Chief Executive of The Clink Charity
Chris Moore has more than 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry having previously worked for Fenwick Ltd, Harrods and Hilton Hotel Group. In 2010 Chris was appointed Chief Executive of The Clink Charity as part of a long-term plan to expand the prisoner training concept across Her Majesty’s Prison Service.
The Clink Charity is on track to have 20 training projects in operation by 2020 resulting in 1,000 qualified Clink graduates being released into employment each year.
In addition to this role Chris sits on the executive council for the Institute of Hospitality and is also is an external director for Westminster Abbey Enterprises Ltd.
Singer Songwriter
Elly is a 17 year old Welsh, singer/ song writer who is currently studying at Gower College Swansea. Elly is self taught; after picking up a guitar at the age of 12 she has been unable to put it down since!
Elly takes her inspiration from everything around her, with the smallest details finding their way into her song writing. When it comes to lyrics Elly often finds her pen puts them on paper quicker then she can think about it.
It is hard to define which genre Elly's music is in, but she can’t deny folk music and the singer/ songwriter genres both have a strong influence.
This is an exciting time for Elly who released her first EP 'Fireflies' in March, she is both thrilled and hopeful to experience what lies ahead.
Co Founder of The Satori Lab
Esko Reinikainen is the Co Founder of The Satori Lab, a Cardiff based startup that helps organisations navigate change. Their primary mission is to fix government and public services. The change he is most concerned with is the complex transitions required when society undergoes a transformational paradigm shift, in this case from the Information Age to the Networked Age.
Drawing on a range of intellectual resources from MIT (USA) to Aalto University (Finland), collaborative practice in international networks and from the fields complex adaptive systems, peer based modes of production, agile development, user centred design, culture transformation and radical innovation he is developing tools, methods and processes that help organisations undergo radical change.
Chief Executive of Timpson
James Timpson is Chief Executive of Timpson, a family retail business based in Manchester, UK that offers a diverse range of services including shoe repairs, key cutting, watch repairs, mobile phone and iPad repairs, photo printing and development together with photo gifts.
James strives to keep the business fresh and moving and is always up for trying new services and ideas, many of which come from the 3500 colleagues that the company is fortunate enough to employ.
During 2015 he received the Albert Medal from the Royal Society of Arts and in Jan 2016 appeared in the Sunday Times 500 Most Influential list, acknowledging his recruitment of ex-offenders. James was appointed the HRH Prince of Wales Ambassador for responsible business in the North West in 2015.
James lives with his wife Roisin and 3 children, Bede (17), Patrick (15) and Niamh (13) in Manley, Cheshire.
Manager of FabLab, Cardiff
Martijn is a product designer from the Netherlands, with a passion for digital manufacturing and making things. After moving to Wales for a research project; designing for injection moulding for a medical research company, combined with prototyping with a 3D printer. Now he works in Cardiff, as FabLab Cardiff manager.
His skills are a combination of design, engineering, manufacturing and management, but most important the ability to carry over this knowledge to others. In the job, he helps people and/or companies to take the first steps towards bringing a design on the market and getting the basis covered of business plans, design for manufacturing.
Director of Innovation and Strategic Communication at the Intellectual Property Office
Rosa is Director of Innovation and Strategic Communication at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Her focus is on building policy and action to help give IP users and creators the confidence to manage IP effectively and on ensuring that IP features appropriately in other strands of government policy. Rosa also leads IPO’s external communications.
Previous roles have included working with UKTI, including leading work to market the UK internationally, and as Director of Public Policy for a major bank. Her earlier career includes a variety of Whitehall policy roles embracing enterprise, manufacturing, trade and European policy issues. Her civil service career began with a focus on delivery of services for the unemployed.
Outside the IPO, Rosa is a part of the Big Innovation Centre’s Steering Group and the IET’s Innovation Policy Panel. All of which means she sometimes needs time to recuperate with her horse, George.
Singer Songwriter Student
A songwriter and student, Tom writes about the trials and tribulations of student life, including the pitfalls of drunkenness, long-distance relationships and his addiction to coffee.
With a debut EP release coming up in July, Tom is playing across the South Coast and Wales, entertaining audiences with his heartfelt, energetic stage presence and his intricate, relatable lyrics.
Founder and Managing Director of Giakonda IT
Wendy Kirkman is the founder and Managing Director of Giakonda IT, a family business she runs with her husband Howard. They have many years’ experience in providing IT services for both education and business sectors.
Wendy has been involved in community activities for many years. Her experience includes founding a local community workshop, helping out as a Cub Scout and Brownie Leader and spending time as a PTA member and parent governor.
Wendy’s aim has always been for GiaKonda IT to behave in a socially responsible way, providing training courses to charities for their staff and clients pro bono or at reduced prices.
Since 2014 Wendy and her husband have been working in Siavonga, Zambia, as volunteers. They have taken on various projects such as installing solar panels in schools, providing a small hub of computers together with e-Library and e-Learning resources and arranging training for teachers.
Co-Founder of Cardiff Sixth Form College
Yasmin Sarwar started teaching from the conservatory of her Cardiff home. After ten years of home schooling pupils to great success, As the numbers of pupils grew, Yasmin had to move her lessons out of her suburban home; opening her own private sixth-form school in the heart of Cardiff. Cardiff Sixth Form College is now one of the largest sixth form colleges in Wales and is one of the top A-Level providers in the UK.
Currently its ever growing student community represents over 30 nationalities, many students being on government scholarships as top achievers in their countries. Besides being proud of having added this international dimension to its operations, the college also prides itself on being Welsh. It provides full scholarships on tuition fees to top achieving home students.