Gareth Jones, founder of coworking network and small business specialists Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq), has been named as new National Director for Wales. Based out of Cardiff, south Wales, Gareth has more than a decade of experience helping other entrepreneurs start and grow enterprises. Through TownSq’s growing network, he has directly  worked with over 3,000 startups.

In 2017 he set up TownSq to roll-out his vision of bringing the insights of his work with entrepreneurs in Wales to communities across the rest of the UK. TownSq is a B Corp focused on building community-led coworking spaces, with 12 venues across the UK, and a network of over 50 Cowork Local spaces. Gareth has held roles on a range of boards, including the Prime Minister’s Small Business Advisory Board, Scale ups and Entrepreneurs Council, UnLtd Future Pioneers, Platform Places, IWA Future 30, the Cardiff University Impact Accelerator, Clwstwr – a £20m investment project for the creative industries, Cardiff Capital Region City Deal Strategic Regional Group, and Cardiff Start. Prior to launching TownSq, in 2011 he founded Welsh ICE, one of the UK’s largest communities of entrepreneurs, which grew to over 500 innovative businesses.

Gareth Jones, CEO TownSq, said about the appointment, “It’s a privilege to join GEN UK as the National Director for Wales. I’m particularly motivated to see Wales take advantage of the reach GEN network has to millions of entrepreneurs and investors and tell our story better on a national and global stage. “Through attending the recent Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Riyadh it was clear to see that the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well – and it was so powerful and inspiring after two years of isolation. I felt I absolutely had to be a part of bottling it for more founders to benefit from. As CEO of TownSq my role on the board of GEN UK will mean that our work nationwide will be better connected with the other nations’ directors and I hope that together we can continue to build something that becomes a real advantage for entrepreneurs across the UK.”

Marc Ortmans, Chair of GEN UK, commented: “Gareth is one of Wales’ most successful ecosystem builders, we are delighted to have him join the team. Through his extensive work with startups and his new role with GEN UK, we look forward to Gareth raising the profile of Welsh entrepreneurs and championing them across the UK and internationally.”