A CEO with no GCSE or A LEVELS

Faith Hope and Love

Imagine a CEO with no GCSE or A LEVELS. Andrew Philips spoke with Gareth Sorsby, YMCA Exeter Joint CEOGareth Sorsby, YMCA Exeter Joint CEO – Age: 36

• Left school at 15 and worked as a cleaner in a hotel in Manchester. 
• Didn’t do G.C.S.E’s or A.levels
• Moved with family to Cornwall and picked up bar work at the 4* Headland Hotel in Newquay. 
• Gradually worked his way up to General Manager at Headland Hotel – at 25 he was managing 130 staff. 
• Moved to YMCA at 26 and started helping young people and ex-offenders into employment through a jobs club. “From that moment felt an incredible sense of purpose using my skills.”
• Believes strongly in early intervention, importance of youth work programmes 
• Became Joint CEO in 2017, at age of 33. 

Andrew spoke to Gareth from https://www.ymcaexeter.org.uk/