Founders of the Entrepreneur Foundation

After graduating in International Management Science at Manchester University and The Business School-Robert spent 40 years as an international commodity trader-setting up and running his own company for 28 years. He chaired the European Metal Federation for 16 years, was Vice President of the World Federation for 20 years as well as Chair of The International Trade Council for 8 years. He was awarded a CBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List for “Contribution to British business and charity work in the UK” and was appointed Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire in 2017. He is Patron/President of over 20 charities and voluntary organisations and has a special interest in young entrepreneurs having set up and run several entrepreneurs’ competitions and events including the annual Lord-Lieutenant’s Entrepreneur’s Challenge and is an investor in a number of start-up businesses.

Claire Austin is Managing Director of Austin’s Funeral Directors. Austin’s was established in 1700 and Claire is the tenth generation to run the independent family business. Having expanded in recent years, Austin’s now operates ten funeral arrangement offices throughout north and east Hertfordshire and owns Harwood Park Crematorium in Stevenage.

Claire has led Austin’s to win thirteen business awards, including the FSB Service Excellence Award in 2012. In the same year, Claire was named British Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year.

For more information, please visit: www.austins.co.uk

Third generation Managing Director of the RO Group, a diversified family owned business investing in commercial property and trading businesses. The RO, based in Potters Bar, has been in existence for nearly 90 years and in that time has owned, backed and developed more than twenty different businesses ranging from retail to financial services, and house building to renewable energy.

As an organisation their approach is characterised by the founding principle of being ‘In business to do business’, and as such RO Group are always enthusiastic about exploring fresh opportunities and supporting individuals / teams with new ideas that are complementary to their own experience.

For more information, please visit: www.rogroup.co.uk

Geoff Hill, owner and founder of Astute Electronics Ltd: a one-man operation in Billericay, that has become a global electronics supply-chain partner employing over 180 people across 10 countries, with a turnover in excess of £80m.

Geoff’s story began in 1989 when he identified a gap in the market to help the Aerospace & Defence industry with their hard to find components. His passion and innovation to bring customers solutions to fit complex requirements has gained the trust of the world’s largest Tier 1 suppliers.

A keen sportsman, Geoff plays golf and supports Chelsea. Outside of Astute, he supports a range of philanthropic activities including the Armed Forces Para Snowsport team and a film-project to advance understanding of Parkinson’s disease.

For more information, please visit: https://www.astutegroup.com/

After leaving school at the age of 16 with 3 GCEs, Len realised that he had the innate desire to start his own business. Len was lucky to have an employer that saw something in him and encouraged him to further his education by studying for an HNC in engineering. After finishing his studies and working for one more employer, Len started his own business in North London.

For 35 years that was Len’s life, 24hrs a day seven days a week. During that time, he bought and sold several businesses, and it grew to a substantial group of companies with three divisions within the UK. At the age of 56, Len deemed it time to move on and sold the business as part of an MBO. He remains involved to this day as a Director of two of the companies within the original group. Len’s latest adventure is in owning a cycle shop. Up to this point, he had no experience in retail or the cycling industry. What he is finding interesting is that all the basics that served him well in his primary business still apply.

Len has a passion for helping to maximise the potential of a business and the people involved in them. He has professional skills with People, Customer Service, E-commerce, Engineering, IT, Financial Planning and Strategic Planning.

For more information, please visit: www.highwaycycles.co.uk

Phil Wallace has been Group CEO of Lamex Food Group since the 1980’s and has overseen a rise in sales from £5 million pa to over £1.2 Billion per year in his 50 years at the company.

Starting in a small office above a shop in East London, Phil grew Lamex by employing great people and opening over 20 offices around the world, importing and exporting food products in large quantities. Lamex are now one of the largest private companies in their field in the world, with frozen fruit processing factories in Greece, Serbia and Chile adding to their position as market leaders in meat, poultry and honey.

The Company are particularly strong in the Far East, with China one of their biggest markets. Phil also has a keen interest in football and bought Stevenage Football Club in 1999 when it was close to closing due to financial difficulties. He has since taken the Club into the EFL, upgrading the stadium along the way and adding some of the best training facilities outside of the Championship.

For more information, please visit: www.lamexfoods.eu

Stelio Stefanou came to the UK aged six with his Greek Cypriot parents. His career in the oil, construction and public service industries culminated in the sale of his business, Accord plc in 2007.

He then established a philanthropic charity, the Stefanou Foundation, with the aim of tackling the root causes of intergenerational disadvantage affecting those without a voice or struggling to tell their story. The Foundation’s innovative programme, For Baby’s Sake, works with both parents, starting in pregnancy, to break cycles of domestic abuse and traumatic childhood adversity.

An academic evaluation led by King’s College London (published May 2020) described For Baby’s Sake as the ‘first’ to ‘fill an important gap’ in provision through ‘unique’ features which ‘overcome key limitations’ of responses to domestic abuse.

Stelio is one of Hertfordshire’s Deputy Lieutenants and chairs the Lieutenancy Business Panel for Hertfordshire. He was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 2016/17. He is Vice Chairman of the UK Cyprus Enterprise Council. Stelio has held various industry roles, including CBI Regional Chairman and Chairman of the CBI Local Government Panel, and was awarded the OBE for services to business in 2004. His hobbies include cooking and photography.

For more information, please visit: www.forbabyssaketrust.org.uk