When First Minister Carwyn Jones rang the bell to celebrate the strong historic and economic relationship between Wales with the USA ahead of St. David's Day celebrations on March 1, he was assisted by a former South Pembrokeshire man.

Ty Francis, who grew up in Saundersfoot, and was a pupil at Greenhill School, Tenby, rang the bell with him and Michael Sheen OBE, Welsh actor and UNICEF ambassador, who was also present.

Ty, who moved to New York in 2007, also arranged to have the Welsh flag flown outside the New York Stock Exchange for the first time in its 200-year history, which made for quite the media storm around the world.

Ty is vice-president of the governance services division of the NYSE and was appointed as an Advocate for Wales in the United States by Carwyn Jones in 2014.

Ty is married to Alayna, and they have a daughter Seren who is two-and-a-half.

The closing bell reached millions of people worldwide and was broadcast over 30 networks in the US alone.