Alannah Weston facts for kids

Alannah Elizabeth Weston (born January 8, 1972) is a businesswoman from Ireland and Canada. She used to lead a famous department store group called Selfridges Group. Alannah is part of the well-known Weston family. She also helps manage her family's main company, Wittington Investments.

About Alannah Weston

Alannah Weston was born in Dublin, Ireland, on January 8, 1972. She is the older child of Galen Weston and Hilary Weston. She has one younger brother named Galen Weston Jr.. Alannah has citizenship in both Ireland and Canada.

She is married to Alex Cochrane, who is an architect. They have two children together. Alannah Weston and her family live in London, England.

Her Career Journey

Alannah Weston went to Havergal College, a school in Toronto, Canada. She then studied English literature at Merton College, Oxford University. After finishing her studies, she worked as a journalist. She wrote for popular magazines like The Daily Telegraph, Tatler, and British Vogue.

In 1999, Alannah left journalism. She started working for the luxury fashion brand Burberry. There, she was in charge of public relations. In 2001, she left Burberry to start her own design company called Zephyr Projects.

In 2004, Alannah Weston became the creative director for the Selfridges department store in London. This meant she helped decide the look and feel of the store. In 2014, she became the deputy leader of the Selfridges Group. She also joined the board of directors for George Weston Limited in 2016. This is another important family business.

Alannah became the chairman of the Selfridges Group in 2019. The Weston family is very successful in business. In 2021, they were ranked among the richest families in the Sunday Times Rich List. Their family's wealth was estimated to be around €11 billion.

In August 2022, Alannah Weston stepped down as chairman of Selfridges Group. This happened when the business was sold to two other companies, Central Group from Thailand and Signa Holding from Austria.

Helping Others

Alannah Weston is also involved in helping different causes. This is called philanthropy. From 2012 to 2017, she was a director for the Blue Marine Foundation. This charity works to protect the oceans.

She also led the Selfridges Group Foundation, which is a charity connected to the department store. Alannah is a trustee for the Garfield Weston Foundation. This foundation supports many different charities across the United Kingdom. She is also a director of the Reta Lila Howard Foundation, named after her grandmother.