Sir Terence Hedley Matthews OC OBE FREng FIET[2] (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire.
[12] To raise seed money for future enterprises they had planned, the pair intended to import and sell electric lawnmowers built in the UK.
Obtaining funding from a $4,000 bank loan, as well as from their own savings and a group of angel investors (notably Kent Plumley),[11][14] the two developed a telephony 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%.
Later, the pair realized that the then-new technology of microprocessors and other semiconductor devices would make a similar change in the market for small PBXs.
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 in 1981.
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.
[21] 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.
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 with the town of Caerwent, which crosses the land.
[40] Matthews founded the Wesley Clover Foundation, a not-for-profit, philanthropic corporation that supports entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, and community initiatives.
[43] Matthews was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1994 Birthday Honours for services to the communications industry.
[47] In December 2017, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) in the 2018 Canadian honours,[48][49][50] for his achievements as a high-tech entrepreneur and investor, and for his contributions to community development through charitable endeavours.
His son Owen lives in Victoria, British Columbia, is a general partner at Wesley Clover, and is founder and chairman of the Alacrity Foundation.