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Young guns to watch out for in business ; Young, talented... and making their mark Young, talented... and making their mark [Western Mail (Wales)]
[August 20, 2014]

Young guns to watch out for in business ; Young, talented... and making their mark Young, talented... and making their mark [Western Mail (Wales)]


(Western Mail (Wales) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AS A follow-up to our highly successful list of 35 women aged 35 and under making their mark in business and professional life in Wales, today we present our list of the young men who we think will be worth watching in the years ahead.



ey come from all corners of Wales, from St Asaph to Newport and west to Swansea, and the sectors they work in are equally diverse. Some are entrepreneurs who have set up their own businesses in the most innovative industries, such as digital, creative and web design.

Others work in more traditional sectors such as the law and commercial property, but have already by their mid-30s achieved a prominence in their "elds that make them stand out from the crowd.


While for the most part their business activities are focused on Wales, some run businesses that have already spread into markets further a"eld, across the border into England or even overseas. One, as with one of the women on our earlier list, is making his mark in London.

If you were to look in more detail at their backgrounds and life histories, you would a similar diversity. Some have been through university and gained professional quali"cations.

Others, like many successful business people the world over, spurned the higher education route and set up their "rst businesses in their teens. Some of these already have a number of successful businesses under their belts.

Compiling these lists has been an education for us. What has been most encouraging is to see the wealth of business talent that exists in Wales, and that these lists only give a small glimpse of.

ese lists are in no way de"nitive and there are many other names that could equally well have appeared. But here's a taster of Wales' remarkable young business talent.

BRADLEY CUMMINGS, 27, began Tiny Rebel Brewing with Gareth Williams as a hobby four years ago, brewing beer in bottles and kegs in Bradley's garage. e business is now exporting to eight countries worldwide including Australia, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

It employs 35 sta" from its premises in Newport and is the only microbrewery in the city. Tiny Rebel's founders have also won a clutch of awards, including Champion Brewer of Wales at the Great Welsh Beer Festival Awards and the Institute of Welsh A"airs Award for Business Achiever.

DALE WILLIAMS, 29, achieved nationwide fame when he narrowly missed winning BBC's Masterchef in 2013. But before that he had achieved business success with Yolk Recruitment which he founded in 2009.

e company has been listed on the Wales Fast Growth 50 and Dale himself has received the Institute of Welsh A"airs award for Young Business Achiever.

GARETH MORGAN, 33, is founder and managing director of Liberty Marketing.

He set up the company in 2008 and now employs 35 digital marketing professionals, establishing Liberty as the largest online marketing agency in Wales.

e company has more than 100 retained clients including international brands such as Bene"ts Cosmetics and Fiorelli.

MATT WARREN, 35, started his "rst company in 2002 as an e- commerce business, and turned it into a multi-million pound business within a year.

Since then he has started and been involved with several businesses and is currently CEO of www.jurawatches.co.uk,an online luxury watch retailer.

He is founder of www.veeqo. com, a tech startup aimed at mak-mak ing shipping orders for online retailers easier. Last year co- founded TechHub Swansea to try and help build the startup tech community in South Wales.

IESTYN MORRIS, 33, has been with Capital Law since 2005 and has since become an integral part of the employment law team and was recently promoted to partner.

Iestyn leads Capital Law's work in the education sector and is currently engaged in the defence of a multi-million pound class action on behalf of a longstanding client.

Fully bilingual, Iestyn also provides advice in Welsh to many high pro"le organisations in Wales.

ANDREW DOWNIE, 33, founded award-winning web development company Netbop Web Development in Swansea in 2002. e company provides in- house web-based services to organisations all over the UK.

Andrew is also a director of Swansea Business Improvement District and sits on the strategy board for Swansea Employability Academy.

DAN TYTE, 33, is executive director at Cardi"-based public relations business Working Word, a co-chair of the CIPR Social Media Panel. A keen Cardi" City fan, he is vicechair of the Sport Wales Advisory Group.

Dan is also a published novelist, his "rst book titled Half Plus Seven, having received enthusiastic reviews.

DAN SMITH, 34, is the founder and managing director of M4 Property Consultants based in Newport.

