bima hot 100 of 2015

In association with Sponsored by

BIMA presents

3BIMA HOT 100

THIS IS THE BIMA HOT 100 OF 2015

Welcome to the third annual celebration of the BIMA Hot 100, it is time once again to celebrate the greats of UK digital and party into the early hours with the coolest people of the moment.Every year we get a high number of nominations for very worthy candidates and it is never an easy task to bring the number down to just 100. This year was no exception but you will see from the announcements on the night and within the pages of this book that the calibre was extremely high. I believe that the overall number of nominations is itself worthy of celebration — the fact that there are so many people doing creative, innovative and entrepreneurial projects in the UK; and doing them so well that people want to see recognition for those involved.This year we added more categories to the Hot 100 to identify some unsung heroes and highlight individuals doing incredible things in less visible areas of digital. It is great to see rising stars such as Tom Ball and Jenny Kitchen

In association withWorkfront

MATT PILGRIMChair of Events, BIMA

recognised alongside innovators like Craig Le Grice and folks who continue to wave the flag of entrepreneurialism and leadership like Annette King and Jonny Tooze. A refreshing trend in the Hot 100 was the increase in brand side and account management nominations, giving a really rounded balance to the list this year.The members of the BIMA executive committee are unable to be included in this list but every year they get a lot of nominations so it is right that I show praise and say that BIMA as an organisation is lucky to have such a driving force behind it. Also worthy of a special mention is the core team of BIMA who put in so much work to bring us initiatives like the Hot 100 and Hall of Fame. Collectively it is these people who deserve special thanks for giving us the opportunity to recognise greatness in the digital industry.Congratulations to everyone who made the list this year and I’m delighted to be celebrating with you all on the night.

4 5BIMA HOT 100 BIMA HOT 100

WELCOME

are continuing to expand the horizons of digital possibility in the UK and around the world. We’re proud to rub shoulders with the inventors and innovators listed in these pages who are boldly leading the charge into new digital frontiers. We can’t wait to see where BIMA’s past, present and future Hall-of-Famers take us next.

This year, the UK is predicted to be the first country in the world where spending on digital advertising surpasses spending on all other forms of media combined — including print, cinema, buses, billboards, television and radio. Why? Because this is where all the people are. The British love their digital gadgets. Since 2010, the average consumer has more than doubled the amount of time spent each day on computers, tablets and mobile devices (not counting voice time).With this rapid increase in digital usage worldwide, driven by the fast pace of digital innovation, it is no small honour to make BIMA’s Hot 100 list for 2015. We also heartily congratulate this year’s inductee into the BIMA Hall of Fame.At Workfront, through our partnerships with cutting edge tech companies across the US

JADA BALSTER Marketing Director, Workfront

and the UK, we see the effects of the digital revolution every day. Innovations in marketing, web development, communications, project management, finance and accounting, creative and design tools, social media and more enable companies to work smarter, faster and more efficiently than ever. A quick flip through this book provides an astounding cross-section of the myriad industries and applications where digital brilliance is driving change. But with so much data, so many tools, so many different ways of communicating and collaborating with those in the neighboring cubicles, we are also seeing unprecedented levels of chaos in organisations. The ever-accelerating pace of digital evolution means that online tools are scattered, distractions are rampant, collaboration is difficult and communication is fragmented. This

all leads to dwindling productivity, despite the fact that today’s digital tools give companies and individuals greater power and more possibilities than anyone could have imagined 20 years ago.Luckily, there’s a tool for that. Workfront provides an enterprise-level work-management solution that creates order from chaos, enables visibility where there once was none, enriches team collaboration and provides end-to-end lifecycle management — in any professional environment, for any kind of team.As this year’s Hot 100 and Hall of Fame proves, there’s a tool for just about every digital problem we face — with new and better solutions always on the horizon. That’s what makes this such an exciting time to live and work in an increasingly tech-driven world.We salute those whose genius and hard work

6 7BIMA EXECUTIVE TEAM BIMA EXECUTIVE TEAM

MEET THE BIMA EXECUTIVE TEAM

ADAM GRAHAMChair of BIMAPartner, Cact.us

CRAIG HEPBURNBIMA Executive Global Director, Social & Digital Media, Microsoft Mobile OY

ANDREW HENNINGBIMA Executive CEO, Redweb

GARETH JONESBIMA Executive Chief Brand & Content Officer, DigitasLBi

AMY NICHOLSONBIMA ExecutiveManaging Editor, Sticky Content

ELOISE SMITHBIMA ExecutiveExecutive Creative Director, Lowe Profero

ANDY MOSEBYBIMA ExecutivePartner, Kemp Little

IAN MACARTHURBIMA ExecutiveFounder & Director, Once We Were

8 9BIMA EXECUTIVE TEAM BIMA EXECUTIVE TEAM

NATALIE GROSSBIMA ExecutiveCEO, Amaze

JEN TOPPINGVice Chair of BIMADigital Business Consultant

TAREK NSEIRBIMA ExecutiveCEO, TH_NK

LAWRENCE WEBERBIMA ExecutiveManaging Partner Innovation, Karmarama

SARAH RONALDBIMA ExecutiveFounder & Director, Nile Experience & Service Design

JUSTIN PEARSEBIMA ExecutiveManaging Director, The Drum Works

TRISTAN PRIDEBIMA ExecutiveCreative Director, e3

MATT LAWBIMA ExecutiveManaging Director, Analogfolk

NICK TURNERBIMA ExecutiveInternational Executive Creative Director, Razorfish

JULIAN HIRSTBIMA ExecutiveDirector of International Development, Native Design Ltd

