I still find it rather strange that Phil Stockley is involved. A bit of this is niggling me and saying that something really doesn't add up. There must be a bit more to all this story.
Well here I am, so let me see if I can help.
By way of background, it may help you to understand that I'm not motivated by working my way up the greasy pole of a large organisation, and much of my career has evolved as a result of a desire to seek different challenges and expose myself to new experiences.
I am very fortunate to have enjoyed a largely successful career in senior management roles in several of the large PLCs, as well as working for smaller companies and of course running my own business - with mixed fortunes in the end, but certainly with more good experiences than bad - for several years.
For reasons that will remain private for the time being, I reached a point earlier in the year where I wanted to move on from Wellglade, and didn't want to move back into PLC life.
Rhys and I found ourselves discussing his achievements to date and his plans for his businesses, and I felt that I could do something to help. I found Rhys to be a very open and impressive individual, with incredible drive and determination. He was open about both the good and bad points of the story so far, but for someone of 21 I felt he had achieved a huge amount, and as he himself has said, very few people of that age haven't made a few mistakes along the way.
Whereas most people of 21 are content to sit in a steady job or look for an easy life, I felt that Rhys had shown massive courage and bravery in putting his head above the parapet and taking responsibility for his own business (and the livelihoods of others in the process) and if my experience can contribute to that, then so much the better.
So that's why I'm involved. The Group can benefit from my skills and experience not just in helping to plot our own development, but also by earning income from doing outside consultancy work, and I'm gaining lots of interesting new experiences in the process.
In an industry where the concept of 'total transport' is a new and emerging growth area, we are already attracting attention for the fact that we are integrating buses and taxis within the same organisation, and that's just the start of it, so watch this space.