WELSH MUM BEHIND MEGHAN’S T-SHIRT
Business correspondent Chris Pyke rounds up the latest appointments
IN THE trailer for Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey’s new Apple TV series, Meghan Markle appears wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Raising The Future’.
The T-shirt was designed by y Welsh businesswoman Carrie-Anne e Roberts, who has built her brand on n Instagram while raising her son, , River, alone.
In the trailer for the show, The Me e You Can’t See, which explores mental al health issues, the Duchess of Sussex x appears behind Prince Harry wearing g the T-shirt designed by Ms Roberts, s, from Mold, Flintshire.
Ms Roberts started her business s Mere Soeur from her flat after the e birth of her son and her designs are e targeted at fellow mums.
The Raising The Future T-shirt, which costs £27, and in the description on Mere Soeur website says: “However you choose to do it, whatever your parenting choices, we’re all doing it. The greatest and hardest job you’ll ever have.”
Before starting her business Ms Roberts worked at the high street shop Lush, which followed a job doing 12-hour night shifts in a garlic bread factory. When she had her son, Ms Roberts didn’t want to be away from him and launched the business.
“I was 24, I was on £400 a month, and I was living in the spare room of my mam’s council house,” she said on a Instagram story.
“I went from that to running a sixfigure business within two years, I didn’t borrow a penny, I have no qualifications , I didn’t go to uni, I barely went to school.
“I just didn’t have any idea about what I was doing. I was a young single mum, and I didn’t know what I was going to do next. I just knew that I had to do something.
“I didn’t have any fear. I had like no idea what I was doing, I just did it. I think if I hadn’t have just done it I would have nothing that I have today. I’ve had like no financial help whatsoever. It doesn’t matter who you know, doesn’t matter what you know, doesn’t matter where you live. If you want to make it happen. You can. I think, when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose and you can only go up. You know what rock bottom is so you’re not scared of it anymore.”
Ms Roberts has built up a loyal audience on Instagram through her honest posts – at present she has more than 47,000 followers, and she sells clothing, pins, bags and mugs.
On her Instagram page, Ms Roberts wrote: “If you know how my brand started and why then you’ll understand why I shed a small happy tear just now. Endlessly grateful to be here always.”
The Apple TV series, The Me You Can’t See, is produced by Prince Harry and Oprah Winfey. Among the people interviewed talking about mental heath are Lady Gaga and Glenn Close. Along with the ‘Raising The Future’, the brand has slogans such as ‘Alright For A Mum’, ‘Strong Mother’, ‘One Good Mutha’, and ‘Tears, Hugs & Rock n Roll’ on her merchandise.
This is not the first time the Duchess of Sussex has showcased the Mere Souer brand.
While on a trip to South Africa and visiting a charity that supports mothers with HIV, the Duchess shared some of her son’s Archie’s old clothes, which included a babygrow designed by Ms Roberts with ‘The Future’ printed on it.
REDROW has announced that it has agreed to appoint Richard Akers as its new non-executive chair of the board.
Mr Akers will join the board as chair-designate and as an independent non-executive director on June 1.
He will work closely with John Tutte during a handover period and Mr Akers will assume the role of chair following the announcement of Redrow’s 2021 full-year results on September 15, at which time Mr Tutte will stand down from the board.
Mr Tutte was appointed as chairman of the board on April 1, 2019 following the retirement from the business of Steve Morgan, Redrow’s founder. As announced on February 5, 2020, the company confirmed that it was the intention of Mr Tutte to retire from the board ahead of the 2021 AGM and in its 2020 Annual Report, it reported that it had started a search for a new chair, led by Nick Hewson, the senior independent director.
■ Digital agency Big Lemon has appointed current operations director Sam Wheeler as a director and shareholder.
Big Lemon was co-founded by
Kieran Abbott and Owen Richard in 2014. The agency’s mission is to build digital products that make the world a better, fairer and cleaner place.
Ms Wheeler will spearhead the agency’s work in the “tech for good” space and lead the firm’s efforts to achieve B Corp accreditation, a growing global movement of businesses striving to be a force for good in the world.
