Dr. Alfred Gooding OBE LLB is a Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 entrepreneur born in Risca

Risca

Risca is a town of approximately 11,500 people in South Wales, within the Caerphilly County Borough and the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is today part of the Newport conurbation , though it is not a Ward of Newport City Council...

, South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

. In the 1950s

1950s

The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...

 he started Modern Building Wales Limited which built 7,000 houses across Wales. His most famous venture is Catnic

Catnic

Catnic is a Welsh based building and construction products manufacturer which developed and patented a steel lintel.-History:Catnic was established in 1969 when Brian Robinson took his idea to entrepreneur Alfred Gooding. The company conceived, developed and pioneered the steel lintel designed for...

, the company credited with developing the steel lintel for the building industry. In 1982, the company was involved in a House of Lords case, Catnic Components Ltd v Hill & Smith Ltd.

Gooding is a former chairman of CBI Wales. He was awarded with a fellowship from the University of Wales, Newport

University of Wales, Newport

The University of Wales, Newport is a university based in Newport, South Wales. The university has two campuses; Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city and a £35 million campus on the banks of the River Usk in Newport city centre opened in 2011...

 in 2010.

In 2007, Gooding organised a bid to buy the troubled bank Northern Rock

Northern Rock

Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007.  Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...

.