Tom Dawes
Age: 29
Company: Aerogistics Group
Dawes expects Aerogistics to turn over £3.6m this year – not bad considering it’s just two years since he borrowed his brother’s student loan to launch the company. Having studied manufacturing engineering and specialising in aerospace at PhD level, as well as developing a supply chain management portal for Airbus, Dawes identified the need for better project management between small parts suppliers and end users. The company now represents, manages and markets a cluster of suppliers to larger manufacturers. Dawes acquired industry-wide approved metal treatment company King and Fowler Ltd in February and has also launched a joint venture with Liverpool University to manufacture supply chain management software. He is now planning for overseas expansion.