Gail Jones (entrepreneur)

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

Gail Jones, UKFast CEO and founder.

Biography

As a child, Jones attended Altrincham School for Girls. In 1999, she formed UKFast with her partner Lawrence Jones.[2] 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.[3] In 2017 she became the Managing Director,[4] and in 2019, she took over the CEO role[5].

The same year, Jones and husband Lawrence sold a 30% stake in the business to private equity firm Inflexion.[6]

She has overseen investments in various businesses, including in public sector tech company S-IA in 2017.[7] 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[8], magazine and events creator BusinessCloud and UKFast Properties.

In 2017, Jones joined the board of not-for-profit organisation Tech Manchester.[9] Jones also sits on the board of Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, which includes Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity.[10] Jones launched the UKFast Community and Education Awards in 2018,[11] and signed the Tech Talent Charter[12] and the Manchester Pride 'All Equals Charter'[13] on behalf of UKFast to drive diversity and inclusion in the technology industry.

Jones is a keen advocate of women in business and technology and often speaks at industry events[14] and works with local schools to redress the gender imbalance in the technology industry.[15][16][17] She maintains a relationship with Altrincham School for Girls, speaking at workshops and welcoming students to UKFast. Jones also invited pupils from the school to meet HRH Princess Royal while the Princess Royal visited UKFast.[18] She drives UKFast's CSR efforts[19] and she and husband Lawrence donated £5 million to a dedicated trust following the Inflexion deal in 2018.[20]

Jones has created an ethos at UKFast that is centred on family - boosting the maternity package[21] and reducing working hours to help create a stronger work-life balance for employees.[22] She is active in the business community, working with awards organisations to recognise and reward others' success. In 2019, Jones was a judge for the National Business Awards[23] and the Northern Power Women Awards.

Honours and awards

In 2018, Jones was awarded the ICCC Caring Citizen of the Humanities Award.[24]

She was named in the Northern Power Women List in 2016 and 2019.[25] She was also listed in the 2018 and 2019 Most Influential Women in Tech List collated by Computer Weekly.[26][27]

Political activity

Jones donated £100,000 to the Conservative Party in September 2019.[28]

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. "Gail Jones - Profile - Bloomberg".
  3. "UKFast valued at £405m following record year | Business Leader News". Business Leader. 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  4. Begum, Shelina (2017-08-08). "Gail Jones, who founded UKFast with husband Lawrence, is named managing director". men. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  5. Harding, LaToya (2019-10-30). "Lawrence Jones quits as UKFast chief amid investigation". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  6. "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  7. "UKFast CEO buys another security firm | CRN". www.channelweb.co.uk. 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  8. "Secarma appoints ex-military cybersecurity expert Holly Williams as Technical Director". PCR. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  9. "Tech Manchester initiative launches". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  10. "Our Board – Manchester Foundation Trust Charity". Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  11. "UKFast's Annual Community and Education Awards 2019 | Manchester Community Central". www.manchestercommunitycentral.org. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  12. signatories (2018-07-06). "How do we get more women returning to work to retrain into tech?". DiversityQ. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  13. Barlow, Nigel (2019-11-14). "Manchester Pride Partners With Local National & Regional Organisations To Beta Test New Standard For Equality & Inclusion". About Manchester. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  14. "Building a digital dynasty: Manchester tech is showing no signs of slowing down". Tech Nation. 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  15. "Bede's Prep Podcast". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  16. "Times have changed but there still aren't enough tech women". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  17. "UKFast helps develop new badge for Girl Guides | CRN". www.channelweb.co.uk. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  18. "UKFast visit to meet HRH Princess Anne | Altrincham Grammar School for Girls". www.aggs.trafford.sch.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  19. "UKFast donates £67,000 in volunteering hours to local charities". PCR. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  20. "UKFast founders make £5m commitment to young people". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  21. Baxter-Wright, Dusty (2019-01-21). "11 of the best companies to work for as a mum-to-be". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  22. "Tech firm UKFast reduces working hours to energise workforce". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  23. "Gail Jones". National Business Awards 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  24. Editor. "Meet the Award Winners: Gail Jones". www.universalinclusion.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-16.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  25. "Northern Power Women - Gail Jones". Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  26. "Most influential women in UK tech: The 2018 longlist". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  27. "Most Influential Women in UK Tech: The 2019 longlist". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  28. "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
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