From regenerating town centres to refurbishing high-rise housing, Kinver Business Solutions Ltd brings skill, knowledge, and the experience of both its managing director and a Prince 2-accredited team to the table to support across projects and programmes relating to the UK’s built environment. We caught up with its MD, Darowen Jones, following his recognition in our Managing Director of the Year Awards 2026. Project & Programme Management MD of the Year 2026: Darowen Jones Before setting up Kinver Business Solutions more than a decade ago, Darowen Jones held a number of positions relating to housing and property services across the Midlands, roles he secured in the wake of graduating from the University of Wolverhampton with a degree in building surveying, and, in the years since, completing internationally recognised qualifications in project management. In founding Kinver Business Solutions, Darowen made the difficult decision to step out of employed work and go into business for himself, aiming to provide focused project and programme management services to the UK’s public and private sectors. In the 12 years since, he has certainly achieved this goal, with his company today offering a solutions-based approach and delivering meaningful change across housing, regeneration, leisure, heritage, and property compliance. Just a taste of the projects this MD and his team have worked on since 2014 include as a regeneration project manager for One Manchester Housing, a programme manager for a number of initiatives spearheaded by the Wolverhampton City Council, and even leading the Oxford City Council project that looked to respond to the Grenfell Tower fire. In this last instance, Darowen and the team encouraged the council to be one of the first to strip dangerous cladding from its five high-rise residential blocks. Due to the diversity of this work, every project is approached in its own way, complete with individual, detailed plans and delivery focused on achieving the client’s objective. This method is detailed through Kinver Business Solutions’ core values: honesty, integrity, professionalism, and client satisfaction. These principles also reflect the social value brought to areas where the company works, with it often forming relationships with charities and other support services, like the local Wicksteed Charitable Trust. The man at the helm of Kinver Business Solutions, Darowen is responsible for upholding these values and delivering quality service to customers, all whilst hitting targets. Since having a productive team capable of thriving in challenging, high-pressure environments is fundamental to this, Darowen puts a great deal of time and effort into managing, motivating, training, and developing his people – leading by example, offering an optimistic outlook, and nurturing collaboration and mentorship. Because his role encompasses a number of different tasks over the course of the day, with time left over to touch base with the team, Darowen’s wife has likened his diary to a work of art, with everything in different colours. This diary is the first port of call when it comes to Darowen’s management tools, and is crucial in him being an effective MD and consultant to his clients. Crucially, however, it leaves him time for himself and his family. Darowen explained: “Over the last 12 years, I’ve come to understand about listening to my own body, and this is something that I ask the team to do also. It really is life first, work second at Kinver Business Solutions. That’s not to say that the service we offer is anything less than exemplar, but it does allow the team to feel free to work at hours that suit them rather than complying to a uniform 9–5 just because that’s the way it has always been!” This reflects the trust Darowen has in his team, which comprises a small and highly specialist group whose experience in areas like public sector governance, funding, procurement, projects, and programmes is unrivalled. The team always strive to improve, setting improvement goals and assessing what went well and what could be improved. It is thanks in part to this that the company has enjoyed significant growth from 2025 into the first half of 2026, with its team set to double in size. “This growth is the result of methodical planning and the addition to the business of further structures, processes, and procedures which will assist our new colleagues to hit the ground running.” Having recently started to work with a business mentor to help him shape the future of the company and acquire more work, Darowen is also looking ahead to expanding the company’s provisions through new services like cost management and property compliance, all delivered by a stellar in-house team and overseen by this award-winning MD. More on Darowen Jones and Kinver Business Solutions can be found at the link below. Contact: Darowen Jones Company: Kinver Business Solutions Ltd Web Address: kinverbusiness.co.uk
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