As featured in the Port's newsletter, OnBoard, Spring 2021.
Steve Edwards took up the newly created post of Commercial Director at the Port just as the UK entered its first lockdown. An eternal optimist, he’s undaunted by the challenge and is just glad to be coming home to West Wales at last.
“The first date my wife and I went on was at Barafundle Bay. It is one of the best beaches in the world,” says Steve Edwards, the Port of Milford Haven’s new commercial director. “It’s a hidden gem. Sixteen years later I feel like I’ve found another hidden gem here in Pembrokeshire, in the Trust Port.”
Not many people could pull off this enthusiastic parallel, but Steve can. He is the kind of person who sees exciting potential in everything he puts his mind to. He is a sports coach (he teaches adults to swim amongst other things) and a passionate mentor to his three boys. In fact, he seems to carry so much positivity that he spends much of his time finding a home for it in the people around him.
A West Walian to the core, Steve Edwards comes to the Port of Milford Haven as Commercial Director and, in doing so, feels he’s finally been able to come home. Educated in Management Science at Swansea University, Steve began his career during a tough period for the Welsh and UK economies, working for utility company British Gas as a chartered accountant. He quickly went on to become one their youngest senior managers ever, and, when the monolithic utility firm was broken up, went to work for Transco. After a stint at General Electric in Caerphilly, he returned to Newport to work for the newly created Wales and West Utilities in 2005.
“I have spent the last 13 plus years driving up and down the M4 and now I have the opportunity to stay in my community and use my time and my talent for the benefit of West Wales. That is very important to me,” says Steve. “Previously, I worked for a company that saw its dividends leave this country and now I come to the Port of Milford Haven, a Trust Port with no shareholders, where all the benefit of its activities stays in Pembrokeshire.” Steve took up his post just as lockdown began in 2020, but you are unlikely to hear him complain of the challenges Covid has thrown his way. That is definitely not his way. In fact, he is one of these people for whom the function or challenge of any job seems somehow subordinate to the purpose and ambition it might deliver. That’s not to say he is not focused on doing the job well. His CV demonstrates his outstanding capability. But with a mind to the potential regional benefits a commercially successful Port can bring, he has his eyes fixed firmly on the big picture and working with others to make things happen here.
“There’s a great sense of ambition from the Welsh Government and from local councillors to really invest in this asset along with us, because they understand about the regional growth opportunities that are here.”
“I am really optimistic. Pembrokeshire is incredible. When I go home and see Cornwall and Devon on TV, I tell you now, we have everything they have, and more! On top of hospitality and tourism, we also are an energy gateway supporting UK homes and families and looking at the enormous potential for energy diversification,” he enthuses.
Thanks to his background, Steve is very much in his comfort zone looking at energy projects and working with strategic partners in that sector. But how does he feel about hospitality and tourism, which also falls within his brief as commercial director and is of vital strategic importance to the Port business?
“It was daunting at first. I’ve been delighted with the support and expertise I have had from the team. They really welcomed me with open arms. If you have the will to learn - and one of my goals is to learn something new every day – it’s amazing what you can achieve if you just listen and collaborate. In fact, I have found that part of the job the biggest inspiration, just in terms of how it has broadened my horizons.”
Steve is very much a family man. A keen cyclist, as well as a rugby and football coach, he says his life is centred around his wife and boys.
“Since I was young, all I ever wanted to do was to be a dad. I want to be a good father and help our children to be whatever they want to be,” he says, with disarming honesty. “And if they can do that in West Wales, I’ll be delighted!”