Incovo chief executive, 20, targets revenue rise

A young chief executive who took over his father's company is aiming to more than double the firm's revenue just two years after taking the helm.

Incovos Ray Prunty (left) has acted as a mentor for chief executive Chris Thomas, who was just 19 when he took on the CEO role. Picture: John Need

Livingston-based Incovo, which specialises in telecommunications and printing services, is expecting to post turnover of £1 million for the current financial year, up from around £750,000 in 2017.

Chief executive Chris Thomas, aged 20, is now targeting revenue of £1.7m for the coming year after securing a number of major clients including Fortune 500 US healthcare firm Cigna and Glasgow-headquartered outsourcer Kura.

The business has also upped its headcount by 50 per cent in the last month, expanding from ten to 15 employees.

Founded in 2002, Incovo was run by Richard Thomas – who was also chairman of Boxing Scotland – until his death in 2016.

After settling his father’s estate, Chris joined the business as an engineer, holding a director title and undergoing an “intensive training programme” with global solutions director Ray Prunty. He transitioned to chief executive at the end of last year.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Thomas said it is Incovo’s staff and client relationships which have driven the company’s growth. He said: “We’ve had five new starters in the past few weeks. Because we’re such a small company, that is really fast growth.

“We’ve also taken a lot of customers of our competitors, which is down to having such a strong engineering team and good service.

“I have a personal relationship with every single customer working with Incovo. They can contact me at any time, so I’m always accessible.”

As well as increasing revenue and headcount, Thomas’ long-term goal is to become a remote working company, a move that would allow Incovo to expand its reach and reduce resources, while saving employees’ time, said Thomas.

He added: “In the next two years, we are going to try and become completely remote and give up the office.

“I see this as working towards the future of employment. It will enable us to be stretched across the Central Belt rather than being confined to one office.”