Members of an advisory panel that will support the Welsh Government to establish a new development agency for Wales has been announced.
Creating a new agency at arm’s length of the Welsh Government was a key Senedd Election manifesto pledge of Plaid Cymru.
The independent panel members are:
- Sarah Williams-Gardener OBE (Vice Chair) – Founding member of Starling Bank and Chair of FinTech Wales – innovation, investment attraction and business ecosystem development;
- John Evans – Former CEO of Subsea7 – energy sector and large-scale infrastructure projects;
- Gerald Holtham – Visiting Professor of Regional Economy at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Managing Partner at Cadwyn Capital LLP – regional economics, public policy, finance and investment, with authoritative insight into Wales’s fiscal and economic landscape;
- Beren Kayali – Co-founder and CTO of Deploy Tech – engineering-led innovation, commercialising low-carbon technology and scaling start-ups;
- Alison Lea-Wilson MBE – Co-founder of Halen Môn – tourism, business start-up, scaling, sales, exporting, place-based product development and building a successful international brand;
- La-Chun Lindsay OBE – Former Managing Director, GE Aviation Wales – leading complex international operations across industries;
- Nigel Morris – Co-founder of Capital One and Managing Partner of QED Investors – venture capital and scaling high-growth technology businesses globally;
- Gareth Noyes – held a range of senior roles at Wind River Systems – technology strategy, innovation, digital transformation and scaling high-growth businesses;
- Oriel Petry – Senior Vice President, Airbus UK – industrial strategy, international investment and advanced manufacturing; and
- Laura Doel – General Secretary for TUC Cymru – workforce development, skills, social partnership, fair work and employee perspectives.
Members of the Panel will undertake the roles in an unpaid capacity. The Panel will provide advice, recommendations and challenge the Welsh Government regarding the form and functions of the agency.
A programme of stakeholder engagement will also be developed to ensure the input of voices across the Welsh economic development landscape.
