Doug Perkins Doug Perkins Douglas John David Perkins (born April 1943) is a British billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder of Specsavers, an international optical retail chain. Douglas John David Perkins was born in April 1943 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. "His father was a policeman and his grandparents were farmers in the county for generations." He was educated at the Llanelli Boys Grammar School, and he graduated from Cardiff University. Perkins began his career as an optometrist in Llanelli and Carmarthen. In the 1970s, he took over his father-in-law's optician store in Bristol and subsequently opened 22 stores. Perkins co-founded Specsavers with
Mary Perkins pensioners", and her directorship of Women's Refuge and Age Concern. She was awarded the Spirit of Everywoman Award in 2006. She is also a patron to leading children's charity Kidscape In 2012 Dame Mary Perkins was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business from Plymouth University In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. In July 2015 she was made an Officer Sister of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. In October 2017, Dame Mary was honoured with