TIFFANY ST JAMESBIMA ExecutiveCo Founder, Transmute

LORENZO VASINIBIMA ExecutiveManaging Partner, ORM

SEAN KINGBIMA ExecutiveCEO, Seven

KEITH HUNTBIMA ExecutiveManaging Partner, Results International

WYNDHAM LEWISBIMA ExecutiveDigital Transformation Consultant, Deltazoa

MATT PILGRIMBIMA ExecutiveGlobal Director, Solution Partnerships, Sitecore

10 11BIMA SUPPORTERS BIMA SUPPORTERS

MEET THE BIMA SUPPORTERS

DAVID GAMBLESpecial AdvisorFounder & Creative Director, Hometown London

JANICE CABLESpecial AdvisorAdvisor to the BIMA Executive

DON ELGIESpecial AdvisorChairman, Crossrider

JUSTIN COOKEBIMA AmbassadorFounder, POSSIBLE UK

DAVID SIMPSONBIMA AssociateSenior Account Director, Brands2Life

JULIA CONROYBIMA AssociateUK PR & Marketing Director, DigitasLBi

HAL ROBINSONSpecial AdvisorCEO, Librios

LUCY WERTHEIMBIMA AssociateMarketing Manager, Lowe Profero

12 13BIMA SUPPORTERS BIMA SUPPORTERS

MARC ABRAHAMBIMA AssociateHead of Product, carwow

OM RUPARELSpecial AdvisorMD, Recruitmentology

MICHAEL COLLINSSpecial AdvisorDirector, iPublishing Consultants Ltd

PAULA JAGOSpecial AdvisorOwner, ThinkerActivity

MARY KEANE-DAWSONBIMA AmbassadorBoard Director, MyHealthPal

PAUL STEPHENSpecial AdvisorCEO, Sagittarius Marketing

NIGEL VAZBIMA AmbassadorSenior Vice President Managing Director Europe, Sapient

RORY SUTHERLANDBIMA AmbassadorVice Chairman, Ogilvy Group UK

SARAH MATTHEWSBIMA AssociateGroup Marketing Coordinator, Amaze

SPENCER GALLAGHERBIMA AmbassadorCo-founder, Cact.us

15BIMA HOT 100

THE BIMA HOT 1002015


INDEX BIMA HOT 100

Adam Greenwood

Adam Stewart

Alastair Eilbeck

Alex Butler

Amy Kean

Anand Verma

Anil Pillai

Anna Stoyanova

Annette King

Aran Reeks

Ashika Chauhan

Astrid Van Essen

Ben Da Costa

2015

Cat Turner

Cheyney Robinson

Ciaran O’Toole

Clare McDonald

Craig Le Grice

Cumron Ashtiani

Dan Biddle

Daniel Bonner

David Skerrett

Depesh Mandalia

Eddie Bent

Edward Humphrey

Emma Crowe

Emma Millington

Eva Appelbaum

Eve Fantom

Fran Brosan

Francis Turner & Dale Lovell

Henry Stuart

James Bassett

James Eder

James Fernandes

& James Greening

James Kirkham

Jenny Kitchen

Jeremy Basset

Jim Coleman

Jo York

John Newbold

Jon Andrews

Jon Bains

Jon Davie

Jonny Tooze

Julian Douch

Karen Blackett

Karl Loudon

Kelly Moor

Laura-May Coope

Lea Simpson

18

18

19

19

20

20

21

21

22

22

23

23

24

24

25

25

26

26

27

27

28

28

29

29

30

30

33

33

34

34

35

35

36

36

37

37

38

38

39

39

40

40

41

41

42

42

43

43

44

44

45

69

69

70

70

71

71

72

72

73

73

Stephen Lepitak

Steve Radjen

Tanya Cordrey

Tom Ball

Tom Scott

Vikki Chowney

Will Wright & James Lucking

Wyndham Richardson

Zac Pinkham

Zeeshan Mallick

Leslie Fountain

Lisa Blythman-Wood

Lizzie Dyson

Louise Jorden

Mark Lusted

Matthew Marriott

Matthew Tweddle

Mel Edwards

Mickael Paris

Nadya Powell

Neil Collard

Neil Morris

Neil Perkin

Nichola Stott

Nick Farnhill

Olivia Salisbury

Oren Greenberg

Paul Davies

Paul Rice

Paul Smith

Peter Dolukhanov

Peter Hoole

Phil Young

Ravi Ruparel

Rebecca Brown

Richard Jones

Rishi Saha

Rob Smith

Robin Charney

Rodrigo Sobral

Ron Peterson

Ross Wilson

Sarah Jordan

Sean Singleton

Shey Cobley

Shuvo Saha

Siji Onabanjo

Simon Devonshire

Simon Levitt

45

46

46

49

49

50

50

51

51

52

52

53

53

54

54

55

55

56

56

57

57

58

58

59

59

60

60

61

61

62

62

65

65

66

66

67

67

68

68


ADAM GREENWOOD

ADAM STEWART

Founded in 2009, IADigital has grown from a two-man bedroom business to a top 30 Wirehive100 agency. As MD, Adam is focused on keeping the agency agile, specialist in its offering and true to the agency’s core values. He believes this is what makes IADigital successful, with clients including De Vere Venues, Visit Scotland and Ramsay Healthcare. Today IADigital continues to be the ‘go to’ agency for complex, technical .NET development and integration as well as providing strategic digital consultancy, design, UI, UX, Social Media, SEO and content creation services. In 2012 the agency also launched Envisage CMS — offering a fresh user-centric approach to content management. Both IADigtal and Envisage CMS are delivered by Adam’s elite team of seventeen digital experts.

Adam Stewart grew up as a young entrepreneur and has always looked to how he can continually learn, develop and stay at the cutting edge.After starting his own business as a teenager in Australia, he has moved through a number of senior executive digital positions across a wide range of industry verticals – Marks & Spencer, RBS, Rakuten/Play.com and now he is leading Digital globally for Vodafone Group. This position holds huge expectation serving over 450m customers across 21 operating companies and 45 partner markets. He has an immense passion, energy and focus for digital success — always looking for opportunities to set new and intelligent levels of the customer experience bar.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging DirectorIADigital / Envisage CMS

@AdamLGreenwood

My favourite saying is … if you can’t be the smartest person in the room, make sure you are the best dressed.

I’m where I am today because ...of a laser focus on commercial return.

—Brand-side Digital StarsGlobal Head of DigitalVodafone Group

@adster1

My favourite saying is … it’s the fool who plays it cool and makes the world a little colder.

I got into digital because ...I loved playing in that intersect between the worlds of the engineer, the creative and the human – that bit where the magic happens.

ALASTAIR EILBECK

ALEX BUTLER

Alastair bridges the gap between the creative industries and digital-media arts. At Amaze he has been responsible for leading complex UX and design projects for automotive and medical clients. He is currently leading Amaze research projects focusing on connected retail, including work in-store with ASICS.Alastair also contributes to UK digital through an arts practice with James Bailey which began in 2008. Having been commissioned internationally, for both London 2012 and the World Cup in Brazil 2014, the pair’s most recent work has initiated a team of research, academic, arts and technology partners to create TILO – funded by the R&D Fund for the Arts. TILO looks at how interactive smart screens can transform and animate the public spaces in arts venues.

A veteran of the digital industry, Alex has held senior, high-profile roles. She led Directgov, the one-stop-shop for UK Government services when it launched, and brought you BT’s first social campaign getting people to vote for broadband (before social was invented). She developed the first iteration of data.gov.uk, opening up public data and the UK government’s first ever social media guidance. And in a successful innovation project she taught civil servants to launch digital businesses. Alex is a woman with several hats. Founder of KindredHQ, a growing community platform for freelancers and independents in 2011, she also specialises in advising heritage brands how to find their digital mojo.She splits her time between London and Wiltshire, where she keeps bees.

—InnovatorsCreative ConsultantAmaze

@Alastair_E

—Brand-side Digital StarsFounderKindredHQ

@alex_butler


AMY KEAN

ANAND VERMA

Amy Kean is Head of Futures at Havas Media and runs Havas Media Labs — the thought-leadership and innovation hub of the Havas Media Group in the UK — with Penguin Random House, AXA and Clarks Shoes as clients. Her entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to feeding the industry new insights was acknowledged last year when she was announced as no. 26 in The Drum’s Digerati. Previously Amy worked as Social Media Director for the Havas Group, launching their social media proposition in the UK, and headed up PR and Social Media at the Internet Advertising Bureau. In 2014, Amy also ran Bournemouth University’s media planning and strategy course, updating their curriculum to place a greater focus on digital and innovation.

Brilliant Basics founder Anand Verma is passionate about the ability of digital to transform people’s lives. He has built a successful career on consistently delivering innovative digital strategies and service propositions.Anand was previously President and CEO of IPG Mediabrands EMEA and is the co-founder of atp.io, a big data media and marketing platform focusing on ethical and transparent ways for real time media trading. He also works as an investor and an advisor to startups and universities.For Anand, the ‘customer-first’ business culture within Brilliant Basics is a key part of his dedication to the people he works with. He believes in growing people’s skills and profiles, nurturing their ideas, and creating entrepreneurs wherever he can.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … Hiccupops. A lollipop that triggers a set of nerves in your mouth and throat to get rid of hiccups — invented by a child who refused to believe there wasn’t a cure.

