The forever male-dominated natural stone industry, has a new leader. Her name is Karen Pearse and her first order of business has been to bring unprecedented innovations to natural stone products such as granite countertops. Her passion for natural stone developed in her teens, as she watched her father grow the family's NY-based flooring business. She gained all of the insight needed to embark on a career that would alter the landscape of the natural stone industry. In her early twenties, and armed with $5,000 provided by her supportive father, she was ready to start her own business. She decided to call it Innovative Marble and Tile (now Innovative Stone), and twenty-five years later, she runs the world's largest natural stone sourcing and fabrication company.

In a quarter century, Ms. Pearse has accomplished a great deal in the natural stone industry, including expanding her small company into a global design and architectural stone enterprise and commencing operations in Brazil, China, India and Italy. Needless to say, her passion for, and her knowledge of, natural stone is unmatched. In 2004, when the city of New York sought a fitting monument for the new Freedom Tower, Ms. Pearse donated the Freedom Stone, the official cornerstone of the new, historic building. In 2006, The Home Depot and Expo Design Center signed on to become the exclusive carriers of her new brand of stain-resistant granite called Stonemark®. Everlife™, her latest labor of love, features a fine collection of designer colors and is available from select kitchen dealers. From resplendent stone designs for the Time Warner building, to exotic projects such as the Palace of the Lost City in South Africa, Ms. Pearse´s company has delivered with award-winning designs each and every time.

Ms. Pearse has received the Ernst & Young Long Island Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the March of Dimes Woman of Distinction Award, and was honored by the American Heart Association as part of their "Go Red for Women" Movement. Innovative Stone has been recognized by Crain´s New York Business as one of the NY area´s largest women-owned companies in 2007 and 2008.

Despite all of her accomplishments, Ms. Pearse has not lost track of her community and the problems that affect many people today. She has received honorary awards from the American Heart Association, March of Dimes and Crain´s New York Business.