Launched in 2009 the company provides commercial property advice on lettings, sales and prop-erty management to landlords and tenants.

Dan is also a founder member of the Dragons of Newport Business Club and a steering committee member for the proposed Business Improvement District in Newport.

James Taylor, 33, founded Superstars in 2005 and the company now works in hundreds of schools in Wales and the South West to raise standards of learning through the use of subject specialists in PE, drama, music, art and modern foreign languages.

Earlier this year he was awarded the Director of the Year Award for Talent and Innovation at the IoD Wales Welsh Director of the Year Awards 2014.

Nick ProcTor, 30, founded Amber Energy in 2009 with the long- term goal of revolutionising the way businesses manage energy.

He has since featured in Young Entrepreneur of The Year, and his business has achieved more than 200% growth year on year for four years.

Amber Energy is now an awardwinning energy management company with over 150 clients across four countries.

James Norvill, 33, set up waste management company GD Environmental in Newport in 2003. Within two years he had trebled the company's turnover and won the Chamber of Commerce Welsh Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Earlier this year it acquired Llanelli-based skip company Skip Solutions and was named the Finance Wales Small Business of the Year at the BITC Responsible Business awards.

JohN hursT, 32, is managing director of Northmace & Hendon, a company that designs and manufactures hotel products and sells them to more than 100 countries.

John started his career in the technology sector working for fast growth businesses such as Messagelabs and Energis. He completed his first management buy-in at the age of 27. John also sits on the marketing and strategy advisory board of CardiffBusiness School.

SCHooLBoY friends NaThaN Brew, 32, a former Welsh rugby international and krisTiaN James, 31, former professional footballer, set up the Skill Group in 2009. The company, which has its headquarters in Swansea, provides a diverse range of accredited training, development and learning courses across various sectors including, IT, sport, primary/secondary school education, hospitality and management. It is Wales' only accredited training provider of the Green Deal adviser and domestic energy assessor courses.

Continued on pages 10&11 >>Continued from pages 8&9 >> Graham Cooper, a keen photographer and film director from Hawarden, near Wrexham, has realised his ambition to run an independent production company after teaming up with fellow media students from Glyndwr University. The 24-year-old co-founded production company Minimal Media and has produced creative videos and short films for a range of highprofile clients, including Welsh National Opera, the NHS and Glyndwr University.

Dr Vasilios samaras, 35, is the product manager at Newport-based water management specialists, Asset International.

Vasilios oversees a team which designs pipework systems for the construction industry both in the UK and internationally, and is a world renowned authority on large diameter plastic pipes.

He is currently working on a multi-million pound project to help improve London's Victorian sewage networks.

Dr akshay peer, 30, is the commercial director For TrakCel which is developing a technology platform for the regenerative therapy industry using patents which Akshay developed while at AwenID, a Swansea University spin-out he founded.

TrakCel has been tipped as one of the top companies to watch by industry peers. It won the Best Start-up in Wales at the MediWales 2013 Awards and was selected as the runner-up in the same category at the Medilink Awards.

NathaN DiCks, 30, is a young ambassador for the Prince's Trust and a Big Ideas Wales role model.

Having overcome the barriers of being an undiagnosed dyslexic at school Nathan set up a successful music and events business at 18 while at university and founded award-winning Rewise Learning in 2008 at the age of 23.

Nathan is also a founding director of Surf Ability, Wales' first inclusive surf school for people with disabilities and learning diffi-culties, based at Caswell Bay, Swansea.

lloyD morGaN, 28, is managing director of Rockadove Video Production based in CardiffBay, working with clients from the Welsh Government to Tesco.

He is also trustee of Bhubesi Pride charity and sits on the committee board for CIM Wales (Chartered Institute of Marketing).

NORTH Walian Gareth JoNes, 30, from Llangollen is co-founder and CEO of the Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise (ICE) in Caerphilly. He re-located to Cardifffrom Llangollen in 2007 before cofounding the leading start-up hub in summer 2011.

Gareth has become a leading voice for young entrepreneurs through his involvement with the Welsh Assembly's Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy for Wales, as a Big Ideas Wales role model and as an active member of the CardiffStart community.

shauN roberts, 23, started web design agency Creative Consultants business at the age of 19 and has never looked back.

