Business Diary: November 19

Ms Garfield is no stranger to Diary, having given a number of interviews to the Yorkshire Post and taking a starring role at the YP Business Club.

The former Harrogate schoolgirl has many talents, not least her ability to talk at what seems like 200 words per minute, testing even this speedy scribe’s shorthand.

The mother of two is a rising star in UK plc. She became a non-executive director at Tesco earlier this year.

Natural way to go

The dramatic Yorkshire moors are the setting for a new advertising campaign by the Pudsey-based mill that makes coffins from British wool fleeces.

New photography of the Natural Legacy range was taken at the North York Moors recently after the firm added a new soft limestone cloth to its collection.

The brand was recently featured on the BBC’s Escape to the Country.

Julie Greenough, of Natural Legacy, said: “People love our Natural Legacy coffins because they are so comforting and tactile. We have expanded our range to include a darker more masculine colour using our limestone cloth.

“As a company, we recognise the importance of delivering the best of British design and manufacturing allied to the most rigorous possible testing of every product we produce.”

It’s a skill to say no

“Just say no,” was the stark advice given to Yorkshire businesswomen by Mrs Moneypenny, who is also known as the columnist, TV presenter and leading head hunter Heather McGregor.

She was the guest speaker at a lunch for Grant Thornton’s ladies networking group, which was hosted at the business advisory firm’s Leeds offices, where she discussed her latest book Mrs Moneypenny’s Careers Advice for Ambitious Women.

“It’s all about who you know and what you know. You can’t have it all, but you have to do it all. Saying ‘no’ is the single most important life skill for women,” said Ms McGregor. In her summary of some of the key tips from her book, Ms McGregor stressed that time is precious, and having the ability to say “no” is vital to freeing up time and prioritising tasks. She also talked about the importance of investing in human capital, the unique set of skills you can bring to your job; and the need to accumulate social capital’ – building a network of people who are on your team’ and support your career. She also believes that having a ‘can do’ attitude, combined with a willingness to delegate and an acceptance that sacrifices will be needed, is the key to success.

Finding love at a price

Hunting down the perfect partner is never easy, regardless of how much you earn. Diary was intrigued to hear from an organisation that aims to help corporate high flyers find their soulmate.

Berkeley International has launched in Yorkshire after achieving rapid growth in London. According to the PR firm that contacted Diary, Berkeley International is an elite introductions agency “which was set up to answer the needs of people who live in the fast lane of global business, men and women alike, who haven’t had the time to find their perfect partner”.

Under the leadership of Emma Budgen, Berkeley Yorkshire has seen a 25 per cent increase in membership over the last six months.

It’s a service which is certainly for those who are aiming for the top, or have already got there.

Membership fees start at £7,000, which means, according to the PR firm, it is attracting high-achieving professionals including CEOs of FTSE 100 companies, leading entrepreneurs, lawyers and celebrities. Head-hunting for a partner is, it seems, proving popular in Yorkshire.

The bottom line

Sometimes when Diary hears of Asda’s latest antics we have to double check the date just to make sure we haven’t flown through time to April Fools’ Day.

Its latest offering is a £6 pair of padded knickers which contain hidden pads to give you a much larger derriere, imitating the famous curves of reality TV star Kim Kardashian and singer Beyonce.

Shoppers who aren’t worried whether their bum will look too big in an outfit can even double up on the pads to really give their behinds a really big boost.

The pants were launched following a poll that claimed more than half of women are not happy about the size of their bottom.