Leading figures in Welsh business have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours including former CBI Wales director Ian Price and leading enterprise academic Prof Brian Morgan who receive OBEs.
Llanelli-born co-founder and chairman of Specsavers Doug Perkins has also received a CBE for his services to business and trade.
Swansea-born Mr Price, who stood down as director of CBI Wales last December - a role who took up 2018 having first joined the business membership body in 2005 - receives an OBE for services to business and charity.
Mr Price said: “I am totally chuffed and it really is recognition of the hard work of the brilliant people that I came into contact with at the CBI.”
His charity work includes being a board member in Wales of the King’s Trust.
He was away on a three week holiday with wife when his official letter arrived back home. He said: “We were in Thailand and learned of the honour when I got a call asking if I planned to respond to the letter. It was a huge surprise.”
Director of the Creative Leadership and Enterprise Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Prof Morgan, is honoured for his services to the Welsh economy.
Aberdare-born Prof Morgan, began his career in Whitehall and played a key role shaping the economic strategy of the Welsh Development Agency in the 1990s with a focus on inward investment. He is also a co-founder of one of Wales’ most successful export brands, Penderyn Whisky.
Prof Morgan, who played rugby for Aberdare RFC, said: “I am thrilled to be honoured and feel that I have just been so lucky all my life with such great people around me like at the WDA and at Penderyn Whisky where at the beginning it was a real struggle to keep it going before we secured a big investment.
"I had a great deal of support from the family at the start of the business, which is now selling a million bottles a year globally. The last few years at Cardiff Metropolitan University have also been hugely rewarding with our leadership programme having supported around 1,000 people from Welsh firms."
He has also been a strong advocate of tidal energy generation in the Severn Estuary for more than two decades. He is currently chair of the Severn Estuary Tidal Bar Company.
Also receiving OBEs are managing director of Screen Alliance Wales, Allison Dowzell, for services to broadcasting and chair of the board of Food and Drink Wales, Andrew Richardson, for services to the sector.
Mr Perkins, who set up Specsavers with wife Dame Mary in the 1980s, told the Pembrokeshire Herald: " I can’t tell you how honoured I feel to receive this award for services to business as I have dedicated my entire career to helping people to see and hear more clearly.
"But more importantly, this is recognition for the 45,000 people around the world who work for Specsavers and for our ophthalmic surgery business Newmedica.
"Together, we have achieved so much since we started this business more than 40 years ago from pretty humble beginnings and it’s really quite incredible that we are now offering our services to more than 48 million people, as far afield as Canada and New Zealand, and have a robust supply chain that spans the world from the Ƶ and Europe to Asia Pacific.
"None of that could have been achieved without loyal, hardworking, visionary colleagues and partners.
" My wife Mary and I recognised from the very beginning, when we started the business together, that we needed to surround ourselves with people with the right skills to propel as forward if we were to achieve our goals of offering value for money and experts who truly care."
There is also a CBE for the co-founder and chief executive of film and TV production company Bad Wolf, Jane Tranter. Based at Wolf Studios Wales in Cardiff Bay, Bad Wolf's high profile productions include Doctor Who for the BBC.
Louise Harris, co-founder and CEO of Tramshed Tech, has been awarded an MBE for services to digital entrepreneurship.
Under her leadership since 2016, Tramshed Tech has evolved from a single Cardiff workspace into Wales' leading tech startup hub, operating locations across the country and supporting hundreds of tech, digital, and creative businesses.
She said: "I'm deeply honoured to receive this recognition. This award reflects not just my work, but the incredible achievements of my team and the wider Welsh tech ecosystem.
"From the entrepreneurs taking bold risks to build innovative businesses, to the partners and team members who've helped create the infrastructure to support them - this recognition belongs to all of us who believe Wales can be a global force in technology and innovation."
Lord Mervyn Davies, chairman and main investor in Tramshed Tech and former trade and business minister, said "Louise exemplifies the tenacity and ambition that defines truly exceptional entrepreneurs. Her vision for Tramshed Tech and unwavering commitment to building Wales' tech ecosystem has been remarkable to witness.
"I've seen firsthand how Louise's leadership has transformed not just a single company, but an entire regional innovation landscape. This MBE recognition is thoroughly deserved."
