Anna Blackburn celebrates 25 years at Beaverbrooks

Managing director Anna Blackburn is celebrating her 25th anniversary at Beaverbrooks. Blackburn joined Beaverbrooks as a graduate trainee sales assistant at Manchester’s The Trafford Centre store in 1998. It has also been 10 years since she joined the group’s board of directors as the first female CEO in 2013, and was then appointed as managing director in 2018. Blackburn is also a board member for The Blackpool Pride of Place Partnership, an ambassador for the Retailtrust and a volunteer at The National Association of Jewellers. During her tenure at Beaverbrooks, Blackburn took part in various fundraising activities; from sleeping on the streets of Blackpool to raise money for The Street Life Trust, to cycling from Manchester to Blackpool, virtually walking the distance from Blackpool Tower to the Eiffel Tower, cooking meals for the homeless and regularly donating blood. She has also been the figurehead for the company, seeing Beaverbrooks featured in The Best Companies to Work For list for 19 consecutive years, and being recognised as the most consistently exceptional three-star accredited retailer in the UK. At the Best Companies Awards in 2022, the company was also awarded Retail’s Best Company to Work For, as well as being named sixth place in the 100 Best Large Companies to Work For. Additionally, Blackburn has been featured among the North West’s most influential women in business, in addition to being awarded numerous leadership accolades, including Best Companies ‘Best Leader’ award for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2019. In a LinkedIn post Blackburn said: “Since taking the lead, I have strived to promote the culture of putting people at the heart of all Beaverbrooks’ business decisions. Like I always say, if you put people first then it reflects positively on the bottom line – which is true of the sales success Beaverbrooks has achieved over the last decade. “I’m so proud to have also joined colleagues around the UK in our commitment to enriching lives in communities across the country by raising money for amazing causes through The Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust, reaching the £21m mark this year. Here’s to many more years of leading this incredible business, working with amazing colleagues and providing the best service and high-quality jewellery, diamonds and watches to our loyal customers.”