Brits in the Big Apple

Gemma Cairney is an award-winning broadcaster and author who is passionate about empowering young women.

After attending The Brit School and a brief stint in fashion during her early 20s, Gemma’s unique, infectious broadcasting style was swiftly spotted by the BBC. She graduated from BBC’s 1Xtra to BBC Radio 1 where she hosted the early Breakfast Show and Weekend Breakfast Show. She then went on to present the station’s social action show The Surgery for two years.

Gemma’s radio documentaries include: Dolly, Dylan or Daft Punk (BBC6 Music), What the F: the Story of Feminism; Never Mind The Cobblers: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Cobbler, and Mali Music, which saw her travel to Mali to discuss the country’s music ban and interview its emerging stars. Tempted by Teacher and Bruising Silence (BBC Radio 1) have seen her awarded two Sony Golds. Her interview of Grace Jones for Amazing Grace (BBC 6 Music) won the Best Music Show Rose d’Or.

Her acclaimed television documentaries include: The History of Feminism (BBC2, BBC Learning), Riots: The Aftershock and Dying for Clear Skin (BBC3). Gemma has presented the BBC’s Glastonbury Festival coverage and co-hosted BBC1’s New Year’s Eve coverage which had more than 12 million viewers.  In 2016 Gemma co-hosted the BBC Music Awards on BBC1 alongside Claudia Winkleman and Fearne Cotton.

Gemma’s debut book, OPEN: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be was published in 2017.  With her natural flair, Gemma launched the book by touring the UK on an open-top bus, which she painted yellow and named Dandelion; recording podcasts and hosting parties on board as she went!

In 2014 she made royal history by hosting a live Google hangout from Buckingham Palace for The Queen’s Young Leader project alongside HRH Prince William and HRH Prince Harry. She also co-produced internet entertainment show, The Fox Problem.

As an ambassador for Oxfam for five years , Gemma ran Rumble in the Jumble celebrity jumble sale which raised more than £60,000. She also lends her support to Women’s Aid.

Twitter @gemcairn and Instagram @gemagain

Gemma’s biography taken from

http://cobj.co.uk/client/gemma-cairney

Jonathan Lynn co‐created and co‐wrote the entire series Yes, Prime Minister, which is listed among the top ten series of all‐time according to the British Film Institute.

He wrote and directed his first feature film Clue (1985) with an all‐star cast, directed his screenplay Nuns on the Run (1990), which starred Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane, and the acerbic comedy My Cousin Vinny (1992), which earned Marisa Tomei an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.

The Distinguished Gentleman (1992), starring Eddie Murphy, raised the issue of campaign finance reform long before the average American recognized the problem. Other films include The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, which was number 1 at the US

box‐office for three weeks, and The Fighting Temptations (2003) with Beyonce Knowles and Cuba Gooding, an uplifting tour de force of gospel music. The film won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Picture of 2003.

Lynn directed numerous plays in London, beginning in the mid 1970s. They include: The Glass Menagerie (1977); Songbook (1979);  Anna Christie (1979‐80) at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and the Donmar; A Little Hotel on the Side by Georges Feydeau, adapted by John Mortimer at the National Theatre, and Three Men on a Horse at the National Theatre (Olivier Award, Best Comedy).

He also directed and wrote (with Antony Jay) their stage play Yes Prime Minister, a smash hit in the West End, and in 2016 he wrote and directed The Patriotic Traitor at the Park theatre. His other books include the novels Mayday and Samaritans and a memoir Comedy Rules.

TIEFENBRUN founder Yosel Tiefenbrun was raised in London and comes from a long line of tailors, fabric merchants and artists. The love of fine clothes, design and exquisite workmanship runs in his blood and has been his passion from a young age. Growing up, his studies took him to France, New York, Israel and then on to Singapore to become a rabbi. In Singapore he also began to pursue his love of design and clothing, studying design at NAFA while interning at Harper's Bazaar Magazine.

