The CEO Magazine Asia - 10.2018

16 | theceomagazine.com

Passion

for

fashion

I

International fast-fashion retailer 6IXTY8IGHT

is one of the few companies in the world where

84 per cent of employees and 72 per cent of senior

management are women –  not to mention a female

CEO, Jacqueline Porjé. “It makes me so happy to see

such a large proportion of women in the workplace

and it goes to show that it’s possible to have a

thriving career and be a mother at the same time –

you don’t have to choose. What a lot of people don’t

know is that when I was offered the CEO role, I was

also three months pregnant with my second child,”

Jacqueline reveals. “The timing is never going to be

perfect – you just have to be brave and go with

it. I’ve had two kids in the past three years and

during that time, I’ve also been promoted and helped

the business turn over billions of dollars. It’s been

challenging, of course, but if we really put our minds

to it, women truly can do it all.”

Founded in 2002 in Paris by French lingerie

designer Marie Destombe and Swedish businessman

Erik Ryd, 6IXTY8IGHT provides on-trend affordable

fashion for young women, ranging from underwear

and nightwear, to contemporary casualwear and

accessories. From the beginning, the uptake was fast

and business expanded rapidly to become one of

the fastest-growing brands in Asia. Headquartered in

Hong Kong, 6IXTY8IGHT is now present in more

than 150 retail stores across China, Hong Kong,

Macau, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore.

With more than 20 years of experience in fashion

retail and merchandising across Stockholm, London,

Shanghai and Hong Kong. Jacqueline was the obvious

candidate to take on the role of CEO last November.

“It’s strange to think that I almost went into a career

in investment banking,” she recalls. “I moved from

Sweden to London to study economics, mathematics

and econometrics, before working for two years as a

Finance Assistant at NASDAQ OMX. But, it didn’t

take me too long to realise that I wanted to follow

my dream to work in fashion –  just as my mother

and aunties had done before me.” »

6IXTY8IGHT CEO JACQUELINE

PORJÉ IS A WOMAN ON A

MISSION TO TRANSFORM

HER BUSINESS INTO THE

LEADING RETAILER AMONG

YOUNG WOMEN IN ASIA.

WORDS HOLLY JOHNSON • IMAGES GARETH BROWN

INSPIRE | Interview