Not many people know that I … was a quiz buff in my younger days and even appeared on Indian national television.

—Women in TechHead of FuturesHavas Media

@HavasMediaUK

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsFounder & CEOBrilliant Basics

@anandverma

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … The same thing that’s always excited me: robots becoming like people — it’s now more possible than it’s ever been.

My little-known hobby is … origami. I am obsessed with geometric origami but am yet to produce a masterpiece worthy to share with the world.

ANIL PILLAI

ANNA STOYANOVA

Anil is responsible for deciding What’s Next for DigitasLBi and taking the agency there. As well as ensuring that quality remains paramount across all areas of the business, Anil specialises in helping DigitasLBi’s biggest clients realise their digital ambitions. In the last year, Anil’s focus has been on growing the DigitasLBi business, building the brand family both in the UK and abroad, and expanding the agency’s service offering with launches like social and content agency Lost Boys. Anil continues to be one of the industry’s most influential figures, called upon for his opinion by the likes of Campaign, The Drum and even appearing as a trusted advisor to Lord Sugar on the BBC show The Apprentice.

In the fast-growing world of programmatic advertising, Anna has truly grasped the opportunity. Building Essence’s programmatic team from one person to 16 in nine months, Anna has enabled Essence to deliver ambitious goals for clients. These include helping Google towards its ambition of 60% of digital marketing budget to go through programmatic and taking FT.com to a global audience through the same channels. Anna has helped shape best practice in the UK market by giving Boston Consulting Group full access to Essence’s advanced tactics and backing the subsequent report — aimed at establishing high standards in programmatic across the industry. She has also worked with several prominent media owners, who previously had no programmatic capability, to help future-proof their operations.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsUK CEODigitasLBi

@Shakster

—Women in TechHead of Programmatic, EMEAEssence


ANNETTE KING

ARAN REEKS

Annette King is Chief Executive Officer of Ogilvy & Mather Group UK with responsibility for all ten of O&M UK’s Operating Companies employing more than 1800 people. She is ranked No.1 Female Advertising Suit in the industry (Campaign Magazine, Dec 2014).Ogilvy has a reputation for pioneering new technologies. Most recently, Annette’s team was behind the award-winning ‘Magic of Flying’ campaign for British Airways, one of the most awarded campaigns globally in 2014. OgilvyOne is ranked number one Digital Agency in the UK by WARC.Annette is a member of the Women’s Advertising Club of London (WACL) and an IPA Council member.She lives in West London with her husband and two young children.

Aran has been at Evosite for over 4 years, and he impressed from Day One with his knowledge and experience within the sector. Aran handles an array of bespoke and complex website offerings, and has brought improvements to the Evosite business through increased efficiency and speed of website creation. As Evosite grew as a business, their clients became bigger and so did their expectations and requirements. Aran’s standout abilities as a developer have helped Evosite win more business.

I got into digital because … my boss bet on making me Head of Ogilvy Interactive a decade ago, when the person running it went on maternity leave.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … Microsoft HoloLens — it blew my mind!

—Women in TechCEOOgilvy & Mather

@ogilvyuk

—UX & TechnicalTechnical Solutions ConsultantEvosite

@EvositeAran

I got into digital because … I love learning and every day’s a school day in digital.

The film title that describes my life is … Alice in Wonderland

ASHIKA CHAUHAN

ASTRID VAN ESSEN

Ashika was listed in The Drum’s ‘30 Under 30’ back in 2012 and since then she’s headed up digital and integrated campaigns at Big, leading the team to win Fresh digital portfolio of the year in 2012, 2013 and 2014 consecutively. Passionate about education, she regularly dedicates time to supporting students and helping to define courses that will best meet industry needs. Over the last couple of years she’s mentored at the SCA and on BIMA Digital Day. She currently sits on the Brunel University Industry Advisory Board.This year she’ll be uniting her love of travel and work by spending time in China, Hong Kong and Australia.

MediaMonks is an independent creative digital production company that works with and for advertising agencies to craft amazing digital work for global brands. They have offices in Amsterdam, London, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore.Astrid joined MediaMonks almost four years ago as CSD at the company’s Amsterdam HQ, where she was instrumental in forming and nurturing constructive relationships with the company’s agency-partners. Astrid has since taken the reins of the MediaMonks UK office, which is now contributing more than a fourth of the company’s annual revenue. A strong believer in a collaborative approach, her main focus is to strengthen relationships between MediaMonks and its agency-partners, and keep on producing exciting digital work.

—Women in TechIntegrated/Digital Creative & StrategistFreelance

@ashikachauhan

—Women in TechManaging DirectorMediaMonks London

@astrid_online


BEN DA COSTA

CAT TURNER

Ben is an award-winning senior digital creative at CHI & Partners, the UK’s fastest-growing independent ad agency. Previously he was the first ever creative and employee number 15 at digital agency Jam.Ben was a creative and driving force behind the Xbox and FIFA 14 campaign Play Like a Legend, which won four BIMA awards in 2014, including BIMA’s Grand Prix. He’s also worked on award-winning campaigns including Tesco Mobile’s #NoJoke and number one iPhone app Pointless. Last year, he was listed in Campaign Magazine’s Faces to Watch. What makes all this even more remarkable is that Ben doesn’t have a traditional creative background – before joining Jam, he managed indie band Razorlight, worked as a TV cameraman and created an online fanzine.

Cat co-founded the Clio Award-winning digital communications agency, Cult LDN, in 2012. Within two years the agency has grown to work on campaigns both local and global, spreading from London to NYC to Singapore and beyond. Within its second year Cult LDN won a Clio Award for the Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, as well as being commended as Social Media Agency of The Year by The Drum Network Awards. This second year of Cult LDN became even more exciting for Cat as she also became a mother, adding a little happy member to the Cult LDN team! Prior to launching Cult LDN, Cat was head of Digital at the Social Media Agency of the Year 2012.

At school I … set up a business and built my own web browser – it was called Purple Peanut.

One of my favourite quotes is …“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso

—Rising StarsSenior CreativeCHI & Partners

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsCo-founder & CEOCult LDN

@CatTurner

My great ideas … are just ideas without a team to make them happen.

CHEYNEY ROBINSON

CIARAN O’TOOLE

Cheyney was recently selected as CCO – EU, IBM Interactive Experience. She is a passionate and conceptual storyteller with expertise in complex business transformation, multi-channel consumer experiences and service design. Cheyney was one of 12 women from across the globe selected to take part in Cannes Lions “See It Be It”. This initiative aims to foster rising female luminaries and redress the under-representation of women in executive creative leadership. She will be returning to Cannes Lions in 2015 as a member of the Cyber Jury.Away from the office, she is a volunteer and expert for Apps for Good, an organisation which supports digital literacy for children and a frequent contributor to SheSays, the global creative network for women.

Over the past year, Ciaran has challenged a talented group of music journalists in London and an equally talented team of developers in Glasgow to build the best Rock and Metal membership package in the world. The result is TeamRock+.The vision is to make music media relevant again, utilising data and technology to power content created by Rock and Metal music experts. The TeamRock+ platform enhances the traditional magazine experience for members with 24/7 online news and feature content, tablet editions, on-demand audio and video documentaries. Available on sites and apps with single sign across the brand range, it’s been a busy time.Next up for Ciaran, advanced data capture and gamification to extend reach and drive audience engagement.

