Leading Welsh businessman loses his battle against cancer
ALEADING Welsh businessman and former investment banker, Joel HopeBell, has died aged 44 following a short battle with cancer.
Mr Hope-Bell gained nearly 20 years’ experience in corporate finance at City firms before returning to work in Wales in 2015 to take prominent roles in two multi-million-pound Welsh-headquartered businesses.
Raised in Llansadwrn near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Mr Hope-Bell attended Ysgol Llansadwrn and Ysgol Pantycelyn, before studying environmental science at the University of Leeds, achieving a first-class degree while raising his two young children.
He then qualified as a chartered accountant at Arthur Andersen, where he won national awards for his high scoring in professional exams.
Mr Hope-Bell later secured a string of senior roles at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, DC Advisory, Morgan Stanley and UBS, advising international clients on mergers and acquisitions and capital market transactions, as well as debt financing and restructuring.
Before his return to Wales, he was managing director at the global finance advisory and investment banking firm Duff & Phelps.
Leaving his career at City finance firms, Mr Hope-Bell joined two of Wales’ fastest-growing businesses that operate across the UK – Smart Solutions, an outsourced services provider, and Veezu, the parent company of private hire and taxi operators.
During his time as chief financial officer at Smart Solutions, the business grew from £40m turnover to £98m as he implemented new integrated systems and delivered cost-improvement programmes.
In 2017 Mr Hope-Bell was appointed chief executive officer of Veezu and chairman of Smart Solutions. Within four months of his appointment, he led the biggest acquisition of a regional taxi business in Veezu’s history, increasing the number of drivers across the group by 40%.
During his time at Veezu, the company debuted at number four on The Sunday Times Fast Track 100.
The founder of Smart Solutions, Nathan Bowles, said: “When it was first suggested to me that I should meet Joel, I used all of the tools available to us in terms of research. I Googled him, read his biography and asked around.
“I instantly thought that this guy, who had seemingly achieved so much so young and was so bright, couldn’t possibly be a nice guy.
“However, when I eventually met Joel, with some trepidation, I was at ease within seconds – very rarely do people walk into your life and you have an immeasurable instant respect for them.
“I knew from the first meeting we would go on to work together closely and successfully.
“Joel was the calmest and brightest person to have around. He was liked and respected by everyone who he met – he made time for everybody.
“His intelligence was paramount, yet he was one of the most humble men I have had the pleasure of knowing. He will be sorely missed.”
Outside of his professional career, Mr Hope-Bell was a dedicated and passionate family man, husband to Eleanor and father to six children – Joshua, Bethan, Ewan, Evelyn, Emilia and Elisabeth.
He was also a keen supporter of charities, in particular the NSPCC, so much so that both Smart Solutions and Veezu have donated more than £40,000 to the charity in the past 12 months.
■ Joel Hope-Bell was born on November 7, 1973 and died on May 21, 2018.