About Jamie and Kevin

Jamie and Kevin are the duo behind the world’s largest online retailer of prescription glasses. Here’s a bit about them both:

Jamie Murray Wells is the founder and Executive Chairman of Glasses Direct, which he started at university. Five years later, the 26 year-old has seen the company grow to become the largest online retailer of prescription glasses in the world.

High-street opticians charge an average of £150 per pair of glasses, but Jamie found a way to offer the same products for £19 on the web.

Despite early threats of legal action, and pressure on his suppliers from high street brands, Jamie fought to fully establish Glasses Direct in the optical market place, and now it is quickly becoming a household brand name.

The company estimates it ships a pair of glasses every few minutes round the clock, and estimates that it has saved the UK public in excess of £30 million pounds on their glasses.

Jamie has a passion for serving customers. Every day he speaks to and emails customers directly, helping with queries, collecting feedback, dealing personally with complaints, sometimes even hand delivering glasses, so that he can make sure all areas of the business are focused on delivering what its customers want.

Recognition for his work heading up Glasses Direct saw him receive awards such as the UK Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Wales and West Country Entrepreneur of the Year Award, NatWest Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Daily Mail Enterprising Young Brit. In 2005, he beat Sir Richard Branson, Sir Alan Sugar, and Stelios Haji-Ioannou to come 1st place in startups.co.uk’s list of that year’s top entrepreneurs.

When he's not busy building Glasses Direct into a global brand, Jamie advises both major political parties on their new enterprise strategy and both comments and writes on enterprise and current affairs for national newspapers and broadcasters. Subjects he covers have included the postal strike, pre-budget reports from the Government, and capital gains tax. He has appeared on BBC News 24, Radio 5 Live, Tonight, GMTV, Sky News, and is regularly quoted in a variety of Fleet Street newspapers including the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph.

Jamie takes an active interest in promoting UK entrepreneurialism, as an ambassador for UK Enterprise, by using the experience he has had bringing his business from the bedroom to the boardroom to provide advice, support and occasionally investment to other young entrepreneurs (latest investment www.mybuilder.com) as well as being a National Judge for Enterprising Britain 2007 and also in 2008.

Jamie is Holder of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion.

For all media and speaking enquiries, please contact Brian MacLaurin or Rania Johnson on 0208 834 1806 or email rania@brianmaclaurin.com Check out, and contribute to, his Wikipedia biography here.

Kevin Cornils is Chief Executive Officer of Glasses Direct, the leading global online direct seller of glasses, backed by venture capitalists Index Ventures and Highland Capital Partners.

Kevin recently joined Glasses Direct from buy.at, now the UK's leading specialist affiliate advertising network, where he was recruited following an investment by venture capitalists DFJ Esprit in 2006.

Kevin and the team grew the business from £12m in turnover with 25 staff to over £40m in turnover and 70+ staff, including a launch into the US market and negotiating a strategic acquisition.

In February 2008, he successfully led the sale of the business to AOL's Advertising.com. AOL then extending his role to UK Managing Director of Advertising.com, which operates the industry's largest advertising network.

Prior to buy.at, Kevin spent 4 years with consumer internet blue-chip Match.com where he was ultimately Managing Director, Europe and successfully led the development of the business to become the European market leader in online dating with revenues in excess of $75m.

Kevin's previous experience also included work as a strategy consultant with Bain & Co. in London and as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, Moscow and London. Kevin holds a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelors degree in International Economics from Georgetown University. Kevin lives in London with his wife Katya and daughters Lydia and Mila.