Karen is the CEO of XCAM (www.xcam.co.uk), a small business which designs and manufactures customised digital camera solutions for science, industry and spaceflight. After graduating with a BSc Hons Physics degree, Karen spent several years developing fibre optic transceiver technology for military and commercial applications for the Plessey company in the UK. During a career break with her family, Karen was a founder member of XCAM, and later took over as CEO.

During the 20 years that Karen has run XCAM, it has grown from a 1 person business operating out of a spare room at home, to a business which operates from a 6000 square foot factory in Northampton, complete with ISO 6 class cleanrooms where cameras are made, which are subsequently launched into space or installed in world-class science facilities.