—Women in TechChief Creative Officer, EUIBM Interactive Experience

@cheyneyisms

—InnovatorsChief Digital & Innovation DirectorTeamRock

@ciaranotoole

Not many people know that I … am an avid collector of motion picture cameras and projectors from the 1930s through to the 1970s. I enjoy making short films with these incredible image-making devices.


CLARE MCDONALD

CRAIG LE GRICE

Clare has consulted and worked with some of the largest entertainment and technology companies to innovate content discovery across devices. Early days of online video, led to interactive TV. Interactive TV led to commerce and mobile content. And naturally content making and immersion such as Future Cinema. From the UX to ATL launch campaigns, Clare creates it all. In 2012 Clare creatively directed one of the largest network rebrands in Sky’s history: Sky Atlantic, Sky Movies, Sky1, Sky Living were repositioned and designed to huge success. In retail, healthcare and entertainment, Clare is creating unique futuristic experiences and relationships empowered by storytelling. She is currently writing another drama and designing a new TV platform across devices that will launch later this year.

Craig Le Grice is Founder of Hub And Lab, the transformative innovation consultancy. With a career spanning communications, advertising and consulting, Craig has 13 years’ experience blending technology, business and consumer strategy. Commercial, a futurist and a passionate believer in the importance of innovation for growth in every organisation, he’s worked with global brands all around the world. A graduate of Harvard Business School and awarded ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2011, he is focused on talent, diversity and flying the flag for digital, technology and innovation in the UK and beyond.

My favourite saying is … the old classic cracker, “you only live once.” If you live by that you take chances, you make bold moves and you don’t allow yourself to have regrets.

My heart beats fast … when something ‘just works’ as Steve Jobs would say.

—CreativesFounder Wonderful&Brilliant

@claremcdonald00

—Innovators FounderHub And Lab

@CraigLeGrice

The next big thing in digital will be … VR as it has such widespread potential in gaming, general industry and possibly humanity as a whole.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is ...Periscope — the social live-streaming app that’s brought the real-time moment even closer to mobile users. It’s so immediate, so utterly social and exciting, I can’t wait to see where this goes next.

CUMRON ASHTIANI

DAN BIDDLE

In five years Cumron has turned startup digital art and design studio, Atomhawk, into a successful enterprise with an enviable client list and worldwide standing in the entertainment industry. Since starting Atomhawk, Cumron has directed digital concept art projects for three Marvel films, as well as leading art, marketing and user-interface design projects for clients including Warner Brothers, Microsoft, Pottermore and Costa Coffee. Recent user-interface design projects have embraced virtual reality technologies, with a new game and online interactive experience both designed for Oculus Rift.Prior to Atomhawk, Cumron worked as an Art Director for a series of world-leading games companies.

Dan joined Twitter in 2012 and is responsible for the company’s broadcast partnerships in the UK. He works closely with broadcasters and production companies to effectively use the Twitter platform and create engaging content and events that bring audiences closer to the shows they love. Previously he was Editorial Lead for Social Media for BBC Vision, developing social media strategy for BBC TV brands and iPlayer. Other credits include the BAFTA Award-winning social media campaign for the BBC Two series Virtual Revolution.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsDirectorAtomhawk

@atomhawk

—Media Owner & Platform StarsDirector of Broadcast PartnershipsTwitter

@DanBiddle


DANIEL BONNER

DAVID SKERRETT

Daniel’s role is to lead, influence and motivate a new generation of transformational creative work from Razorfish Global. As one of the most awarded creative directors of his era, Daniel was recognised in 2010 as the UK’s No.1 Creative Director working in digital media by Campaign and was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2012 he became an Executive Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) and in 2014 he was ranked as one of the top 20 Creative Directors in the UK for the 3rd consecutive year.Daniel is a regular speaker at events and has served as judge and jury chairman for all of the world’s leading creative award shows.

David is a leading voice in mobile, having spoken at tens of events in the last year, and contributed thought leadership on mobile regularly as an Econsultancy, CMO.com and MMA blogger. He actively improves the UK digital scene by thinking big in mobile. And he pioneers new innovations in mobile strategy & delivery for the UK’s most awarded mobile agency, Nimbletank. Here he works with brands such as the BBC, ASOS and Universal on unique mobile firsts and killer new apps. He’s crafted many loved mobile experiences for brands such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Beats and O2. In his 15-year career he’s won over 85 creative awards, including six in 2014 at Nimbletank. He’s also served on the MMA EMEA board.

At school I ...chose to study Computer Studies GCSE to achieve my one dream at the time – to avoid doing Geography.

The next big thing in digital will be … predictive analytics, but perhaps you could guess I was going to say that?!

—CreativesChief Creative OfficerRazorfish Global

@3onner

—Account Management & Business DevelopmentManaging PartnerNimbletank

@skegz

My one wish would be … to see digital enablement for the poorest nations, to help solve basic human needs like health and education.

Relaxation is … walking my dogs on Dartmoor whatever the weather.

DEPESH MANDALIA

EDDIE BENT

Depesh leads the Growth team at Lost My Name, a disruptive tech startup focusing on magical, personalised experiences for children. Lost My Name is a global trailblazer with customers in over 120 countries.Depesh’s work helped grow book sales from 200 to 7500 per day underpinning a breakthrough year in 2014. A combination of product market fit and deep audience targeting delivered almost £5 from every £1 spent; a good return for any company, phenomenal for an early-stage startup.Online since the late 90s (remember modems?), Depesh has experience across every part of the customer journey. The common thread throughout his successes over the last 15 years has been a relentless focus on the customer.

Eddie is the founder and MD of e-Strategy, a multi award-winning digital marketing agency. Over the last three years Eddie has been responsible for the repositioning of the business from a traditional search agency into the award-winning digital and technology agency that it is today.Originally from the South West, Eddie is a driving force behind the growth of digital in the region; serving as a South West representative for BIMA and playing an active role in the Devon Delivers campaign which aims to encourage inward investment into the area.Over the last 12 months, e-Strategy have successfully developed and launched an innovative storytelling and personalisation platform that aims to reach and connect people through experiences.

—Brand-side Digital StarsHead of Growth & MarketingLost My Name Ltd.

@depeshm

—InnovatorsCEOe-Strategy / Tell your Story

@estrategyltd

31BIMA HOT 100 30 BIMA HOT 100

EDWARD HUMPHREY

EMMA CROWE

Edward has worked with digital audiences in film and TV for longer than he probably should. Currently Digital Director of the BFI, he started out in digital at Granada Television in 2000 and has worked his way through ITV, Virgin Media, Disney and Zodiak Media.He is currently facing the biggest challenge of his career – engaging audiences accustomed to Hollywood super-abundance with the curated pleasures of indie cinema and Britain’s unique film heritage. BFI Player continues to be the heart of the response, with more big ideas and new features to be added in 2015.

Emma Crowe has worked in the digital space for 20 years, where she was part of the team that launched AOL in the UK. She is always at the forefront of innovation and has worked across a multitude of different verticals and business models. Some of the companies she has worked for include Associated Newspapers, Marks and Spencer, Sky and PokerStars. She also launched her own dotcom ThinkNatural, which was eventually sold. Emma now applies all these skills at Somo to work across clients like Adidas, Hive, Shop Direct, Office and Paddy Power. Key responsibilities include providing insight and strategic guidance from a customer viewpoint across mobile development – from apps to beacons and wearables – as well as marketing, including physical and digital, programmatic and the overall impact of social.

