A native speaker of both English and Welsh, Rhys holds a BA (Hons) in German and Business Studies from Swansea University, including a year at Reutlingen Business School and professional experience in Bremen working in translation and project management. He later completed an MA in Translation Studies with Language Technology.
Rhys joined BLS in 2014, progressing from Operations Manager to Operations Director before taking on ownership of the business. He now leads the strategic direction of the company, overseeing operations, quality assurance and client partnerships to ensure the successful delivery of the company’s range of language services.
With a strong background in both linguistics and business operations, Rhys combines commercial insight with hands-on industry expertise. He remains closely involved in the day-to-day running of the business and continues to contribute to translation and proofreading projects in his language pairs where required.
Outside of work, Rhys is a committed supporter of Swansea City and the Cymru national football teams.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) German and Business Studies, MA Translation Studies with Language Technology
Madeleine studied her BA (Hons) in French & Spanish at Cardiff University, which included a year studying at the University of Cáceres in Extremadura and the University of Caen in Normandy. She also has knowledge of German, and is working to increase her proficiency in this language.
After graduating, Madeleine worked as a proofreader at a translation company in Buckinghamshire, before progressing into a training role. Madeleine decided to relocate back to South Wales in 2016, and worked for several years in a business development and research role for a financial intelligence company. Madeleine joined Business Language Services Ltd. in April 2019. Alongside her management role, Madeleine translates and proofreads French and Spanish texts into English.
Outside work, Madeleine enjoys reading novels, and is working on writing her own when her toddler and housework allow.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) French & Spanish
Native in Welsh and English, Sarah is a passionate polyglot with a keen eye for detail. She studied BA French & Italian at Cardiff University which included a year studying at the University of Catania and the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Geneva. She then went on to achieve a Distinction in her Translation Studies MA at Cardiff University. Through her time at university, living abroad and working at Business Language Services Ltd., Sarah also has advanced knowledge of a number of other European Languages, including Spanish and German.
Sarah joined the company in January 2017 as a Project Manager. She now works as Senior Quality Manager and is responsible for implementing and maintaining the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standard at BLS. In addition to her quality and project management duties, she undertakes Welsh to English, English to Welsh, Italian to English, and French to English translation, and proofreading in a number of languages. Her specialisations include marketing, advertising and literary texts.
In her free time, Sarah is a big foodie and music lover, and enjoys using her organisational skills as her friends and family’s personal project manager, from travel arrangements to weddings.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) French & Italian, MA Translation Studies
Louise has had a passion for learning languages since a young age. This interest led her to study French, Spanish and Italian before earning both a BA and an MA in Translation from Cardiff University. She began her career as a Junior Project Manager at BLS while finishing her MA in 2020.
In 2023, Louise spent a sabbatical year in Melbourne, immersing herself in Australian culture (and food) and enjoying a tad more sunshine than she’s used to in Wales. Whilst there, she worked for a language service provider dealing mostly with interpreting services. The experience further deepened her appreciation for travel and new perspectives and she got to know more about the different languages that are in demand on the other side of the world. Louise brought her newfound knowledge back to BLS and is very pleased to have returned to her role as Senior PM.
Outside of work, Louise enjoys exploring new places, going to gigs and hanging out with her chihuahua.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) French and Italian
Ciera is an accomplished French and Spanish linguist who studied MA French and Spanish at the University of Glasgow. Ciera spent her year abroad in Pau, France and a subsequent period in Valencia, Spain, where she worked as an English language assistant in schools for both children and adults. She loved every minute of her time there as she was able to fully immerse herself into the languages and cultures around her. Without doubt, the invaluable experience she gained from her stays abroad has supported her in her career as a translator and project manager so far. After graduating from her MA course, Ciera then studied an MSc in Translation Studies at the University of Glasgow where she found her niche within the language industry.
Ciera joined BLS in May 2023 and is already a valued member of the team. She is eager to improve her language and project management skills and is excited to support the company as it grows.
When she is not being a boss PM, Ciera is a professional traditional flute player who loves to play both traditional Irish and Scottish music. Her passion for this has led her to compete and win titles internationally, attend festivals and meet lots of other talented musicians from around the globe.
Qualifications: MA French and Spanish, MSc Translation Studies
Tom is a highly skilled Welsh translator who graduated from Swansea University with a BA in Welsh. During this time, he honed his language skills, and then went on to complete his Masters, also at Swansea University, in Professional Translation, where he learned how to effectively use CAT tools and other industry-standard technologies. He also achieved his Welsh language proficiency award during his studies and completed an internship with a Welsh translation company as a Welsh translator, while also assisting with CAT tool use.
Starting on a temporary contract for Business Language Services towards the end of 2019, Tom has since been offered a full-time, permanent appointment. Since joining the company, Tom has taken on many translation and proofreading jobs as well as providing support to the company in all aspects of Welsh translation.
Tom is currently working towards becoming a full member of Cymdeithas Cyfieithwyr Cymru, and is driven to improve and develop as a translator.
When he’s not working, Tom enjoys reading, especially fiction, and picking up heavy stuff then putting it back down again.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) Welsh, MA Professional Translation
Bronwen is a skilled French and German linguist. She studied BA French and German at Cardiff University and particularly enjoyed the translation modules during her time studying. Bronwen also participated in a year abroad in Lyon & Rostock where she was able to immerse herself in the languages and cultures around her and hone her language skills while engaging with local communities and fellow students. The invaluable experience she gained from her year abroad has undoubtedly aided her in her career as a translator and project manager so far. After graduating from her BA course, Bronwen then studied an MA in Translation Studies at Cardiff University, where she discovered her passion for audio-visual subtitling and translation after subtitling a German film for MA extended project.
Bronwen joined BLS in February 2023 and has very quickly become indispensable and has big plans for her future with the team, both in sharing her knowledge of audio-visual subtitling and translation and in expanding her skillset with regards to her project management role.
Outside of work, Bronwen is an avid gamer and enjoys learning new languages with a certain persistent green owl. She is currently learning Swedish, Finnish, Japanese and Welsh. Bronwen also has an infallible, unwavering passion for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) French and German, MA Translation Studies
Joseph is a talented linguist, having achieved a first-class BA in French and German at Newcastle University. He also has intermediate knowledge of Dutch and is striving to increase his proficiency in this language. After graduating a year sooner than planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Joseph moved to Edinburgh to study MSc Translating at Heriot-Watt University, where he developed his passion for the industry and honed his skills in translating French and German into English. He also worked part-time as a freelance translator during his master’s, allowing him to put his classroom knowledge into practice and gain experience with many text genres and CAT tools.
After completing his MSc, Joseph worked in a temporary translation project management position in Surrey for just under a year, before joining the Business Language Services team in November 2023. In addition to project management, Joseph also assists with British English localisation, as well as translating and proofreading translations from French and German into English.
In his spare time, Joseph enjoys listening to music and podcasts in his languages, often whilst hiking up a Welsh mountainside.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) Modern Languages (French and German with Dutch), MSc Translating