Lydia Schoonderbeek

Lydia Schoonderbeek is a versatile leader with highly enthusiastic creative direction, she has over 15 years’ experience in the fashion industry. Lydia has dual heritage, Dutch and Egyptian and has had strong international exposure which has enabled her to experience global environments. To illustrate, she has lived and worked in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Leeds (UK), Munich and London. She recently completed her MBA in fashion from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts. Alongside her MBA she was the Managing Editor at Cairo West Advertising, a publishing group in Cairo, Egypt for five years. She provided leadership on the production of three monthly magazines, and one annual magazine, with a monthly distribution of 85,000 copies around Cairo. She worked at Harrods UK for a number of years as a member of the senior management team responsible for all departments, namely as an Executive Assistant to HR Director and Retail Director, and was involved in managing the operations of a luxury department store. Previously, she was a Senior Account Manager for an Italian luxury licensing company which designed eyewear for Vivienne Westwood, Missoni, Moschino and Dunhill. She studied at Leeds Metropolitan University (UK), Business Information Management and German, and whilst doing this she also gained work experience in fashion at Harvey Nichols.