At school I… learned how to repair tractors. It was in Norfolk.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … how far we can develop contextual intelligence technology, making smartphones ‘smart’ to a point where they can make decisions for us before we even think of the question.

—InnovatorsDirector of DigitalBFI (British Film Institute)

@EdwardHumphrey

—Women in TechChief of Client StrategySomo

@itscrowe

Technical innovation + Creative imagination =Digital Hall of Fame Performance.

Moving businesstowardsthe Cloud

Connect with us. For more information call 020 7858 4935 or visit www.6dg.co.uk

Congratulations to all BIMA Hot 100 inductees for 2015. It’s your restless energy and creative dynamism that makes the UK an execiting and world-class digital place.

Six Degrees Group believes that technology andcreativity connect to make digital. We have a truly symbiotic relationship – one cannot exist without the other – and we are proud to support the Hot 100.


My favourite quote is ...“User recruitment is the unglamorous foundation for all user testing” — Deborah Hinder & Jakob Nielson.

The next big thing in digital will be … being offline. I think increasingly people will try to moderate their screen use and reclaim time spent away from technology.

EMMA MILLINGTON

EVA APPELBAUM

Emma is setting a new standard of participant recruitment in the UX industry. Recruiting for major global organisations directly as well as a range of UX consultancies, Emma has grown People for Research to be the market leader it is currently. Emma spoke at UX Cambridge 14 and the General Assembly, where she shared years of recruitment wisdom, helping others understand how to get the most from meeting with users, as well as speaking about the process of running a day of testing with users. Passionate about partnership, quality, service and delivery – Emma’s goal is to set the bar for world-class user recruitment through clearly defined best practice, communicated to the sector through collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

Eva is Director of BBC Earth Online, and is championing digital transformation within BBC Television. Previously she was Head of Digital Marketing Transformation at the BBC where she set up the Digital Marketing Lab, an innovation pilot. Eva is also the co-founder of NINE, which supports women in the digital industry. Eva has been working in digital since the 90s and has held numerous leadership roles, including Asia-Pacific Director of Social Media and Production at GroupM (WPP) and Digital Director at Amnesty International. She is a frequent keynote speaker and last year she was named one of Marketing Week’s Vision100 – a list of forward-thinking marketers, entrepreneurs and business people in the UK.

—UX & TechnicalDirector of ProjectsPeople for Research

@people4research

—Brand-side Digital StarsDirectorBBC Earth Online

@evaapp

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EVE FANTOM

FRANCESCA BROSAN

As a major player in customer centric Digital Marketing for Banking over the last two decades, Eve has now focused her talents on new ways of working to make digital impact on social good. As an award-winning major hire for Craig Le Grice at CoSkill (as Eve Morris) she proved that a startup can compete with the big players and now at Once We Were she is transforming the business to bring even greater value to large UK charities through harnessing the power of customer data and digital to optimise performance, and drive success.

Francesca (Fran) Brosan is Chairman of Omobono, a role she’s held since starting the company at her kitchen table with co-founders Ben Dansie and Chris Butterworth in 2001. Fran’s focus is to advise clients on the strategic role that digital communications can play in strengthening business performance. Before Omobono, she was Managing Director of B2B agency Warman & Bannister, and on the board of consumer agency WCRS. Fran is a regular speaker at industry events and is author of Omobono’s research programme ‘What Works Where in B2B Digital Marketing’. She has also been featured in The Sunday Times ‘How I Made It Column’. Married, with four daughters, Fran has no spare time. She runs to keep herself sane.

My favourite saying is … performance measurement is crucial to success. Understanding performance is the first point on the journey to optimisation and incremental improvement.

The next big thing in digital … will be how digital becomes an experience of the company, and how that builds brand preference, inside and out.

—Women in TechManaging PartnerOnce We Were

@evelfantom

—Women in TechChairman and Co-FounderOmobono

@Franbrosan

My one wish would be … to time travel. I’d love to see the future and the past like I was there, which is something people will be able to simulate through VR in the future.

FRANCIS TURNER & DALE LOVELL

HENRY STUART

Dale Lovell and Francis Turner are digital veterans, cutting their teeth on several Ad Tech and publishing startups over the last 15 years. In 2014, their content marketing company – Content Amp, founded in 2010 – merged with Europe’s leading native advertising platform and network, Adyoulike. The pair has spearheaded the company’s growth into the UK market. Adyoulike is now an established native advertising platform with capabilities across video, mobile, desktop and apps as well as expansion into programmatic and European markets. Dale and Francis lead the industry in understanding the opportunities around native advertising and have been instrumental in promoting the success of this format in the UK.

Henry, a pioneer in immersive digital content since 2006, has been shaping the way for virtual reality production since the launch of the Oculus Rift in 2012. In the last 12 months Henry has created phenomenal 360 and Virtual Reality experiences for FIFA, Mercedes, Top Gear, Thomas Cook and many more. He regularly speaks at conferences and events on VR and is closely involved in furthering this emerging industry. As a prized partner of Oculus Rift and Samsung, Henry has been able to utilize cutting edge technology and circulate content reaching nearly 30 million views. Henry and his company are leading a niche market into the public eye, changing digital as we know it, and supplying a more engaging future.

—Media Owner & Platform StarsManaging Director / Content & Publishing DirectorAdyoulike

@adyoulikeuk

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsCo-Founder/CEOVisualise Creative Ltd

@visualise360

I’m where I am today because ...‘Damned if you do, dead if you don’t’ – we think it sums up the startup attitude in digital advertising pretty well. You have to constantly embrace change and evolve for success.


JAMES BASSETT

JAMES EDER

James has spent the past five years helping to shape award-winning global campaigns for some of the world’s biggest music artists, including One Direction, Calvin Harris and The Clash. Last year, he set up Sony Music’s Digital Creative department, an in-house agency focused on injecting digital creativity and innovation into the heart of every campaign. Leading a team of five, James is responsible for the creative and strategic development of more than 60 artists, managing everything from websites and apps to live events and social media content. Alongside working on big-budget campaigns, he has helped new acts to build global fan bases including his BIMA-shortlisted work with French dance artist Madeon.

In 2014 James pioneered Student Beans to launch a new technology platform, solving a problem for retailers that offer in-store student discounts but aren’t able to replicate this online. Student Beans iD is a digital student card that enables retailers to verify a shopper’s student status in over 20 countries and run a discount via their own website and app. James is also involved in the creation of two exciting initiatives outside of life at The Beans Group. Kentish Cluster is a new community that brings together businesses and people in the Kentish Town area to share ideas, knowledge and have a drink at monthly events. The second project is #FriendlyFriday – a not-for-profit movement that gets the world talking by creating collisions.

My favourite quote is … ‘You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.’ — Dr. Seuss

My favourite saying is … ‘If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together’ — African Proverb.

—Brand-side Digital StarsHead of Digital CreativeSony Music UK

@jamesbassett

—InnovatorsFounderThe Beans Group

@jameseder

Relaxation is … not having to see James’s ugly mug every morning.

I’ve never … regretted quitting my advertising job at 22 to start a digital agency.

