JIM DUFFY has announced he is to leave business start-up organisation Entrepreneurial Spark – as he picked up an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list.
Mr Duffy, who received the gong for his outstanding contribution to the business community, will depart the Glasgow-based start-up accelerator next summer. He has led Entrepreneurial Spark since co-founding the organisation in 2011.
During his tenure, Entrepreneurial Spark has grown into a network of 12 “hatcheries” around the UK, and has supported 660 new businesses to date. Its growth has been boosted by funding provided by Royal Bank of Scotland, with partnerships also having been secured with KPMG, Dell EMC and Harper Macleod.
Mr Duffy’s departure comes after it was announced in May he would be succeeded as chief executive by co-founder Lucy-Rose Walker. The organisation, poised to open its 13th branch, said then that Mr Duffy would become more involved in supporting the businesses based in the Entrepreneurial Spark centres, as head of its #GoDo initiative. Ms Walker will continue in her role as chief entrepreneuring officer.
Mr Duffy said: “It’s been an incredible journey and one I have thoroughly enjoyed and been changed by. Entrepreneurial Spark is about to announce some key changes to its model that will enable the company to help more entrepreneurs, more often and at the right place in their journey.
“The whole team is committed to taking this evolved model forward and I have no doubt under Lucy-Rose Walker’s stewardship it will take Entrepreneurial Spark stratospheric.”
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