The woman who now runs BlueWave Communications says she will always feel inspired by the example set by tragic Stuart Baggs.

Shelley Langan, 34, said Stuart’s memory will live on and she aims to continue the vision for the island company that entrepreneur Stuart had.

She told Business News his ’passion and drive to build BlueWave was inspiring’.

Stuart, who was made famous to millions of TV viewers for his memorable appearances on the hit BBC show The Apprentice, where he styled himself as ’The Brand’, was found dead at his Douglas home in July 2015.

He died of ’natural causes’ after an asthma attack.

Memories of Mr Baggs, who was just 27 when he died, are still alive, nearly four years later, in the BlueWave office at Tower House in the capital.

Cuttings from Business News including an in-depth interview with Mr Baggs, just days before his untimely death, are pinned up on the walls of the office.

In an exclusive interview with Business News, Miss Langan, who was recently appointed managing director of BlueWave, said Stuart’s vibrant personality and entrepreneurial spirit was an inspiration for her and others in the island.

Miss Langan also told how:

she hopes she can be an inspiration to other women aiming to smash the so-called glass ceiling to make it up the career ladder in technology;

she had the determination to succeed after coming over to the island as a teacher and a single mother;

she believes there is a real positive mood for business at present in the island;

she overcame anxiety and depression a number of years ago and turned her life around with a new outlook;

she praises the island’s sense of community and business acumen;

she is looking forward to getting married to her advocate fiancee Andrew Newton later this year and

she feels proud to carry on the legacy left by the inspirational Stuart Baggs and to continue growth at BlueWave.

Miss Langan, who is originally from West Yorkshire said: ’Everybody knew Stuart.

I have good friends of mine who were good friends of his, they had often seen him on nights out.

’I knew him to say hello to in places such as the Bath and Bottle. I remember it was devastating to my friendship group when he died, because a lot of people were friends with him. He was on a trajectory with BlueWave which he was so committed to, and it was so sadly cut short, so suddenly.

’Anybody of that age, it is so unusual, but he was such a character and an inspiration in the Isle of Man landscape.’

She said: ’Everything was in Stuart’s head. There was no succession plan because there was no need for it. His death at such an early age was totally unexpected.

’The team at BlueWave felt passionately that they did not want to stop being BlueWave and wanted to carry on.

’The knowledge that Stuart had was amazing.’

She explained that Professor Adam Beaumont of Leeds based aql was the right person to take over the reins after Stuart’s death.

’Adam was a natural person for BlueWave to approach because Stuart was Adam’s apprentice before he went on television with The Apprentice, funnily enough.’

Miss Langan said there was a strong entrepreneurial feeling in the island at the moment and there was a very positive mood.

She talked of up-and-coming young entrepreneurs helping to make their mark.

She stressed just what sort of influence Stuart Baggs had in the island.

And she added: ’Had it not been for Stuart being such an entrepreneur then I would not be sitting here talking about my job with BlueWave.

’Without him having that entrepreneurial mindset over the business then I would not be sat here talking about it.

’In fact Stuart should really be sitting here.’

She pointed out that Stuart was ’part of the social landscape, you just could not avoid him.

’What a character, the world needs more of those characters.

’He was the master of giving it a go.

’He just did it and sometimes it takes real guts to go against the grain to do it.’

Shelley spoke to Business News days after it had been officially annnounced she had been appointed managing director of the island telecommunications company BlueWave Communications.

licence

The company, which has a small devoted team at Tower House, was granted its full telecommunications licence in the Isle of Man in 2018, making BlueWave the fourth company to be awarded such a licence in the island.

Miss Langan has joined the company from the island investment arm of global telecommunications company SES Satellites.

She has a background working in the telecoms industry before moving to SES.

Miss Langan told Business News she will be focused on growth for the company alongside her personal ambitions for further community support and engagement across the island.

She said: ’I’m thrilled to join BlueWave as it moves on to the next stage of its journey. I join a team with a passion for leadership through technological advancement and technology, with roots firmly grounded in ’’disruption through innovation’’.

’I’m excited to move forward with the teams on and off the island to bring new products, services and technologies to the Isle of Man.’

Since the acquisition three years ago by aql, led by Professor Adam Beaumont, the UK based team has lent significant resource to BlueWave to build more resilience, structure and product support, readying the company to reposition as a business communications operator.

Miss Langan said she was a teacher specialising in performing arts in West Yorkshire before coming over to live in the Isle of Man around nine years ago, as a single mum with her then five year old son.

’I just fell in love with the Isle of Man. It was just one of those things where I felt my son Brook needed to grow up here. It felt like the right thing to do.’

Changing careers

She worked for a while teaching in the island before making the dramatic shift to changing careers and working within the telecoms industry.

Asked about what she feels about rising the career ladder to be managing diretor so quickly she said: ’I suppose it’s a title, we are still a very small company and I’m still head of marketing, head of sales. We have a really big support network from the UK which is invaluable.’

