Ethical entrepreneur Jo Fairley will be the next guest of the Isle of Man Sporting and Dining Club.
Jo will give a talk to club members and guests at the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club on 29th October, 2009.
Jo Fairley is best known to as co-founder of internationally successful Green & Black’s organic chocolate and her story has inspired budding businesspeople everywhere.
Having left school with minimal qualifications, Jo started her career in journalism and soon became the U.K’s youngest-ever national magazine editor at the age of 23.
Highly regarded as a journalist, Jo had an environment column on the Women’s pages of The Times, Ecosphere, and co-presented a BskyB TV Show called Go For Green with David Bellamy.
She is Chair of The Soil Association’s Health Products Standards Committee, helping to set the standards for organic and natural cosmetics in the UK, and is also 'Matron' of the Women’s Environmental Network.
With her husband Craig Sams, Jo created Green & Black’s, juggling its development with her writing career.
Jo’s dynamic approach to marketing was key to Green & Black’s success: she built the brand with negligible advertising spend and took no salary until the eighth year of business.
Green & Black’s is now one of the world's best-known confectionary brands and one of the very few to be feted both for its quality and its ethical credentials.
In their book 'Sweet Dreams', Craig and Jo told how combined expertise in organic food, marketing, branding and ethics helped to grow and sustain Green & Black’s.
Event organiser John Wannenburgh comments, "Whilst Jo Fairley’s name may not be as instantly recognizable as that of her creation, her entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen and loyalty to her green roots have given us a first class product.
"Her story is one of David versus Goliath, and demostrates just how marketing and branding skills can single-handedly change how a product is sourced and sold.”
Kevin Cartledge, Senior Manager at HSBC, Isle of Man (sponsors of the evening) adds, "Green & Black's success is proof that you can have a sustainable business which is both profitable and respects the environment.
"HSBC's goal is to be one of the world's leading brands in corporate sustainability so it is a real pleasure for us to welcome Jo to the Isle of Man and hear first hand how she has successfully brought these elements together in her business."
For more information about the event, including ticket availability, contact John Wannenburgh on (07624) 495749. You can also visit the Club's website.
