Cllr
Steffan Aquarone
Lib Dem Group Leader on Norfolk County Council
Assumed office
April 2020
DeputyDan Roper
Preceded byEd Maxfield
Norfolk County Councillor
for Melton Constable division
Assumed office
4 May 2017
Preceded byDavid Ramsbotham
Majority199
Personal details
BornBlickling, Norfolk
NationalityBritish
Political partyLiberal Democrats
SpouseJill
RelationsFreya (sibling)
EducationNorwich School
Alma materUniversity of Warwick
ProfessionEntrepreneur

Steffan Luke Aquarone is a UK entrepreneur in the film and technology sectors. His projects involve collaboration between large groups of people with a common interest[1] and are often crowd-source financed,[2] the most notable example being feature-film Tortoise in Love which was made by a village in Oxfordshire.[3]

In 2014, Aquarone was named by the Daily Mirror as one of the Top 20 most influential media figures under 30.[4]

Education

Born and raised in Blickling, Norfolk,[5] Aquarone was educated at home as a member of Education Otherwise until the age of 12, before attending Norwich School. He then read Politics and International Relations at the University of Warwick, graduating with a BA in 2006.

Business

In 2004, Aquarone co-founded media business Ephex Media Limited with two fellow students at the University of Warwick. Ephex Media received investment from the Advantage Early Growth Fund in 2007[6] in order to acquire regional post-production facility Oakslade Studios.[7] The company made and edited corporate films for brands including Land Rover, Vodafone, Massey Ferguson and American Express. The business was placed into administration in 2008.[8]

Aquarone co-owns feature film production company Immense Productions with author Guy Browning.[9] Its first feature Tortoise in Love, on which Aquarone was producer,[10] was released in the UK in 2012.[11]

In 2011, Aquarone co-founded peer-to-peer[12] mobile payments platform Droplet.[13] In 2013, Droplet was named among the 'Top 25 UK Startups' by influential technology blog Mashable.[14]

Writing

Aquarone writes on digital marketing topics including online video. In 2012 he wrote "Online Video: A Best Practice Guide" for digital publishers Econsultancy.[15]

In 2017, with his sister Freya, he published Fourth to First: How to win a local election in under six months. It recounts how he won a council ward for the Liberal Democrats at his first attempt, even though the party finished fourth in the previous contest for the ward.[16]

Politics

On 4 May 2017, he was elected as county councillor for the Melton Constable division of Norfolk County Council.[17] He was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council.[18]

He stood in the 2019 General Election in the seat of Mid Norfolk finishing third. In April 2020 he replaced Ed Maxfield as group leader on Norfolk County Council.[19]

In September 2022, the Liberal Democrats picked him as the prospective parliamentary candidate for North Norfolk at the next general election.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Roxborough, Scott "How an English Village Bankrolled 'A Tortoise in Love'", The Hollywood Reporter, 12 May 2011. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  2. ↑ MIPDoc 2011, "Crowdsourcing: the frontier of documentary and funding", Cannes, 3 April 2011. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "British comedy funded by village residents to show at Cannes", The Daily Telegraph 13 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Top 20 most influential media figures under 30", Daily Mirror 4 December 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Steffan Aquarone".
  6. ↑ "Think Enterprise Case Studies", 15 September 2010. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  7. ↑ "4RFV", 2 October 2007. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  8. ↑ , The London Gazette, 22 July 2008. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "Immense get a funny idea about business" The Birmingham Post 21 July 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  10. ↑ IMDB "IMDB". Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  11. ↑ British Board of Film Classification "Tortoise in Love". Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Cockburn, Russ "How traditional banking is failing people technologically" 4 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Birmingham Post "Birmingham entrepreneurs launch payment app for smartphones", The Birmingham Post 31 March 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "25 Top UK Startups." Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "Online Video Best Practice Guide", January 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Fourth to First: How to Win a Local Election in Under Six Months", Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "Conservatives take control after results of Norfolk County Council elections, but UKIP and Greens wiped out". Eastern Daily Press. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  18. ↑ Scott, Geraldine (7 May 2017). "Norfolk's Liberal Democrats appoint new leadership team following local elections". Thetford and Brandon Times. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  19. ↑ "New leader for Liberal Democrat group at Norfolk County Council". 20 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "Lib Dems name General Election challenger in North Norfolk". North Norfolk News.
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