Having joined the electronics industry by accident, taking what she thought was a marketing job with Macro Marketing and which turned out to be an electronics distributor rather than a marketing company, she hasn’t left for 35 years!
Karen joined Force Technologies in April 1989, having worked for Polar Electronics and Dense Pac Microsystems, where she learnt all about manufacturing memory modules. Although Force started its life as the first European distributor for Atmel, Karen always had a yearning to make our own product. That opportunity came along in 1995 when we made the first FT branded product.
In 2005, having turned 40, and having raised 2 daughters and seen Force achieve BS accreditation with FT parts worldwide, she decided to enrol with the Open University and gain a law degree. She then went on to complete a post-grad in Legal Practice by attending the University of Law once a week for 2 years, fully supported by Force. In 2017, Karen qualified as a solicitor, which proves to be extremely handy when dealing with difficult purchasing contracts, etc.
She is on the board of trustees for a local charity, Young People & Children First, which offers a home and support to 16-24 year olds who have left the foster care system, and are about to take that next step to independent living. Finally, last September, she was elected as Chairman of the Hungerford Chamber of Commerce and set about bringing that organisation into the new post-covid age!
In the little downtime she has left, she likes to grow vegetables in her garden, read, cook for friends, and spend weekends away with her husband.
But her first love is always her daughters, who have grown up with Mum and sometimes, (as she was International Management undergraduate) travelled the world to see Force customers. A taste of Force she has enjoyed for many years.