Frank Lawrenson

Frank Ralph Lawrenson, A.C.I.B, M.S.T.A, , born 1st April 1970 is an entrepreneur and consultant in the United Kingdom. He is a leading Strategist and an expert in the field of Reputation management for professionals. Companies that he has founded include the award winning electronics company Zimiti and Astror, the UK’s first dedicated practice to specialise in Professional Reputation Enhancement.
Early life
Frank Ralph Lawrenson was born on 1st April 1967 in Buenos Aires, where his father was in the process of establishing Reuters across South America. Lawrenson was educated at and Manchester University, gaining a in Finance. His father, John, became a General Manager at Reuters before becoming a publisher and founding “Monitor Press” (one of the oldest and largest legal and business to business newsletter publishers in the UK which built its reputation on providing topical, accurate, authoritative and unbiased information for professionals). John Lawrenson later went on to write the book, "The Price of Truth: the story of Reuters millions" with Lionel Barber, published in 1984.
Lawrenson started his career in in 1986, working in the UK, the Middle East and Europe. He worked for a number of Banks and in 1992 became a local trader in the FTSE pit on the LIFFE exchange. In 1994 he helped to establish the European sales operation for RBS, but in keeping with the family entrepreneurial spirit, he left in 1999 to set up on his own. To date, Lawrenson has founded two ground-breaking companies: Zimiti Ltd (formerly Boardbug Ltd) and Astror Ltd.
Companies Founded
Astror Ltd
Astror is a Reputation management company that specialises in enhancing the reputation of professionals to significantly increase turnover or achieve personal goals. The business has been founded on several academic studies and considerable in-house research that has proved the close correlation between sales and the reputation of a company’s key people.

Lawrenson is a keen advocate that companies need to perceive the current global recession as an opportunity and not just a threat, putting in place strategies that do not focus solely on survival but that instead seek to maximise on some of the prospects that it can also bring.
Zimiti Ltd (History)
2000 - Lawrenson founded Boardbug Ltd with little or no experience of the electronics sector. The company is now a world leader in the development of low power, portable, medium-range wireless communication for control, monitoring and sensor systems.
2002/03 - The company wins two prestigious SMART awards in the UK from the DTI.
2004 - Zimiti launches its first product, a wireless baby and child monitor, under the name “Boardbug”.

2005 - With the company having been established for only a few years, the Boardbug monitor wins the International Consumer Electronics Association’s “Best of Innovators” award for Personal Electronics at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In doing so, Zimiti beats the world’s established brands on a minuscule budget. To date Zimiti remains the only British company to have won the award.

2007 - The company rebrands itself as “Zimiti” to focus on the development of innovative radio communication applications for safety and security customers that need to exchange information securely and wirelessly between small devices over ranges of up to 1 km. Zimiti's unique solutions are created using an in-house intelligent wireless technology platform.
2008 - Zimiti receives venture backing and launches a wireless replacement module, with sales contracts signed. The product is for customers with the need to monitor and control security and safety systems, both remotely and at system level. It uses proprietary symmetrical bi-directional modules that deliver the advantages of ultra-low power consumption, small size, flexible range (typically 1-1000 metres), require no infrastructure, and secure authentication and encryption.
Community Work
With a strong interest in education and the welfare of children, he was a community school governor for Sacred Heart Primary school in London and is currently a serving school governor for Kersey Primary School in Kersey, Suffolk.
Politics
Lawrenson is an active member of the Conservative party. He has spoken on behalf of the DTI “smart” award scheme and his special interests include technology, small business and child welfare. He is a fervent advocate that government needs to focus on providing the best applicable services for the future and not simply the lowest cost. He has canvassed for innovation to be at the heart of government policy and all procurement procedures, believing that it should be a prime-motivator for UK plc and welcomed Lord Sainsbury's review, "The Race to the Top", which coincided with the launch of the Technology Strategy Board.

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