“I was always told that to be a woman in the music business means being a secretary! Having spent the last 30 years growing my company through the ever changing Music industry, the last few years have seen a new passion kindled for education, mentoring and generally giving back the knowledge and lessons I have learnt. I am really excited and constantly inspired by this group of women.”
Karen Emanuel
Karen started in the music business booking bands and DJ-ing at Leeds university. In the late 80s, she took a job at Rough Trade Distribution climbing the ladder in a male-dominated sector by asking the right questions and learning the numbers. In 1990, she used her redundancy to start Key Production, which specialises in the design and manufacture of Vinyl CDs, DVDs and cassettes plus bespoke packaging for both music and a growing list of other industries.
Through first organic growth and then a series of acquisitions that added knowledge and expertise to the company, Key Production Group now comprises 56 people at four offices in England and is the leader in its field.
Karen also built and owns a sustainable Hotel in Nicaragua as well as mentoring and speaking at schools and universities.