Investment Board
We are a non-profit charitable community benefit society, with a board of directors and CEO with extensive business and education sector backgrounds. We use our broad range of skills and connections to develop opportunities for young people on the Isle of Wight.
What is the Investment Board?
This is cash investment, kindly donated by Cowes Rotary, which awards teams with funding to develop their business idea – if they merit it! The members if the Investment Board decide which business venture is the most worthy to invest in. The way to impress the Investment Board is to show through your presentation that you have applied what you have learned at the Skills Workshop.
Who is on the Investment Board?
A range of leaders within the Isle of Wight business community, who are profiled below:
Jamie Busby
Jamie’s career path started in the mid eighties when he started as an estate agent. He worked his way through managing various offices around in the Island. In 2005 Jamie became a Partner in Hose Rhodes Dickson. Hose Rhodes Dickson was a multi disciplined company with property sales, letting, survey commercial, and for a time it also ran the Auction Rooms in Brading. As well as being involved with the property sales, Jamie was also involved in the marketing of the business which included all manner of different avenues, including publishing, websites, sponsorship and social media. Hose Rhodes Dickson was sold in 2022 and Jamie then essentially retired but still acts as a Consultant for BCM Wilson Hill.
Jamie joined Rotary in 2004, initially the Ventnor Club because Jamie was working in that area at the time. Jamie moved to Cowes Rotary in 2013.
Cowes Rotary has supported the Young Enterprise programme for 15 years, and Jamie has personally led that involvement for around 12 years. Cowes Rotary has always been keen to see young people develop their business skills. Rotary clubs are generally made up of professionals from the town – usually one of each profession from the business community where the club was established.
Sue Lucas
Sue Lucas is the Managing Partner of Moore South’s Isle of Wight office, bringing extensive experience in audit, corporate finance, and private and business tax advisory. Sue works with a diverse portfolio of businesses across sectors including manufacturing and engineering, maritime, retail and wholesale, and property and construction, providing tailored strategic advice to support their growth and development.
As a long-standing Isle of Wight resident, Sue has a strong understanding of the local business landscape and the opportunities and challenges facing businesses on the island. She combines professional expertise with valuable local insight to help businesses thrive.
Lisa Mercer
I have been with Hose Rhodes Dickson since 2004 and have enjoyed various roles within the company including residential sales, lettings, commercial property and land. I am AssocRICS qualified and an Associate Director of Hose Rhodes Dickson overseeing the professional services team which includes the Survey and Commercial Departments.
Dominic Ward
Dominic Ward, Managing Director and Head of Engineer for Parlex, Johnson Electric. Starting as an Island apprentice, studied and managed both Operations and Engineering functions. Promoted to running the overall business and managing $30m turnover global business with main manufacturing in Shanghai. Key skills, Operations, Lean, Technical design and Finance.
Matt Jeffery
Matt Jeffery is the founder of Brightbulb, a multi-award-winning web, app and design studio on the Isle of Wight. His career started at global engineering firm Arup in Sydney and Melbourne. He then moved to London’s outdoor advertising scene, where he worked with global bluechips likes of GE, Cadbury, British Gas wrapping black cabs in fur for Monsters Inc and in grass for HSBC at Wimbledon.
In 2014, as his second child was born, Matt quit his job and started Brightbulb at the dining room table with his wife Fi. Since then the studio has built digital platforms for clients across the UK, Europe and the US, including the first UK type-approved shipping software of its kind, an e-commerce platforms that now generate over £1 million in revenue and outdoor advertising campaigns for Samsung and national tourist boards.
Matt has also co-created two Island apps, Wight Explorer and Starry Wight. He founded the Mince Pie Marathon, which has raised over £30,000 for the brain tumour charity The Wight Brainy Bunch and won a national UK Company Culture Award.
His motto: “Don’t stand on the edge. Jump in. And start swimming.”
Matthew White
To follow