Alliance Trust boss Katherine Garrett-Cox wins Veuve Clicquot Award

"Everyone in business has ups and downs," says Katherine Garrett-Cox, chief executive of Alliance Trust. "It is how you deal with them that counts." She speaks from experience. Days after being mauled by investors at the investment trust's annual general meeting, she has been named the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the year.

Ms Garrett-Cox, 47, is one of the highest profile women in the City and said she hoped her win would encourage others - despite the bruising she has received.

"We are making progress but I still find it surprising and a little bit depressing that we are sitting here in 2015 and we can name on one hand the number of senior women in finance in the City.

"You can have a wonderful career and a balanced life," she told the FT.

Ms Garrett-Cox admits it can be tough, however. She was booed at the Alliance Trust AGM in Dundee when she reached a last-minute deal with an activist investor only after spending £3m fighting its plans to place three directors on the board.

Elliot Advisors, the hedge fund that holds 12 per cent of Alliance, said it had underperformed the market and Ms Garrett-Cox's £1.4m annual pay packet was too high.

It has now agreed to keep quiet for at least a year while she works on improving returns and its three nominees join the board.

In an FT interview, Ms Garrett-Cox called for patience. "I lead a company that has just celebrated its 127th anniversary and we have done a pretty good job of looking after people's money. I do find it frustrating that people want things right now. It is really about long-term results and sustainable business."

Dundee-based Alliance has underperformed its benchmark index over the past five and three years but has improved in recent months. Its assets have doubled to £2.8bn over the past three years.

Ms Garrett-Cox said she rarely read newspapers and that there was sexism in the media. "I find it incredibly frustrating when the first thing people write about you is 'mother of four'". Nevertheless, she said she was proud of what she had achieved as a mother and hoped to inspire her children, who are at boarding school. "I have chosen not to do things because I put family first," she said.

She has worked in asset management for 25 years and is a member of the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank and vice-chair of the Barings Foundation. She takes part in the annual 24-hour charity Cateran Yomp through the Perthshire countryside.

Veuve Cliquot's Next Generation award went to Emily Brooke, who has created a product to reduce cyclist deaths. Her London-based company Blaze sells the Laserlight, which uses a laser to project the symbol of a bike on to the road in front of the cyclist, where it can be seen by drivers even when the rider is in their blind spot.

It sells in 50 countries and the 29-year-old Oxford graduate has raised £1.5m from Index Ventures and the family of Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin boss.

The awards were handed out at Claridges on Monday night. The judging panel included Luke Johnson, chairman, Risk Capital Partners and Sian Westerman, managing director of Rothschild. Past winners include Anya Hindmarch, the fashion designer, and Dame Carolyn McCall, the easyJet boss.

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