Pakistani-born entrepreneur Mo Chaudry has demonstrated that with hard work and determination anything is possible. Now with a net worth of over £60m, Mo is the Chairman of the UK’s number one water leisure park, Waterworld.
Moving to England at the age of nine, Mo was unable to speak a word of English, and encountered daily bullying and racism. However his growing confidence and blossoming intellect saw him gain entry into grammar school, although his self confessed over-confidence led to him leaving with just one O level in English Literature.
When his father’s grocery business failed, Mo put all his energies into retraining and gaining the requisite qualifications which resulted in a place at Staffordshire University on a Sports Science degree.
An accomplished sportsman, Mo won a silver medal for weightlifting during his time at Staffordshire University in the 1982 Student Olympics, as well as plaudits for his martial arts and amateur boxing exploits. He also gained caps for Warwickshire County Cricket club under 19s and full caps for Shropshire County Cricket Club.
By 1985 Mo had set up his first financial service and property business, and within just five years, the rags to riches tale was complete. He earned his first million by the age of 30, leading to his investment eight years later in the Staffordshire based ailing company Waterworld.
With the lessons learned from his hard background, and with persistence and vision, Mo managed to turn Waterworld’s fortunes around within a year making it profitable, sustainable and the only water park in the UK to be making money. Over the years, Mo and his team have transformed the facility with an investment of over £10 million.
One of the largest private commercial property investors in the area, Mo plays a significant role within the wider North Staffordshire business community as Vice Chairman of Staffordshire Destination Management Partnership Board (formerly Staffordshire Toursim), Executive Board Member of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership, as well as a Board member of the Marketing/Branding sub group, and of the Staffordshire Minority Business Association.
Ranked among the top 100 most successful business people in the Midlands, and the top ten successful Asian business people in the region, he has worked with many charities. In 2015, Chaudry was part of a team which rowed 500 nautical miles from Tower Bridge in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris to raise money for the Donna Louise hospice
Mo has cycled through Jordan’s desert in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia to raise funds for the National Deaf Children’s Society, as well as funding the setting up of an English Medium school in Pakistan to give local children the best opportunities possible.