Caroline Issa among new names on British Fashion Council board

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced new appointments to its Board of Directors, including Tank CEO Caroline Issa, to broaden the board’s expertise in relevant industry matters, such as sustainably supporting creative industries.

The non-profit organisation was set up in 1983 to strengthen British fashion in the global economy as a leader in responsible, creative businesses. As the fashion industry is facing a number of challenges including sustainability, the cost-of-living crisis, increased costs, and economic instability due to the war in Ukraine, the new appointments have been made with these issues in mind.

David Pemsel, Chair of the Board, commented: “The BFC has a dynamic Board, the new appointments have been made to bolster support for [BFC CEO] Caroline [Rush] and team while collectively honing the strategy to be laser-focused to support creative, innovative and sustainable businesses to thrive through the challenges that lie ahead and increase opportunity to knowledge share."

Each of the board members will be focused on key specific areas accordant to their expertise.

The three new Non-Executive Directors:

• Caroline Issa (Chief Executive and Fashion Director of Tank and Editor of online magazine Because) – Designer and Creative Community
• Ciara Byrne (Vice President of New Business Innovation Condé Nast) – Digital Innovation
• Lynda Petherick (Head of Retail for Accenture in the UK and Ireland) – Sustainability

Caroline Issa said: "I am very much looking forward to working with the rest of the Board to help support the BFC in amplifying the incredibly talented and diverse voices of the British fashion industry. British designers and entrepreneurs are known the world over for their originality and creativity, and it is an honour to contribute more formally towards helping the BFC achieve their ambitious goals."

Ciara Byrne said: “I’m thrilled to join the board of the British Fashion Council, among some of the UK’s leading fashion, creative and business experts. It has never been more important to support our local creative and design industries in tackling pressing issues such as climate change and economic uncertainty and I look forward to being a part of the work that the BFC does to advance this.”

Lynda Petherick added: “Now more than ever, we must take bold action to minimise our impact on the planet. By working closely with a wide range of leaders across the industry, we can embed sustainability into everything we do and drive new levels of value as a result.”

The appointments come shortly after that of David Pemsel who joined as chair in September, taking over from Farfetch's Stephanie Phair. Pemsel is the co-founder and CEO of fashion and beauty branding and marketing agency ScienceMagic Inc.

The four existing non-executive directors at the British Fashion Council are:

• June Sarpong - Creative Industries
• Sian Westerman - Economics and Finance
• Scott Morrison – Strategy
• Jamie Gill - Diversity and Inclusion

The executive members of the board remain as Caroline Rush, CEO, and Laura Strain, COO.