Wales’ largest coworking space, the Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise has appointed Jamie McGowan as its new CEO.

Jamie, formerly the campus director at the Caerphilly-based ICE, will now expand on his current responsibilities to lead on the future strategy of the company and the ICE Campus as a whole, including its future navigating the uncertainties of a post-COVID-19 world.

There are a number of other changes to the ICE board with Adrian Walker switching roles from finance director to chief technical officer, to focus on the development of ICE’s digital services - a facet which will likely prove to be crucial as social distancing restrictions continue to drive businesses and services online.

Stephen Burt joins the board as non-executive financial director. Stephen, a qualified chartered accountant and governance professional, has worked across a number of industries in Wales, most recently with medical devices and biotechnology.

Co-founder and director of the self-employed community, Freelance Heroes, with 10,000 members throughout the UK, Annie Browne also joins the board as a non-executive director.

Annie is a Welsh ICE member, having started her virtual business support company, Hello My PA, when she joined the Caerphilly campus in 2017.

Completing the board, Anthony Record continues as the non-executive chairman and William Record will remain as a non-executive director.

Jamie said: “After taking over as campus director in 2018 I was able to take a more hands-on approach to the running of the ICE campus and working with our community of more than 700 staff, members and businesses.

“To say that the coworking landscape has changed is understating it somewhat and much of our support has moved online. However, with these challenges come opportunity. By navigating the restrictions currently in place, we feel we will be in a stronger position to support even more incredible people, as we will no longer be limited by geography or transport.

“Our very successful after-work 5 to 9 Club has already moved online and we’ve seen a record number of sign-ups with people looking to join the ICE community and take their first steps into self-employment. In my new role as CEO I look forward to working with the rest of the board to grow our community of entrepreneurs beyond our physical space and build on the already sterling reputation of ICE as the place to start and grow your business anywhere in the UK.”