Martyn Dawes

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT MARTYN DAWES

Martyn Dawes is an award winning serial entrepreneur and CEO with a proven track record of delivering high growth and impressive shareholder returns.He is an experienced non-executive director, adviser and mentor to ambitious entrepreneurs, high growth businesses and their boards.Martyn is the Founder and Former CEO of Coffee Nation, the company that created the new market category of \'self serve gourmet coffee\'. He launched the company in 1997, secured private equity development capital in and lead the business until 2007 and was then non-executive director through to the sale of the company in 2008. The company was twice ranked within the top 100 fastest growing UK companies in 2005 and 2006.Martyn was an Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner for consumer products, in 2005. Coffee Nation was also awarded the Virgin Atlantic/Sunday Times Innovation Award in 2006.The exit in 2008 returned 4x to institutional investors and the company was sold for £23m or an 8x ebitda multiple. The company by then had 600 self-serve coffee kiosks around the UK. Coffee Nation was finally sold to Whitbread in March 2011 for £59.5m and has since been re-branded Costa Express.Martyn now mentors and advises founders, CEO\'s and boards of high growth companies and younger businesses with high growth potential. He is a board member of the Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) London Founders Chapter, having previously served as Education Officer (2010-11) and Chairman (2011-12).Martyn\'s book \'Wake Up and Sell the Coffee\' was published in January 2014 and has been ranked as one of the top 6 most notable titles on entrepreneurship of 2013 by The Centre for Entrepreneurs.Martyn was Chairman of Wondrous People Ltd from September 2018 to August 2020 and is now Non-Executive Director, following the appointment of Mark Campbell as Chair.