AS a student in Poland, Yolanta Gill took part in demonstrations supporting the freedom of her country from Communism.

Living in Warsaw in the 1980s, her parents belonged to the Solidarity union which would eventually forge the democratisation of her country but it was a hard road to freedom.

“As a child at school, I remember there being martial law. There were shortages, ration cards and queues in the shops and it wasn’t easy to buy things such as chocolate.

“Then in the demonstrations I remember running away from the police. They were interesting times.”

Studying law at Warsaw University, her parents sent her to England during the summer holidays to practise her English. But significantly she met Mike Gill, who had set up IT company European Electronique and her future was to change dramatically.

Within a year the couple married and she had moved to the UK.

She said: “I never wanted to work with Mike as I wanted my own career. I realised that being a lawyer would be difficult as I would have to start almost from scratch and I had already spent five years at university.”

Her first job was as a marketing manager for a United States shipping company, Bax Global which meant a lot of time across the Atlantic. She stayed with the firm until her first child, Kasia, was born.

She said: “I was given the opportunity of progressing in the company but I was travelling a lot and commuting to London from Oxford. So, having done an MBA at Oxford Brookes University, I decided to join Mike at European Electronique.”

Ms Gill remembers the company being a £3m turnover business employing 18 staff at the time. Ambitious, she developed her own ideas and started to make changes.

Ultimately Mr Gill left the business, his wife remaining as the chief executive.

She assembled her own management team, deliberately seeking an inclusive environment.

“We have an open plan office and that way I can be closer to the action,” she said.

Until recently Eynsham-based European Electronique did a lot of work in the education sector, installing and maintaining computer systems in the classroom and benefited enormously from the last Labour government’s Building Schools for the Future programme.

But when that was axed, Ms Gill was forced to re-evaluate.

“It was about being able to quickly change direction. We started looking at the NHS and local government as well as independent schools and corporate business.

“We realised the Government wanted to deliver cost savings and by investing in technology we were able to deliver services in a more efficient way.”

Ms Gill accepts this was a challenge but as she reels off the turnover figures for the period covering the economic downturn, you realise it was more of a blip.

The business had grown from £31m to £48m which led to European Electronique being voted Oxfordshire Business of the Year, while she picked up the Entrepreneur of the Year honour.

Turnover fell slightly to £46m in 2011. But last year it was just short of £50m and she confidently predicts up to £58m this year.

While she is passionate about the business, she still returns to Poland with her family including Kasia, now 17 and 13-year-old Daniel. She is also one of the founders of a Polish school run at St Aloysius Catholic primary in North Oxford every Saturday which now has 100 pupils with numbers boosted by the relaxing of immigration rules.

As for European Electronique, expansion is on the cards and Ms Gill aims to grow the workforce beyond 150 by targeting business closer to home.

“We are starting to accelerate again with double digit growth,” she said.

“As for the future, with the right people to seize the moment, the opportunities are boundless.”