Karen Jones
{{short description|British business executive (born 1956)}}
{{For|the British computer scientist|Karen Spärck Jones}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Dame
| name = Karen Jones
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE|FRSA}}
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Karen Elisabeth Dind Jones
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|07|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = York, England
| education = Mill Mount County Grammar School for Girls
| alma_mater = {{plainlist|
}}
| occupation = Business executive
| known_for = Co-founder of Pelican Group Plc, owner of restaurant chains including Café Rouge, CEO of Spirit Group
}}
Dame Karen Elisabeth Dind Jones {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DBE|FRSA}} (born 29 July 1956) is a British business executive.‘JONES, Karen Elisabeth Dind, (Mrs Hamish Easton)’, Who's Who 2015, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2015
Life and career
Jones was educated at the University of East Anglia (BA, 1978) and went on to study at Wellesley College, Massachusetts.{{cite book | title = Debrett's People of Today | year = 2009 | publisher = Debrett's Ltd | isbn = 978-1-870520-51-5 }} She co-founded, and subsequently floated, The Pelican Group Plc, owner of a number of restaurant chains including Café Rouge. She also served as CEO of Spirit Group from 1999 to 2006, which was later purchased by Punch Taverns.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/the-monday-interview-karen-jones-premium-price-for-the-cafes-that-painted-the-town-rouge-1308343.html|title = THE MONDAY INTERVIEW: Karen Jones: Premium price for the cafes that| website=Independent.co.uk |date = 23 October 2011}} She was appointed Chancellor of the University of East Anglia in 2016, and stepped down in 2024.{{cite web|title=Business experts join UEA leadership|url=https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/-/business-experts-join-uea-leadership-in-further-boost-for-enterprising-campus|website=University of East Anglia|access-date=15 July 2016}}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-24 |title=Dame Jenny Abramsky is new University of East Anglia chancellor |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6py8wdnd8wo |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
Already Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to business and the hospitality industry.{{London Gazette|issue=63714|supp=y|page=B9|date=1 June 2022}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Chancellors of the University of East Anglia}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Karen}}
Category:British businesspeople
Category:Wellesley College alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia
Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Chancellors of the University of East Anglia
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