Karen Arnold (born 1964) is a former company director who has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Bournemouth University for her
Since 2015, she has worked in military transition, supporting those leaving the military. She was formerly the chief executive of The Enterprise and Skills Company Limited, based in
Wimborne Minster,
Dorset, which created the ''Yes Chef Competition'' on TV.
Life
Arnold grew up in
Port Isaac,
Cornwall, and studied economics and accountancy. Her Enterprise and Skills Company, founded together with John Knowles, is devoted to promoting entrepreneurship among teenagers. This includes organising competitions in which teenagers briefly set up and run their own businesses.
She has been quoted as saying: "The new buzz word is employability and it is never too soon to encourage students to understand that as well as achieving their academic grades, they need to have a broad portfolio of employability skills which include working together, problem solving and other key skills".
Arnold was Chair of the Dorset Blind Association .
Arnold has been a director of the
Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 17 September 2003 to 14 September 2006, and a governor of
Weymouth College and of
The Bishop of Winchester Academy
The Bishop of Winchester Academy is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Charminster area of Bournemouth in the English county of Dorset.
The school was first established in 1953 as Summerbee Seco ...
.
Arnold is also on the advisory board of the
Eden project
The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS E ...
.
Awards
In 2009, she received the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion,
[It's a doctorate for Karen]
(12 November 2014). ''Cornish Guardian
The ''Cornish Guardian'' (founded 1901) is a weekly newspaper in Cornwall, England, UK, which is part of the Cornwall & Devon Media group. Its head office is in Truro and it is published in seven separate editions:
*Bodmin edition
*Lostwithiel and ...
''. Retrieved 22 November 2015. and in 2014 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by
Bournemouth University for services to education and the charitable sector.
(7 November 2014). ''Bournemouth Daily Echo
The ''Bournemouth Daily Echo'', commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' (a.k.a. the ''Bournemouth Echo''), is a local newspaper that covers the area of southeast Dorset, England, including the towns Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch. Published ...
''. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
References
Living people
1964 births
Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion (2009)
British corporate directors
Women corporate directors
British chief executives
British company founders
Alumni of Weymouth College
{{UK-business-bio-1960s-stub