JAMES FERNANDES & JAMES GREENING

JAMES KIRKHAM

James and James are the creative duo behind the Xbox ‘Play Like a Legend’ campaign – a real-life transfer saga for the virtual world. It was an ambitious project that captured the imagination of the football world, the gaming community and the BIMA Award judges, who selected this campaign as the BIMA Grand Prix winner at the 2014 BIMA Awards. They also scooped a second Grand Prix for their Tesco Mobile #No Joke campaign last year amongst other accolades. Not only do they share a name but they share a huge passion for shaping our digital future, often applying their skills to create proactive pieces for good, striving to make the world a better place.

James Kirkham is Leo Burnett’s Global Head of Mobile and Social. Kirkham leads the capabilities of the network, which operates across 84 countries. Kirkham is also co-founder of digital agency Holler and he has driven Holler’s expansion into San Francisco and Dubai.Holler was named agency of the year by BIMA in 2014 and is best known for digital innovation. They were the first agency in the UK to market a TV show using social media (Skins, E4). Leo Burnett / Holler created one of this year’s biggest successes: #LikeAGirl by Always won the Grand CLIO and has over 85m views. Kirkham is a world-class speaker and has given seminars for the past three years.

—CreativesSenior CreativesJam

@J__A__M__E__S__

—ChampionsGlobal Head Social & Mobile, Leo Burnett / co-founder, Holler

@spoonybear


JENNY KITCHEN

JEREMY BASSET

Jenny is the MD of Yoyo, a creative digital agency focused on delivering quality solutions that help brands succeed. She’s a ‘30 Under 30’ award-winner and an energetic and passionate digital leader. In 2014, Jenny’s focus was on growing Yoyo. The key goal was to work with innovative and exciting brands. Yoyo closed the year with new project wins from Open University, M&S, Biffa, Universal Music, as well as many other fantastic brands. With 25% growth, it was a hugely successful year. In the last 12 months, under her leadership, the agency was awarded a Top 5 Elite Agency status in The Drum’s Digital Census and Independent Agency Census, awarded for high results in client feedback and peer recognition.

Jeremy is responsible for initiating and leading Unilever’s Foundry — the company’s global platform for collaborative innovation. Startups are disrupting industries and reinventing marketing. Through the Foundry, Unilever’s brands and functions are able to collaborate, experiment and pioneer with these disrupters, allowing the company to embrace and scale disruption, rather than be subject to it. Prior to launching the Foundry, Jeremy was responsible for incubating new businesses within Unilever. It was through this experience that he realised the power of open collaboration verses a traditional corporate approach, which is to be ‘closed and secretive’. Jeremy has been with the company for 11 years, worked across three functions and been based in four countries.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … a new furniture range that wirelessly charges your phone. I always run out of battery so this would be perfect for me.

My great ideas … are infinitely worse than those of the crowd.

—Rising StarsManaging DirectorYoyo Design

@jenny_kitchen

—Brand-side Digital StarsGlobal Marketing Strategy DirectorUnilever

@JeremyBasset

My little-known hobby is … skateboarding. I’m the Treasurer of the local skate park.

At school I … was told I wasn’t academic enough for university and wasn’t worth testing for dyslexia. Which taught me that no one else gets to define you and some people just don’t know what they’re talking about.

JIM COLEMAN

JO YORK

Jim Coleman is the Managing Director of the London HQ of We Are Social, the world’s largest social agency. He has been helping global brands launch products and connect with people for over 12 years across all aspects of digital. Under Jim’s leadership, We Are Social’s team in London has grown from 50 to 150 people in three years, won new clients like Netflix and Beats by Dre and managed projects such as the social media strategy around BBC Music’s landmark God Only Knows video launch. In the last year, We Are Social has produced award-winning, industry-defining work such as #allin or nothing, a global campaign for adidas during the 2014 World Cup.

On a mission to change the way the world consumes video, co-founders Jo York and Kev Price created Reframed.TV, which allows users to sync comments with specific moments of video. They took Reframed from concept to market trial in three months with tech accelerator Ignite100 and the simple idea has caused quite a stir in the market, capturing the interest of Twitter UK, BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. Steve Pankhurst (creator of Friends Reunited) is an investor and they’ve just raised more than £300k (seed) in the North East on a (post-raise) valuation of £1.1m with no commercial revenue, giving them two years to develop the product — and creating five more jobs within the tech community.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging DirectorWe Are Social

@mrjimcoleman

—InnovatorsCo-FounderReframed.TV

@joyork


JOHN NEWBOLD

A regular speaker on digital innovation and brand utility, John has recently appeared as a guest expert on CNBC Europe and been published in Brand Republic, CMO.com and The Guardian. John also curates canvasconf.co.uk, bringing in speakers from Spotify, Airbnb, Google and Twitter for the sell out 2014 event. Under his direction 383 has seen strong growth in the last year: turnover was up 25% and a 7000sqft Victorian Pen Factory was converted into 383’s new studio. In 2015, 383 will launch their Useful Brands Playbook. Authored by John, and including global Forrester Research and interviews with business leaders from John Lewis, Virgin Atlantic and Lloyds Banking Group, the book provides a toolset for brands looking to become more useful.

Given the chance, I’d tell … brands that being useful trumps being entertaining, and that advertising should be used as a window into the utility a brand offers.

—UX & TechnicalCo-Founder & Creative Director383

@john383

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … radio. The mother of Bluetooth, WiFi and your cellphone is still reinventing herself. Watch this space…

JON ANDREWS

D&AD judge and one of the most awarded interactive Creative Directors in the UK in 2014, Jon came up with the Cannes Lion Grand Prix winning “The Magic of Flying” outdoor campaign for British Airways, where children reacted to planes flying overhead.

—UX & TechnicalCreative Director, TechnologyOgilvyOne

@mrjonandrews

JON DAVIE

Jon is the UK CEO of Zone, the award-winning digital agency. He is responsible for new business, strategy and delivery across Zone’s blue-chip client portfolio, which includes Coca-Cola, Tesco, BT, Barratt Homes and the Nike Foundation. Since joining Zone in 2005, Jon has overseen the agency’s growth to become the number one independent in the UK, as ranked by The Drum’s independent agency census. Prior to Zone, Jon held senior client-side roles at three of the UK’s biggest digital success stories — the Guardian, lastminute.com and London 2012. He is a regular commentator on digital, social media and content, and was recently named Senior Digital Leader of the Year at The Digitals awards.

I got into digital because … at the time I came into the workplace, no-one else in newspapers was particularly interested in this new-fangled internet thing.

—UX & TechnicalUK CEOZone

@jondavie

My one wish would be … to end religion, embrace humanity and science, then get off this rock.

JON BAINS

Twenty-one year veteran Jon Bains is best known for founding award-winning digital agency Lateral. He went on to work on the controversial film ‘Unwatchable’ — raising awareness about rape and blood minerals in the DR. Congo — and ‘Downsizer’, a short about weaponised office equipment. He is currently founding partner of consultancy What & Why — purveyors of internationally proven, actionable strategy. What & Why provide proposition development and business planning directly with clients and in tandem with other agencies. As a regular industry speaker and commentator on human rights in our digital reality he firmly believes the answer to “should people be able to talk in private” is “yes”. Jon is always up for new challenges, conversation and of course contracts.

