Laura Strain was appointed Chief Operating Officer in April 2018, having joined the British Fashion Council as Finance Director in February 2014. Laura takes a strategic and operational overview of the BFC’s activities as well as directly leading the departments responsible for finance, HR, event production, government relations and the BFC’s charities. Laura joined the BFC with over 10 years’ experience at EMI Group where she held a number of senior finance roles during a period of significant change in the music industry. Laura has an honors degree in Finance from the University of Strathclyde and qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC. She is currently a trustee of the BFC Education Foundation.