Graham Wylie

Sir Andrew William Graham Wylie CBE (born 12 August 1959) is a British businessman and co-founder of Sage Group, the United Kingdom's largest software business.


Graham Wylie

CBE
Born
Andrew William Graham Wylie[1]

(1959-08-12) 12 August 1959[2]
NationalityBritish
OccupationBusinessman
Known forSage Group
Technology Services Group
Net worth£116 million (2004)[3]

Early life

Wylie was raised in the North East of England, the son of a Scottish miner from Stirling; Wylie's mother was originally from Hawick.[4] In 1980, Wylie attained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Statistics from Newcastle University.

Career

In 1981 Wylie co-founded Sage Group with David Goldman and Paul Muller, having programmed the initial Sage accounts package himself.[5] The Sage Group quickly grew to be a successful worldwide financial software company and is the only software company listed on the FTSE 100. In 2003, Wylie sold his stake Sage for an estimated £195 million.[6]

In October 2003, Wylie founded Technology Services Group and in the following years expanded that company primarily through acquisition.[7]

Speedflex (Europe) Ltd was formed in 2011 by chairman Wylie, Paul Ferris and Alan Shearer.

Wylie was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours[1] and was knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to business and charity.[8] He has been awarded honorary doctorates by Northumbria University in 2000 and Newcastle University in 2004.[3][9] He has been awarded the freedom of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Personal life

In 2003 Wylie married his second wife, Andrea Wylie and his wife also own a number of racehorses and Close House (a mansion with golf course).[10] Wylie's horses have raced at some of the sport's most prestigious events including the Grand National and the Cheltenham Festival, where they have won on 13 different occasions.[11][12]

Wylie and his wife purchased Gosforth Shopping Centre for £9.25 million and sold the development more than a decade later for £12.25 million.[13]

Wylie has his own charitable foundation, the "Graham Wylie Foundation", which reportedly gives away 100% of donations to its chosen causes.[14]

References

  1. "CBEs". BBC News. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  2. Director resigned, Sage (UK) Ltd, 30 May 2003
  3. "Public Orator's speech for Graham Wylie". Newcastle University. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  4. "Keep on top of everything Saturday interview Graham Wylie The founder of Sage shares words of wisdom about good health, good luck and a very tidy office with Mark Smith". Herald Scotland. 18 September 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  5. "History". Sage Group. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  6. "Graham Wylie - Latest news updates, pictures, video, reaction - Chronicle Live". www.chroniclelive.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  7. "Graham Wylie, Chairman and Founder of TSG". Technology Services Group. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  8. "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N2.
  9. "Honorary Graduates". Northumbria University. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  10. "Sage founder's next success looks like a racing certainty". The Northern Echo. 7 June 2005. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  11. "Grand National 2019 falls: Tragedy for Graham Wylie-owned horse, and full list of fallen horses". The Evening Chroncile. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  12. "Graham Wylie | Cheltenham Buzz". cheltenhambuzz.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  13. "Gosforth Shopping Centre set for upgrades after being bought for £12.25m". The Evening Chroncile. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  14. "About the foundation – Graham Wylie Foundation". Retrieved 2019-07-16.
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