I recently attended an event where I met Maria Hollins, CEO of Ann Summers. Like many people, I was aware of Maria’s reputation before I met her. She has built a successful career leading one of Britain’s most recognisable brands and is often referred to as the “CEO of Sex”. Yet within minutes of meeting her, I realised that title tells only a small part of the story.
What struck me first was her presence.
Maria has that rare quality possessed by the best leaders. She makes people feel comfortable. She listens. She engages. Most importantly, she makes you feel as though your conversation matters. In a room full of people, she somehow gives you the impression that, for those few minutes, you are the only person there.
Our conversation drifted onto football.
As a lifelong West Ham supporter, I couldn’t resist mentioning the connection between Ann Summers and Vanessa Gold. What followed genuinely surprised me.
Not because Maria knew about football. But because she loved talking about it.
There was no corporate polish, no carefully rehearsed answers and no attempt to steer the conversation back towards business. It felt less like talking to the CEO of a major company and more like talking to one of the regulars at your local pub.
We discussed West Ham’s recent struggles, the frustrations that come with supporting a club that continually tests your loyalty, and the emotional investment that football supporters willingly put themselves through year after year.
At no point did Maria struggle for an answer.
More importantly, she seemed genuinely interested in mine.
That stood out.
Many successful people become very good at talking. Maria seemed equally good at listening. She was curious. She asked questions. She wanted to understand how other people saw things. It is a quality that sounds simple but is surprisingly rare.
The football conversation naturally led us into business.
Given Vanessa Gold’s involvement with Ann Summers, I was curious whether football and business ever overlapped. Before long we were discussing leadership, company culture, customers, risk, decision-making and what it takes to lead a modern organisation.
The more we spoke, the more I found myself thinking about Meta-Age, a new editorial section that I recently introduced into Sustain Health.
The contributors to the Meta-Age section often write about healthy longevity. People sometimes mistake that for fitness.
It isn’t.
Healthy longevity is about remaining fully engaged with life. It is about maintaining curiosity, purpose, relationships and enthusiasm for what comes next. It is about continuing to evolve rather than quietly accepting decline.
Maria struck me as someone who lives that philosophy naturally. Not because she spends every waking hour in the gym. Not because she follows a perfect diet. And certainly not because she presents herself as a lifestyle guru.
Quite the opposite.
She enjoys life. She enjoys good food. She enjoys a glass of wine or two, just like the rest of us.
Yet beneath that is something else: energy, curiosity and engagement. A desire to keep learning, keep growing and keep contributing. The kind of mindset that keeps people moving forward regardless of what the calendar says.
That is what I saw sitting across the table from me.
Perhaps some of that comes from her roots. Maria grew up in a farming family in Shropshire, where hard work is not a motivational quote on a wall but simply a way of life. Farming families understand resilience. They understand responsibility. They understand that success usually arrives disguised as consistency.
I sensed that grounding in her immediately.
In a world increasingly obsessed with image, personal branding and shortcuts, there was something refreshing about meeting someone who seemed completely comfortable in her own skin.
No performance. No pretence.
Just confidence earned through experience.
We often talk about people who continue to grow rather than slow down. People who remain curious. People who stay involved. People who refuse to let age define what is possible. Maria Hollins is one of those people.
And perhaps that is why our conversation stayed with me long after the event ended.
I met the CEO of Ann Summers. I left having met something far more interesting. A woman who, despite her success, remains grounded enough to talk football, curious enough to listen, and engaged enough to keep evolving.
In other words, a Meta-Ager. Whether she knows it or not.
