LONDON — After an action-packed 15 years, Caroline Rush plans to step down in June as chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council, and the search for her successor is on.
The London-based Egon Zehnder is leading the search, supported by BFC chair David Pemsel, who has extended his tenure to 2025 to ensure a smooth transition. An announcement is expected Thursday.
Rush joined the BFC in April 2009, and her job evolved rapidly from manager and marketer to fundraiser, lobbyist and crisis controller. Her tenure has spanned seven prime ministers, five U.K. general elections, and a slew of challenges triggered by Brexit and the pandemic.
She’ll leave behind a sturdy organization, and one that’s no longer dependent on fortunes of fast fashion tycoons or high street sponsors. The BFC of today relies on a wider group of members who pay dues, individual donors, private- and public-sector partners.
In the most recent fiscal year the BFC, a not-for-profit entity which is marking its 40th anniversary this year, had turnover of more than 12 million pounds.
It is also profitable, thanks partly to the efforts of industry investors Narmina Marandi and Tania Fares, cochairs of the BFC Foundation Fundraising Committee, and events such as the Fashion Awards, the chief fundraiser for the BFC Foundation.
For Rush, there is more work ahead.
During London Fashion Week, Rush accompanied Britain’s new First Lady Victoria Starmer to Edeline Lee’s spring 2025 show. A few hours later she was at No. 10 Downing Street advocating for the industry during a reception hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Caroline Rush with Steven Stokey-Daley, winner of the 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
Tianwei Zhang/WWD
Rush said she’ll continue lobbying for change over the next nine…