Ruth Henderson was the UK's first female

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of a publicly quoted company. History – 1980's: Product Director,

Alexon Group Alexon Group plc was an clothing retailer, based in Luton, England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol AXN). It was an constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. The group owned eight brands, which are available in more t ...

– 1991 : Henderson becomes the UK's first female CEO of a public company – 1992 : Henderson leaves Alexon Group after profits fall – 1993 : Joins Baird as Managing Director – 2001 : Becomes CEO of William Baird Ruth Henderson was Product Director of

, reporting to CEO Lawrence Snyder, during the Group's most profitable period (£21.40M profit from £167M sales (1990)) However, Ms Henderson is of note not for that position, but for her role as CEO. When Alexon Group demerged (with Lawrence Snyder becoming the Chairman of the demerged Alexon Group, he appointed Henderson CEO). Henderson was at that time "the

irst An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

and only woman chief executive of any significant British quoted company".''

The Scotland Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' Later sidelined to some extent in February 1992, when Peter Ridsdale was promoted to run the operations while she concentrated upon the buying, she left the group later in the year, when profits from the demerged Group fell from £11.3M in 1992 to a loss of £0.9M in 1993. At that time the CEO role appeared a step too far for Henderson, with many in the City calling for Lawrence Snyder to step back into the CEO role. However John Osborn, a former Sears executive renowned for slashing costs at

British Shoe Corporation Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999. History The business was founded by John and Will ...

, was to replace Henderson as CEO. (Note; the 1993 loss was later restated by Osborn to a £12M loss) Henderson initially took a step back in her career and in later 1993 became Managing Director of Baird's branded clothing business, with brand such as Windsmoor, Planet, Precis Petite and Dannimac. When she joined, the division's profit were £0.5m, but by 2001 profits were 14m. In 2001, she became the CEO of the Group. As stated in The Telegraph: "For the time being, at least, she is revelling in her new-found role. This is hardly surprising considering Henderson has been granted a rare second chance to succeed in a role in which she once failed miserably. A decade ago she became the only female chief executive of a British public company when she took the helm at Alexon, the women's fashion group. Two years later, after she had turned an £11.3m profit into a near £1m loss she was stripped of the title."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Ruth Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British businesspeople