Mary Perkins sold for £2 million in 1980, and continue to receive income from. After the sale the couple moved to Guernsey, where Mary's father had retired. Mary and Doug Perkins established Specsavers 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
Lesley Cowley Lesley Cowley Lesley Ruth Cowley OBE is a British businesswoman, chairwoman and non-executive director. She is best known as the former CEO of .uk domain name registry Nominet UK, and is the current chair of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Companies House, and Non-Executive Director of telecoms operator aql. In 1990, Cowley joined New College, Swindon, where she became Director of Corporate Services. Cowley joined Nominet as Operations Director in 1999 before being made Managing Director in 2002 and CEO in 2004, serving in that position for 10 years. She led the organisation through a period of