Neal Thompson is a fluent Welsh speaker and freelance consultant who has worked in the live music industry for the past twenty years. He is the co-founder of FOCUS Wales, an annual international showcase festival and conference, held in Wrexham, Wales. Now in its sixteenth year, FOCUS Wales hosts over 250 live acts and 400+ music industry professionals from across the globe and welcomes over 22,000 festival goers to the city centre, each year.

Neal is an advocate for the arts and is also a founding member of the Events Industry Wales Advisory Group which was set up in 2020 to represent the interests of live music and cultural events, directly to the Welsh Government.

He is also a current trustee of Wrexham Community and Culture Trust, an organisation tasked with shaping a cultural strategy for the county.