Jo Fairley
Entrepreneur Speaker and Founder of Green and Blacks Chocolate
Jo Fairley is the co-founder of Green & Black’s Chocolate and is in demand keynote business speaker on entrepreneurs, branding and marketing
Green and Black’s is a chocolate company specialising in organic chocolate. Started in 1991, the company has grown and grown and in May 2005 was sold to Cadburys and has worldwide operations in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia.
Jo Fairley had left school at 16 with six ‘O’ Levels, and through hard work and determination, she became a serial entrepreneur via an award-winning organic and natural food store/bakery (Judges Bakery), The Wellington Centre (a boutique nine-room wellbeing centre) – both in her home town of Hastings – and most recently The Perfume Society, which sets out to help individuals develop their sense of smell via exploration of fragrance and the scented world.
In recognition of her work, Jo has received many awards for her enterprise, including WorldAware Award and many Soil Association Awards (both for Green & Black’s and Judges Bakery). She has also received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Studies from Kingston University, and The Shackleton Medal for leadership and citizenship, from The Scottish Royal Geographical Society.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Jo is one of the UK’s leading motivational speakers, re-telling the inspirational journey of Green & Black’s and sharing her business insights with audiences from financial institutions to FTSE 100 companies, universities and more across the UK and Europe.
She also brings some chocolate with her too!
Speaking topics include:
• Branding
• PR
• Marketing
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Women in Business
'As the co-founder of one of the world’s most well-loved confectionary brands, Jo Fairley offers hugely valuable insight into the world of international trade and growing a business overseas. As part of our Trade Horizons Roadshow events, Jo hit the brief to a very high standard, taking care to ensure that her presentation was structured around the customer experience which we had designed. It was clear that the audience left inspired by Jo’s story. Jo also made a point of allowing ample time for her Q+A – something often overlooked – this also included a chocolate prize for the best question!'
— Business West
'Jo delivered an engaging and interesting account of Green and Black's which drew in the audience. Her thoughts and lessons learned from the business was very insightful especially from the perspective of a women in business. We thoroughly enjoyed her talk (especially the chocolate!) and recommend her highly.'
— Hargreaves Lansdown
'Jo's story and presentation were incredible and well-received by attendees. Everyone was fully engaged as she shared her real experiences with the audience, providing an inspirational and valuable insight into her business. Jo has a very friendly and down-to-earth demeanour and was extremely generous with her time throughout her talk and Q+A session. After the event, Jo graciously spoke to all those who wanted to chat directly to her. Jo's positive attitude to business is a shining example to entrepreneurs.'
— Creative Steps 2.0, Newry, Northern Ireland
'Jo was the perfect speaker for our International Women's Day Business Breakfast. Thought-provoking, inspirational, insightful and engaging. A pleasure to work with and an ideal speaker for our audience of entrepreneurs and business people – we've had great feedback from clients and it's been hailed as "the best client event ever"! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her.'
— BE Offices
