66. From miniskirts to stem cell therapy: How a fashion leader is changing heart failure treatment | Jenifer Rosenberg OBE
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How did Jenifer Rosenberg start her career at Marks & Spencer?
Welcome to All About Business with me, James Reid, the podcast that covers everything about business, management, and leadership. Every episode, I sit down with different guests who have bootstrapped companies, masterminded investment models, or built a business empire. They're leaders in their field, and they're here to give you top insights and actionable advice so that you can apply their ideas to your own career or business venture. From the swinging 60s fashion rails to the frontline of cutting-edge medical research, today's guest has reinvented herself more than once. I'm joined by Jennifer Rosenberg, OBE, entrepreneur, former fashion manufacturer for some of the UK's best-known retailers, and founder of the Heart Cells Foundation.
We'll dive into resilience, reinvention, and what it takes to turn hard moments into meaningful impact for thousands of people. Well, today on All About Business, I couldn't be more delighted than to welcome Jennifer Rosenberg, who has had three amazing careers. And we're going to talk a little about each of them. Jennifer, you started out at Marks & Spencer's and was promoted on numerous occasions to a very senior role there earlier in your career. Then you started your own business, J&J Fashions.
That's right.
which became the largest privately owned ladieswear manufacturer in the country, employing thousands of people. And then you started the Heart Cells Foundation, which is pioneering really exciting new research to help people with heart disease and heart conditions. And I want to talk to you about that as well. But firstly, welcome.
Thank you very much. Thank you for inviting me, James.
It's a real pleasure to see you. Thank you for coming in. Let's go back to the beginning and those swinging 60s, because I believe that you were the person with your team who introduced the miniskirt to Marks and Spencers, no less. That's... That's right.
What happened? Well, that's what I started in M&S, in the post room. So I really started at the bottom, putting a post trolley around, delivering the mail. But I didn't intend to stay there. And, you know, after various meetings with staff management and everything, I found myself in the skirt department. I was very happy to be in the skirt department. But at that time, I wasn't the senior buyer of the skirt department. I was very junior.
What innovative changes did Jenifer bring to women's fashion?
But I could see what was happening in London. This was the beginning of the 60s. It was every day there was something new that was happening in the scene. And Mary Quant developed something called the mini skirt. And prior to that, we'd been wearing skirts down to our calves, our ankles. And suddenly, this amazing designer called Mary Quant came. And this wonderful model called Twiggy was walking around London in these mini skirts. And I felt, well, we've got to have this. So I bought one for myself. And fortunately, I've got good legs. So that was OK. That went down very well. And I made a presentation to the board and I said to them, we have to try this. Look, this is what's happening on the high street.
and they ummed and they aahed, and I put it up against myself, and because I'm quite short, it didn't look, because I'm short.
Sorry to interrupt you at this point, just to help me visualise this. Was the board all male?
Yeah.
What personal experiences led Jenifer to focus on heart failure treatment?
So you were presenting all men, there were no women on the board.
No women at all.
And they were probably all of a certain age.
Definitely, definitely.
And they had a reputation for being quite staid.
Yes, but they were staid, but they were involved. They were very much into merchandise. They really would feel the fabric, look at the fabric. And they also had an amazing way of communicating with us. They were brilliant. So they'd walk in and they'd say, what's new? So I immediately got hold of my sample of this miniskirt.
How did Jenifer co-found the Heart Cells Foundation?
And I said, sir, I feel we should be trying this. This is what's happening on the high street. Then I put it up against myself and it didn't look that short.
Why is that, Janet?
Because I'm short.
Because you are short. So it looked quite long on you.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Jenifer Rosenberg start her career at Marks & Spencer?
0:00–2:21
2
What innovative changes did Jenifer bring to women's fashion?
2:21–3:13
3
What personal experiences led Jenifer to focus on heart failure treatment?
3:13–3:45
4
How did Jenifer co-found the Heart Cells Foundation?
3:45–5:08
5
What is stem cell therapy and how does it work?
5:08–6:32
6
What challenges did Jenifer face while establishing the Heart Cells Foundation?
6:32–9:03
7
How has the treatment evolved since the foundation's inception?
9:03–13:46
8
What advice does Jenifer have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
13:46–54:10
Speakers
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