Cardiff to Harvard: A Welsh story without limits

I was born and bred in Cardiff, specifically in Grangetown and Butetown. My family was firmly working class, with my father working in the dry docks and my mother as a traffic warden. My sister is much older than me and moved to London when I was quite young; visits to her made me realise there was a big world to embrace. I attended Bishop of Llandaff High School and really enjoyed my time there, where I was taught by a group of exceptional teachers and made lifelong friends.

In my mid-teens, I knew that I wanted to do something very different with my life, and on a whim, I applied to Harvard University. Nobody knew anything about the process, and I had to navigate the application on my own. In March 1980, I got word that I had been accepted to Harvard on a full scholarship, becoming the first Welsh undergraduate to attend. I was welcomed with open arms and settled in immediately. I made lots of friends, majored in Economics, and enjoyed every minute I was there.

After I graduated, I moved to New York and worked in the consumer finance area in asset liquidation. The company that I worked for experienced a rapid growth, and we took the company public and subsequently sold it to Bank of America.

In that business, I successfully created and developed the concept of used car leasing, which previously had been considered to be a very risky proposition. After fifteen years in that business and operating from New York and Los Angeles, I left and decided to take some time to embark on a very different career.

Through contacts I had developed, I embarked on a career in high-end golf course and luxury home development. This path led me back to Harvard University, where I studied aspects of business at the Graduate School of Design.

I have been fortunate to work on prominent projects globally, though predominantly in the Hamptons, where I have created three of the largest and most successful developments in the area’s history. Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton was my first major golf project and debuted as the 38th best golf course in the United States. I also served as Executive Director of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open. Other project locations have included sites across the United States, as well as France, Italy, South Korea, and New Zealand.

My Welshness has helped me immensely throughout my educational and professional career. My high school education prepared me extremely well for Harvard, and my ability to engage, tell, analyse and interpret was hard-wired into me by my Welsh upbringing. There is no doubt that being Welsh has made me stand out in all of my endeavours.

I never really lost contact with Wales, as I return home at least twice a year. However, I have an appetite to invest in Wales and have tried, without success. My efforts have not received the positive response I expected, but I will keep trying. I am hopeful that the new government in 2026 will be reinvigorated and focus on encouraging the Welsh diaspora to invest in Wales' future.