She accepts she has great responsibilities but adds: ’We have a great team in the island. I would not say my job is to have all the answers but my job is to make sure we have all the knowledge we need to move forwards.’

’For instance the team have kept such amazing customer service.

’The team have such passion for the business.’

Women in business

Asked if she sees herself as a potential standard-bearer for women Miss Langan said she hoped she could now inspire them.

She admitted she had been in situations in jobs where it was expected she would be the one asked to ’go and make the brews’ and this had bugged her.’

’I began to think: ’’this is not equality’’ and I knew I had so much to offer.’

She said she had followed the words of British-American motivational author and speaker Simon Sinek who often asked the question: ’’why.’’

’And I asked the question of myself : ’’What is my why?’

Miss Langan revealed she now plays a full part at the licensed telecoms operators’ meetings in the island alongside representatives of Manx Telecom, Sure and Wi-Manx ’and they are all men’.

She said: ’That is not because women can’t be sat there, that is just for whatever reason, it’s a big cultural thing.’

She said she is not daunted by this.

’I see this as being that we are all human beings sat doing our jobs. It’s not about ’’you’re a man, I’m a woman.’’ ’

Miss Langan added: ’What I do bring, which might be different, is that I have no sense that I must know all the answers. I am quite happy to ask questions and then be informed of the answers.

’I’m learning all the time and I don’t think we should ever stop learning. I’m a life-long learner in whatever I do.

’And I must say I’ve been incredibly well received by the other telecoms companies.’

Miss Langan added that it was also inspiring working with Professor Adam Beaumont of the parent company aql.

choice

Miss Langan believes it is important for customers to ’have a choice’ in the island and hence the importance of BlueWave.

’Having choice is empowering, the ability for the consumer to look around at what is available.

’You don’t have to buy from us, you don’t have to take the service that we offer but you have an option to look at it and consider it.’

Outside of work Miss Langan has set out to fully embrace the Isle of Man

For instance she is keen to support Isle of Media, a not-for-profit body involved in attracting supporting media businesses to the island.

It is described as the national development agency for the thriving Isle of Man video, television and film sector.

’For me, bringing up a child here, the safety aspect was without doubt one of the biggest reasons for being here.’

She is also marrying Cains advocate Andrew Newton later this year, whom she describes as ’my Manxman’. They live in the south of the island.

She said they first became friends at a treasure hunt at a friend’s party.

hurdles

Miss Langan admitted she had ’overcome some hurdles’ in the last few years.

She said: ’I have an amazing support network of people to go to for help, advice or just for a laugh. When I look back six years ago I had a really difficult time with anxiety and depression and from that over a period of 18 months to two years subsequently, it was a journey through that experience and one that I do not shy away from talking about.

’It is a sign of strength to have overcome any sort of health issues. I completely changed changed my lifestyle, my diet. It is all about mindfullness, exercise, diet and self-care.’

learn and grow

Miss Langan added that that period in her life taught her that you can learn and grow by moving in to the spaces that make you feel a little uncomfortable and our of your own comfort zone.

She said that for the last four years she has just let things unfold and seen where it takes her.

’Sometimes we are our own worst enemies by saying: ’’We cannot do this’’ and we often put up our own barriers.’

Miss Langan said she attends a group called ’Positively Isle of Man that meets monthly. She said the ’can do’ attitude also extends to being the only woman in a band called Bombshell. She is the lead singer and loves belting out cover versions of pop hits from the 1950s right up to the present day.

STUART worked tirelessly for BlueWave

In an interview with Business News just days before his untimely death Stuart Baggs said: ‘I work, as my hair will tell you, at least 18 hours a day. I sleep for four hours religiously, I would not have it any other way.’

He said work gave him ‘a buzz’ and he was at that time looking forward to launching a new product as managing director of BlueWave.

He was bursting with ideas and plans: ‘As to the future we are already working on that.’

His enthusiasm was infectious.

Stuart lived in the Isle of Man with his parents for most of his life.

He became known to a huge audience of TV viewers as the youngest ever Apprentice contestant when he appeared on the show in 2010 aged 21, eventually exiting in the semi-final.

He came up with some amazing one-liners such as : ‘I’m not a one-trick pony, I’m not a 10-trick pony. I’ve got a whole field of ponies, waiting to literally run towards this [job]’ - to Lord Sugar, as he tried to land a coveted job.

‘I’m Stuart Baggs The Brand – I’ve got a certain type of charisma,’ – the catchphrase that gave him his nickname.

Apprentice host Lord Sugar was among those who led tributes after Stuart died, saying he was ‘one of the stand out characters of the Apprentice.’

Even police after it was confirmed the entrepreneur died from ‘natural causes’ said: ‘From the reaction we have encountered during our enquiries, it is clear this is a tragic and premature loss of such a hardworking and visionary young man.’