Director Profiles

Dipak Thakrar – Immediately after leaving university, Dipak was one half of a joint venture which he helped grow to be a highly successful fragrance distributor in its own right. In the ten years Dipak spent with the company it had grown to a point where it was turning over in excess of £20m. In 1999 Dipak co-founded Star Perfumes. Since then he has been instrumental in developing Star to be the dominant European fragrance trading company. He is a frequent traveler and can often be caught by the pool, thumbing his way through his Blackberry whilst catching up on the latest Jeffrey Archer novel.

Neil Barron – Neil began his career in the fragrance industry at the tender age of sixteen after being recruited as a trainee for House of Fraser. He ended a highly successful fourteen year stint with the company as a Merchandising Manager who oversaw fragrance departments in over 50 stores. Not standing still he then spent four years as a sales manager with Christian Dior. This led on to him being recruited for the original management team when Lancaster entered the UK market. During the four years he spent there, his achievements included launching Cool Water and Joop! in the UK and making them top selling brands. In 1999 Neil co-founded Star Global and from the outset he has been pivotal in negotiating sales with numerous global blue-chip retailers. Also a frequent traveler, when Neil is not working he has been known to frequent fine restaurants, alas not for the food, it is usually for the red wine and any half decent cigar.

Rachana Thakrar – After qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1992, Rachana quickly made a name for herself as an auditor in the Public Sector. For seven years she concentrated developing her career within local authorities. Come the revolution in 1999 she took the helm as the financial director and oversaw all the account management and banking at Star. An astute financial controller, she played a critical role in helping the company develop quickly and minimising risk. Rachana's skills in balancing the "win win" have been integral to Star's formula for continued success. More recently she has faced an even greater task but one infinitely more rewarding: that of balancing motherhood with Dipak's buying habits.