Independent Member (Community)

Neil has lived and worked in South Wales since 1987. He initially followed a marketing career in banks at Standard Chartered, Woolwich and Barclays. The next period of his career was as a co-founder of three financial services startups in Wales (Firstplus Financial Group PLC, Picture Financial, Pure Options). Firstplus grew from startup to pre-tax profits of over £100m within 5 years, creating over 350 jobs in South Wales.

Neil has worked at Cardiff University as a visiting lecturer for the international full time MBA, leading the modules for Corporate Strategy, Marketing and Entrepreneurship

As part of Boardroom Advisors, he has advised and supported diverse businesses in the UK and overseas. Often creating and advising on investment projects, he has raised over £40m investment for early-stage businesses.

Neil has experience of leading continuous quality improvement programmes. His work has been recognised by winning the Wales Quality Award three times, (measured against the EFQM Excellence Model) and the European Quality Award.

Neil has considerable experience as a non-executive director and presently is a non-executive director for IEC plc, which floated successfully on the Aquis stock Exchange in December 2023. At IEC, he chairs the Risk and Remuneration Committees.

As a volunteer, Neil has consistently worked to improve communities in South Wales. He founded and chaired the Draethen Community Group for 7 years and has served as a Community Councillor at the Draethen, Waterloo and Rudry Community Council. He has also worked to support Welsh Government and EU funded projects to support employment opportunities for immigrants to Wales.

Neil’s interests include military history and he’s a very average guitar player according to his band mates.