Sheila was born in Burton and moved to Birmingham in the 1980s. She had joined AIS, the largest independent buying and services group in the UK and Ireland for fashion, home, and leisure in 1979 and worked her way up to be at the helm of the company as managing Director. A formidable businesswoman, she took the company from 19 to 500 million during her leadership. Sheila dealt with design in her professional career, and delighted in good design in her private life with her favourite fashion designers being Versace, Pucci, DKNY, Alexander McQueen, Etro and Jimmy Choo.