Jemma Freeman

Spear’s Review

Cigars remain a male-dominated world, but nobody told Jemma Freeman, managing director of Hunters & Frankau for nearly 20 years.

Caught smoking (cigarettes) by her legendary father, Nicholas, she was sat down and told: ‘I’m going to talk to you about smoking.’ Unlike most parents, he then instructed her in the elegance and luxury of fine cigars, and when he died, Jemma stepped into the family business and has been more than equal to the task.

Initially working in Hunters & Frankau’s marketing department, she embraced the love of the product, the affection for Cuba and the encyclopaedic knowledge her father displayed, and is now responsible for every Cuban cigar that comes into the UK.