Paul Van Der Walt

After graduating from Birmingham University with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacture and Management, Paul joined Price Waterhouse and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He then moved out into industry, working in a variety of consumer and retail areas, before moving to Belgium in 2000 with Levi Strauss & Co. After five years working in Europe, Paul moved back to the UK, continued to work in retail, and also completed his MBA in 2007, specialising in the role of the accountant in Corporate Social Responsibly and was a member of the ICAEW CSR committee. In 2013, Paul moved to Oslo, Norway and joined Specsavers, supporting the growth of their business in the Nordic region, most recently as Business Development Director, before relocating back to the UK in 2017. During his time in Oslo, Paul became a keen cross-country skier as well as a winter cyclist – commuting to work with studded tyres on ice alongside the fjord in winter darkness! Since leaving Specsavers, Paul has focussed on hi-tech start-ups, particularly business planning & strategy and the development of Business Intelligence within the Finance function. Paul is married with two children, two cats and a dog. He enjoys all types of self-powered outdoor activities – cycling, kayaking, snowboarding to name but a few. He volunteers through his local church with the under-3s group, and with Helping Hands, an outreach to those in need of practical support in Bedford.