Leaving school at 16 years old, Steph commenced his career as an apprentice Fitter & Turner in the South Wales steel industry. He went onto study at Cardiff University, graduating with a 1st class BSc (Hons) Degree in Mechanical Engineering, subsequently gaining an MBA in Strategic Management from the University of Glamorgan. Steph has been a Chartered Engineer for over 30 years and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
In a career spanning 43 years Steph acquired extensive experience in engineering, operations, commercial and strategic management, transferring his skills across a broad range of manufacturing industries from steel, concrete products, automotive (brake systems, fasteners, electronics, electric vehicles), electrical switchgear, alloy foundries and medical devices.
Throughout his career Steph has been a “change agent”. Operating as a company director for over 24 years, of which 17 years as Managing Director, he led change programmes in diverse companies, managing change, major turnaround, restructuring, continuous improvement and profitable business growth in major international PLCs and SMEs. Steph travelled extensively worldwide, spent 2.5 years living and working in Germany and successfully operated in multi-cultural international environments.