Old Truronians Celebrated in Cornwall’s 30 Under 30

The cohort of Cornwall’s 30 under 30 for 2023 has been revealed. The awards celebrate Cornwall’s brightest young talent and are organised by the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce.

This year we celebrate four of our own Old Truronians who successfully made it to the list, namely, Ella Davis CO16, Alex Rodda CO14, Ed Smit CO13 and Joe Turnbull CO09.

Chamber CEO, Kim Conchie said: “We had entrepreneurs, change makers, prosperity creators and eco-warriors from a huge cross section of businesses and business support, all adding to the magic that makes living and working in Cornwall so special.”

Ella Davis CO16

Wildanet

“A CEO of the future”, Ella Davies has been “an outstanding addition” for Wildanet, playing an active role in the rural broadband provider’s growth trajectory. She has helped set up the company’s sales team and marketing collateral and worked closely with the CEO on its successful rebrand.

Ella has also worked on the firm’s public affairs agenda, including helping to arrange an event with all the local MPs in Cornwall.

All this hard work and initiative was recently recognised when Ella was promoted to propositions, insight and data manager at Wildanet, heading her own team.

Alex Rodda CO14

Rodda's

It’s not just the Cornwall’s 30 under 30 judges who have been impressed with Alex Rodda’s track record. Last year he was named by industry bible, The Grocer, as one of the six best rising stars in the dairy industry.

Alex’s accomplishments are too numerous to be mentioned here, but to give you a flavour he is responsible for managing national retailer and wholesaler accounts for the likes of Marks and Spencer, Ocado and Morrisons.

He has also showcased Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream abroad with a trip to Japan and attended the Hankyu British Fair alongside brands such as Harrods and Fortnum and Masons.

Ed Smit CO13

Here Now Films

After graduating in marine biology from Falmouth University, rather than a career in science, Ed Smit opted to pursue a lifelong passion in film and set about creating a film studio that he hoped would one day give creatives from Falmouth something worth getting excited about.

Over the past five years, together with co-founder Ollie Couch, Ed has built Here Now to become a truly national studio delivering work across the UK and abroad with all the editing and skills being fulfilled by creatives right here in Cornwall.

Clients include the likes of FatFace, AirBnB, Finisterre and RedBull TV, while Here Now Films also recently delivered a 30-minute documentary for BBC World to an audience of over 100 million.

Joe Turnbull CO09

Bull & Wolf

Joe’s leadership at Penryn-based video production company Bull & Wolf has led to further growth this year, with the team expanding from four to seven and a 60% rise in sales.

Throughout the last year Joe has helped build a strong team of creatives, who have recently gone on to win two awards at the 2023 AVA Digital Awards.

A regular on the business speaker circuit, Joe was recently invited to participate in BBC’s Share Your Story, a roadshow talking to students about careers in the creative sector. Joe champions doing business in a better way and to this effort Bull & Wolf is a certified Living Wage Foundation Employer and currently in the verification stage for B-Corp certification.