Meet Elaine Chief Banana Officer
… the one who peeled POWER off the vision board in 2019, when she stepped into her power and discovered a feeling of freedom too important not to share.
- Born into a vegetarian family, in 1982, Elaine’s first food was bananas (the ultimate qualification for a Chief Banana Officer).
- A lover of languages; Elaine chaired a European conference tackling xenophobia, age 12, and took a gap year – as Chief Adventurer – age 33.
- She has an all-natural white streak in her hair, a banana tattooed on her right wrist, and an unwavering belief in the power of connection.
Before POWER, Elaine spent 14 years creating extraordinary client experiences and high-profile events for luxury brands, including Champagne Taittinger and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, as well as in the world of motorsport.
Before that, she wrote funding bids for charities, helping people with Down’s syndrome live their best lives. And before that, she was a top performer on one of the big bank’s graduate programmes.
The thing is, Elaine was never a graduate.
And that’s where the story of POWER begins …
Where POWER began
Beyond her résumé, it’s Elaine’s vulnerability, willingness to share her story, and the tools she uses to navigate life’s challenges that truly set POWER apart.
Hospitalised in her late teens with anorexia, it was movement, a sense of belonging, connection, and tools for the mind that became important contributors to her recovery.
It wasn’t until 2019, 20 years later, that Elaine named her anorexia for the first time.
It was a defining moment.
The day she turned POWER, a years-old vision, into a brave decision.
In doing so, she discovered a new level of freedom, respect for self, and connection to others that felt too important not to share.
Keep Pedaling
In 2021, following a short illness, Elaine’s Dad passed away.
Before he died, he shared a piece of advice that never left her:
“There’s power in your experience, and you have the opportunity to help someone else, if and when you can.”
The phrase Keep Pedaling, now tattooed on Elaine’s left arm, was something her Dad said throughout her life. Those two words became a lesson in resilience, a legacy she carries forward today, and a philosophy woven through POWER.
The Power of Experience
Now in her mid-forties, Elaine’s ever-growing kit bag of tools for the mind is as varied and powerful as it is authentic and relatable.
Combined with brilliantly curated playlists and the playfulness of bananas, those tools have become experiences that spark courage, connection, belonging and possibility.
Her Dad would be proud.