From Bordeaux to Body Slams What I learned reinventing myself from wine merchant to a sports CEO

Not long ago, I was knee-deep in spreadsheets, red wine, and Covid contingency plans, trying to run a sustainable wine business in the midst of a global crisis. Five years later, I'm the chairman of Haverfordwest County AFC – a football club in Wales playing in Europe – and the owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a legendary American wrestling promotion that once produced John Cena and Brock Lesnar. It's not a career arc I planned, but it is one I've leaned into, and it's taught me more about business, leadership, and community than any boardroom ever could.

If you're a CEO or founder considering a leap across industries, or even across continents, I can tell you this – reinvention is never as risky as it seems, so long as you bring your values with you. Like a lot of entrepreneurs, my journey started long before my first business card. I was that kid selling posters, magazines – anything with a margin. I had an instinct for finance, which took me into roles in hospitality and wine, eventually becoming financial controller for a global wine company. That gave me sight across all aspects of business, and it's when I realised I didn't want to just control numbers, I wanted to control the direction of the organisation.

So I built my own wine business focused on sustainability and small producers. The passion wasn't for the product as much as for the stories behind it, and the people. But then Covid hit, and with revenue falling off a cliff, I had space – for the first time in years – to think about what was next. That's when the email arrived. A Welsh semi-professional football club for sale – no plan, no strategy, just an itch to click. Six weeks later, I owned Haverfordwest County AFC. The club was struggling. It had no full-time staff, no contracted players, and hundred fans if we were lucky. What it lacked in infrastructure, however it made up for in heart, and I saw something you don't often see in early-stage businesses – permission to dream big.

I approached it like any other turnaround. I didn't pretend to know how to run a football club, but I knew how to listen, how to build culture, and how to back the right people. I set out to empower those already in the club –people with passion but no strategic clarity – and laid out an ambitious but achievable vision. We started small, a new community officer, a talented European coach looking for a start, and most importantly, consistent engagement with our fans. It wasn't just about building a club, it was about building trust.

Today, Haverfordwest is in the best shape in its 125-year history. Two qualifications for European competition in three years, an academy now winning national trophies, and, perhaps most tellingly, a town that believes again. It was all built on those simple business principles. The move into wrestling was, on the surface, even more left field, but to me, it wasn't. When I walked into OVW's arena in Kentucky, I recognised the same thing I saw at Haverfordwest – potential hidden behind chaos. OVW is a brand with history. It was the launchpad for a generation of global superstars, but recently, it had lost its way.

Like with Haverfordwest, I didn't arrive pretending to be an expert. I turned up, I listened, and I asked hard questions. We ran an internal audit, brought in new leadership, and we asked the staff – what do you need to believe this place has a future? We're now relaunching OVW with a clearer identity, a fan-first strategy, and a mission to build – not just a feeder system – but the best independent wrestling promotion in the world. One that connects with communities, drives local economies, and gives talent a reason to stay. Reinvention isn't about abandoning who you are, it's about applying your principles in new arenas. Here are the lessons I've learned along the way:

1. Listen before you lead
You can't make informed decisions if you don't understand the landscape. When you enter a new industry, your job isn't to dominate the conversation – it's to earn your place in it. That starts with listening.

2. Hire for what you don't know
I don't run training sessions at Haverfordwest, and I don't script matches at OVW, but I've built teams of passionate, skilled people who do – and I empower them. You don't need to be the smartest person in the room, you just need to build the smartest room.

3. Be visible and honest
People don't necessarily buy into a business, but they do buy into the people running it. That means showing up, being clear about your intentions, and demonstrating through action. At both organisations, I've made it a point to be physically present. It builds trust faster than any press release.

4. Show ambition – and deliver on it
You can't bluff your way through growth. Set big goals, but match them with clear steps and accountability. At Haverfordwest, we said we'd get to Europe – and did. That changes the narrative from 'ambitious' to 'credible'.

5. Embed in the community
Whether it's a town in West Wales or a wrestling scene in Kentucky, businesses that succeed are those that are rooted in their communities. Not just because it's good PR – but because it builds resilience. When people see what you contribute, they give you their support.

6. Core values are transferable
Finance, wine, football, wrestling – on the surface, there's not much overlap, but the same values run through them all, integrity, clarity, empathy, and drive. If you lead with those, you'll find a way to make an impact.

I've been called mad more than once – and maybe I am – but the thread through everything I've done is clear, find good people, build something that matters, and leave the place better than you found it. So if you're a founder or CEO wondering whether to make that leap – into a new market, a new industry, or even a new country – ask yourself this, do your values work there? If the answer is yes, you're more ready than you think.