One of Cardiff’s most established shopping destinations wishes centre manager Jeff Wilson a fond farewell as he steps down from the role following 25 years of dedicated service.
Jeff joined the Capitol Shopping Centre team six months before it opened in 1990 as the building engineer, he then worked his way up to operations manager, deputy centre manager and became centre manager in 2000.
Over 25 years Jeff has seen significant change across the retail sector in Wales, including peaks and troughs in consumer spend, attitudes and demands, in addition to the ongoing development of Cardiff as a key European shopping destination.
During those years, Jeff has worked closely with all of the Capitol retail brands and through various initiatives at the Centre has met a multitude of celebrities including Barbara Windsor, Lennox Lewis and Richard Branson to name a few. The centre has also raised over £100k for local charities including the Royal British Legion & Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre, through various fundraising activities during his time as manager.
Jeff leaves the Capitol Shopping Centre to become a consultant specialising in building services, service charge and facilities management.
Married for 42 years and a grandfather to twin boys Thomas and Oliver, Jeff from Gilfach Goch is looking forward to his new role and spending more time with his family.
He said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Capitol and will miss the team immensely. The most rewarding aspects of my job have been working with the staff and tenants and building lasting friendships, as well as getting to know our customers and the people of Cardiff.
“One of my most memorable experiences at Capitol involved meeting and working alongside Lennox Lewis to promote his imminent World Title Fight. We hosted an event with him in the atrium and even provided him with a shop for a few weeks to help with his promotional activity. Capitol was buzzing and it was a really proud moment for us.
“It has been extremely rewarding to see so many of my colleagues go on to run shopping centres of their own throughout the UK but one of my proudest successes was achieving the Investors In People Award (in record time) back in 2004 which was testament to the team’s commitment to being a great place to work.”