Police Commissioner Donna Jones joins the board of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce

Business woman and Police Commissioner Donna Jones pledges to be the voice of businesses across Hampshire and the south after being appointed as a non-executive director to the board of the Chamber of Commerce.

Donna Jones will work alongside Chief Executive and Executive Chairman Ross McNally, President Peter Taylor and fellow board directors to help shape the Chamber’s strategic growth as the county’s independent voice of businesses.

As well as being the Police Commissioner presiding over a £500million budget for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, Donna is also the Chair of the national Association of Police & Crime Commissioners. Donna’s professional background is banking. She attributes her understanding of economics to her experience in investment management and public sector financing. She has delivered a large scale commercial property portfolio and combines law enforcement expertise with industry knowledge to ensure local businesses are supported and able to reach their full potential.

In her first 12 months as Police Commissioner she delivered savings of over £750k a year paying towards 650 more police officers, she has recruited a new Chief Constable, announced the reopening of 10 more police stations and front counters to the public, and included the prevention of online crime and fraud among her business crime priorities.

Before becoming Police Commissioner, Ms Jones was appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a Magistrate to the South East Hampshire Bench in 2005. She served as a Magistrate for 16 years; at the time of her appointment she was the youngest member of the judiciary in England and Wales. Donna Jones was a Director of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership for four years and was the first woman to hold the role of the Executive Leader of Portsmouth City Council from 2014 – 2018.

PCC Donna Jones said: “As a business owner and someone with over 25 years’ experience in the private sector, I’m delighted to be joining the board of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce as a Non-Executive Director.

“We are fortunate to have a mixture of SMEs and key national and international businesses based in Hampshire. With small changes to legalisation and by attracting overseas investment, I want to ensure that Hampshire businesses are able to reach their full potential and have access to trade around the world.

“I have spent the last 15 years of my career supporting businesses and being a conduit into government, delivering on my passion to grow the GVA of the South East region. The future growth of businesses across Hampshire is vital to the success of the 1.8million people living and working in the county.

“When businesses thrive, communities thrive, providing us with the foundation to build a better, safer, more prosperous region for the next generation.”