Terry Matthews
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Sir Terence Hedley Matthews (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire. He was the richest man in Wales until 2012, when he was surpassed by Sir
Michael Moritz Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz (born 12 September 1954) is a Welsh billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., '' The Little Kingdom'', ...
. He has founded or funded over 100 companies in the high-tech communications field, most notably
Mitel Mitel Networks Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications company. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications, but after a change in ownership in 2001, now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP (VoIP) products. Mitel ...
and
Newbridge Networks Newbridge Networks was an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada company founded by Welsh-Canadian entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews. It was founded in 1986 to create data and voice networking products after Matthews was forced out of his original company Mitel ...
. He is the chairman of
Wesley Clover Sir Terence Hedley Matthews (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire. He was the richest man in Wales until 2012, when he was surpassed by Sir Michael Moritz. He h ...
and the Swansea Bay City Region board. He owns the
Celtic Manor Resort Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the city of Newport, South East Wales. Owned by Sir Terry Matthews, the resort is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, near Junction 24 ...
,
KRP Properties KRP Properties (formerly Kanata Research Park Corporation) is a Canadian real estate corporation in Kanata, Ontario, Canada, which leases and develops commercial real estate. It operates the business parks known as Kanata Research Park and Kanata ...
, the Brookstreet Hotel, and the Marshes Golf Club.


Early life

Matthews was born in Newport, South Wales, at the then Lydia Beynon Maternity Hospital. Matthews returned as an adult to include the manor house that housed the hospital within the Celtic Manor Resort. He grew up in the town of Newbridge, Caerphilly. He studied at
Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...
and received a bachelor's degree in electronics in 1969.


Career

After an apprenticeship at British Telecom's research lab at
Martlesham Heath Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and t ...
, Matthews left Britain and joined
MicroSystems International Microsystems International Limited (MIL) was a telecommunications microelectronics company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1969. MIL was an early attempt to create a merchant semiconductor house by Nortel Networks (then Northern Elect ...
, a chipmaking operation affiliated with Northern Telecom (which became
Nortel Networks Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Queb ...
) in Ottawa,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada.


Mitel

Matthews' first enterprise was started in collaboration with fellow Briton and Microsystems employee
Michael Cowpland Michael Cowpland (born April 23, 1943 in Bexhill-on-Sea) is a British-born entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and one-time president, chairman and CEO of Corel, a Canadian software company. Career Mitel Cowpland worked for Bell Norther ...
in 1972. To raise seed money for future enterprises they had planned, the pair intended to import and sell electric lawnmowers built in the UK. Conventionally, and from accounts by Matthews, the name Mitel is thought to be a contraction of "Mike and Terry Lawnmowers". However, Cowpland is quoted as saying that it stands for "Mike and Terry ELectronics". This first endeavour was a fiasco; the shipping company carrying the first batch lost the container.Craig Bailey on Microsoft: INSPIRATION: Sir Terry Matthews
/ref> When the lawnmowers finally arrived, the ground was covered with snow in the Canadian winter and no one would buy them. Matthews later said "That taught me a key lesson – the importance of timing. The shipping company lost the lawnmowers! By the time they showed up no-one wanted them, as you can't cut grass when it's covered with snow." Mitel became a technology consultancy company run from home to the various companies around Ottawa's emerging high-tech district. Mitel's clients included the
National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...
, the Communications Research Centre, and a handful of pioneering start-ups including SHL Systemhouse, which was later purchased by EDS and now is part of HP and Quasar Systems (now
Cognos Cognos Incorporated was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence (BI) and performance management (PM) software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over ...
). Obtaining funding from a $4,000 bank loan, as well as from their own savings and a group of angel investors (notably Kent Plumley), the two developed a
telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is i ...
DTMF tone receiver based on Cowpland's PhD thesis. This was a major advance in the technology, since they were able to sell receivers at a fraction of the cost of competing versions, while gaining returns of 1000%. Additionally, Mitel later became a chip manufacturer with the acquisition of the Silek foundry in Bromont, Quebec. Later, the pair realized that the then-new technology of
microprocessors A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...
and other semiconductor devices would make a similar change in the market for small PBXs. The SX200 PBX launched to immense success, being cheaper to purchase, quicker to install and far more functional. Mitel became one of the more successful manufacturers of small PBX systems and telecom semiconductors in the world, floating on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
in 1981. In 1985, British Telecom bought a controlling interest in Mitel. Cowpland would later form the company that became
Corel Cascade Parent Limited, doing business as Alludo (pronounced like "all you do"), is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation ( ; from the abbreviatio ...
, and Matthews later founded Newbridge Networks.


