James E Brathwaite, CBE

As well as heading up SEEDA, Jim Brathwaite is chairman of SEAL Ltd, an environmental company whose equipment is used to test nearly all the drinking water in the UK. He is also chairman of three other Sussex-based businesses, Community Alerts, Morgan Everett and Exam on Demand, and the local radio stations Splash FM in Worthing and Brighton and Hove Radio Ltd in Brighton.

After graduating in zoology and physiology at Sheffield University, Jim's early career was in accountancy, marketing and sales with Beecham and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. In 1982 he started his own business designing training videos for industry. This led him on to form Epic Interactive Media in Brighton in 1989, which became one of Europe's largest multimedia companies, employing 150 staff. He floated the company in 1996 becoming Britain's first Black CEO of a publicly quoted company.

Jim was appointed to the board of the South East of England Development Agency in December 2001 and became chairman the following year. He holds numerous positions on business advisory panels at national and local levels. He was the founding chairman of Business Link Sussex and a founding director of Wired Sussex. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Jim was awarded a CBE for services to the Sussex economy in the New Year's Honours 2001 and an honorary degree from University College Chichester in 2003.

Jim lives in Angmering with his wife Barbara and their four children. His interests include music, skiing and watching all sport, especially Manchester United.