Institute of Internal Communication

Jacqueline Gold, Chief Executive of Ann Summers and Knickerbox, has been named as CiB's Communicator of the Year at the organisation's annual COTY and strategy awards at The Savoy in London. 

With an annual sales turnover of more than ?140 million, Ann Summers ranks as one of the most successful and profitable private firms in the UK.

The parent company, Gold Group International, incorporates property and publishing interests, including Broglia Press, Gold Air International (a luxurious executive airline), and Birmingham City Football Club.

At the age of 21, working as a junior in her father's business, Jacqueline saw the potential of selling sexy lingerie and sex toys to women in the privacy of their homes. Working her way through the ranks of the company Jacqueline was made Chief Executive in 1987, and quickly transformed Ann Summers into a multi-million pound concern.

Ann Summers now boasts a sales force of more than 7,500 women as party organisers, and has 120 High Street stores in the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands and one in Spain. Plans include further outlets, while the recent takeover of Knickerbox has added another 28 stores to the group, plus franchises in Ireland, Iceland, and Denmark.

Jacqueline has been the subject of several documentaries including Back To The Floor (BBC2, 2001), Ann Summers Uncovered (ITV1, 2003), and So What Do You Do All Day (BBC2, 2004).

Her autobiography Good Vibrations was published in 1995 (Pavilion Books).

Jacqueline, who is set to take over as chairwoman of her family's £495 million empire, was voted one of Britain's top ten most powerful women by Cosmopolitan; top 12 women by Good Housekeeping Magazine; one of Britain's 100 Most Influential Women by the Daily Mail; and top 100 dressed women by Good Housekeeping.

Also nominated for a major prize but unable to attend the COTY lunch was cookery expert and Norwich City FC director Delia Smith for her work on the Fair Trade Campaign.

Ann Galletly, internal communications manager for Severn Trent Water for the past decade is CiB's Internal Communicator of The Year.

Over the past 10 years Ann has radically transformed the internal communications activity at Severn Trent Water. She revamped and revitalised an ailing in-house newspaper into an award-winning news magazine. And, most importantly, she was the chief driving force behind getting senior executives to truly 'walk the talk'.

Ann has reinvented the company intranet to provide topical daily news for employees and a forum where knowledge is gained and best practice shared, as well as launching a cost-effective in-house video resource at Severn Trent that produces more than 40 films a year.