A Caerphilly-based start-up support firm has appointed Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE as its new chairman.
The appointment adds to the leadership team of Gareth Jones as CEO of Town Square Spaces and Mandy Weston as COO to continue their plans to expand as the business grows.
Professor Jones-Evans is no stranger to the boardroom having held prominent positions at businesses and organisations such as Prime Cymru, the Institute of Directors in Wales, the European Council of Small Business, Outlook Expeditions, the Institute of Small Business and Enterprise, Finance Wales and Welsh ICE.
As well as chairing the advisory panel that led to the creation of the Development Bank for Wales, Dylan is currently a member of the Be the Spark Panel, a venture with MIT to develop an entrepreneurship strategy for Wales to ensure the best conditions and environment to help start-ups grow.
He has held academic leadership roles at various institutions including the University of South Wales, Bangor University, Cardiff University and the University of the West of England and founded the prestigious Wales Fast Growth 50 Awards, the Cardiff Business Awards and the Wales Start-Up Awards.
Speaking of his appointment, Professor Jones-Evans said: “To say I am delighted to accept this new role would be a massive understatement. The opportunity to help guide the development of an innovative new business such as Town Square Spaces is something that I am looking forward to immensely as I believe it can be truly transformational in its field over the next few years”.
Town Square Spaces aims to create, nurture and grow start-ups and small businesses by creating accessible workspaces that are shaped by the entrepreneurs they serve.
Founder of Town Square Spaces, Gareth Jones said: “We have very ambitious plans for the future, and it is important to me that we are challenged to achieve what we see as being a significant market opportunity.
“There are a small number of people in the Welsh ecosystem who have the credibility that Dylan has earned in his career – we see this appointment as being an endorsement for our future plans.”
Town Square Spaces, which also manages the Wrexham Enterprise Hub on behalf of Business Wales, recently secured a ten-year contract to head up a new creative digital hub in Bognor Regis – the company’s first hub outside of Wales.