At the age of 21, Yosel moved to London to study at the Savile Row Academy, where he spent two years training in both cutting and tailoring. He was then chosen to apprentice under Master Tailor Andrew Ramroop of Maurice Sedwell. Upon finishing his apprenticeship, Yosel moved back to Singapore to work as both a rabbi for the Jewish community and a tailor at Kevin Seah Bespoke. In his new role, he worked with many Asian and international clients, gaining a broader sartorial mindset for the various cultures, traditions and unique styles of Asia.

Following his dreams, Yosel moved to New York at the age of 28 to open his own tailoring house, TIEFENBRUN, in Brooklyn, New York. He has been credited with making Savile Row tailoring a local option in New York where he has a wide range of clients from celebrity sports players, award winning actors and international royalty.

You can find Yosel on Instagram at @rabbitailor and @tiefenbrunnyc and on Twitter at @Rabbitailor.

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As editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, British-born journalist Glenda Bailey garnered international acclaim for her vision. Combining high fashion with intelligent in-depth features, her editorial approach has marked the magazine as one of the most prominent fashion publications in the world.

Appointed to the role in 2001 — having served as editor-in-chief of the US edition of Marie Claire since 1996 — Bailey’s directional leadership played a pivotal role in steering the magazine through the financial downturn in 2008. She entered into a unique partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue, connecting the worlds of content and commerce and launched an e-commerce site ShopBazaar.com, in collaboration with Yoox.com.

A fashion design graduate of Kingston University, Bailey’s final year dissertation on the IPC Magazine publishing group. introduced the young creative to the concept of fashion journalism. Following a brief stint as a design assistant for Guisi Slaverio, she landed her first role as editor for British magazine Honey. Despite having no previous editorial experience, Bailey, through a series of meetings with IPC director Colin Reeves-Smith, followed her appointment at Honey with a role at the publication company’s newly launched Folio magazine and in 1988 played an instrumental role in the launch of the British version of French fashion magazine Marie Claire. By the mid-90s Marie Claire had become one of the most popular publications in Britain, with a circulation of over 450,000.

The established editor has received a number of industry accolades throughout her illustrious career, including several ASME awards and in 2008, an MBE in recognition of her services in journalism and fashion. While serving at the helm of Marie Claire, Bailey was also presented with two successive awards as "Women’s Magazine Editor of the Year" and "Editor’s Editor of the Year," along with several consumer magazine awards and recognition from Amnesty International for her dedicated coverage of human rights affairs.

At the start of 2019, Bailey was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

In January 2020, it was announced that she will step down as editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, while staying on at Hearst as a full-time global consultant for international editions of the title.

Glenda’s biography was taken from https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/glenda-bailey.

At the age of nine Jim studied tap and ballet dancing for six years. At seventeen he became the youngest professional comedian touring the British Music Halls.

In his 20’s he became a successful pop singer under the wing of legendary Beatles recording manager Sir George Martin.

He became a leading team member of the iconic British Carry On film series, appearing in eleven of them.

In 1969 at the request of Lord Olivier he joined the British National Theatre as a leading actor, appearing in seven productions, including a two-hander play with Sir Anthony Hopkins.

His work on and off Broadway include, Scapino, Barnum, Joe Egg, Candide, Me and My Girl, Privates On Parade, The Music Man, Travels With My Aunt, The Threepenny Opera, Comedians, and The Road to Mecca.

In the category of Best Actor, Jim has won a Tony Award, five Tony Award Nominations, five Drama Desk Awards and five New York Critics Awards, including, “Outstanding Solo Performance” for his most recent one-man show at the Roundabout Theatre, Just Jim Dale.

As a lyricist he won an American Academy Award Nomination for the title song for the film “Georgy Girl,” starring Lynn Redgrave.

As a film actor in the category of  Best Newcomer, he won a British Academy Award Nomination

He narrated of all seven audiobooks in the Harry Potter series, winning a record ten Audie Awards, the Oscars of the American narrating world, two Grammy Awards and seven Grammy Nominations.

He also won ‘Narrator of the Year’ 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 plus “Audiobook of the Year 2004”

He holds two Guinness World Records. One for, ‘Creating 147 different voices for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, and a second for, ‘Occupying the First Six Places in the Top Ten Audio Books of America and Canada.’

