James Anthony Thomas: Trustee; Funding Committee Chair of C3SC

James Anthony Thomas

Trustee; Funding Committee Chair

Anthony was appointed Trustee of C3SC in May 2018.

Whilst I am trying to retire gracefully there are a number of other roles that keep me busy.

I am a chartered accountant and trained in Swansea before working in Kenya for over 2 years. I returned to Cardiff in the early 80’s initially in practice specialising in insolvency and corporate finance. Leaving the practice in 1989 I became Group Finance Director of a quoted company based in Tonypandy making watch straps and supplying watches to UK retailers. The company had operations in Holland and Canada and I managed both shareholder and finance relationships.

I joined Welsh Water in 1992 and was a director of many of its subsidiaries. In particular I worked on the acquisition of SWALEC and led the subsequent disposal of the supply business. I joined a new Cardiff based electricity supply business in 2000 which rapidly grew to employ over 250 people. I was responsible for purchasing the electricity as well as leading the disposal to E.On in 2005. I have been a director of Eco2 over recent years developing renewable energy projects in the UK and overseas. These range from windfarms in Betws and Ammanford to straw burning plants in Lincolnshire.

I was also the honorary treasurer of Cardiff Bay Yacht Club for over 12 years stepping down in 2016. The club has over 900 members, an annual turnover exceeding £1m and all the directors are volunteers. So, I am familiar with trying to implement commercial process.

The third sector in Cardiff attracts individuals who are committed to their goal, so much so that they provide their support voluntarily. My aim is to help those volunteers promote their ambitions by sharing lessons learnt and my experiences of the commercial world.