Hayley Parsons
Born (1973-11-22) November 22, 1973[1]
Cwmbran, Wales
OccupationBusinesswoman
Known forFounded Gocompare.com

Hayley Parsons OBE (born 22 November 1973) is a Welsh entrepreneur and investor, most notable as the founder of British financial services comparison website GoCompare.

Early life

Born and brought up in Cwmbran South Wales, Parsons began working in the insurance sector aged sixteen after leaving school.

Career

In 1992 she began working for Cardiff based Admiral Group and where she launched price comparison site Confused.com.[2]

In 2006 she left Confused.com to found Go.Compare.[2]

In 2014, Parsons joined the Entrepreneurship Panel for Wales to advise the Welsh Government on the development and promotion of entrepreneurship in Wales.[3] She is a key figure in the BeTheSpark movement, which promotes entrepreurship in Wales.[4]

She is a member of the Inspire Growth Wales investment consortium, which invests in and mentors technology-focused start-ups and businesses in Wales.[5]

Awards and recognition

Parsons was winner of the 'Woman in Business' award at the South Wales Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2009.[6] She also won the Western Mail's 'Welsh Woman in Innovation Award' in 2008, and the 'Business Leader' category in the Inspire Wales Awards 2010.[7] The awards, which are organised by the Institute of Welsh Affairs, recognise the role that Welsh residents play in encouraging active citizenship and in promoting their communities on a local, regional, national and global scale. In January 2012, Parsons was awarded an OBE for services to the economy.[8]

References

  1. Companies House
  2. 1 2 WalesOnline (29 January 2010). "Gocompare Hayley's in a league of her own". walesonline. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  3. Barry, Sion (8 January 2014). "Leading entrepreneurs appointed to advise Welsh Government". walesonline. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  4. "The story so far". Be The Spark. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  5. "Home | Inspire Wales". www.inspirewales.com. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. Barry, Sion (11 September 2009). "Best business brains receive their awards at celebration of local talent". walesonline. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  7. Hutchinson, Clare (15 June 2010). "Awards recognise active citizenship". walesonline. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  8. Dunkley, Jamie (1 July 2012). "Go Compare founder Hayley Parsons nets £3.2m dividend". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
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