Over the past few years Jim has been inducted into The American Theatre Hall of Fame, The American Audio Hall of Fame, and, Audible Publishing Hall of Fame.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II recently honoured Jim with the MBE* *Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Duncan Quinn has collected special people as clients for his bespoke clothing business for almost 20 years. Suit lovers, Pulitzer prize winners, Oscar winners, self made billionaires, global fashion designers, and entrepreneurs of every flavor. All seeking the curated experiences, and curated life, that start with a visit to consult him in New York City.

Duncan Quinn’s studio opened in NoLita, New York City in 2003 on a mission to better dress the gentlemen and rogues of New York City and beyond. To create a club of characters. And give them reasons to dress up in our bespoke suits. Fortunately for us the world, clients, and the press responded. And still do. Our unique combination of classic bespoke tailoring, irreverent twists, exceptional events and general curation of the good life has led to many fun things. We've dressed the great and the good, and in some cases characters bordering on insane. We've thrown cocktail parties in vintage double decker buses, grand cru wine tastings on 200 foot schooners, legendary dinners in the lobby of Chateau Marmont, Gumballed and Goldrushed and Elephant Charged across continents, raised money for good causes, and generally whooped it up as much as we can adding stories, as well as bespoke suits along the way. We've been featured in newspapers, magazines and TV shows all over the world including the NYT Magazine, GQ, Esquire, Details, Departures, Town&Country, Forbes, Fortune, Worth, WSJ, FT, Guardian, Le Monde, Corriera Della Serra, EsquireTV and others. Inspired by gentlemen and rogues from Sir Ian Fleming's James Bond to Cary Grant's John "The Cat" Robie.

When DQ was small he always told his parents he wanted to be an architect and a stuntman. He was diverted by mathematics and law. But eventually found he had somewhat of a knack for spacial things. Both human and mechanical. He also has an exceptional eye for color, texture, and character. And so it was that he came to do the architecture for suits for bodies, and get behind the wheel of anything that goes fast. He had also realized when involved with the hospitality business that although people will tell you never to judge a book by its cover, almost everyone does. Which makes for interesting possibilities when manipulating perception. 80% of communication has been shown to be non-verbal. Think about that for a second. Eighty-percent of what you say does not come out of your mouth. And is not enunciated by your thoughts becoming words. It is enunciated by what you wear and how you look.. and act. And so, yet again, although we make suits, we are not your average suit maker. It's not just about taking measurements and you choosing your cloth. It's about achieving a mission. Maximizing "you" for the challenges you will be faced with in life. Whether by dialing up or down the volume of the message the suit speaks. More understated, less understated, more elegant, less elegant, more formal, less formal. Adding or deducting small signals which people will perceive. So while a bespoke DQ suit is still a suit, more than that it is your message to the world. Lets work together to make sure it's the message you want it to be.

Headshot taken by Henry Leutwyler.

Follow Duncan Quinn at @duncan_quinn on Instagram and Twitter

Tina Brown is an award-winning journalist, editor, and author. She has been editor-in-chief of Tatler, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen for her services to journalism in 2000, and inducted into the Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame in 2007. In October 2008, Brown launched and edited the digital news site The Daily Beast, which won the news website of the year award in 2012 and 2013. For a decade she organized and hosted Women in the World, with summits in New York, London and Delhi, and smaller salons throughout North America.

Brown’s book The Vanity Fair Diaries was chosen as one of the best books of 2017 by Time, People, The Guardian, and The Economist.  She wrote the 2007 best-selling biography of the Princess of Wales, The Diana Chronicles. Her follow-up, The Palace Papers, was named one of the New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of 2022, and one of The Times of London’s 37 best books of 2022.

You can follow her on Twitter at @TinaBrownLM.

Will Butler-Adams is Chief Executive Officer of Brompton Bicycle Ltd., and has worked for Nissan, ICI, DuPont and Brompton; involved in product development, R&D, project management and manufacturing excellence. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University and is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. He joined Brompton in 2002 and also serves as a commissioner on the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Hailing from Ulverston in Cumbria, Jess Gillam is animating the music world with her outstanding talent and infectious personality. She has been forging her own adventurous path since she shot to fame becoming the first saxophonist to reach the finals of BBC Young Musician and the youngest ever soloist to perform at the Last Night of the Proms. Passionate about inspiring and bringing joy to people through music, Jess invites audiences on journeys of musical discovery through her electrifying performances and eclectic programming.