—ChampionsPartnerWhat & Why

@jonbains


JONNY TOOZE

JULIAN DOUCH

Jonny has poured his heart and soul into the digital industry in the last decade and no more so than over the last year. Leading Lab since 2003, in the last 12 months he has more than doubled staff numbers and revenue, won a number of large brands and created award-winning digital work. Lab is now one of the key ‘mid-tier’ agencies in the UK. He has assisted smaller agencies through advice and support to accelerate their growth and avoid common pitfalls. In addition, he has been actively involved in promoting the digital industry, technology and drones to audiences of students through to CEOs – helping inspire and educate a new generation and influence the way organisations approach digital.

Julian is the Managing Partner at Open Reply. In the past 3 years he has established Open as a leading UK full service digital brand agency that now works with some of the most well known UK and international brands, such as Monsoon Accessorize, The Body Shop and Estee Lauder Companies.Committed to helping grow the future of UK digital, he has established an agency packed with youth and guided by experience that continually looks to push the boundaries of technology to deliver great brand experiences. In 2014, he was a founding member of the BIMA CSD community and has championed the work of women and youth in digital, across Creative and Technology, working with universities to provide internships as well as BIMA Digital Day.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … drones and how they will revolutionise the world as we know it – I believe that drone technology is in its infancy.

The next big thing in digital will be … shoppable content. Combined with understanding customer data, retailers will be able to deliver highly personalised yet shortened path-to-purchase journeys, which will be a game changer.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging DirectorLab

@JonnyTooze

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsPartnerOpen Reply

@openreplyuk

My favourite quote is … “Two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion” — my Dad!

Not many people know that I … ran a pub with two of my best friends just after I finished university. That was a lesson in how to run a business, and one hell of a fun year!

KAREN BLACKETT

KARL LOUDON

Karen has been in media for 20 years, currently running the largest media agency in the UK, MediaCom. In her role as CEO, Karen controls £1.2bn of media billings, manages over 1,083 people and in 2014 led the agency to win over £119m of new business. Karen has also been personally recognised in the industry, featuring twice in Management Today’s ‘35 Under 35’, and five times in the Power List of the UK’s 100 most influential black people – most recently this year, where she came in at number 1. In 2012 Karen launched an apprentice scheme encouraging young people from all backgrounds to enter the industry. In 2014 Karen received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours for services to Media & Communications.

Karl’s design skills, business acumen and passion have led his digital transformation agency TRW to become one of the fastest growing agencies in the South West. He has just won a GBE award for Outstanding Young Executive, which comes after a fantastic first year for the company – with over 500k turnover, on track to hit 1m in the next financial year. TRW have worked with some of the UK’s biggest organisations, transforming their digital offerings. Karl’s mission is to bring creativity, technology and commercial strategy together.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsCEOMediaCom

@blackett_kt

—Rising StarsManaging Director & Owner TRW Digital Ltd

@KarlLoudon


KELLY MOOR

LAURA-MAY COOPE

Kelly Moor has quickly climbed the ranks, making her mark in digital marketing, and is well respected by colleagues and clients. Kelly has developed high calibre campaigns for clients such as GSK, Red Bull, Innocent Drinks and more, which have gone on to achieve outstanding results. In the last 12 months Kelly has worked on a rebrand campaign for MaxiNutrition where she pushed boundaries to ensure positive results were achieved, resulting in the client giving more focus to social media activity. Kelly’s eagerness to learn sets her apart. She is not comfortable with the average but strives to do amazing things.

My favourite quote is … “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old” — Peter F. Drucker

—Account Management & Business DevelopmentClient DirectorHeadstream

@kelly_moor

—ChampionsCo-FounderSocial Life

@lauramaycoope

I got into digital because … I love the internet. I learnt to touch type on MSN, made some of my oldest friends through MySpace and launched my first business through Facebook.

Laura-May Coope co-founded Social Life, alongside Radio 1’s digital innovation producer Alistair Parrington in 2013.Social Life works with clients including The X Factor, Sony Music, Sky and MTV bringing brands and broadcasters together with young audiences online.She previously led social media at BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra for almost five years, taking the station’s social channels from infancy to millions of fans across the globe, re-launching the Radio 1 Breakfast Show online and introducing YouTuber talent.As well as lecturing at universities, Laura-May is a regular speaker at international events including Advertising Week, Social Media Week London and BBC Introducing Live. Laura-May was recently placed 7th in The Drum’s Social Buzz Top 50.

My favourite quote is ...“Beware the barrenness of a busy life” — Socrates

The next big thing in digital will be … overlaying reality to help humans better understand non-verbal cues, emotions, language etc to deepen how we communicate.

LEA SIMPSON

LESLIE FOUNTAIN

Lea has been strategy director, board member and shareholder of TH_NK for the last four years. In that time she has given the agency a reputation for having one of the foremost digital strategy teams in the market. In the last year Lea has lead the agency to win major clients for the agency including Britvic, Toyota, The Post Office and Atom Bank. Lea is a keen supporter of the UK digital industry, speaking at numerous events from Vision in Bristol to Google Rewired. She has also represented TH_NK and the industry in the media across press, radio and TV.

Throughout her 20-year career Leslie has championed designing with — rather than for — the customer, to create experiences which meet their needs while advancing business objectives. As MD of Foolproof she is transforming the way businesses think about their relationships with customers.Leslie also led Foolproof’s merger with Flow Interactive and the acquisition of creative technology agency, Knit.She actively encourages personal and leadership development; helping experience designers, particularly women, grow and reach their full potential. Leslie is pushing the boundaries of digital design, using her knowledge and experience presenting at conferences and events.

—Women in TechStrategy DirectorTH_NK

@leasimpson

—Women in TechManaging DirectorFoolproof

@LjkFountain


LISA BLYTHMAN-WOOD

LIZZIE DYSON

Lisa is an award-winning creative leader, with nearly twenty years experience working across a large spectrum of disciplines from retail to FMCG, corporate to social, digital and ambient, UK and Worldwide. She believes that technology can enable greater human experiences. The evolution of digital makes Lisa want to open the eyes and minds of young people. Working with emerging talent in order to meet the future employment opportunities being created across this expanding sector.Encouraging young people into her industry has always been a passion. Lisa feels energised by expanding horizons for students and believes it is important to show commitment to bring new talent, raise awareness and represent the industry she works in.

Lizzie is the proud Co-Founder of Ladies that UX, a group with the aim of creating and welcoming a collaborative community of inquisitive women, pushing boundaries and promoting community members. Since the first meet-up in August 2013 the group has grown to 30 cities across four continents, growing at roughly one city per week. From the success of Ladies that UX, Talk UX was born, a conference Lizzie is organising with her co-founder Georgie Bottomley, consisting of a fully female line-up. Talk UX will provide a platform for women to speak about their achievements in a safe, friendly and relaxed environment — encouraging women who wouldn’t normally speak at events to take on the challenge.

My desert island luxury would be… gin & tonic and flowering trees.

Given the chance, I’d tell … all the ‘Ladies that UX’ organisers how amazing they are for helping build such an amazing community.

—ChampionsAssociate Creative DirectorVML

@LBW

—Women in TechUser Experience DesignerLadies that UX

@Lizziedyson


The innovation that’s excited me lately is … Graphene. It’s one of the thinnest and densest materials ever created, and will enable all tech to be bendy in future. A real game-changer.

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … predictive content personalisation becoming increasingly common in commercial Content Management Systems.

