Zoe Pritchard has been promoted to the top job at a consultancy company that’s trebled in size over the past two years.
Since Zoe, who lives in Blaenau Ffestiniog, joined Anglesey-based Lafan, the firm has gone from four to 12 staff and grown with a 300 per cent increase in turnover.
Having been appointed initially as Lead Consultant, the mother of two has now taken over as Chief Executive Officer while her predecessor and company co-founder, Geraint Hughes has become Chairman.
After a brief stint at Cyngor Gwynedd, she worked at the Menter Môn enterprise agency for 13 years until joining Lafan in 2022.
Lafan has five separate but overlapping departments covering communities, education, agri-food, farming and environment, with the latest addition being a fast-growing marketing arm, Lafan Creu.
The marketing operation is headed by Beth Woodhouse, who previously worked as a Lafan sub-contractor, and it has already recruited two more people to the team after winning a raft of new clients.
Another recent arrival is John Owen, the Lead Consultant for agriculture and the environment, who is conducting pioneering research after winning a high profile contract from UK Innovation.
Lafan also works regularly with eight associates ranging from serial entrepreneurs to finance and food production experts.
According to Zoe, helping people to sort out very real problems and making a positive difference to their lives had been a theme running throughout her career.
She said:
“This is what’s always driven me and given me job satisfaction and made me feel that I am doing something worthwhile – rather than just conducting a paper exercise.
“And that’s why I was so keen to join Lafan in the first place – our values and vision are perfectly aligned because we want to make where we live a better place.
“The community projects I lead on are part of that jigsaw in generating employment and prosperity with greater opportunities for our young people.
“The changes in technology and attitudes mean that people – me included – are increasingly able to continue to live and work from their own communities instead of having to commute huge distances or move away permanently.
“There are time when clearly you are going to have to travel but most of the smaller meetings can be done online.
“Enabling people to stay in their own communities is incredibly important in terms of the Welsh language and will help stem the tide of rural depopulation.
“The growth we have enjoyed means that we now have team members located right across Wales and can offer a huge range of expertise in different areas.
“We can run projects, we can evaluate them, we can provide advice and guidance on specific topics, analyse data, or conduct workshops to build up skills as well as organising events.
“Essentially, our aim is always to support our client to achieve as much as they possibly can and the expanded team means that we are now a one-stop shop.
“Our aim is to support business and organisations to take control of their own destiny and create a circular economy, finding synergies so that where possible we can keep the Welsh pound in Wales.
“The company is split into five overlapping departments and there is fantastic potential for each of them to grow. That’s incredibly exciting.
“Our message to clients is they don’t have to be experts at everything and it is okay to outsource certain things so they can concentrate on what they are good at. It can save them time and money.
“Our aim is to continue on our growth trajectory and to continue to employ people who are brilliant at what they do so we can collectively to the best possible job on behalf of our clients.”
Geraint Hughes said:
“We have been incredibly lucky to be able to appoint somebody with Zoe’s ability, skills and great leadership qualities.
“The whole team looks up to and respects Zoe and wants to work with her and it’s going to enable us as a company to push forward and expand.
“Zoe has made a massive contribution to our development and growth since she joined Lafan as well as forging our culture as a company.
“Her appointment as Chief Executive Officer is another building block in the next stage of the company’s evolution so we can achieve our full potential.”
