FIVE Newport men are among the seven hundred new entries in the newly-published 2019 edition of Who’s Who, a book cataloguing noteworthy and influential people from across every area of public life.

The book contains more than 34,000 autobiographical entries ‘of the noteworthy and influential in every area of public life’, and entry is by invitation only, so this is an honour for all the new entries.

Professor Simon Gibson, 60, is the chief executive of Newport-based Wesley Clover.

In 2013, he agreed to head up a taskforce to examine why firms were struggling in Newport city centre.

In his Who’s Who entry father of four Professor Gibson lists his recreations as : “family, fly-fishing, and UK deer.”

He is a Trustee and Director of the British Deer Society.

 

Richard Kitson,41, deputy chief executive of Hachette UK, one of Britain’s biggest publishers, whose authors include Harry Potter writer, J.K. Rowling.

Mr Kitson was born in Newport in 1977 and was educated at Bassaleg Comprehensive school, which he proudly mentions in his Who’s Who entry.

 

Dr Paul Phillips, 61, is a Newport-born principal and chief executive of the West College Group, based at Weston College, Weston-Super-Mare.

In his Who’s Who, Dr Phillips lists his recreations as: “rugby, canal restoration, professional wrestling.”

 

Judge Jason Taylor, QC, 46, was born at Newport in 1972 and, like Richard Kitson, was educated at Bassaleg Comprehensive School.

Judge Taylor was made a Circuit Judge earlier this year.

Hywel Jones, 40, is a Newport-born primary director at the Norwich-based Inspiration Trust, a multi academy trust of academies and free schools in East Anglia.

The arrival in Who’s Who of Richard Kitson and Judge Jason Taylor means that there are now seven former Bassaleg Comprehensive School pupils in Who’s Who.

The five ex-Bassaleg pupils already in Who’s Who are: David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth, Sky Sports rugby union commentator Stuart Barnes, Dr Roger Lewis, whose book, ‘The Life and Death of Peter Sellers’, was turned into an award-winning film, commercial manager of Bedwas rugby club Ronald Davies, chairman of the Dubai World Special Tribunal Sir Anthony Evans.

In Who’s Who, the five Newport men making their first appearance in the book will join, among others, Pope Francis, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.

Everyone in Who’s Who is invited to compile his or her own entry, so entries can be as short or as long as personalities wish.

Newport’s Richard Kitson sums up his life and lists his achievements in just seven lines, while Wesley Clover chief, Professor Simon Gibson, tells his life story in nineteen lines, which is four lines more than the fifteen line entry of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, three lines more than the sixteen line entry of Pope Francis; but four lines fewer than the twenty three line entry of US President Donald Trump.

The Newport men and all the other new entries will now remain in Who’s Who until they die, when they will be automatically transferred to Who’s Who’s sister publication, Who Was Who.

The 2019 edition of Who’s Who is published by A & C Black at £325.