ANNAH STRETTON ONZM - A SpeakerLink Profile

Travels from		Hamilton or Auckland
Based		Waikato, NZ
Type		Speaker, Consultant
Style		Inspiring, Motivating, Insightful, Creative, Engaging, Impactful, Memorable, Down-To-Earth, Passionate, Savvy, Highly credible, Professional, Empowering

Recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading entrepreneurs, Annah Stretton continues to grow her thriving business empire.

From waitress to accountant; entrepreneur to serial philanthropist and now industry leader; Annah Stretton’s story is one of passion, colour, generosity and extreme business success. In her autobiography entitled ‘Rag Trade to Mag Trade’ Annah shares what has been an exceptionally eventful life, in her typically forthright manner.

Annah’s business, Stretton Group remains based in the Waikato where her success has grown to include a chain of 27 fashion retail stores throughout New Zealand, export accounts to the U.K., Ireland, Europe, USA (California) and Australia, a publishing arm that delivers three magazine titles to the market – one of which is the highly successful ‘Her Magazine’ and interests in hospitality.

Stretton Group is based in a multimillion dollar purpose built head office building allowing Annah to factor for growth; particularly in the global fashion market.

In addition to directing her collection of business interests, Annah’s boundless energy also allows her to continue to be actively involved in a huge number of philanthropic endeavours, supporting many national groups including Look good Feel Better, Starship, SPCA, Safe and many Breast Cancer initiatives.

In 2008, the true level of Annah’s achievements and generosity of spirit was captured when she was awarded the honour of becoming a Member of New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to Fashion, Business and the Community.

Following on from this recognition, Annah became the 2009 New Zealand recipient of the Veuve Clicquot Award. This global tribute acknowledges female achievers in business and industry who exemplify the qualities of Madame Clicquot, the woman behind the successful champagne house Veuve Clicquot.

This year, Annah was invited to serve as an advisory board member for New Zealand Global Women, a network of recognised, accomplished senior women leaders from a wide range of national and international disciplines and industries.

Annah’s credibility as an over-achiever who has highlighted her abilities not only in New Zealand but also in the global market place was recently proven as she was chosen to be the face of Telecom’s XT Mobile Network – The journey for this extraordinary woman is far from over!

Testimonials

“If you want your team to feel they can take on the world and win, ask Annah to speak to them about her career and guiding principles – a result is guaranteed. Annah’s honest up front approach and determination to succeed inspires people to think again about their take on life, “…if Annah can do it, why can’t I?” Her no nonsense attitude and strong work ethic, combined with a desire to see others achieve inspired our team of Managers and her presentation was the highlight of our conference.”
Marie-Ann Billens - General Manager - Estee Lauder Companies

"Annah Stretton was a keynote speaker at the Rotary 9920 District Conference held in Christchurch in May 2009. The feedback received from our members was that Annah was a great presenter, very down to earth and highly entertaining - she was one of the highlights of our Conference."
Jennie Herring - District Conference Secretary

"Listening to Annah at our Women in Super function was akin to a personal 'power-coaching' session since there was at least one potentially life-changing takeout for every woman in the room. We liked Annah's direct, common sense approach to making a difference for yourself and getting on with achieving your goals. She wrote out a permission slip for women to take no prisoners, think like a man and never be afraid to give something a go if there is a business opportunity before you. What also resonated well was that she keeps a balance and is very prepared to give something back through mentoring and through her capacity building approach to her philanthropic passions. We loved hearing the story of someone who started out with little and made a go of it, yet, after all that success, remains approachable, grounded and generous of spirit. If you get a chance to hear Annah, don't pass it by."
Mel Hewitson - Women in Super

Categories
Motivation, After Dinner, Business, Entrepreneurs, Inspiration, Leadership, Management, Retail, Strategy, Teams

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