Peter Jones - 15% stake holder in The Present Club

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Born in Berkshire in 1966 Peter Jones was inspired to make his fortune from an early age. He quotes “I remember sitting for hours in my father's office leather chair, dreaming of running a multi-million pound business.”

So Dreams do come true! At 16 Peter started to hone his entrepreneurial skills by starting a Tennis Academy, which brought together his two biggest passions in life…Sport and Economics.
 
During his twenties, he ran a thriving computer business, sadly however, through a combination of circumstances and personal mistakes Peter lost his company and even his house and car. As a last resort Peter decided to join a large corporate firm and found himself within a year running the company.

It came as no surprise when Peter decided to launch his own firm. He founded Phones International Group in 1998, providing mobile cellular solutions to a broad range of clients. In his first year he turned over £14 million and £44 million by the end of the second.

The Times/Ernst & Young recognised Peter as Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. Today, he has interests in a wide range of companies and a variety of markets which collectively generate sales of more than £250 million and employ more than 1,000 people.

However Peter is most well known as one of the 5 entrepreneurs on the ever popular BBC2’s Dragons’ Den.

In January 2009, Peter received a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list. 

 

Theo Paphitis - 15% stake holder in The Present Club


  
 

Theo’s first job was as an assistant with a Lloyds of London broker, before moving into retail when he was 18.

He then moved into property and corporate finance, setting up his own company at just 23.
s as an assistant with a Lloyds of London broker, before moving into retail
Theo was Chairman of Millwall FC for eight years, taking the club out of administration, into the Championship (to the FA Cup Final opposite Manchester United) and into Europe.

He’s revived the fortunes of such notable retail brands as La Senza, Contessa Lingerie, Ryman, Partners the Stationers and Stationery Box.

He sold his interest in the La Senza and Contessa in 2006.

In 2008, he combined the stationery businesses to form a new chain, Ryman the Stationer where he is now Chairman. The company sponsors the Isthmian football league, called the Ryman Football League.

Through his appearances on BBC TWO’s Dragons’ Den, Theo has advised many entrepreneurs and invested in several innovative businesses and brands. One company he owns alongside fellow Dragon, Peter Jones, is Red Letter Days, which he salvaged out of administration.

The Paphitis Charitable Trust distributes Theo’s fees from TV appearances, speeches and his book to causes close to his heart, especially children’s charities.

With his 2,200 colleagues at Ryman, he has helped raise in excess of £1,000,000 for Comic Relief, a charity that Theo and the company have supported for three years.

Theo lives in Surrey with his wife Debbie. They have five children and three grandchildren. 

 
Georgette Hewitt - 70% stake holder in The Present Club

    
 

            
Georgette was born in Southwark, London in 1976. A tomboy from day one, Georgette threw herself into her brother’s hobbies of martial arts and football.

 In the early 90’s, while playing football at a holiday park she was scouted for Fulham Ladies, a path she was forced to decline in exchange for a financial career in the City Of London.

From the day she finished her GCSE’S in 1992 she was so excited to be going to work that she had interviews lined up for the very next day.

Her first choice of a career was to be a spy with MI6! So at school and night college she learned Italian, French, German and Spanish. However when she was offered a job on the London International Financial Futures Exchange as a runner (trading assistant) she knew it was such an opportunity she couldn’t turn it down.

On Georgette’s 18th Birthday she took and passed her trading exams, subsequently becoming the youngest ever female trader.
                                                                                                                                                                           
 She traded in the most ferocious German Government Bond pit with her own money and on behalf of banks for 7 years, until the open outcry trading floor closed and she began trading electronically for a further 10 years.

Four years ago Georgette left her career to focus on becoming a wife and mother to her 3 daughters, Sophia (4), Amelie (2) and Eloise (4 months). Her hardest job to date!

It was during this time that Georgette realised there was a gap in the market for a website that could make life easier for busy mums whose children attend Birthday parties, while empowering the Birthday child to receive presents that could last a childhood.