As well as performing around the world, Jess is a presenter on TV and Radio. She became the youngest ever presenter for BBC Radio 3 with the launch of her own weekly show, This Classical Life . The show is in its third year now and in 2020 won the prestigious ARIA Award for Best Specialist Music Show. She has also been a guest presenter for BBC Radio 2 and co-hosted a miniseries for BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. Keen to explore the creative output of her home county, Jess presented a series of Cumbrian Chats on BBC Radio Cumbria. TV presenting includes the BBC Proms and BBC Young Musician.

Jess is the first ever saxophonist to be signed exclusively to Decca Classics and both of her albums shot to No.1 in the UK Classical Music Charts. Her debut album was listed in The Times Top 100 albums of 2019. She has been the recipient of a Classic BRIT Award, has been nominated for The Times Breakthrough Award and was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2021 for Services to Music. A free spirit in style and character, Jess is an advocate for the power of music in society. She is passionate about inspiring and bringing joy to people through music and during lockdown, she formed her ‘Virtual Scratch Orchestra’, inviting musicians of any standard to come together to play music virtually with her. The orchestra played music by David Bowie and The Beatles as well as a Christmas special of Leroy Anderson’s ‘Sleigh Ride’. Over 2,000 people from around 30 different countries took part across the two projects, aged 2- 94, playing a huge range of instruments.

Jess is a patron for Awards for Young Musicians and London Music Fund and enjoys working and performing with young musicians. Her infectious enthusiasm and passion for classical and non-classical music lights up every stage and she has performed in prestigious concert halls and with world-class orchestras around the globe including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Hannover, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. She also enjoys touring with her newly-formed Jess Gillam Ensemble bringing together a group of brilliant musicians who share her bold, uplifting and open- minded approach. Jess has performed live at the BAFTAs to millions of viewers at home. Jess is an Artist in Association at the Royal Albert Hall, an Artist in Residence at the Wigmore Hall and she continues to promote her own concert series, bringing international talent to her hometown of Ulverston.

Jess is a Vandoren UK Artist and became the youngest ever endorsee for Yanagisawa Saxophones aged just 13.

www.jessgillamsax.co.uk

JOANNA COLES, OBE is the chairwoman and CEO of Northern Star Acquisition Companies II-IV; Northern Star I announced a merger with BARK in December 2020. She is also the Executive Producer of Hulu’s The Bold Type (on Netflix globally), the five season TV drama inspired by her career. She is the former Chief Content Officer of Hearst Magazines, responsible for 300 magazines globally. Coles sits on the public boards of Snap Inc. (Snapchat) Sonos, and Bark. She is also a director of private tech companies Density, and Grover, Europe’s largest tech-rental platform based in Berlin. And the non-profit Women Entrepreneurs New York City, an initiative to expand female entrepreneurship, with a focus on underserved women and communities.

She advises several companies including Cornell Capital, a private equity company; the Swedish payment disruptor Klarna and Bustle Digital Media. She currently has three TV shows in pre- production with Amazon, ABC and FX.

The British-born editor moved to the U.S. in 1997 as the New York Bureau Chief for The Guardian, before becoming the New York Bureau Chief for The Times of London.  Coles joined Hearst in 2006 as editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, where she co-produced the Style Network’s unscripted show Running in Heels. She was also the on-air mentor for Project Runway AllStars. She was named editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the world’s largest women’s media brand, in 2012. She was the executive producer of the unscripted series So Cosmo on E! in 2017.

Over the course of her career, Coles has won numerous prestigious awards for journalism and media leadership. She was recently described by The New York Times as “one of the most powerful people in media.”

Coles is the author of Love Rules, published by HarperCollins, about relationships in the digital age, now being made into a TV show for FX. She lives in Manhattan and has two sons, with the author Peter Godwin.

Instagram @JoannaColes

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