Penny has been Cafedirect's CEO for the past year following the company's public share issue. She has led the company – now the UK's leading Fairtrade hot drinks company – for the last eight years and has blazed the trail for Fairtrade business, taking it from a niche market and placing it into the mainstream.

Penny believes passionately that Fairtrade offers a viable business model and also represents the best chance for a sustainable future in today’s world.

It is Penny's unwavering vision which has driven Cafedirect's success – today a quarter of a million coffee, tea and cocoa producers benefit from Cafedirect's trading model, with millions of consumers enjoying their now extensive range of Fairtrade products. This has resulted in Cafedirect being the sixth largest coffee brand, the third largest Roast & Ground brand, and one of the fastest growing tea brands in the UK.

Penny has helped transform the fortunes of the company and translate its pioneering spirit into an award winning business. The recent share issue – the fastest selling ethical business in the UK to date – has resulted in new ownership for Cafédirect, with 4,500 new shareholders, plus an injection of £5m to fuel the huge growth in the company and realise the potential for its portfolio of brands.

Penny is also a member of the Women's Enterprise Panel, which was formed by the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in late 2004 to examine options for the establishment of a national Women’s Business Council and to champion the acceleration of the development of women’s enterprise in the UK.

Previously, Penny's business management and marketing skills were gained from working with commercial companies such as Avon and Wella, and in particular her five years at The Body Shop added ethical and social dimensions to that knowledge.