Dame Mary Lesley Perkins, (born 14 February 1944) is an English billionaire who is the co-founder of

Specsavers Specsavers Optical Group Limited is a Guernsey-based multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the Nordic countries. The chain offers optometry and optician services for ey ...

, the British retail

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

chain. Together with her husband, co-founder and chairman Doug Perkins, Dame Mary has three children, all of whom work for Specsavers, and are eventually expected to take over the privately-owned company. In spring 2015, her net worth was estimated to be £1.45 billion.

Early life

She attended

Fairfield Grammar School Fairfield Grammar School was a secondary school in Bristol, England, founded in 1898 as Fairfield Secondary and Higher Grade School. It became a grammar school in 1945 and closed in 2000, to be replaced by a new comprehensive, Fairfield High S ...

in Bristol. She then went to

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

to train as an

optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

. At Cardiff, she met Doug Perkins, whom she later married. The couple established their first business in Bristol in the 1960s. This became a chain of optometrists around Bristol, which they sold for £2 million in 1980, and from which they continue to receive income. After the sale the couple moved to

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, where Mary's father had retired.

Specsavers

Mary and Doug Perkins established

in Guernsey in 1984. In 2007 it was the largest privately owned opticians in the world, with nearly 900 stores across the UK and Europe. By 2011 the company had an annual turnover of £1.5bn and over 30,000 staff in markets in the UK, Europe and Australasia. Her current title at Specsavers is "founder". Dame Mary sits on the company board, oversees business development and has particular responsibility for running PR. She has admitted donning disguises and visiting Specsavers stores, posing as a customer.

Awards and honours

Perkins was made an honorary fellow of

in 2005. The same year she received the ''Rotary International Community and Vocational Service Award'' for her services to charity and in 2006 won the inaugural Spirit of everywoman Award. Perkins was the first female optometrist in the UK to receive the title of

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in 2007 for services to Business and to the community in Guernsey. The accolade was also in recognition of her other charitable work, including the Guernsey annual "Specsavers Liberation Tea Dance for pensioners", and her directorship of Women's Refuge and

Age Concern Age Concern is the banner title used by several charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom. I ...

. She is also a patron to leading children's charity

Kidscape Kidscape is a London-based charity established in 1985, by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children's safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them s ...

. Mary also supports culture as the Honorary Patron of Masteg Gleemen, a Welsh Male Voice Choir. In 2012 Perkins was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business from

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. In July 2015 she was made an Officer Sister of the

Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

. In October 2017, Dame Mary was honoured with an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK Lifetime Achievement Award for her continued contribution to entrepreneurship and the economy.

Other

Perkins is a founding patron of the not-for-profit social enterprise Modern Muse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Mary 1944 births British retail company founders Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English billionaires Businesspeople from Bristol Living people People educated at Fairfield Grammar School Alumni of Cardiff University Guernsey people