IOD annouces Mentoring Programme for Women

Linda Jenkinson, LesConcierges Inc (California)
'At your service'

Palmerston North-born Linda Jenkinson was tagged at a relatively early age as a ‘serial entrepreneur.’  Not by her, but by a variety of people who spotted talent and drive.  Their observations were also likely shaped by the sorts of comments she made:  “I want to build a billion-dollar company and conquer the world.”

After graduating from Massey University and achieving an MBA from world renowned University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, Linda joined a number of high flying organisations—including being founding member of a team at AT Kearney that built global financial services and insurance practice to a $230 million level.  She was chairman, founder and CEO of a NASDAQ-listed logistics company called DMS Corp.  In the process of building up a $266 million company, Linda became the first New Zealand woman to lead an IPO and take a company public in the Big Apple.

In time, other fruits of opportunity caught her attention.  Servicing the needs and desires of the Baby Boomer generation seemed a fertile area to focus on.  Linda reasoned that a well conceived concierge-service company would be the order for this demographic given their combination of affluence and desire for unparalleled service.  Similarly, living near the prosperous Silicon Valley region, she calculated that technology companies that faced increasing competition to attract and keep key personnel would have a need for a ‘state of the art’ pampering concierge service.  In that way, her new venture could operate as both a customer and employee loyalty service.

Rather than starting from scratch, she spotted an existing company, LesConcierges, that had been operating for over 14 years but was starting to suffer from a lack of technological know-how. Using her business and VC fundraising skills, Linda procured $US 8 million that allowed her to buy the company and begin the process of making it both service and ‘state of the art’ savvy. Innovations such as a leading edge proprietary concierge technology platform, web portal and mobile applications—backed up by more than 200 concierges in 89 cities worldwide—have seen LesConcierges handle in excess of 1 million annual requests and grow to become the largest concierge service in the world with an enviable blue-chip client list.

Affiliations with groups such as AXA Assistance—a global player offering assistance and related services to corporate and individual clients that is consistently ranked in the top 20 Fortune’s Global 500—means the world-conquering part of Linda’s early promise is in play.