Ann Summers restructures its executive team following CEO's passing

Women’s lingerie retailer, Ann Summers, is rearranging its executive team, with Vanessa Gold stepping from Executive Chief into Chair and Maria Hollins promoted to Chief Executive.

This reshuffle follows the death of Ann Summers pioneer and Executive Chair Jacqueline Gold, who passed away in March at age 62, following seven years of treatment for breast cancer.

Her sister Vanessa Gold took over the position in February 2022, following her stint as Co-Managing Director.

In the same month Gold took the helm, she introduced an interactive community platform called Fann Summers, which offers a safe space for users to chat about a variety of topics relating to pleasure, and also offers exclusive perks and rewards.

The loyalty programme allows members the opportunity to complete missions to earn points and get rewards, as well as gain a higher status in the community. Rewards include early access to sales, the chance to become a toy tester, special VIP gifts and exclusive business insider events.

Maria Hollins

As for Maria Hollins, she joined Ann Summers in 2019. Prior to this, she was the Executive product and Trading Director at House of Fraser and previously Asos. Up until February 2023, she was a non-executive director at KIDLY.