Since taking the strategic decision to focus on the “tech with purpose” niche a year ago, Big Lemon has gone from strength to strength. Turnover and profit have more than tripled since 2016-17, while the team has grown from four people to 10, with further growth anticipated in 2021. The firm delivers tech solutions for clients including the NHS, Amber Energy, University College London and the University of London.
Ms Wheeler said: “Designing and building meaningful digital products that empower others to deliver positive change is at the heart of the Big Lemon ethos. By solving challenges with creativity, innovative co-production methods and intelligent technology, our vision is to harness the power of tech to drive positive change.
“This is something I’ve been passionate about throughout my career, and I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to build on this specialism alongside Owen, Kieran and our talented team.”
■ Business Wales’ Accelerated Growth Programme has appointed a new operations manager.
Siwan Rees has joined the Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP) from the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, where she was responsible for supporting businesses across Wales to start, scale and succeed. In her new role, she will be responsible for managing the delivery of business support services to more than 500 high-growth businesses in Wales.
Business Wales’ AGP offers tailored support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to expand. The programme has supported more than 1,000 businesses in Wales since it started in 2014, helping to create more than 9,000 jobs. Research led by Professor Max Mundy of Cardiff Business School has demonstrated that £17 is generated in the Welsh economy for every £1 spent on high-growth business support. The Accelerated Growth Programme is delivered by the Excelerator Consortium on behalf of Business Wales.
Ms Rees said: “The past year has presented unprecedented challenges to most businesses and has provided new opportunities to many too. I am looking forward to working with the team at AGP and the companies we serve to understand the challenges facing them as we emerge from the pandemic.
“Working together and with trusted partners in the business support ecosystem, I aim to ensure we provide the highest-quality business support services that help entrepreneurs tackle the challenges they face while making the most of new opportunities. This will be critical to supporting the Covid recovery and developing the right environment to ensure sustainable business success for ambitious companies in Wales.”
■ Fintech firm Wealthify has made two senior appointments designed to fuel its continued growth.
Investment specialist Akshaya Bhargava has joined the board as a nonexecutive director (NED), and former Virgin Money CIO Michelle McGrade has joined Wealthify’s investment committee.
The company says the appointments are a key part in its growth strategy under the stewardship of CEO Andy Russell, alongside chair Ben Luckett, following the buy-out by Aviva last year.
Mr Bhargava brings experience in wealth management, investment and technology to the role, having founded and scaled three businesses, including two fintechs in the investment industry – Bridgeweave and InfraHedge Ltd. Most recently, he was global CEO of the wealth and investments business within Barclays Plc. He is former CEO of Butterfield Fulcrum Group (acquired by MUFG), CEO of Progeon Ltd (acquired by Infosys, now Infosys BPO) and he has held multiple senior positions at Citibank.
Ms McGrade will sit on Wealthify’s investment committee. She previously built an online investing platform for retail investors in pursuit of her goal to make investing opportunities more accessible. Ms McGrade has also held consumer-focused roles at investment houses including as NED of the Diverse Income Trust, NED of M&G Securities Ltd, chief investment officer at Virgin Money and chief investment officer at TD Direct Investing.
■ Zip World has welcomed four new members to its executive, finance, construction and commercial teams.
Joining the executive team is operations director Kai Hepworth. Mr Hepworth was previously the divisional director for Costa Coffee, looking after 632 stores.
Mr Hepworh said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Zip World at this very exciting time. The future growth ambition of Zip World is as breathtaking as its adventures and combines my love of the great outdoors and 30 years of experience within the leisure and hospitality industry’’.
Elin Evans has joined as chief financial officer, where she will tasked with overseeing the financial, IT and projects departments.
Ms Evans said: “My role will help Sean [Taylor, Zip World director] and the team during the next phase of expansion across the UK.”
With experience as general retail manager at Chester Zoo, Alison Brook will look to guide Zip World’s growth in its retail and food and beverage outlets.
Johann Fourie joins the team as construction and projects manager and has played a pivotal role in the development of new Zip World sites – most recently the construction of the brandnew Zip World Tower in Aberdare.