{"id":2035,"date":"2026-02-23T09:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/?p=2035"},"modified":"2026-03-26T11:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:16:41","slug":"parade-profile-emma-heal-bsc-business-administration-2001","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/2026\/02\/23\/parade-profile-emma-heal-bsc-business-administration-2001\/","title":{"rendered":"Parade Profile: Emma Heal (BSc Business Administration 2001)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma Heal is a consumer goods\u00a0superstar.\u00a0She's\u00a0worked in the industry for over 25 years. In that time,\u00a0she's\u00a0scaled brands from anonymous start-ups to household names, with Innocent Smoothies and Graze to name a few.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She's now Managing Director at Lucky Saint, the UK's favourite alcohol-free beer brand, which is now available on campus at the SU. We met with her to chat about her time at Bath and her impressive journey to where she is now \u2013 including winning a Prince\u2019s Trust Award. <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Why did you choose to study Business Administration at Bath?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m\u00a0a novelty junkie. I loved the variety of both living on campus\u00a0and\u00a0in such a gorgeous city. I also had two six-month industrial placements and the opportunity to study abroad.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My placements were fantastic, firstly working as an account manager for the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather in Canary Wharf and then in operational finance for British Airways across Europe,\u00a0Africa\u00a0and North America.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In my final\u00a0year,\u00a0I spent six months studying at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.\u00a0All of\u00a0these opportunities were massively appealing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you have a particular career in mind when you chose your course?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply \u2018business\u2019,\u00a0with zero clue\u00a0of\u00a0what\u00a0area!\u00a0\u00a0When I was young, I would marvel at my\u00a0dad\u00a0leaving the house in a suit, shiny\u00a0shoes\u00a0and a briefcase, knowing he loved learning, doing\u00a0great work\u00a0with\u00a0a great team\u00a0and having fun. That kind of energy was infectious, so\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0sought\u00a0out and generated experiences that would provide the same stimulation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you tell us about your experience of studying here? Any favourite memories, or places to go on campus and in the city?\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Ha! My friends Kath, Vicki and I went to 9am lectures in the first year in our pyjamas, clutching mugs of tea... but at least we made it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember being\u00a0very grateful\u00a0that\u00a0my parents bought me tokens to get some hot meals on the parade occasionally.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also vividly remember a friend called Mike showing me Google for the very first time on a huge PC in the School of Management; no one had laptops back then. He said it was going to change the world \u2013 he was right!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve\u00a0had an incredibly varied career since leaving Bath. Describe your career journey since graduating.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked in consumer goods for 25 years across Europe and Africa, in the global blue-chips of Tesco and Diageo and grown fledgling brands into household names, like Innocent Smoothies and Graze.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0the gritty,\u00a0challenging world of scaling start-ups that I really love and the reason I joined Lucky Saint in February 2020 as Managing Director.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a typical day like as Managing Director at Lucky Saint?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Happily,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0never a typical day, but in any given week,\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0be out in trade with the team, either walking supermarket aisles or meeting pub and restaurant owners, attending board meetings or speaking on panels.<\/span> \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0a pleasure to welcome customers to our pub,\u00a0The Lucky Saint in Marylebone, London,\u00a0to taste our four alcohol-free beers. Our office is\u00a0right\u00a0above, so I take\u00a0great joy\u00a0in going to a pub to work.\u00a0For the avoidance of doubt,\u00a0our pub is a very inclusive space, and we serve the best drinks there are, both alcoholic\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span><\/i>alcohol-free.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your career has spanned multiple companies and countries. When you look back so far, which achievements feel most meaningful to you?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In my early career,\u00a0I t<\/span>ook the\u00a0Innocent bobble hat campaign called\u00a0\u2018The Big Knit\u2019\u00a0nationally for the first time with Sainsbury\u2019s.