Like many during the pandemic, Kirsty Glenne, the managing director of the luxury luggage brand Antler, moved out of the city in search of a quieter pace of life. Somewhere to truly unwind from the pressure of holding an executive role and enjoy more nature: The British coast.
“About three years ago, we (she, her husband and two kids) moved out of London to try and get more balance. So we live on the beach and down in Poole, and it’s gorgeous,” she tells Fortune. “I still work in London every week, but I’ve just changed the way I live and work to accommodate more of a lifestyle.” It’s some 180 kilometres from the capital—or, over a 5-hour round trip by train.
“I always have a suitcase on the end of my arm, because I’m living hybrid,” she says, adding that she stays at her sister’s London abode on office days.
And when she’s not going back and forth from the beach to the city, the 44-year-old is frequently abroad; The 111-year-old British brand recently expanded its prescence into the U.S. and Australia as part of its mission to hit £100 million sales ($134 million) in the next four years—and Glenne, who has luxury experience at brands like Alexander McQueen and Dr. Barbara Sturm, was brought in to spearhead the expansion.