Newbridge Networks

In 1986, Matthews drove Newbridge to become a leader in the worldwide data networking industry, manufacturing data communications products, especially ATM devices and routers. In 2000 the company employed more than 6,500 employees with recorded FY 1999 revenue of $1.8 billion. Later in 2000, Newbridge was acquired by
Alcatel Alcatel may refer to: * Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia * Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...
for $7.1 billion. Matthews' personal stake in Newbridge was valued at over a billion dollars, and as a result of the transaction he became the largest single shareholder in Alcatel.


Return to Mitel

In 2000, he reacquired the Mitel PBX business and company name, taking it private. He has invested heavily ($600 million by 2006) in Mitel to turn it into a
broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
communications company. The company has made significant investments in enterprise
Voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
telephony technology. Mitel's manufacturing business was spun off as BreconRidge. The company acquired Intertel in April 2007. Mitel went public again in 2010. Mitel announced the purchase of Aastra Technologies in November 2013. Mitel announced the purchase of
Mavenir Systems Mavenir Systems ( NYSE:MVNR ) was a software-based telecommunications networking provider based in Richardson, Texas that existed from 2005 to 2015. The company's software was aimed to deliver internet protocol (IP)-based voice, video, rich commu ...
in March 2015. Mitel announced the purchase of
Polycom Poly, formerly Polycom, a part of HP Inc., is an American multinational corporation that develops video, voice and content collaboration and communication technology. Polycom was co-founded in 1990 by Brian L Hinman and Jeffrey Rodman. In 2018 ...
in April 2016, however, the deal fell through and Polycom instead merged with private equity firm Siris Capital Group. In July 2017, Mitel announced they had reached a deal to buy ShoreTel for $430 million, increasing the size of the company to 4,200 employees. On 24 April 2018, the company announced it would be bought by an investor group led by
Searchlight Capital Partners Searchlight Capital Partners is a private equity firm. Searchlight Capital was established in 2010 by Eric Zinterhofer, Oliver Haarmann, and Erol Uzumeri, its founding partners. It has offices in New York, Conduit Street, London and Toronto. ...
.


Other businesses

*
Wesley Clover Sir Terence Hedley Matthews (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire. He was the richest man in Wales until 2012, when he was surpassed by Sir Michael Moritz. He h ...
– Matthews is the founder and chairman of the investment group. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Wesley Clover has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, India, China and Russia. Investments in Information and communication technologies, digital media, and real estate. *
Celtic Manor Resort Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the city of Newport, South East Wales. Owned by Sir Terry Matthews, the resort is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, near Junction 24 ...
- A 5* resort with a golf club attached to it, in Newport, South Wales *
KRP Properties KRP Properties (formerly Kanata Research Park Corporation) is a Canadian real estate corporation in Kanata, Ontario, Canada, which leases and develops commercial real estate. It operates the business parks known as Kanata Research Park and Kanata ...
- Matthews company which manages land and buildings in the Kanata North Business Park * March Networks - Provider of IP video solutions.
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on 27 April 2005. This venture was the first successful high tech IPO in the Ottawa area since 1999. * Bridgewater Systems – a software company enabling mobile service providers to personalize, manage, and deliver applications. Acquired by
Amdocs Amdocs ( he, אמדוקס) is a multinational corporation that was founded in Israel and currently headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri, with support and development centers located worldwide. The company specializes in software and services ...
in June 2011 for $215 Million * Ubiquity Software – Developer of SIP/IMS Application Server software platform, which was acquired by
Avaya Avaya Holdings Corp., often shortened to Avaya (), is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, that provides cloud communications and workstream collaboration services. The company's platform inclu ...
in Feb 2007 for about U.S. $150M and is the basis of Avaya's next generation solutions. * Convedia – a maker of
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
/ IMS Media Servers, which was acquired by
RadiSys Radisys Corporation is an American technology company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States that makes technology used by telecommunications companies in mobile networks. Founded in 1987 in Oregon by former employees of Intel, the compan ...
in 2006 for $US 105 Million and is the basis of Radisys' MediaEngine solutions. * Celtic House – Matthews and Roger Maggs co-founded Celtic House International Corporation (CHIC) in 1994. The objective was to invest in emerging high technology companies, primarily in the UK and Canada. In 2002, CHIC was re-structured to form Celtic House Venture Partners, a limited partnership owned and managed independent of Matthews. * Newport Networks - a maker of large carrier-grade session border controllers. On 18 March 2009, Newport Networks, with its two remaining employees, de-listed from the AIM. This is despite having announced twelve months earlier that the company had signed a major OEM agreement which was expected to substantially increase its product sales. The company has subsequently been wound up and liquidated. * '
Alacrity Incubator and Accelerator Program
'' - Matthews founded Alacrity in 2009 along with his son, Owen Matthews, and Simon Gibson. Alacrity is a
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
aimed at connecting established Western Canadian companies with venture capitalists and investment firms. Additionally, Matthews serves on the board of directors for a number of high tech companies including
Solace Consolation, consolement, and solace are terms referring to psychological comfort given to someone who has suffered severe, upsetting loss, such as the death of a loved one. It is typically provided by expressing shared regret for that loss and ...
(formerly Solace Systems), and chairs CounterPath Corporation and Benbria Corporation.


