Dermott Rowan
Encyclopedia
Dermott Rowan is the managing director and co-owner of Kiely Rowan Plc, the company that owns the fashion brands Orla Kiely and Olive & Orange. His wife Orla Kiely
started the brand in the early nineties as a women’s bag designer.
Rowan was born in south Dublin, Ireland. He attended Clongowes Wood College
in Kildare
and graduated from the University of Cape Town
in South Africa
.
He worked as a financial controller before in 1997 he formed the Orla Kiely Partnership with Kiely, which became Kiely Rowan Plc. in 2004. Rowan is responsible for international business negotiations for the company, and the supply of the 550 US stockists. His focussed on the Japanese market, following the lead of Paul Smith. He has been turning down offers to buy the company since at least 2005. With Kiely he won the UK Fashion Exporter's Exporter of the Year Award 2008. In 2009 he was a finalist in the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards International category. He lectures on international brand building and export strategy at colleges in the UK in addition to being a regular guest speaker to the UK Fashion Exports, the Japan Institute and the Entrepreneurs Club of Hong Kong
.
In 2011 Rowan was appointed to sit on the Board for the Crafts Council of Ireland
He and Kiely live in Clapham
with their two sons.
Orla Kiely
Orla Kiely is an Irish fashion designer based in London. Although she started work on hat design, she has since moved into design work on handbags and her designs have been featured on a variety of other items including kitchenware and cars. She received a Master's degree from the Royal College of...
started the brand in the early nineties as a women’s bag designer.
Rowan was born in south Dublin, Ireland. He attended Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College is a voluntary secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the...
in Kildare
Kildare
-External links:*******...
and graduated from the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
He worked as a financial controller before in 1997 he formed the Orla Kiely Partnership with Kiely, which became Kiely Rowan Plc. in 2004. Rowan is responsible for international business negotiations for the company, and the supply of the 550 US stockists. His focussed on the Japanese market, following the lead of Paul Smith. He has been turning down offers to buy the company since at least 2005. With Kiely he won the UK Fashion Exporter's Exporter of the Year Award 2008. In 2009 he was a finalist in the Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards International category. He lectures on international brand building and export strategy at colleges in the UK in addition to being a regular guest speaker to the UK Fashion Exports, the Japan Institute and the Entrepreneurs Club of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
In 2011 Rowan was appointed to sit on the Board for the Crafts Council of Ireland
He and Kiely live in Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
with their two sons.