Peter Jones CBE

Peter Jones dreamt of running a multi-million pound business as a schoolboy. Today, Peter has interests in a wide range of companies and a variety of markets which collectively generate sales of more than £200 million and employ more than 1,000 people.  He has personally invested in more than 25 businesses spanning publishing, new media, television, entertainment, food products, the environment and product design in a varied and growing portfolio, which nurtures and develops emerging entrepreneurs and innovative products and services in the UK and internationally.

Beyond his own direct business interests, he has also developed a public role focussed on nurturing Britain’s entrepreneurial talent, especially working to help young people and young enterprise flourish in the UK. In 2009, following a successful Pathfinder activity, his National Enterprise Academy opened its doors to students aged 16 to 19 in Bucks and Manchester. He has big plans for scaling it up so that it rolls-out nationwide and offers thousands of courses to students all over Britain. He is also proud to be Chairman of Enterprise UK, which implements campaigns to encourage enterprise among a wide range of different people across the country.

TV life began in 2005 when Peter was invited to join the panel of the hit ground-breaking BBC 2 show, ‘Dragons’ Den’. In 2006, he worked with Simon Cowell to create a new business reality format show for America’s largest network, ABC – ‘The American Inventor.’  In April 2006, he produced and starred in business show ‘Tycoon’ which searched the UK for the next big business Tycoon, mentoring entrepreneurs and helping them to turn their business dreams into reality. For the first time, members of the public were able to own shares in the winning business.  His book ‘Tycoon’ was published in 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton.  In January 2009, Peter was made a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list and in 2013, he became the chief executive and owner of Jessops.