\u00a0Incredibly,\u00a025% of the hats knitted that year were by Sainsbury\u2019s colleagues. We had in-store and head-office knitathons all over the country and raised \u00a3100k for Age Concern. That\u00a0campaign won a Prince\u2019s Trust\u00a0Award, which was presented\u00a0on\u00a0a very special\u00a0night to the Sainsbury\u2019s buyer and\u00a0me\u00a0by Prince Charles and\u00a0Al\u00a0Gore at the Royal Albert Hall.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most recently,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0proud of what we have achieved as a team at Lucky Saint.\u00a0Six\u00a0years\u00a0ago,\u00a0we were a team of\u00a0five. Covid hit weeks after I joined,\u00a0and we lost 75% of our revenue overnight\u00a0as pubs and bars closed. We quickly realised we only had three weeks of cash left.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Standing here today in 2026, Lucky Saint is a BCorp, the UK\u2019s most loved alcohol-free beer brand and the only independent British brand in the top 20. Lucky Saint is the fourth biggest alcohol-free brand in the UK, behind the global giants Guinness, Heineken and Peroni. We\u2019re now a team of 65 and a Times top 100 place to work. I\u2019m proud to have been a part of this growth, done in the right way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re\u00a0very active\u00a0beyond your core role, sitting on several boards and councils. How important is this work to you, and how do you decide where to invest your time?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My way of giving back is to support the wider industry in several ways;\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0on the boards of the British Beer & Pub Association and the Hospitality Sector Council, which was\u00a0established\u00a0during Covid to support the hospitality industry.\u00a0I\u00a0also\u00a0work with\u00a0the\u00a0Government and the Department for Business & Trade in the interests of the\u00a0industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big advocate for paying it forward as an ambassador for several organisations, including Raising the Glass for women in drinks, and I volunteer for an incredible organisation, which I highly encourage others to join, called Inspiring the Future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about your career?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love the people element of my career, both building relationships with customers and the wider industry and creating the conditions to develop high-performing teams.\u00a0Enabling others\u00a0to achieve their ambitions is a huge privilege and motivator for me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a world that is increasing in speed\u00a0and\u00a0intensity, the\u00a0need to remain adaptable is more critical\u00a0than ever.\u00a0Despite this,\u00a0I never underestimate how important it is to\u00a0stop,\u00a0smell the roses and have fun!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What advice would you give to prospective students thinking about studying at Bath?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0recommend Bath more highly. The level of academics, sport,\u00a0community\u00a0and network will give you a fantastic edge and the most sensational start in your career.\u00a0<\/span> \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The city of Bath is also stunning, with fantastic culture,\u00a0countryside\u00a0and hospitality to enjoy, live and work in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And to those aspiring to a career like yours?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever you start with, simply be useful. Think about how you could add value,\u00a0and even\u00a0what projects you could take off your boss.\u00a0Getting some wins will fuel confidence in yourself and others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0had\u00a0a\u00a0good shot at one career path or organisation and\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0not feeling it where you are, move,\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0get stuck!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about\u00a0two\u00a0circles,\u00a0one small and one massive.\u00a0The small\u00a0is your comfort zone, while the huge one is where the magic happens. Say yes to stuff that scares you, or makes you feel sick, because\u00a0that's\u00a0where\u00a0you'll\u00a0sling shot your personal growth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Get comfortable with all financials, KPIs and commercial metrics\u00a0and\u00a0lean into them. On a\u00a0girl's\u00a0holiday when I was in my early 20\u2019s in Ibiza,\u00a0you\u2019d\u00a0find me sitting around the pool reading the book\u00a0<\/span>Finance for Non-Financial\u00a0Managers<\/span><\/i>\u00a0with a pad and pen!\u00a0Do whatever it takes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emma Heal is a consumer goods\u00a0superstar.\u00a0She's\u00a0worked in the industry for over 25 years. In that time,\u00a0she's\u00a0scaled brands from anonymous start-ups to household names, with Innocent Smoothies and Graze to name a few.\u00a0\u00a0 She's now Managing Director at Lucky Saint, the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2002,"featured_media":2036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,120],"tags":[5,127,76],"class_list":["post-2035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parade-profiles","category-school-of-management","tag-alumni","tag-business-administration","tag-school-of-management"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/02\/Parade-profile-header-39.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}