Entrepreneurial

Hayder Al-Ani (30) is the founder of ALS (UK) Ltd, which specialises in providing interpreting and translation support to organisations across the country. Founded in 2007, the business now has a network of 6,000 language support staff providing expertise in over 250 languages to clients as diverse as government organisations, the legal sector, housing associations, private and commercial businesses. Committed to playing an active role in the local community, the business has developed a partnership with Pertemps to provide work experience for the unemployed and also supports a number of children’s charities.
 

Nicolas Holzherr (25) graduated from the University of Aston with a FirstClass Honours degree in international business and modern languages, where he was founding president of the ‘Students in free enterprise’ society that runs projects in the local community. In 2009, he founded three companies: QRky Ltd, which used quick response technology to link digital contact and multimedia data; Recip.ly, which links recipe websites with online supermarkets; and Co-Go Coffee Ltd, which sells high-quality, ethical takeaway coffee. Named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 by Midlands Business Insider magazine, he is a guest lecturer at the University of Birmingham’s Business School and also at Birmingham City University.
 

Simon McLean (34) studied mechanical engineering at the University of Cambridge, where he set up a travel website in his spare time. The site, now rebranded Click Travel, has grown significantly over the past 11 years, offering customers a comprehensive online booking tool for business travel and employing 33 members of staff. Simon recently developed an internship scheme to help develop up-and-coming business talent in the region and will shortly be supporting a member of his team in a cross-channel hot-air balloon race. A member of the Institute of Travel Management, he sits on the rail advisory panel for the Advantage Focus Partnership.