Jo Bamford

Joseph Cyril Edward Bamford (born December 1977) is a British businessman and investor.

He is the owner of Wrightbus, a UK-based bus manufacturer.

He founded a green hydrogen investment fund in 2021 and subsequently became involved in a number of hydrogen-focused businesses.

Bamford is also a board member of JCB, which was founded by his grandfather.

Bamford was born in December 1977 to Anthony Bamford and Carole Bamford.

His father spent his career working for the family business JCB, the British manufacturer of construction and farming equipment that was founded by his grandfather.

His mother is the founder of Daylesford Organic, a farming and lifestyle business.

He was educated at Ampleforth College, following in the footsteps of his father who also attended the boarding school.

Bamford worked at his parents' businesses when he was home from Ampleforth.

In an interview, Bamford stated he would often be "bolting together engines on the 6am shift for one and birthing lambs on the farm for the other."

After Ampleforth College, he attended Edinburgh University, where he graduated with a Master of Arts degree.

After graduating from college, Bamford choose to pursue a career in finance in London instead of opting to join JCB.

He secured his first financial role in the city at New Star Asset Management.

New Star was still in its infancy having only been founded a year earlier and was the brainchild of John Duffield who had previously founded Jupiter Fund Management, later one of London's largest financial institutions.

The Bamford family backed Jo's decision to join New Star by becoming early investors in the asset management firm.

It was leaked to the press that Bamford had failed his first IMC exam.

Bamford finished the year deciding to temporarily leave the UK to work abroad in Shanghai.

It was stated that Bamford had become "tired" of the media attention he was receiving in the UK at the time and that played a major part in his decision.

Following his time as a fund manager and spending time in China, Bamford returned to JCB.

It was the first time he had worked at the company after spending short periods there as a teenager while studying.

His first role was as a product specialist for the skid-steer loader at JCB’s North American headquarters in Savannah, Georgia.

Beginning in 2004, Bamford was managing director of the subsidiary, JCB Utility Products.

According to Construction News, Bamford "broadened the appeal of the company’s utility product range to new industry sectors" while in the position.

This included the launch of the JCB Workmax.

In October 2011, Bamford was given an additional role as managing director of JCB Compact Products.

The combined turnover of both businesses at the time was in excess of £150 million.

Bamford was promoted in 2014 to head of major contracts at JCB.

He remained part of the senior management team at JCB until 2016, a year in which the company celebrated Joseph Bamford's centenary year with a bronze bust at the JCB headquarters.

After working at JCB for over a decade, Bamford moved his focus to green energy.

He formed Ryze in 2017, which aimed to create the UK's first network of hydrogen production plants.

To advance hydrogen projects, Bamford started HYCAP, a hydrogen investment fund.

He raised more than £200m in its first investment round.

He is also the owner of Oxford-based Ryze Hydrogen Ltd, which produces hydrogen to fuel up his hydrogen-powered buses.

Bamford said that his family provided half of the initial round of investment into HYCAP.

The Irish Times has called him a "hydrogen evangelist"; he is an advocate for the adoption of hydrogen energy in transportation.

Since starting Ryze Hydrogen in 2019, Bamford has lobbied the UK government in favour of hydrogen-technology adoption.

After “sustained lobbying” from Bamford, the Secretary of State for Transport announced a programme to convert public transportation in towns into all-electric hydrogen buses.

According to Passenger Transport, Grant Shapps was “very, very keen that we push hydrogen” after meeting with Bamford about it.

The Northern Ireland-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus entered administration in September 2019.

Directors at Wrightbus blamed low registrations of new buses as the cause, but the Department for the Economy later announced it was opening proceedings to disqualify 14 directors of Wrightbus, due to alleged unfit conduct.