Gail Jones (entrepreneur)

Gail Suzanne Jones (born November 1977)[1] is a British businesswoman, entrepreneur and wife of convicted rapist Lawrence Jones.[2] She is co-founder and former CEO of the Manchester-based colocation, dedicated and cloud hosting provider, UKFast.

Biography

As a child, Jones attended Altrincham Grammar School for Girls. In 1999, she formed UKFast with her partner Lawrence Jones.[3] The hosting and colocation business operates a data centre complex in Trafford Park, Manchester, and has more 300 employees. In 2018, the firm's turnover was £53.9 million and the company was valued at £405million.[4] In 2017 she became the managing director,[5] and in 2019, she took over the CEO role.[6] The same year, Jones and husband Lawrence sold a 30% stake in the business to private equity firm Inflexion.[7] She exited the business in 2020.[8]

She has overseen investments in various businesses, including in public sector tech company S-IA in 2017.[9] Jones and her husband acquired Le Farinet Hotel in Swiss ski resort Verbier in September 2014. Jones is also a director for cybersecurity firm Secarma,[10] magazine and events creator BusinessCloud and UKFast Properties.

In 2017, Jones joined the board of not-for-profit organisation Tech Manchester.[11] Jones also sits on the board of Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, which includes Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity.[12] Jones launched the UKFast Community and Education Awards in 2018,[13] and signed the Tech Talent Charter[14] and the Manchester Pride 'All Equals Charter'[15] on behalf of UKFast to drive diversity and inclusion in the technology industry.

Honours and awards

In 2018, Jones was awarded the ICCC Caring Citizen of the Humanities Award.[16]

She was named in the Northern Power Women List in 2016 and 2019.[17] She was also listed in the 2018 and 2019 Most Influential Women in Tech List collated by Computer Weekly.[18][19]

Political activity

Jones donated £100,000 to the Conservative Party in September 2019.[20]

Personal life

Gail and Lawrence Jones have four daughters. They live in Cheshire, England.

References
  1. "Gail Suzanne JONES - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. "Ex-UKFast boss Lawrence Jones guilty of drugging and raping women". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  3. "Gail Jones - Profile - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News.
  4. "UKFast valued at £405m following record year | Business Leader News". Business Leader. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. Begum, Shelina (8 August 2017). "Gail Jones, who founded UKFast with husband Lawrence, is named managing director". men. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. Harding, LaToya (30 October 2019). "Lawrence Jones quits as UKFast chief amid investigation". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. Bounds, Andy (21 December 2018). "Internet hosting company UK Fast valued at £405m after stake sale". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  8. "Prolific North - News from the North West".
  9. "UKFast CEO buys another security firm | CRN". www.channelweb.co.uk. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  10. "Secarma appoints ex-military cybersecurity expert Holly Williams as Technical Director". PCR. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  11. "Tech Manchester initiative launches". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. "Our Board – Manchester Foundation Trust Charity". Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  13. "UKFast's Annual Community and Education Awards 2019 | Manchester Community Central". www.manchestercommunitycentral.org. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  14. signatories (6 July 2018). "How do we get more women returning to work to retrain into tech?". DiversityQ. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  15. Barlow, Nigel (14 November 2019). "Manchester Pride Partners With Local National & Regional Organisations To Beta Test New Standard For Equality & Inclusion". About Manchester. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  16. "Meet the Award Winners: Gail Jones". Universal Inclusion. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  17. "Northern Power Women - Gail Jones". Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  18. "Most influential women in UK tech: The 2018 longlist". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  19. "Most Influential Women in UK Tech: The 2019 longlist". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  20. "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
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