GOBRA Innovative Sports Equipment

Meet the Kings! The family behind the Gobra story

	Joseph King, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive The founder of Gobra, 'Jo' embodies the spirit of the company and the brand. The strategic vision that first took the family business out of cotton and into pork has today made it a world leader in sporting goods. Now 65 years young, Jo leaves the day-to-day management of Gobra to his talented children, but his guiding hand is never far away.
	Diana King, Director Jo's lifelong partner and friend, 'Di' has always taken a back seat, while working tirelessly to support her husband. She plays down her crucial role in developing the prototype bra, but without her hands-on help in the changing rooms, there would be no Gobra today. Di's pride and joy are her seven gifted children, all working in the family business.
	Lachlan King, Director of Finance & Administration 'Lach', as he likes his team to call him, is the eldest King child, and got his degree from the London School of Economics. After a short spell as lead singer in a hard rock band, he joined the family firm "to look after the brass", as Jo likes to call it. His speciality is international finance, and he oversees the 17 Gobra subsidiaries around the world.
	Susan King, Director of Human Resources The Kings' eldest daughter, 'Sue' became involved in the brassiere business straight out of school, helping her parents recruit nimble fingered seamstresses for the factory. Her astute management of the workforce and remarkable productivity record through those difficult early days made her the natural choice as Human Resources Director.
	Raymond King, Director of Research With his twin brother Duncan, 'Ray' is half of the formidable Gobra R&D Department. Always technically minded (Ray won the North of England Meccano Championship at the tender age of eight), he honed his skills with an engineering degree at Leicester University before joining his father and applying sound mechanical priciples to brassiere development.
	Duncan King, Director of Product Development All the King children were keen at sports, but 'Dunc' was an especially fine tennis player and golfer, who studied Mathmatics and Physics at St Andrews University. He brings not only his strong technical expertise, but also a crucial and deep understanding of sport from the player's point of view to his role directing new product development at Gobra.
	Louise King, Director of Sales 'Lou' demonstrated her commercial skills at an early age, taking packets of pork scratchings to school and selling them in the playground at full retail to pupils and teachers! At Jo's insistence she learned the business at grass roots level, and worked as a Sales Rep, a Supervisor and a Regional Sales Manager before taking the top job as Sales Director.
	Victoria King, Director of Marketing It was thanks to 'Vi' and her netball team that Jo first thought of the revolutionary Gobra concept, and shortly after getting her degree in Business Studies from Exeter she joined the family firm. Vi then persuaded her father to rename "The Golfing Brassiere Manufacturing Company Ltd", thus creating "Gobra", the brand we know today.
	Bonnie King, Director of Public Relations 'Bon' is the baby of the King children and was always the centre of attention. Her naturally extrovert character and theatrical flair first took her to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but Jo was determined to harness her talents for the family firm, and finally persuaded her to accept the in-house PR function and spead the Gobra name worldwide.