Wales

Matthews spends a considerable amount of time in his native Wales, working on such ventures as the
Celtic Manor Resort Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the city of Newport, South East Wales. Owned by Sir Terry Matthews, the resort is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, near Junction 24 ...
, a leisure complex in Newport, near the south Wales coast, chosen to host the 2010 Ryder Cup golf tournament and the 2014 NATO summit. The Celtic Manor hosted the ISPS Handa Wales Open for 15 years. The original Celtic Manor Hotel was formerly a maternity hospital and is Matthews' birthplace. Matthews bought Celtic Manor in 1980, ploughing £100m into the project. Firstly the 19th century Manor House was renovated, while in 1991 plans were unveiled to develop two new golf courses and a convention centre between the manor and the River Usk. Matthews had become friends with golf course architect, the late Robert Trent Jones Snr, whose family roots were in Aberystwyth. Work began on the 'Roman Road' course in 1992, named after the main route connecting the former Roman fortress of
Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...
with the town of
Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important sett ...
, which crosses the land. In 1994 the 4,000-yard 'Coldra Woods' golf course was started, as well as the £10m golf clubhouse hotel. Celtic Manor was Hotel of the Year in 2002, and won two European Design Awards in 2001 - one for the interior designers, Goff Associates, and one for its spa from the International Spa Association. Matthews commented that: ''"I think the resort can act as a magnet to draw new investment into Wales from across the UK and overseas. I did my best to put up a building that you can see from the West End of London and I didn't come far short of it!"''. In September 2014, Matthews was appointed chairman of the Swansea Bay City Region Board. The Swansea Bay City Region Board is backing a Swansea Tidal Lagoon project. In January 2016, he purchased the
Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
in Newport, which has since undergone significant renovation, and has been incorporated into the Celtic Manor Resort Collection as the Coldra Court Hotel.


Philanthropy

Matthews founded the Wesley Clover Foundation, a not-for-profit, philanthropic corporation that supports entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, and community initiatives. The foundation leased the properties formerly known as the Nepean National Equestrian Park and the Ottawa Municipal Campground to create Wesley Clover Parks. Matthews hosts an annual gala, Lumière, that has raised over $1 million for charity.


Honours

On 10 June 1994, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the communications industry. In 1998, he was elected as a
Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
of the Royal Academy of Engineering. On 16 June 2001, he was conferred the honour of
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to Industry and to Wales. He was knighted by HM The Queen at an investiture in Buckingham Palace. Matthews has received honorary doctorates from the University of Wales (Glamorgan and Swansea) and
Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
. In 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Engineering) from the
University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
. In 2011, he was appointed Patron of the Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute at Cardiff University. On 29 December 2017, he was appointed an
Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...
(OC) for his exceptional achievements as a high-tech entrepreneur and investor, and for his contributions to community development through charitable endeavours. He was invested by the
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...
at
Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main b ...
on 20 November 2018.


Personal life

His daughter, Karen, is executive director at Wesley Clover Parks. His son Owen lives in Victoria, British Columbia, is a General Partner at
Wesley Clover Sir Terence Hedley Matthews (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire. He was the richest man in Wales until 2012, when he was surpassed by Sir Michael Moritz. He h ...
, and is founder and chairman of the Alacrity Foundation. His youngest son
Trevor Trevor ( Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', meaning "large, big". The Cornish la ...
is an actor, founder and CEO of Brookstreet Pictures.


See also

* *
List of Canadians by net worth The following list of Canadians by net worth includes the wealthiest Canadian individuals and families as determined by the ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'' and ''The World's Billionaires'' by ''Forbes''. In addition to Bloomberg and ''Forbes'', t ...
*
List of people from Ottawa This is a list of people who are associated with what is now Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W Y See also * List of Canadians References {{Ontario topic ...
*


References


External links


Wesley Clover website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Terry Wesley Clover Welsh billionaires Canadian billionaires Welsh landowners Businesspeople from Ottawa British technology company founders British Telecom people 20th-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century Canadian businesspeople 20th-century Welsh businesspeople 21st-century Welsh businesspeople Canadian chairpersons of corporations Canadian technology company founders Canadian real estate businesspeople Canadian hoteliers Canadian computer businesspeople Canadian investors Canadian technology chief executives Businesspeople in software Welsh knights Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor Canadian Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Swansea University People associated with the University of Wales Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Officers of the Order of Canada People from Newbridge, Caerphilly People from Newport, Wales Welsh emigrants to Canada Welsh company founders Nortel employees 1943 births Living people Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire