Morecambe woman gets CBE six years after sister awarded MBE

Janet Coyle lived in Bolton-le-Sands as a child and although now living in London she visits Morecambe frequently as her parents John and Joan Usher still live in the town.

Janet has lived in different parts of the world with her role as a UK diplomat. She joined the Foreign Commonwealth Office in 1983 straight from school and lived in many places including Washington DC, Prague, Mumbai, Cape Town and San Francisco.

After 20 years in the diplomatic service Janet followed her passion of the Olympics and worked on a business strategy for London hosting business leaders from around the world during Games time.

For the past 10 years Janet has developed programmes to support entrepreneurs to grow their businesses with a particular focus on under-represented founders including women, leading several trade missions to the US for Female Founders.

She is now managing director for London & Partners and leads all the business teams globally. Her work has resulted in the creation of thousands of new jobs for the UK.

Janet said: “I am humbled to be recognised in Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee Birthday Honours for services to the economy.

"I feel privileged to be able to work with so many inspirational entrepreneurs, many of whom are building purpose-driven businesses, enabling positive change and building a better world. I am proud to support their growth.

"Thank you to the teams at London & Partners and friends across our ecosystem for your collaboration – we are on this journey together.”

The awards run in the family, with Janet's sister Denise Mace being awarded an MBE for services to higher education and the community in north Lancashire in 2016.

She was presented with her honour at Buckingham Palace and was able to take her family and parents to receive the award.

So what is the secret tip of raising two girls who go on to receive Queen’s honours? Dad John said: “We are thrilled with the honours awarded to Denise and Janet.

"There is no secret – just encourage your children to work hard and be kind to others. Not sure whether I need to bow next time we get together as a family.”