Jonathan Saunders appoints Rupert Maunsell as its first CEO

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jul 15, 2015

Jonathan Saunders is starting a new chapter in its story, one that begins with a milestone in its development. For the first time ever, the luxury British ready-to-wear brand, founded in 2004 by Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders, is bringing on a CEO and has chosen Rupert Maunsell to fill that role, the house announced in a press release.

The executive was previously the director of operations at Mary Katranzou, and has worked with other brands, such as Avenue 32 and Temperley London. He will notably be in charge of recruiting other managers to round out the management team "so as to assist in the group's strategic growth following a private investment announced in January 2015," pointed out the house.

The brand, whose studio will soon be moving to a more spacious location in Clerkenwell, a reconverted former industrial quarter in London, in the north of the city, did indeed welcome a new investor at the beginning of the year, the young Indian-born businesswoman Eiesha Bharti Pasricha, who is notably in the process of giving a boost to the talented Scottish designer's activity. 

"Rupert's recruitment as CEO for the brand represents the most crucial hire we have made to turn our vision into reality. He is a remarkable person," said Eiesha Bharti Pasricha.

With a diploma in textile design from the Glasgow School of Art, and then from the Central Saint Martins School of Design in 2002, Jonathan Saunders made a name for himself very quickly thanks to his prints, intense colours and sophisticated cuts.

His ready-to-wear line for men and women, one of the most followed at London Fashion Week, where he has been showing for 12 years, is experiencing growing success. It is notably distributed at Harvey Nichols, Liberty, Matches and Net-a-Porter.