Occupation businessperson Name Thomas Jones | Role Executive | |
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Born October 6, 1944 (age 79) ( 1944-10-06 ) Buffalo, New York, United States Spouse(s) Betty Gay Mobbs (1977–) Children Laura E. Fallon, Michael T. Jones, Mckenzie G. Jones, Penelope R. Jones | ||
Thomas Oakley Jones (born October 6, 1944) is an American business executive and conservationist from Massachusetts. Jones is president of eLanes LLC, a North Andover, Massachusetts-based company that integrates restaurant technology, consumer marketing, and restaurant operations and operates a southwestern Wendy's franchise. He serves on the board of directors of the Walden Woods Project, a Concord, Massachusetts-based conservation organization. Between 1970 and 1999, he co-founded and led several Massachusetts-based information technology companies: Epsilon Data Management, Elm Square Technologies, and Exit41. He lives with his wife, Betty Mobbs, in Andover, Massachusetts.
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Early life and education
Jones was born in Buffalo, New York to Elizabeth Norton and Idris Jones. He attended Peoria High School in Peoria, Illinois, graduating in 1962. From 1962 to 1966 he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned his S.B. in Mechanical Engineering. He then attended Harvard Business School and received his M.B.A. from that institution in 1968.
Career
In 1970, Jones co-founded Epsilon Data Management and eventually led that company through its initial public offering in 1980 and its acquisition by American Express in 1990. Based primarily in North America, Epsilon currently employs approximately 2,200 people and provides consulting and database services for 7 of the Fortune 10. From 1991 to 1995, Jones taught courses on Service Management and General Management as a full-time Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. During this time, Jones collaborated on several pivotal and best-selling papers published in the Harvard Business Review, including "Why Satisfied Customers Defect" (written with W. Earl Sasser, Jr.) and "Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work." Between 1994 and 2007, Jones co-founded and led Elm Square Technologies and Exit41, managing these companies with former Epsilon executives Craig Tengler, John Cardinal, Frank Cantwell, and Sean Lappetito.
From 1998-1999, Jones taught at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Conservation
Jones joined the board of the Walden Woods Project, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit founded in 1990 by recording artist Don Henley committed to conserving the natural landscapes described by Henry David Thoreau in "Walden" and "Journal". Jones served on the board of Arizona Raft Adventures until 2008.
Political life
Jones contributed $1000 to the campaigns of Senator John Kerry (2004) and Governor Michael Dukakis (1988).
Personal life
Jones lives with his wife, Betty Mobbs, in Andover, Massachusetts. He has four children; Laura E. Fallon, Michael T. Jones, Mckenzie G. Jones, and Penelope R. Jones.