COMMUNITY PROFILE

Rita Clifton has a portfolio of Non-executive Director roles, including John Lewis Partnership, Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc. In November 2020 Rita was appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Forum of the Future and in February 2021 she joined the John Lewis Partnership board as Deputy Chairman. Her previous tenures have included three terms on the Board of Dixons Retail and at Emap, until the successful divestment of the business. In 2013, she became Chair and co-founder of BrandCap, the brand consultancy for the boardroom. Between 2004 and 2017 Rita was Chair of Populus, the opinion pollster and research company, and between 2014 and 2020 she was a Non-executive Director of ASOS plc.

Before joining brand consultancy Interbrand in 1997 as London CEO and then Chair for a 10-year term, Rita was Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi from 1986. She has worked with many of the world’s leading brands and is also a regular commentator on TV and radio. Her writing has included the best selling books 'The Future of Brands', and 'Brands & Branding', and she has recently launched her latest book which is now an Amazon bestseller: Love Your Imposter.

Rita's pro bono roles include work with the WWF, the Henley Festival and as Chair of the leading practical sustainability organisation, TCV. She has also been on the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Commission and the Advisory Board for BP's carbon offset programme 'targetneutral'. 

In the 2014 New Year’s Honours List Rita was awarded a CBE for services to the creative industries and in 2016 she was included in Debrett's 500 most influential people in the UK. She holds an MA from Cambridge University.