Riverstone's Remarkable Women
Caroline Neville MBE, Resident
You’ve built a remarkable career in the fashion and beauty industries and founded Cosmetic Executive Women UK. What inspired you to create it?
I already had a successful career in public relations, working for people like Ralph Lauren, Carvin Klein and Cartier. Glenda Bailey, the former editor-in-chief of Harpers Bazaar pulled together a small group of us because she’d seen this organisation, Cosmetic Executive Women, in America. It was at the time like a white wine and spritzer club of women in the beauty industry, but over the years it grew, and I ended up taking over and running it. Everybody wanted to do something with CEW because nobody else was filling that role. There was a lot of support from fellow women in the industry, but we also needed to think about the men. When I’m negotiating a deal for sponsorship, it’s invariably a man that is signing the cheque. So men are part of CEW, but they are called the ‘League of Gentlemen’. They support us well.
CEW has played a powerful role in championing women throughout the industry. Why does remaining actively involved still matter to you today?
CEW was first and foremost about education, and that is what we are still doing in 2026. When I first started there one was school but not much else going on. Now, we are focusing on education via apprenticeships and getting more young people into the industry. I have always been keen to support young people and make connections for them. And I used to mentor quite a lot of them. I was really pleased when one of them stood up at the CEW Achiever Awards and said, “If I hadn’t met Caroline five years ago, and she told me to go for it, not to be put off, and that CEW was the perfect environment to find financial backing and get mentoring by someone who’s really important in the industry, I would never have started it, and I wouldn’t be up here getting this award.” That was worth a lot.
Looking back, what guiding principles have underpinned your success and shaped your career journey?
I went to school in Peckham, in a comprehensive where I thought, all you needed to know was how to fight. But I had one teacher who persuaded me to stay on and do my GCEs. I then worked as a news reporter, saying yes to what was asked of me. But I had my downfall at Women’s Own. I was wearing a cream suit and high heels and big hairdo ready for my first day. Unbeknownst to me, my editor wasn’t in, so I was sent to another department and asked to climb up a ladder and clean the felt cupboard. I told them I wasn’t dressed appropriately, and I was fired on the spot for not doing what I was told. Then, that led me to my first job in PR, before I eventually started my own firm from a tiny office in Rupert Street. So I think there’s a sense of tenacity and believing in myself. And I think I’m a very kind person. I really think kindness is a great thing.
As a woman who has led, built, and influenced at the highest levels, what qualities do you think help women continue to thrive professionally and personally over time?
I think you need to set out what you want to do quite early on, and don’t be put off. You may fall, but it’s good to have those experiences. I would go for business, and I always got the business, so, you know, I was powerful. I had a lot of energy, and I could write. That was quite helpful. But I didn’t have any money. That’s the difference. I started with nothing, using some 21st birthday money to rent a little room above an Indian restaurant in Rupert Street when I started my PR business.
As a Riverstone resident, what makes it such an appealing choice for accomplished women looking to feel fulfilled, connected, and inspired in their next chapter?
I have met lots of women here who have had interesting careers, and we’ll meet, have coffee and someone will give a talk about what they’ve done. The whole atmosphere is right for me; everybody is very kind and supportive. I do exercises here twice a week with Yu Fei (Riverstone in-house personal trainer), which I love.
How have your priorities and values evolved over the years, and what matters most to you at this stage of life? How does Riverstone support and enable these?
I think Riverstone, I suppose, is the best of its kind. I had an enormous house, a lovely house, but I knew we had to finally move because we had to run downstairs for every delivery, and I had my office in the basement. Now we have our apartment, which I love. Here I feel secure. I’m very happy.