The company specialises in in web design, marketing and SEO and has worked on projects for organisations such as the Woodland Trust He is a also a Big Ideas Wales role model.

iaN WhiteheaD-ross, 28, has have been running his innovative education company, Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting, since April 2012.

Based in Skewen, Neath, the company provides alternative curriculum programmes for young people in statutory education, engagement activities for young people who are economically inactive and vocational training programmes for both unemployed adults and businesses.

Ian previously worked as a civil servant in the Treasury and Foreign Office and is a committee member for the Swansea Bay branch of the FSB.

beN lloyD, 29, is founder and managing director of Pure Commercial Finance. Since starting the company last year, Ben has grown the team at Pure to six and the company is placing more than Pounds 2m of commercial finance deals per month.

Pure specialises in complex cases and has been described by one bank as "a breath of fresh air".

ChristiaN FarroW, 33, joined Acuity Legal as a trainee in 2003 and was made a partner in 2012. Christian's area of practice is corporate and commercial, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, projects and commercial contracts.

He heads up the Acuity energy team which specialises in advising clients in the energy sector and has a national reputation in this rapidly emerging sector.

He is currently advising on a diverse range of projects, from biomass power stations and wind farms through to the exploitation of shale gas.

eD barNett, 28, left, founded office supplies company Cartridge Mate in 2010 and spin-offbusiness Copier Mate two year later.

But he is perhaps best known on the South Wales business scene for running Ignite Cardiff, whose popular events attract speakers from around the world.

GlyNN peGler, 28, is chief executive of digital content company Culture Group which he founded with the help of a Prince's Trust grant at the age of 15.

The business has developed from a regional magazine publisher into a communications consultancy with clients including consumer brands such as Red Bull and Guinness and charity Action for Children.

STILL only 32, CraiG maxWell has certainly made his mark as the group sales and marketing manager of the WRU.

Notable successes include striking a new Wales shirt sponsorship deal with Admiral.

He is highly thought of in the WRU and wider business community... could he one day be the union's chief executive? Wil stepheNs is founder of Cardiffand London-based interactive entertainment company Cube.

The 32-year-old, originally from Aberystwyth, certainly has his pulse on the media and technology scene and is a board member of Pact which represents the interests of the UK's independent television, film, digital, children's and animation media companies.

IN the commercial property investment world Gareth lloyD, 32, has certainly made a big impression since joining the Cardiffoffice of Knight Frank in 2010.

The associate partner is now regarded as one of Wales's leading property investment figures. Notable deals he has overseen include the Pounds 18.86m acquisition of Hodge House in Cardiff.

Vale of Glamorgan trainer Tim Vaughan, 34, is aiming for the top.

Big-race wins for Beshabar in the Scottish Grand National at ayr, Saint are in the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle at aintree and Spirit Of adjisa in the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown have firmly established him in the upper echelons of Grade 1 winning National Hunt trainers in the UK.

after graduating from exeter University mark higgins, 32, who hails from Swansea, has certainly made his mark in the the City of london.

flying the flag for the Welsh diaspora, Mark is currently electronic foreign exchange institutional sales manager with aDS Securities.

He is playing a key role in expanding aDS' footprint in europe and the US.

gareTh Jones' company Carbon Zero renewables was named as solar installer of the year at the prestigious finance Monthly Global awards 2014.

It's the latest in a string of accolades for the 33-year-old eco entrepreneur who is a former Institute of Directors' Young Director of the Year for North Wales.

Daniel lewis, 29, left and anDrew Cargill, 28 right are founders of Newport-based e-commerce solution TheGenielab. With the help of veteran entrepreneur alf Gooding and american business executive fredy Dellis, they have just launched a new office in Miami as the University of South Wales graduates focus on driving revenues to Pounds 5m over the next three years.

gafyn owen, 34, is owner of contemporary furniture firm Mij-Moj in llanfairfechan.

Gafyn made his first Welsh dresser aged 12 and after working in product design and consultancy set up MijMoj in 2006. The firm is now expanding and has scooped several design awards for its stunning wooden furniture.

Mark Higgins Ian Whitehead-Ross (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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