28 entrepreneurs
One healthy dose of optimism + a winning mentality = business success
Having sold the family home to take a chance on a start-up business in the mid-90s, Annette D’Abreo is now a multi-award-winning businesswoman and managing director of that same company – Bournemouth-based Ceuta Healthcare. Recognised as the leading international outsource partner within the health and beauty sector, Ceuta Healthcare helps to launch, develop and build over-the- counter (OTC) brands in both UK and international markets. With an annual turnover of circa £50 million, D’Abreo is in charge of the UK arm, while co-founder and CEO Edwin Bessant looks after the international team and grocery division. Among the company’s many plaudits have been listings in the Best 500 UK Companies to Work For and achieving IIP Gold status, while D’Abreo herself was recently named The Business Magazine’s Woman of the Year (Large Business) for the south of England, and in 2012 won Asian Businesswoman of the Year. Alison Dewar found out more
A surprise late baby and only child for her parents, who were 44 and 52 at the time, D’Abreo was born in Chiswick, London, after the family moved from Bombay so her father could pursue his career with Air India at Heathrow Airport. Studious by nature, she was head girl of her convent school in Isleworth, before going on to study French and economics at Kingston University. She took a temporary job in customer services at tobacco giant Philip Morris International in Feltham, where her potential was quickly spotted and she joined the graduate fast-track programme. Seven years later, she moved into the healthcare sector, joining Whitehall Laboratory (now Pfizer) where she met Edwin Bessant, who would go on to be her co-founder and now CEO at Ceuta.
Where did the idea for Ceuta come from?
Edwin was director of pharmacy and when companies kept asking for help to promote their brands, he realised there was gap in the market for someone to do that. He knew I had broad business skills and an understanding of the market, so he asked me to join him.
What happened next? Tell us about your first job
My first Saturday job was making sandwiches at Kew Gardens, but then I worked in Sainsbury’s two nights a week and every Saturday. By the time I left university, Mum had been diagnosed with cancer, so the temp job was a way to stay close to home. Philip Morris spotted something in me and they had a really good MD, Roger Thomas, who encouraged me.
How did your interest in healthcare begin?
After a while, I realised that as I was both a non-smoker and had many friends who were doctors and dentists, it seemed right to move into healthcare. I joined Whitehall Laboratory as a trade marketing controller, brought in some fresh people and developed my own team – we were voted top trade marketing company by Mintel.
www.businessmag.co.uk
It was 1994 and it was a huge step to start our own company. We had no clients, but we had the certainty that our business model was valid, plus it was a very entrepreneurial time. By then, my father had also died, so I sold our family home and Edwin and I each invested our savings. The then Department for Trade and Industry gave us a £100,000 loan and 3i also invested £550,000 in return for 10% of the business. For the first three years, we made a loss but by year four we had turned a profit.
Why base on the South Coast?
Edwin was born in Poole and lived in Bournemouth, he had been commuting to London for years and wanted something nearer home.
In the mid-90s, the M3 was
finally completed, the airport was opening up and it was a very entrepreneurial area. Today, big clients such as Boots, Superdrug and Unilever still love coming down to visit us and we currently have 80 staff here in our offices and a further 120 in the sales team, out on the road talking to pharmacists and their staff across the UK.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – DECEMBER 15/JANUARY 16 Did you ever doubt your success?
We were focused on making this work and relentless in our marketing and fostering of contacts. We designed the logo, printed brochures and contacted OTC and pharma companies and trade embassies to let them know that there was no longer a gap in the market.
When did you know you had ’made it’?
Our first major client was Bayer, who asked us to look after Alka Seltzer, Autan and Canesten.
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