For our latest OL Spotlight, we're delighted to feature Jennifer Brown (1996). Jennifer is the founder of pampeano, a popular and successful premium accessories brand specialising in belts, bags and other men's leather goods. We are delighted to now stock a custom ‘Loretto’ pampeano belt on the Society’s online shop, which you can view and buy here.

Q1. Tell us a little about your career and background?

“I originally spent around seven years working in London in Finance and Property. Since then, I have spent almost twenty years building my business, pampeano, a premium leather goods brand focused on quality and endurance.”

Q2. What led you to found pampeano?

“On a sabbatical to South America in 2008, I had a zany idea to start a business, so I did… without too much thought and with no experience. I was at least firmly encouraged by a couple of visiting friends, who believed it would be a hit. A number of OLs also helped me early on. Harriet McCowan Hill (1996) was a rock, helping me at a couple of consumer fairs in London, Mark Lawson (1996) helped developed the brand at the outset and Adam Horey (1997) provided financing advice. I now work closely with Zoe Attenborough (1996), who has completely developed and now drives our marketing strategy.

My dear, late friend Catherine Ingleby (1996) was another huge source of support and her beautiful family recently participated in a Father’s Day shoot for the brand.”

Q3. What would you say is the best aspect of your career?

“When I overhear people I don’t personally know talking about our brand or products, or read consumer feedback that refers to their ‘much loved pampeano belt’ that they’ve had for 10+ years. It’s also really exciting seeing our products in unexpected places - for example, it was pretty cool seeing a freestyle skiing competitor wearing one of our belts as he did a backflip at the Winter Olympics earlier this year. We were in the Alps ourselves, so the skiing was on the bar TV and one of the children in our group spotted it!”

Q5. What do you consider to be your biggest achievement?

“Getting through the tough times feels like a big achievement. When a cash flow squeeze hits, it’s really tough. But we’ve always managed to get through, sometimes managing the timing of payments intra-day, which is now crazy to believe. The biggest achievement, though, is the respect the brand has developed - especially around its hero product, the pampeano belt.”

Q6. What’s next for you?

“We’re pushing our business hard, putting a lot of stock in Miami so consumers can have their purchases within 48 hours. We’ve also just launched in the American department store Nordstrom, and I’m excited to see how this all goes”

Q7. What advice would you give to current Lorettonians?

It’s simple: work hard!

Future OL Spotlights

To be featured yourself or to nominate someone else, please get in touch at society@loretto.com.