Jordan St Germain Honoured with Influential Man in Business 2026 Award for Strategic Leadership and Community Impact

Jordan St Germain of Community Recording Studio (CRS) has been recognised with the prestigious Influential Man in Business 2026 Feature – Category COO & Strategic Leadership, celebrating a career built on analytical leadership, resilience, and a commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for young people through community-driven impact.

Based in St Ann’s, Nottingham, Community Recording Studio has been transforming lives since 1991 by teaching film, video, and music production skills to young people while providing access to professional equipment, industry mentors, and positive role models. Founded by members of the local community with first-hand understanding of the challenges facing young people, the charity has spent more than three decades creating pathways for growth, creativity, and empowerment.

 

For Jordan St Germain, the journey to strategic leadership began far from the charity sector.

“My journey didn’t start in a lecture hall; it started on the ground floor in Australia. I spent those early years working in transport logistics while simultaneously chipping away at my Business degree at Griffith University. Balancing the high-pressure world of supply chains with full-time study taught me early on that theory doesn’t mean much without execution.”

Those formative years shaped a leadership philosophy centred on detail, discipline, and understanding the bigger picture. After relocating to the UK, Jordan joined leisure startup Jumpin Trampoline Parks, where he gained invaluable experience in scaling businesses before moving into the charity sector — a transition he describes as finding his “true calling.”

Today, alongside his role as COO at Community Recording Studio and his advisory work with Tyrrell & Gill Solicitors, Jordan applies the same rigorous analytical approach to community development, ensuring strategy and structure support long-term impact.

Discussing the factors behind his success, Jordan emphasised the importance of mentorship, collaboration, and personal support systems rather than individual achievement alone. He credited mentors including Shane Forrest, Gavin Lucas, and CRS founder Trevor Rose for shaping his professional outlook, while also acknowledging the role of family, friends, and colleagues in helping him navigate career pivots, startup environments, and leadership challenges.

Jordan’s resilience has become one of the defining features of his leadership journey. He shared that resilience is rooted in movement and adaptability, believing that even the most difficult situations require continued progress rather than retreat. Inspired by Winston Churchill’s words, “When you are going through hell, keep going,” he explained that maintaining perspective and recognising that every new day presents another opportunity has helped him remain focused during high-pressure periods.

One of the strongest themes throughout Jordan’s work is his passion for elevating the charity sector as a space for professional leadership and meaningful change. He believes talented business minds should actively contribute to community organisations, bringing strategic thinking and scalable systems into spaces that directly support people’s lives.

“When you see the tangible impact of a project such as a young person walking into the studio for the first time and walking out with a skill, the benefits of positive role models, and a sense of purpose, it provides a level of fulfilment that money just can’t touch.”

Under his leadership, CRS continues expanding beyond music production into sports, performing arts, mentoring, and youth engagement initiatives designed to help young people discover confidence, direction, and opportunity.

Jordan also highlighted the importance of collaboration across the charity sector, calling for organisations to move away from competing for limited funding and instead embrace the same teamwork and unity they encourage in the young people they support. Preserving the culture and history of organisations like CRS while implementing scalable systems for future growth remains central to his leadership philosophy.

Among the accomplishments he holds closest, Jordan described becoming a father as his proudest achievement, explaining that fatherhood reshaped his understanding of long-term legacy and strengthened his desire to create lasting positive impact both professionally and personally.

Professionally, he takes immense pride in supporting Community Recording Studio’s mission and helping strengthen an organisation that has spent over 30 years serving Nottingham’s young people. Looking ahead, Jordan’s primary focus is scaling that impact further through the development of a new youth-led hub in St Ann’s — a project designed to give young people not only a place to participate, but a space where they can actively shape their own futures.

Despite the challenges that inevitably come with leadership and organisational growth, Jordan remains unwavering in his mindset. He revealed that giving up has never been an option, viewing setbacks not as reasons to quit but as signals that strategy and direction may need to evolve.

Receiving the Influential Man in Business 2026 Feature – Category COO & Strategic Leadership recognition has further reinforced his belief that leadership is fundamentally collaborative. Jordan described the award as particularly meaningful because it shines a light on the charity sector and community-led work, areas he feels have long deserved greater recognition alongside traditional corporate success stories.

At the heart of Jordan’s work is his partnership with CRS founder and CEO Trevor Rose, whose 30-year dedication to the Nottingham community continues to inspire the organisation’s future direction. Combining Trevor’s deep-rooted community understanding with Jordan’s analytical and strategic expertise has created a leadership dynamic focused on preserving CRS’s legacy while preparing it for the next generation.

As Community Recording Studio continues building opportunities for young people through creativity, mentorship, and innovation, Jordan St Germain’s recognition stands as a powerful reflection of leadership driven not only by strategy and execution, but by purpose, collaboration, and lasting community impact.

Contact Information

Jordan St Germain
Community Recording Studio
📞 07835 223 577
✉️ jordan@crsstudionotts.uk
🌐 www.crsstudionotts.uk