Biography
During Jones’ more-than-20-year tenure at sportswear giant Nike, she has helped transform the 55-year old brand — which has previously faced controversy regarding social injustices — into a global leader in sustainable innovation. At Nike, Jones draws upon her experience in the non-profit sector and as a social action reporter for the BBC to inform her ethical leadership roles. Jones was Nike's chief sustainability officer and vice president of its Innovation Accelerator until September 2018, when she founded and became president of the Nike Valiant Labs, a company’s start-up incubator. She was also the recipient of the World Economic Forum’s Young Leader Award in 2007.
Educated at the European School of Brussels, Jones went onto complete a BA in Philosophy and French at the University of Sussex. She then began her career in 1991 at the BBC’s social action unit, where she researched, reported and produced content for BBC Radio One and Radio Five channels, where she stayed for two years. She moved onto a European non-governmental organisation CSV Media, where she led media campaigns focused on youth issues such as HIV/AIDS as the company’s European Manager for five years.
Jones joined in Nike in 1998 as director of corporate responsibility in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In this capacity, she led the company’s Brussels office opening and began work with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) as a founding member of the High Commissioners Business Advisors council. She also chairs the Sustainable Consumption initiative for the Consumer Industries grouping of the world economic forum.
In late 2004 she became vice president of sustainable business and innovation, where she led a team that innovated business models and leveraged transparency and collaborations in search of sustainable solutions. She also co-authored Nike’s Sustainable Business Performance Report. She was a nominee in Fast Company’s Top 100 Creative Leaders in 2008 and 2013, and won the 2013 C. K. Prahalad Award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership. In April 2014, she was promoted to chief sustainability officer and vice president of the Innovation Accelerator before founding and becoming president of the Nike Valiant Labs in 2018.