10 weeks after giving birth. "I felt obliged to pretend that it had had absolutely no impact whatsoever," she said. "I did want to come back to work, but probably not that soon." Clifton was appointed a CBE in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

list.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Rita 1958 births Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English chief executives People educated at Wycombe High School People from High Wycombe Women in advertising Living people