NOTHING GETS THE attention of the hard-bitten British press like an extremely successful woman. Nicknamed the London 'City Superwoman' by the tabloids, it is not hard to see why Belinda Earl became the financial scribes' darling when she first became chief executive of the huge British department store chain Debenhams and then, 18 months ago, chief of upmarket fashion brand Jaeger.
The willowy brunette's graduation to the boardroom was the culmination of 18 years working her way up to break through the glass ceiling, having started out as a Debenhams shop assistant in her home town of Plymouth.
The 42-year-old mother of two made British history when, as chief of Debenhams, she became the first boss of a major public limited company to take maternity leave.
Before joining Jaeger, Ms Earl reportedly rejected several jobs, including the challenge of running Marks & Spencers' struggling clothes business. Ms Earl left when Debenhams was sold for GBP1.7 billion ($24 billion) to Baroness Retail.
Armed with a reported pay-off of GBP3.6 million, Ms Earl bought an undisclosed stake in Jaeger, with ambitious plans to revive the loss-making 120-year-old British fashion institution.
Much like the formerly stodgy Burberry before it was reinvented to join the stable of Cool Britannia brands, Jaeger had slipped from its position as fashion house of choice for the well-turned-out and the well-heeled. Jaeger, which has a landmark flagship store in London's Regent's Street, has changed hands many times in recent years. It is now owned by tycoon Harold Tillman, who bought it from another entrepreneur, Richard Thomson, who had acquired it from textile manufacturer Coats Viyella.