"Ive been working towards getting more involved with the university so I can help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and young professionals."
Lawrence Jones MBE
Digital entrepreneur Lawrence Jones MBE is to be awarded with an honorary doctorate by The Manchester Metropolitan University.
Joining a select number of distinguished individuals in receiving the honour, Jones is set to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).The University acknowledged the businessman for his outstanding contribution to the digital economy in the North West region through ‘world-class innovation and leadership’.
Jones said: "I’ve been a student of business for more than 30 years, so some would say it’s about time I graduated! There are myriad lessons I’ve learned along the way which collectively make for a real wealth of business knowledge. Whilst there’s no substitute for this kind of hands-on business experience, there is also no substitute for the experience you can gain at university.
“This learning journey has taken me all over the world and has led me to meet some amazing people. The journey doesn’t end here though. I’ve still got a long way to go and I want to keep on learning and developing. To continue to grow you have to keep being interested and keep absorbing information.
“”It’s really inspiring for me to be honoured by a great institution like MMU. I’ve been working towards getting more involved with the university so I can help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and young professionals.
Jones has built cloud computing and web hosting firm UKFast, alongside his wife Gail, from a two-person bedroom business to a £250 million-valued company employing over 260 people.
He continued: “It’s encouraging that the university is so intertwined with businesses in the city. It can only be good news for the students that MMU is looking to build relationships with cutting-edge businesses like UKFast.”
Previous recipients of the business honour include Sir Howard Bernstein, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jonathan Warburton, Chairman of Warburton’s bakers and Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood.
The honorary doctorate will be awarded this summer at a ceremony in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall.
Professor Karen Moore, Registrar of Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to award an honorary degree to Lawrence Jones to recognise his fantastic work at the helm of UKFast, one of the UK’s leading hosting companies.
“As chief executive, Lawrence has built UKFast into an instantly recognisable Manchester company through his digital expertise, entrepreneurial talent and business acumen, all attributes we encourage in our students.
“We look forward to welcoming Lawrence to the University to receive his honorary degree during our summer graduation ceremonies.”
Jones has gained a reputation for ‘doing things differently’ and attributes much of his business success to keeping his team motivated. He is known for offering unconventional perks such as a yoga teacher, an on-site gym, trips to Chester Zoo and team building trips to Wales and Switzerland.
