Thomas Stapley-Bunten

Serial builder in the sim‑racing / motorsport tech space: founded Grid Finder in late 2020 as a hobby project and scaled it into a community platform used by thousands of leagues and hundreds of thousands of drivers; negotiated acquisition by RAFA Racing Club and continues to lead product/partnership activity. gridfinder+2

Leadership & maritime navigation background: trained and served as a Royal Navy warfare/navigation officer (BRNC passing-out listed him), commanded a patrol boat, and later served as a navigation instructor — experiences that underpin strengths in disciplined operations, team leadership and maritime technical competence. parani+1

Resettlement & skills transfer advocate: publicly documented his route from the Royal Navy into the Merchant/Maritime sector via the Maritime Fastrack Scheme and has spoken about how institutional support and regional investor networks (e.g., Barclays Eagle Labs, Creative UK) helped Grid Finder succeed. nautilusint+2

Public-facing community & content leader in sim‑racing: authors opinion pieces, hosts/appears on the Traxion podcast and runs partnerships (e.g., IMSA) that combine editorial, commercial and community-building skills. traxion+2