GFSB Announces New Chairperson Owen Smith

Written by YGTV Team on 17 March 2023.

The GFSB, following the AGM on the 15th March has a new Chairperson Owen Smith of TSN Barristers and Solicitors/ Word of Mouth. This follows on from the recent AGM and the sad retirement from the Chair and the GFSB Board of Julian Byrne.

A statement from the GFSB follows below:

The GFSB, following the AGM on the 15th March has a new Chairperson Mr. Owen Smith of TSN Barristers and Solicitors/ Word of Mouth. This follows on from the recent AGM and the sad retirement from the Chair and the GFSB Board of Mr. Julian Byrne.

Mr. Bryne held the position of Chairperson for approximately 7 years and has left a legacy behind he can be very proud of including the Business Innovation Awards which have seen a year-on-year growth in applications, the strengthening connections with the European Small Business Alliance (ESBA) the Intouch magazine and the joining with Women In Business (WIB) which was rebranded as Women In Enterprise (WIE) to name a few.

For the first time in GFSB history the position for Chairperson was contested with two nominees for the post; Mr. Owen Smith and Mr. Blythe Reeves.

Following their formal approval as nominees by the board on 8 March, and a week of campaigning, both Mr. Smith and Mr. Reeves, delivered a short pitch to the AGM on 15 March 2023 allowing the GFSB members present an insight as to how the GFSB would look and function under their supervision.

The counting of the votes was overseen by an impartial witness, Neil Rumford of EY, and it was announced that Mr. Owen Smith had been voted in as Chairperson with 90 votes to Mr Reeve’s 35.

Mr. Smith thanked the members present for attending and their participation in the AGM process, the GFSB Board for their support and Julian Byrne for his 7 years of dedication to the GFSB. He reiterated that he hoped to bring his professional and GFSB experience to the role of Chairperson, and focus on the three areas in the first year;

Advocacy for and representation of members interests, further provision of training & Information services, and enhancing of networking opportunities.

The GFSB would like to thank all members for their continued support and it is with great pleasure we can announce the full GFSB Board.

Chairperson: Owen Smith

Vice Chair: Daniel Delgado

Treasurer: Neville Dalmedo

Secretary: Janet Brear

Blythe Reeves

Eran Shay

Ramesh Karnani

Carmel Khalilian

Henry Bautista

Brian Ross

Guy Povedano