The Master Entrepreneur, Mrs Judy Hadden, was delighted to admit more new Freemen Entrepreneurs at a special ceremony at Drapers’ Hall on Tuesday 22nd March 2022.

     

The Company of Entrepreneurs © Sillett Photography 

The first order of business was to welcome Freeman Simon Krystman, and invite him to sign the Freedom Register. Simon was one of the many Freemen Entrepreneurs admitted “by virtual presence” during lockdown, and the Master warmly welcomed him and presented him with his certificate of Freedom.

The phrase ‘Serial Entrepreneur’ could have been coined especially for Simon Krystman.  Apart for a six-month stint as a salesman after he left university, Simon has always set up and run his own companies. In 1995, he started Chaotix, a business offering CRM solutions in an era before dedicated CRM systems. He successfully exited this and started Salesout – managing data for wholesalers – which he took global before exiting. In 2013, Simon decided to focus on start-ups with a purpose and formed CrowdPatch CIC to find finance for small community-based projects. He has started and grown numerous other companies in support of enterprise - the latest of which is Twelve Ronnies Ltd, an advisory service for founders.
 
As with all of those Freemen admitted at a virtual ceremony, Simon’s certificate records both the date of his Freedom (24th November, 2020) and the date of presentation, and is signed by the 6th Master Entrepreneur, Mr Rick Lowe.
 
It was then the Mrs Hadden’s pleasure to admit three brand new Freemen to the Company. The Clerk summoned Annette Andrews, Chris Manson, and Rob Wilcocks, and declaimed their many professional and charitable achievements to the assembled Freemen and guests. Annette, Chris, and Rob each signed the Freedom Register and were presented with their Freedom.

 

         
The Company of Entrepreneurs © Sillett Photography

 

Annette Andrews is the founder of the people strategy consultancy Acaria. An experienced former Chief People Officer, she has enjoyed a global 30-year career in human resources. MBA qualified and a Fellow of the UKs’ Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, Annette is also a qualified Life and Executive Coach, and (as a former Employment Tribunal lay member) an experienced and qualified Mediator. She was also the Master of the Guild of Human Resource Professionals 2020/1.
 
Chris Manson is a chartered accountant, having qualified at PwC and was awarded an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for London in 2005. Chris has started, scaled, and successfully exited a number of businesses. As well as car washing while at school, and organising raves while at university, his first real business was a dry-cleaning company which he successfully built and exited. His most profitable venture was the interactive shopping channel company ‘sit-up Ltd’, sold to Virgin Media for nearly £200m. His previous roles also include directing commercial operations for Chelsea Football Club and working for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group. He is currently the CEO of Newable, leading the executive team to set and deliver Newable’s support for SMEs throughout the UK
 
After university, Rob Wilcocks moved into financial services as an adviser. Rob is the co-founder of Wilcocks Family Office – an independent financial planning and advisory business. The award-winning Wilcocks team mixes in-house expertise with an in-sourced, world-class network of other professionals built up over forty years of combined industry experience. Rob’s business is a corporate partner of Save the Children, and Rob is very keen to engage with the Entrepreneurs’ Company’s education partners to encourage and develop financial literacy.
 
 
NOTES: over 200 successful entrepreneurs have become Freemen of the Company of Entrepreneurs – to share their talents, time, and money to support business education and enterprise skills. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Freeman Entrepreneur, please click HERE