Jose Neves

Chief executive officer and founder of Farfetch.com, José Neves is an entrepreneur with a career spanning over 10 years within the retail industry. Beginning his career with a technology business founded whilst studying Economics at Universidad de Porto in 1994, the Portuguese retail mogul quickly added to his portfolio, establishing contemporary shoe brand Swear in London in 1996, followed by B-Store in 2001 for which he received a British Fashion Award for ‘Retailer of the Year’. The two brands formed part of the portfolio of SIX London, a wholesale and shoe showroom collective founded by José in 1996 that manages the licenses for Swear and B-Store along with other contemporary designs from brands such as Opening Ceremony and Ksubi.

In October 2007 José combined his interest in fashion and technology to launch Farfetch.com, an integrated online marketplace supporting and promoting the retail activities of independent boutiques in the e-commerce sector. The site quickly became credited as being one of the fastest growing e-commerce networks in the luxury market and currently counts over 250 individual boutiques in its directory. Initial capital was raised through investments from Advent Ventures and eVenture Capital, and in March 2013 Farfetch.com secured an additional $20million investment from Conde Nast International. The brand has also opened offices in Brazil and America.

In addition to his British Fashion Award, José has also been awarded the Vogue Directors .Com ‘Top Entrepreneur’ award in 2011, and the ‘London and South Region Entrepreneur of the Year’ 2013 from Ernst and Young.