Jonquil Hackenberg new chair of The Magenta Project

Jonquil Hackenberg has been appointed as the new chair of The Magenta Project with effect from April 2021.

Hackenberg is global head of sustainability at PA Consulting and has more than 20 years’ experience in consulting, having worked with leading global organisations including the World Economic Forum.

“I am absolutely thrilled to join The Magenta Project. Sailing is one of those special sports where men and women are able to compete alongside, and against each other, leveraging the very best that a mixed skilled team can produce – all skills that are reflected in the workplace, except that the opportunity given to women is staggeringly low. With the leaps and bounds in innovations and design for one, this should just not be the case in 2021, and I am so excited to support and help drive this alongside the rest of the Magenta Project board,” says Hackenberg.

“A lot of stars have aligned in my business life and the lack of women generally in teams – both on and off the water – have made me really want to turn my words into actions. The Magenta Project is in a great position to be front and centre of the movement to drive and support gender parity within performance sailing, and I am very much looking forward to helping deliver on this.”

Hackenberg leads a board that includes Abby Ehler, Libby Greenhalgh, Vicky Ellis, Andrew Pindar, Tiphaine Turluche, Luca Rizzotti and Victoria Low.

The Magenta Project, whose mission is to accelerate women to the top of sailing, is a collective of passionate sailors committed to creating equal access and opportunities for women in sailing. Alongside its successful Magenta Mentoring Programme, the project also partners with teams and events to upskill female sailors to enable them to reach the top of their sport.