Nic Conner
Entrepreneur & political campaigner
Entreprenwr & ymgyrchwr gwleidyddol
Nic Conner is an entrepreneur, political campaigner, and media commentator. He founded Parisi Consulting, an international corporate communications company named one of 18 new PR agencies to watch by PR Week. Nic lives in the Conwy Valley with his young family.
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Nic is severely dyslexic. Despite this, Nic became the first person in Wales (possibly the UK) to use a reader and scribe for A-Level English Literature. After his A ' Levels, Nic left St. David’s College, Llandudno and built a career in the highly literate communications industry, advising businesses of all sizes—from spin-outs and start-ups to scale-ups and blue-chip companies. He has guided them through brand launches, multi-million-pound funding rounds, stock market mergers, and commercially driven multimedia marketing campaigns. He studied law at BPP Law School.
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Nic has written under his own name for publications such as The Times, the Daily Express, Conservative Home and Nation Cymru and has ghostwritten for nearly every major UK and US outlet. He has appeared on BBC's Newsnight, The Big Question, and Channel 4's Dispatches and has been interviewed on BBC News, Channel 5 News, ITN, Sky News, and radio stations including BBC Radio Wales, LBC, and BBC 5 Live. Additionally, Nic has spoken in the House of Commons, at a reception hosted by the Embassy of Spain in the United Kingdom, and as a guest speaker at various university debating societies, including those at LSE, Durham, and UCL.
Politics
Gwleidyddiaeth
Nic has held roles in local, national, and international political campaigns. He serves on the executive of the North West Wales Conservative Federation. During the last general election, he campaigned in his home constituency of Bangor Aberconwy, clocking up 50km of door-knocking.
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Nic has been a member of the Conservative Party since he was 18, joining it at school in Llandudno in 2006. In 2008, he volunteered full-time for Boris Johnson's first mayoral campaign. He later supported the party full-time during the Crewe & Nantwich and Henley by-elections. By 2009, he had worked as a Team Leader in the Field Campaign department at CCHQ. In the 2010 General Election, he was posted to the Conservative's top target seat, Gillingham & Rainham, where he led the campaign and secured 21,624 votes (46.2%), achieving a 9.3% swing and an 8,680 majority.
2016, he joined Vote Leave when the HQ consisted of just 30 people. Michael Crick, Chanel 4 Political Correspondent, described Nic as part of Vote Leave’s ‘core team’. He led the non-Boris press conferences and events and served as the point of contact for Ministers involved in the campaign. Priti Patel commented at one press conference: “It worked like clockwork—very professional.”
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Beyond his paid political work, Nic has consistently campaigned for causes close to his heart. During the Scottish Independence referendum, for example, he would travel overnight by coach to Edinburgh every weekend to help the unionists, returning by Monday morning in time for work. Nic recently supported and helped with the Digon yw Digon (farmer protests) outside the Welsh Labour Party Conference in Venue Cymru in Llandudno.
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In 2023, he led his friend Samuel Kasumu's bid to become the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London. They achieved the most press coverage and received over a hundred public endorsements from MPs, Peers, Councillors, and Conservative Party Members. Ladbrooks named Samuel as their favourite to win the nomination.
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From 2012 to 2014, Nic was a Visiting Lecturer for the US 'Leadership Institute' during its global programme. This included training for delegates from the Nigerian People's Democratic Party. This group comprised parliamentarians from both Houses, including the Speaker of the Lower House. Nic also supported the Australian Liberal Party on its UK voter engagement strategy.​
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Nic was on the board of the Bow Group from 2011 to 2013. The Bow Group is a Conservative think-tank founded in 1952. Since then, it has launched political careers such as Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, Leon Brittan, Norman Lamont, Michael Howard and Peter Lilley. The Bow Group has been instrumental in Welsh policy. Tom Hooson and Geoffrey Howe published Work for Wales - Gwaith i Gymru in 1959, a seminal work that reshaped Welsh political discourse by challenging established economic policies and advocating for reform.
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Nic published several policy papers with the Bow Group, most notably in 2014, “Stop the Boat”, a policy paper which started the EU and UK policy of controlling illegal migration. This paper changed the strategy and thinking of politicians. In 2012, Nic published “ To Lay in Valour”, a policy paper challenging the Government to provide an adequate system to record, preserve and maintain the graves and memorials of Victoria Cross (VC) and high medal recipients who have served to great distinction in the British Armed Forces throughout the history of the United Kingdom. The government later adopted the paper's suggestion with the then Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, announcing £100,000 towards restoring the UK graves of First World War Victoria Cross heroes.
