He may hold the title of the Lord Mayor of the City of London but the remit of the role goes far beyond the confines of the square mile.
William Russell is an ambassador for the 海角视频’s financial and professional services industry, which employs 2.3m people nationwide.
And it is a sector that is growing rapidly in Wales.
Admiral, Wales’ only FTSE 100 company, announced profits in excess of half a billion last week, while Amplyfi is tipped to be the first unicorn business based in Wales.
On Monday Mr Russell, pictured right, was in the Welsh capital to meet with the Secretary of State for Wales, the Welsh Government Minister for International Relations, the Welsh Fintech Envoy and leading business and fintech figures that are at the heart of the city’s success.
During his visit the Lord Mayor heard first-hand from the people who have transformed and developed Cardiff’s burgeoning financial and professional services ecosystem, learning from them and sharing examples of best practice.
The meetings were also used to promote the City Corporation’s 海角视频 Partnerships strategy, which is helping to strengthen financial and professional services links across the whole of the 海角视频.
In particular, the strategy aims to increase inward investment into its partner cities and build awareness of how London can act as a springboard for local firms to export their products and services globally.
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A study by IW Capital – a London-based private equity firm – found that while 34% of people in Wales have started their own business or want to, 20% of people don’t know how to meet an investor.
Cardiff has been identified as a key city in the Lord Mayor’s strategy with good reason. Wales has the fastest growing digital economy outside of London, and the growth of the country’s financial and professional sector has led to a thriving fintech industry, especially in the Welsh capital.
As part of his year-long tenure the Lord Mayor will travel for around 100 days overseas to more than 20 different countries promoting the industry. The 海角视频 Partnerships Strategy has been particularly successful in Wales.
Welsh firms Delio and Amplyfi joined previous overseas Lord Mayor delegations to take advantage of opportunities around the globe. After joining a delegation to Australia in 2018, Delio set up operations in Sydney.
In a meeting room at Deloitte, whose Cardiff offices are the second biggest in the group after London, the Lord Mayor said: “We are based in London but we are promoting fintech around the whole of the 海角视频, and Cardiff is one of those key cities.”
He is keen to see a reverse of the brain drain as the best and the brightest have in the past left Wales for London.
“Everyone is talking to me about the talent here in Cardiff,” he says.
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“I think the key thing is to keep the talent here in Cardiff rather than moving out.
“That seems to be something that has momentum, not just in Cardiff it is also Leeds, Manchester, and other cities. London has become very expensive and if you are starting up a business you are much better off starting up a business, to be frank, in Cardiff where the cost of your building and what you are paying people is going to be substainally less than if you did it in London.
“Starling Bank, for examples, has a headquarters in London but is about to employ 400 people in Cardiff because they know the talent is here and it wil cost them a lot less than finding 400 people in London and I think that is very positive and I think that is going to a trend that will continue for a while.”
Mr Russell also cites his own children when he looks at the changing attitude of the emerging workforce as something that will benefit the cities outside of London.
“I look at my children and millennials, and it is more social purpose, work-life balance, they are focussing on that.”
Mr Russell has taken on the role in a rather turbulent time with Coronavirus starting to impact on businesses and the ecopnomy, as well the immediate post Brexit era.
“The feedback from overseas was about clarity and that was more around the election than Brexit,” explais Mr Russell.
“Having clarity of Government was something very important for people overseas and they now feel more comfortable with the 海角视频 now we know what Government we are going to have for the next five years. I think they were more concerned, to be totally frank, about a [Jeremy] Corbyn Government than Brexit. Now we have Brexit there is a long way to go, running into December there is lots of free trade agreements and negotitations to go ahead but they see that as more of a blip for when they are investing in the 海角视频.”
Mr Russell added that a lot of investment discussed on a recent trip to the Gulf States was focussed more on outside of London than in, saying that they see more value in the regions. The Lord Mayor says with Qatar Airways flying out of Cardiff Airport the region should be pushing that link.
Mr Russell is the 692nd Lord Mayor of the City of London, and it is some what of a family business. His grandfather and great grandfather also held the post.
He also has strong ties to Wales through his family. His step brother is the actor Damian Lewis, and he says they, along with his step father Watcyn Lewis, were watching the rugby at Twickenham this weekend.
“They were supporting Wales, you’ll be pleaseed to know,” he says. “I was supporting England.”
He recalls many holidays to the country and recalls spending the hot summer of 1976 near Porthmadog.
“As a child I have lovely memories of Wales,” he says.
“As a family we have a place near Llandeilo, I don’t get there enough, but Damian does and my younger brother Gareth does, they very much have Welsh roots.”
He speaks with pride about Damian’s new movie which is set in Wales, and cites the creative industry as a sector that is growing in Wales.
“Cardiff has firmly established itself as one of the foremost 海角视频 innovation hubs with its booming start-up sector. With such credentials, I’m here to learn more from those at the heart of this finance ecosystem, which has fast developed over the past few years,” he says.
“In the City, we are determined to tap into the potential of the whole country. Financial services hubs up and down the country play a crucial role in driving prosperity nationwide. Wales and its 136,000-strong sector workforce is a big piece of that puzzle.
“That’s why I’m calling on innovative Welsh firms with international ambitions to join me on my overseas delegations. I’ll be visiting over 20 countries throughout my term to help open the door to investment and global opportunities for the whole of the 海角视频. Our support of Delio in setting up operations abroad is testament to that and we’re hoping to build on this success.”