Professional biography

I encourage my staff to pride themselves on working beyond client expectations in delivering a seamless, versatile and reliable service, Neil Barnfather, CEO.

Inspired by his father, Neil has honed his natural instinct for business. With a strongly ethical bent, he has rapidly evolved his entrepreneurial success to incorporate philanthropic endeavour. His professional experience includes: telecommunications software and hardware development; consultation and mentoring for numerous start-ups; the incorporation of a countywide confectionery vending enterprise; and eight years as an International Business Ambassador for the British Chambers of Commerce.

Inspiration and instinct

There is no other person that has had a greater influence on me than my father. Many of the concepts and skills I now rely on were founded as a result of my observations, communications and contact with him throughout my childhood, Neil Barnfather, son.

A childhood spent listening and discussing issues with his father inspired an early focus on business, networking, negotiation and communication. Employing a natural instinct for recognising business opportunity, Neil has invested in and successfully managed more than nineteen organisations since his late teens. Many of his past successes involve technical products and services bound by confidentiality and Neil draws from a more extensive knowledge bank than even his open portfolio suggests.

I believe there are certain traits that must be learned, and learned early, to make maximum use of them. Early conversations with my parents, especially my father, helped hone my analytical and enquiring mind. Analytical thinking and an enquiring personality are key to what I do and the person I am, Neil Barnfather, businessman.

From entrepreneur to philanthropreneur

I want your money so I’m going to give you lots of options to give it to me, Neil Barnfather, entrepreneur.

In 1998 Nokia discovered Neil within the first six months of his first professional role in the customer services department of Experian QAS UK and rapidly whisked him off to lead a software and hardware development team at their NRC offices in Helsinki. Exposed to two vastly differing business environments, Neil absorbed everything around him and quickly realised that he had what it took to create something of his own. He had the desire and the drive to build something better.

Over the next two decades, Neil worked consistently on many new start-ups, across multiple industry sectors. Focusing on process and people, rather than product type, he has sold everything from chocolate to integrated circuit boards, from internet hosting to mentoring and other service sector work. His business acumen is broad; from an ability to grasp technical details of sophisticated software solutions to bringing a product to market. Most importantly, Neil’s ability to turn a profit has proven to be successful in all he has turned his mind too.

Picture of Neil meeting Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs.

In recent years, Neil’s success has afforded him the opportunity to invest in his inherent desire to have an impact on the world around him. His work has evolved towards community leadership and the creation and sustainable growth of profitable organisations designed to effect positive change, both within the disabled community and society as a whole.

I like to know that what I do today will have real impact tomorrow, Neil Barnfather, philanthropreneur.

Executive office

Neil has over twenty years of experience in directorial positions and eight years as an International Business Ambassador for the British Chambers of Commerce.

Currently, Neil carries out various consultancy activities, covering a broad range of sectors, including; FinTech, BioTech/Pharma, artificial intelligence and machine learning, connected autonomous vehicles, and customer journey/experience transformations. Neil has also been involved in a variety of remote working and disaster recovery projects for a range of organisations, and provided consultancy for various M&A activities.

Previously, Neil was CEO of eHosting, a web hosting firm established in 1998 that now powers some 140,000 businesses worldwide. As CEO, Neil conducted international negotiations, managed multi-layered teams, operated multi-tiered budgets, and developed long-term strategy and forecasts for future growth while maintaining day-to-day control of business activities.

He was also the founder and director of TalkNav, a philanthropic venture established to deliver products and services effectively to the low vision community. The company works closely with a range of adaptive and access-related technology firms to provide a broad range of products and training tools to its users.

For a comprehensive overview of his activities and current commissions, please visit Neil’s LinkedIn page.

Real change comes from within, Neil Barnfather, OEF founder.

Honoured by the Queen

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in her Birthday Honours list 2014 invested Neil as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the Telecommunications Industry and People with Visual Impairments.

I was both honoured and humbled to have been nominated and chosen to be recognised by my country in this manner, Neil Barnfather MBE.