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Nic remains the Bow Group’s Senior Research Fellow. Nic is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and a member of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, a think tank focused on Welsh policy. He is a regular attendee of the Bessemer Society, an invitation-only group of technology leaders, and is active with the Foundations of Science & Technology and Looking for Growth, both of which are technology policy groups.
Career
Gyrfa
Nic Founded Parisi Consulting, a company born out of a crisis. During a holiday in Devon, he received a call from his Managing Director. She told Nic the agency had gone into insolvency due to unpaid tax bills, leaving everyone jobless. The agency, a PR Week Top 150 firm for 19 years, had performed well, but the sole director failed to disclose financial issues. Despite the shock, he knew his clients still needed support. He immediately left Devon, driving back to North Wales, stopping only to inform clients of the situation and outline plans to continue working with them. Within 48 hours, Nic drove 1,000 miles, partnered with two former colleagues to incorporate a new business, opened a bank account, set up a website, email addresses, and a shared drive, and sent nine contracts to ten loyal clients. Parisi Consulting is now a growing and profitable company.
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This wasn’t his first experience handling a major crisis. In 2019, while working at the fintech firm Growth Street, he faced the challenge of managing communications during its unexpected closure. In 18 months, Growth Street grew its loan book by 300%, but despite raising £17.5 million just weeks earlier and being ranked 17th in The Sunday Times fastest-growing tech companies in the UK, it had to shut down operations. Through tight narrative control, the team prevented a “run on the bank,” managing to release the news on our terms—even though it meant announcing his redundancy.
He later re-joined Rangewell, a City-based financial services company; during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nic helped Rangewell play a critical role in holding HM Treasury account over the support it offered small businesses and then by working with the government to design and implement the Recovery Loan Scheme.
Before entering the world of finance, Nic worked for EN Campaigns. The social enterprise supported over 6,000 entrepreneurs transitioning from unemployment to self-employment through initiatives like the New Enterprise Allowance and the Start-Up Loan Scheme.
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Between 2011 and 2015, Nic worked for The Big Issue, where he eventually helped manage operations in London, overseeing approximately 400 vendors across the city. During this time, he contributed to the magazine, writing the "My Pitch" feature, which profiled vendors and shared their stories.
Home life
Bywyd Cartref
Nic lives in Rowen, in the Conwy Valley, with his wife and son. He was married in his wife's home village of Llanbedr-y-Cennin in 2018. His son was christened at the same church, St. Peter’s.
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Nic is of mixed heritage—Welsh, English, and Burmese. He is a Welsh language learner, dysgwr Cymraeg.
Nic and his wife Emma lived in London for 10 years. They kept in touch with Welsh culture by being active members of the London Welsh Centre. Emma even worked there for a time. After having their son with the strict COVID-19 restrictions, living in a tiny one-bed flat with both sets of families in Wales whom they couldn't visit, the 'hiraeth' became too much, and they returned to Cymru.
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Nic is a passionate supporter of our rural communities and supports the agricultural shows in the Conwy Valley. He is an Associate Member of NFU Cymru and the Conservative Rural Forum. He has written for the Times and Daily Express, raising concerns about the area, local farming and Welsh Communities. He was honoured to attend the St David's Day receptions at the Slovakian and Hungarian embassies in London before supporting the St David's celebration in Tyn-y-Groes and Llanwrest.
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Nic is involved in the sporting community in North Wales. He takes part in the local cycling time trial. He enjoys working and running in the Carneddau. He finished the Eryri Marathon in 2011. Nic and his family often enjoy the beaches and swimming on Ynys Môn.
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Having played rugby his whole life, including winning the 2005 Eryri School Cup (North Wales School’s cup), he remains an active member of Clwb Rygbi Nant Conwy, just about still playing in his late 30s—nic rows in the Welsh Coastal 'Celtic Long Boats' with Deganwy Rower.
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Nic was proud to serve as a Rifleman in the Army (TA) with F Company, 7 RIFLES. ​In 2013, Nic cycled from London to Tokyo for only £1000 for six months, living rough much of the way.
