Caroline grew up in Norwich and achieved a BSc Hons in Management Sciences from Warwick University. Having gained experience working at the Consumers’ Association, she joined Jarrold & Sons Ltd. She worked for both the former printing and publishing divisions becoming Managing Director of the latter. During that time, she was actively involved in the Independent Publishers’ Guild, serving as its chairman in its 40th anniversary year. After the birth of her third child, Caroline moved into the role of Community Affairs Adviser to the Jarrold which includes being a trustee of the John Jarrold Trust and its secretary as well as working in partnership with many external organisations. The Trust supports a wide variety of causes including education and the arts, mostly in the Norwich area. She has been a judge for the East Anglian Book Awards since they were established in 2008 and is a keen member of a Book Group as well as an avid reader of a variety of genres.

Caroline has been closely involved in the cultural life of Norwich and is a previous chair of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and continues to be one of its patrons. She is chair of Norwich Philharmonic Society and a member of the chorus. She is a board member of the Forum Trust in Norwich, serves on the advisory committee for Norwich Business School and as an ambassador for the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the UEA.

As well as the above interests, she is a director of Cox’s Boatyard on the Norfolk Broads and a member of the Norfolk Punt Club.

Caroline was Sheriff of Norwich (2021 – 2023).