She has lead large, international organisations in various industries including pharmaceuticals, technology and services in roles ranging from COO to leader of an Asia Pacific product division with P&L responsibility for $1bn annual revenue. Moving between business divisions and being given rapidly expanding leadership roles taught her that coaching and mentoring a team where every team member understands what they need to contribute is the fastest route to success. Her comprehensive knowledge of how each part of a business operates enabled her to identify the right objectives for each group and to quickly align organisation structure, processes and talent to achieve ambitious goals. 

Six years ago, Jo set up two on-line retail companies which now have annual revenue of $1m and have been profitable since the second year of operation. One thing that differentiates these companies is that employees receive bonuses for innovation. They have made changes in all areas from procurement to customer service to reducing carbon footprint - this has steadily strengthened the companies' competitive position. 

Over her 35-year career, Jo has learnt that "business as usual" means that you will lose out to the competition sooner or later - as Winston Churchill said, "if you don't take change by the hand, it will take you by the throat". 

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