Donna Benton

Donna Benton (born 1975) is an entrepreneur and founder of a UAE-based lifestyle company called The Entertainer.

Biography

Originally from Melbourne Australia, Benton was born in 1975.[1] In 2000, at age 26, she moved to Dubai to save money.[2]

Her original job in Dubai proved unsuccessful,[2] so she founded a company The Entertainer, offering discounted lifestyle products. As of 2018, her company was operating in fifteen countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.[3][4] As well as being the company's founder, she has also served as its CEO and Chairman, a role she currently holds in 2019.[1]

In early 2012, a subsidiary of Abraaj Capital, a regional investment fund, acquired a 50 per cent stake in the company.[5] They announced plans in 2017 to divest their stake.[6]

In May 2018, Benton confirmed the sale of 85% of her company for a nine figure sum to GFH Financial Group.[1][3][7]

Benton is also a mother of two children.[1][3][4]

Awards

Benton received Esquire Middle East's Man at His Best Award for her work through The Entertainer.[8] She was also featured among Forbes Middle East's Most Influential Women of 2018.[9]

References
  1. "A Dubai-based company was partly sold for Dh367 million". gulfnews.com.
  2. "Donna Benton: are you not entertained?" (Interview). Esquire Middle East. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  3. Webster, Nick (7 May 2018). "Dubai founder of The Entertainer brand sells majority stake". The National. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  4. "Inside the chic home of one of Dubai's most well-known business women". insideout. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  5. "Dubai-based 'The Entertainer' gets acquired for over $100 million". 8 May 2018.
  6. "Dubai's Abraaj to sell Entertainer stake, sees IPO for Careem - CEO - Banking & Finance - ArabianBusiness.com". Archived from the original on 2017-01-18.
  7. Debusmann, Bernd Jr. "The Entertainer stake sold for 'nine-figure' sum, says founder". ArabianBusiness.com.
  8. "A Woman We Admire: Donna Benton". Esquire Middle East. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  9. "Ten Notable Business Women Made The Forbes Middle Eastern Power List". ExpatWoman.com. September 20, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.