Caroline Theobald CBE, a champion of entrepreneurship in the North East and a nationally recognised figure in the business start-up community, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by Northumbria University, Newcastle.
Born and raised in London, his first major role in the business world was news editor at Printing World, a leading technical printing magazine based in Fleet Street. After serving as PR for the late Robert Maxwell, he turned his attention to the socially conscious architecture movement of the 1990s and co-founded Community Architecture Information Services (CAIS) Ltd.
In 1990, Caroline moved to the Northeast and for the past 30 years has made it her mission to mentor business leaders, network, and forge connections both nationally and internationally. And her efforts have contributed greatly to the success of Northeast companies.
She is co-founder of The Bridge Club, an exclusive business networking group set up to connect founders with capital, management advice and new markets, and to stimulate enterprise thinking in schools, universities and colleges. For almost 25 years, The Bridge Club has provided early stage entrepreneurs with the capital, management, skills and access to markets they need to grow their businesses. The job This led to another role as a project leader. Connecting NorthumberlandBuilding Northumberland’s employer community and supporting the county’s transition to a vibrant post-coal economy.
She is also the founding director of the North East Initiative on Business Ethics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the Northeast a better place for business.
Caroline is a passionate supporter of gender equality: when she moved from London to the North East she was deeply concerned by the gender imbalance she saw in the local business community, which subsequently led her to become one of the founders of the Power of Women Campaign. It is a local interest group dedicated to raising the aspirations of young women in the Tees Valley and surrounding areas.
She also became co-owner of FIRST, a corporate training company that connects young people, start-ups and professionals with the broader business community.
Caroline is a Visiting Professor at Northumbria University and chaired the university’s Newcastle Business School Advisory Council for five years from 2018 to 2023. She played a key role in supporting the Business School’s Small Business Charter accreditation, a seal of excellence which recognises the role of UK business schools in supporting small business, student entrepreneurship and local economic growth.
As one of the founders of the Entrepreneurs Forum, the North East’s largest entrepreneurial network, Caroline has facilitated many of the connections between the University and local businesses.
Speaking about her connection with the university and receiving her honorary degree, Caroline said: “It is an honour to be associated with a university that reaches out to under-resourced communities and unlocks people’s hidden potential.”. What motivates me in the work I have done is making important connections to help people become the best version of themselves. I am honored to have received my PhD from such an esteemed institution.
Caroline served as an honorary diplomat for the Swedish Government for 14 years and currently serves as Chair of the Northeast Branch of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, promoting the region as a destination for inward investment for Swedish companies.
She is an Associate Professor at Teesside University and contributed to the UK2070 Commission Teesside Taskforce, an independent inquiry into urban and regional inequalities in the UK, which was set up to undertake a review of policy and spatial issues relating to the long-term development of cities and regions in the UK.
In 2016 Caroline was awarded a CBE for services to business and entrepreneurship and is also a life recipient of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for her work in harnessing the entrepreneurial potential of young people, business owners and managers.
