Belinda Earl

In 1985, she left Harrods to become a menswear merchandiser at Debenhams. She rose to become a company director in 1991. She was appointed trading director and joined the board in 1997. She held responsibilities including womenswear, accessories, lingerie, and designers. After Terry Green resigned in 2000, she was appointed CEO of Debenhams.^[2] During her administration the company did well despite an unfavourable economic climate.^[3] She became the first chief executive of a London Stock Exchange-listed company to take maternity leave with the birth of her second son in 2001. Her planned six weeks' absence made headlines of some national newspapers as a relatively long time for a chief executive to take off work.^{[citation needed]} She was re-elected at annual general meetings up to and including 2003.

She left Debenhams in 2003. Her failure that October to secure a buyout of Debenhams by Permira prompted her departure (Debenhams was eventually bought for £1.7 billion by a rival private consortium).^[4]

Harold Tillman, a retail entrepreneur, had bought Jaeger in 2002 and had inherited a brand in decline. Earl was initially approached in 2004^[1] and was eventually persuaded to become CEO. Jaeger became a profitable business, growing sales both in retail and online, developed the lines of Jaeger London, Boutique by Jaeger and Jaeger Black as well as expanding internationally during her tenure. She left the business in 2011.

Earl joined Marks and Spencer as style director in September 2012.

She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to retail.^[5]

Earl is a patron of Skillsmart, a retail sector skills council, a fellow of the City & Guilds Institute, and a fellow of the University of Wales.