Carole Barron

Carole is Emeritus Fellow at the University of Kent and is Honorary President of the largest Southeast accredited Chamber of Commerce, having previously holding the role of Chair and President. Carole Chairs the Chamber’s Economic Development Group for her district.
Carole held a Senior Director role at the University of Kent prior to leaving in 2022 and was responsible for the strategic development of knowledge exchange and innovation collaborations. She has extensive experience of working in partnership with a range of business networks and stakeholders. Carole worked in academia for 35 years in a variety of roles, specifically working at the interface with businesses for the past 25 years. 
Carole’s portfolio included knowledge exchange, innovation, consultancy; local and regional outreach; collaborative partnerships; commercialisation of the University’s intellectual property; and student knowledge exchange.
Her current interests lie in, regional economic development, demonstrating impact through knowledge exchange and diversity. Carole is passionate about EDI in all its forms. She believes, like culture, diversity needs to be at the heart of all we do – not an afterthought – and must be embedded in all our practices and actions.