Gareth Dixon

  • Gareth is stood next to his daughter Kezia and next to her is Gareth’s mother Annice, they are stood outside the Anglian Cathedral in Liverpool.
  • Gareth’s head and shoulders can be seen from behind a wooden lecturn, he is wearing black thick rimmed glasses.
  • Gareth is smiling as he stands and talks to a group of four students.

Gareth graduated in 1994 with a BA in Business Studies and his daughter, Kezia, recently became the third generation of the Dixons to graduate from LJMU. Gareth’s mother, Annice Dixon, is an alum of IM Marsh.

“I chose Liverpool Polytechnic back in 1989 as I knew I wanted to work in advertising and marketing from my teenage obsessions with brands and how they were created. Liverpool was one of the few unis offering Business Studies with a large proportion of it being marketing focused, so Liverpool was my first choice. From my first day in 1990 to my final day in 1994, I never regretted the decision, from meeting new friends to quite quickly in our first year helping to set-up the first women’s football team (although to be honest I think I was only asked as I had a large banger of a car and could drive a minibus!),” says Gareth.  

Struggling to find a suitable work placement during his degree, Gareth opted to stand in the student officer elections and was President of the Liverpool Students’ Union in 1992-1993, just as Liverpool Polytechnic became John Moores University.

He said: “When I was elected as President of the Students’ Union it was an exciting but terrifying opportunity. With extensive training from the union and with a nurturing and helping hand from the then Vice-Chancellor, I gained in confidence and gave a voice to students. I was proud to represent the students when the poly became LJMU and on graduating had nothing but positive feedback to share with friends and the staff at the time.”

“When my eldest daughter starting looking at uni options, I encouraged her to look North from our London base, and she leapt on the chance to study at LJMU when offered a place. She then went on to study a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and is now teaching in our local primary school, I couldn’t be more proud that she flourished at such a great uni.”

– Gareth Dixon

Always keen to 'pay it forward' to our students and graduates, Gareth spoke at an LJMU event at Middle Temple, London in 2018 to an audience of postgraduate students, honorary fellows, friends and staff of the university. He spoke of his life-changing experience at Liverpool Polytechnic/LJMU and the ongoing impact this continues to have.

Through his businesses, he has also offered placements and internships for LJMU graduates to build their professional work experience.

Gareth is an owner and co-founder of Rainmaker and the business information company Pearlfinders.

As the managing director of Rainmaker Consulting, he leads 30 staff organised around detecting and progressing new business opportunities for clients operating in the creative, marketing, sports and professional services sectors.

Gareth is highly experienced in helping creative agencies to find their most effective voice and provided strategic counsel to a large number of agency owners helping them to win clients including Starling Bank, White Claw, Nando’s, Fever Tree, Nike and Unilever.

Gareth is an active supporter of Village Water, a charity founded by his father in 2003.