Dame Karen Elisabeth Dind Jones, Mrs Easton (born 29 July 1956) is a British business executive. Jones was educated at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

(BA, 1978) and went on to study at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, Massachusetts. She co-founded, and subsequently floated, The Pelican Group Plc, owner of a number of restaurant chains including

Café Rouge Café Rouge is a French-styled restaurant chain, with 30 sites across the United Kingdom. Café Rouge is part of a bigger restaurant network owned by Casual Dining Group. History Café Rouge was founded by Roger Myers and Karen Jones, in ...

. She also served as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Spirit Group from 1999 to 2006, which was later purchased by

Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constitu ...

. She was appointed Chancellor of the

in 2016. Already

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE), she was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...

for services to business and the hospitality industry.

References

1956 births Living people British businesspeople Wellesley College alumni Alumni of the University of East Anglia Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Chancellors of the University of East Anglia {{UK-business-bio-stub