Athelston ‘Tony’ Sealey is Managing Director of Canefield Ltd, a company operating a number of franchised restaurants in partnership with McDonald’s Restaurants Limited. The company currently employs some 550 employees, generating annual sales revenues estimated £16 million. An exceptionally successful franchisee with McDonald’s Franchise System, Tony was elected by his franchisee colleagues to represent them at international, national, regional and local level. He is also the owner of the bodycare4u Health and Fitness Club in Barbados. His other business interests have included company directorships with SS&B Limited and Birmingham Carnival 2000 Limited.
Educated at the University of Aston in Birmingham, he gained a BA and MSc respectively in Government before starting his own business in 1987. He was previously Chair of one of the UK’s largest business support organisations, 3b, for some 20 years. He served as a member of the UK Government’s Small Business Investment Access to Finance Expert Group for 6 years and for a 7 year period from 2000 was a “market champion” for the Caribbean region. Tony has acted as business lead on many trade missions in partnership with UKTI to the Caribbean, Africa, North America and Europe and has worked for the European Union (EU) as a Specialist Adviser.
He was a board member of Advantage West Midlands (AWM), the UK Government’s Regional Development Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands, 2001-2007, covering enterprise, urban regeneration, access to finance for business. He was Chair of the West Midlands’ Regional Regeneration Centre for Excellence (Regen WM), and Director of NCB Remittances Services (UK) Limited between 2003 and 2007. He was previously Chairman of the Government’s Sandwell Family Health Services Authority 1987 – 1993, Vice-Chairman of the Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Trust 2002 – 2006, and was named the Carlton Television Midlander of the Year in 2002.
A Trustee Board Member/Ambassador for the Prostate Cancer Charity for some 8 years, he is also a board member of Birmingham University Business School’s International Business Advisory Council. He was previously a board member of Prime Focus, oneofthe UK’s largest social housing landlords and chaired the £40m Corridors of Regeneration urban regeneration company.
In June 2007 he received an OBE in recognition of his outstanding contribution to business and his support for communities in the West Midlands region. He will forever be a proud son of Canfield, St. Thomas Barbados.