Karl Swanson was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was in the Air Force, which meant that the family moved around a lot, and this included five

Nick Rees is from Swansea, Wales, in the UK. In his youth, he represented Wales in squash and football at schools level. On leaving school,

Kishore Mordani is from Mumbai – formerly Bombay – in India. He was born in a family of entrepreneurs. His grandfather had arrived in India

Alexandra Olsufiev is French but with a Russian-Romanian background. She was born in Romania and lived under Ceausescu until she was eight. The family moved

Gwyn Thomas hails from London, England. He had a real flair for languages – aided by a photographic memory – and studied French and Russian

Bart Dorsa is from Silicon Valley, California. His mother was a Country and Western singer and his father makes wine. Bart studied Philosophy at university.

Dan Moody is from Bristol, England. He had a simple, healthy childhood, playing football and riding his bike. He wasn’t particularly keen on school, but

Robin Axford is from Hertford in Hertfordshire, England. He had a wonderfully varied and colourful education after which he began studying at Art School before

Stephen Newman was born in Canterbury in the south of England. When he was three his family moved to Kuwait for four years where his

Anna Giulia Scrufari Hedges is from Tuscany, Italy. Her father is Italian and her mother American and she has one brother and sister. She has

Erik Danemar comes from an island in the north of Stockholm, Sweden. He is one of four children. His mother was a lawyer and then

Hugo Chittenden is from the UK. His father is English, his mother is French. He speaks both languages fluently. He was educated at boarding schools