Ryan Welmans
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Professional background & experience
Ryan Welmans is Co-Founder and Managing Director of GDPRLocal, the UK’s fastest-growing B2B compliance partner. He co-incorporated GDPRLocal in 2020, incubating the business through the Sopro Founders Hub, and has watched it grow from concept to product-market fit into a scaling SaaS platform redefining privacy and AI compliance support for modern markets.
Before stepping into the MD role at GDPRLocal, Ryan spent a decade as CEO of Sopro, a leading B2B outreach and prospecting business, where he led the company through sustained growth before handing the reins to co-founder Rob Harlow. He remains on the Sopro board and is closely involved across the wider group.
Ryan brings deep experience in business strategy, leadership through scale-up stages, B2B sales engagement, and data-driven commercial growth. His earlier career includes roles at PayWizard Group PLC, InPlayer, and Aspire Money. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science with a focus on Artificial Intelligence from the University of Sussex.
At GDPRLocal, Ryan writes and speaks on how B2B companies can turn compliance into a competitive advantage, helping clients get clarity on what applies to them, build documentation that withstands regulatory scrutiny, and put the right people and processes in place to own data protection long-term.
