John-Paul (JP) Barker has been appointed Regional Leader for PwC in the West and Wales.
Previously, JP led PwC UK’s Strategy & consulting practice. He was also a member of the Global Strategy & leadership team and the UK Consulting Executive team.
He joined PwC in September 1995, and spent three years completing internal and external audit and advisory work in the Cardiff office before joining the Management Consulting practice in London.
In 2003 he moved to PwC in Melbourne, Australia, before returning to Consulting in London in 2005 to focus on helping clients with technology enabled transformation. He led the UK Retail and Consumer Consulting practice from 2013 to 2016.
A proud Welshman with 24 years’ broad experience of public sector and global private businesses, JP has a passion for a thriving region where he grew up and has lived for most of his life.
Commenting on his appointment, JP said:
“I was born and raised in South Wales, went to the University of Exeter, and started my career in Cardiff. Apart from the time I spent working in Australia, this region has always been my home.
“I’m passionate about building a strong economy that provides local people with the opportunity to prosper. This is a dynamic place with lots of opportunity for growth, as outlined recently with the launch of proposals for creating a ‘powerhouse’ for the region.
“As a result of the investments we’ve made over the last few years we are well placed to play a leading role in helping the region realise its potential.”
Outgoing Regional Leader, Katharine Finn, commented:
“It's been an absolute privilege to lead the West and Wales region for the last four years – a period where we have grown our revenues to nearly £90m and seen significant investments in exciting growth areas such as cyber and digital.
“The opportunity to represent PwC on the CBI Council for Wales and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership has been hugely rewarding on a personal level, and they have been great platforms to make sure that we are bringing the PwC purpose to life in the region.
“I'm delighted to hand the baton on to JP, who I know will be a great ambassador for the firm and the region.”
PwC’s West and Wales region extends from South Wales to Cornwall with offices in Cardiff and Bristol. The region includes a wealth of UK industries and sectors including aerospace & defence, financial services, technology, manufacturing, government and health, legal and private equity.
The region accounts for 10.6% of total UK gross value added (the closest regional equivalent of GDP), 11.2% of UK goods exports, and 6.7% of UK services exports.