LOUISE JORDEN

MARK LUSTED

Louise is an industry tour de force, celebrated entrepreneur and award-winning creative director – developing pioneering brands and digital experiences for large corporations over the last 20 years.From telecoms to transport, financial services to FMCG, she’s worked across numerous sectors in the UK and USA. Her claim to fame is once helping Steve Jobs with his presentation skills (even heroes need a hand sometimes).Today she spearheads a nimble, future-facing approach to creativity – as shown in the recent ‘Rufus Reinvents’ hackathon, where global talent spent a week reinventing finance. Her influence has culminated in many plaudits for Rufus, including #1 Elite Status in The Drum’s Digital Census.Louise also founded startup Beautiful Corporations to redefine what sustainability means for people and businesses.

Mark is the founder and Managing Director of Dock9, having established the agency in 2008 aged 23. Dock9 has organically grown to a team of 11, being profitable in every year of operation. Mark’s goal is to build Dock9 into the leading UK agency creating and marketing websites on the Telerik Sitefinity CMS platform. 2014 was a break-out year for Dock9, delivering year-on-year growth in turnover of 38%, growing the team from 6 to 11, moving to new offices in the City of London and being named Telerik Sitefinity’s European Partner of the Quarter for Q3 2014. Clients include: Acenden, Investors in Homes, St John Ambulance and Tradex.

—CreativesCreative DirectorRufus Leonard

@louisejorden

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging DirectorDock9


MATTHEW MARRIOTT

MATTHEW TWEDDLE

Matt is responsible for finding new project opportunities for the Search and Performance Marketing department of twentysix. He joined the team in 2013, to aid the agency in finding new clients.Matt has eight years Business Development experience in the digital marketing industry and has also worked for a variety of agencies that include Vista, Coolpink and 9xb.He’s committed to developing relationships and searching out exciting projects. Over the last year and half, Matt’s hard work has helped to play an integral part in aiding the team to achieve fourteen new client wins.After studying Multimedia Technology at Leeds Beckett University, Matt decided to pursue a career in the digital industry.

Matthew is Co-Founder and Creative Director of Only, a design and brand consultancy specialising in digital. Building on a reputation for delivering large-scale digital projects, Only have undertaken a series of ambitious projects in their first year of business that seek to revolutionise designing for the web. Most notably redesigning Goldsmiths, University of London and embarking on a re-think of BIMA’s entire digital presence. Formerly Head of Design at Numiko, Matthew has previously led transformative work for the Design Council, Nesta, Channel 4 and WaterAid. His work has been featured in Design Week, Creative Review and .NET Magazine and recognised by BIMA, AWWWards, siteInspire, FWA and BAFTA to name a few.

The film title that describes my life is … A Life Less Ordinary

At school I … made a Flash intro for my band’s website.

—Account Management & Business DevelopmentBusiness Development Managertwentysix

—CreativesFounder & Creative DirectorOnly

@matthewtweddle

I’m where I am today because … I’ve not played the politics game.

The next big thing in digital will be … going beyond crypto-currency to the “currency of you”. Based on what you know and contribute, a unit of you will be worth more or less than someone else’s.

MEL EDWARDS

MICKAEL PARIS

Mel joined Wunderman UK as CEO in 2012 from LIDA where she oversaw the agency’s most successful years. It doubled profit through a combination of organic growth and new business wins including IKEA, Intercontinental Hotel Group, TUI and 02, and culminated in LIDA being named Marketing Magazine’s 2011 Direct Marketing Agency of the Year.Since arriving Mel has added over 10 new clients, including Shell’s consolidated global CRM and digital account, CRM for Coca-Cola in Northern Europe, global digital for GSK, CRM and social for News UK across The Times and The Sun. This resulted in Wunderman being shortlisted as Campaign’s Customer Engagement Agency 2014. In February 2015, Mel stepped up to also become CEO of Wunderman EMEA.

Mickael has been leading Standard Life’s digital transformation, introducing multivariate testing and behavioural targeting to the company amongst other things. He has taken Standard Life on a journey, making people more aware of digital requirements. In 12 months this led to a 30% increase in SEO traffic and high ROI across all digital channels. Changing Standard Life’s operating model is also important to Mickael. He is pushing the business to use more boutique and agile partners to learn from them. In a year Mickael grew his team from two people to nine and he is in the process of hiring three more, which will help make Standard Life digital first. Mickael has recently been appointed as Head of Digital Marketing.

—Women in TechChairmanWunderman UK

@_MelEdwards

—Brand-side Digital StarsHead of Digital MarketingStandard Life

@MickScotland


NADYA POWELL

NEIL COLLARD

Nadya believes that the way ahead is to keep your eyes firmly on the future, hence she has been at the cutting edge of creative technology for 20 years.In 2013, Nadya founded Lost Boys, part of the DigitasLBi network. Her role combines the three things she loves — people, business and creativity — all powered by technology. In 2014 Nadya was in the BIMA Hot 100, The Drum’s Social Buzz countdown top 10 most influential people in social media marketing, and was named as one of The Hospital Club’s H100. She is a regular columnist for Admap and in her spare time Nadya co-founded Innovation Social — an affiliation of Innovation Directors — and Millennial Mentoring, which seeks to drive diversity in advertising.

Neil has 17 years of digital agency experience under his belt, nine of those at e3 which he has headed up since 2012. Since then he has passionately spearheaded the transition of the organisation from creative agency to leading digital business consultants. Under Neil’s leadership, e3 has become one of the UKs most awarded independent digital marketing agencies, winning over 20 awards in 2014 for clients including Royal Navy, Orange & Kia — proof that the thinking is right. In the last year, Neil is proudest of the multi award-winning work e3 delivered for Royal Navy; and helping Kia to generate over £1bn worth of car sales.

My favourite quote/saying is … like that, but better.

Relaxation is … a distant memory. Having a big family (4 boys) makes home life ‘fun’, but does somewhat encroach on relaxation time.

—ChampionsManaging DirectorLost Boys

@NadsBads

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging Directore3

@neilcollard

I got into digital because … of the fantastic opportunity to drive innovation where creative technologies meet the out-of-home audience.

I got into digital because … I’m a bit of a geek.

NEIL MORRIS

NEIL PERKIN

Neil is the Founder of Grand Visual — a production and creative technology company that has been driving the dramatic emergence of Digital Out of Home over the past ten years. Grand Visual’s mission is to combine creative thinking, technology expertise and production technique to make the most of the exciting space where digital experiences intersect with the real, physical world. The company has been pushing the boundaries for creative technology in DOOH, gaining international acclaim along the way. The Pepsi Max unbelievable bus shelter, (BIMA Award 2014 for Location) is a great example of this pioneering work. Other highlights include the development of the OpenLoop technology platform, which enabled the multi-award winning Google Outside and Google Front Row campaigns.

Neil is the founder of Digital Consultancy (and well known blog) Only Dead Fish, working with organisations as diverse as the FT, BBC, J&J and Richemont. Neil is also co-founder of the Twitter curation app Fraggl, which won Google as its first corporate customer, and the author of a series of Econsultancy Best Practice Guides into Digital Transformation. He also runs Google’s Digital Trends service, Digital Shift. Neil is a keynote speaker on the Google Squared programme and curator of the rapidly expanding Google Firestarters thought-leadership events, which in the past year have gone global — expanding from London to New York and SXSWi, and to Sydney. He is currently writing a book on Digital Transformation.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsFounder & CEOGrand Visual

@GrandVisual

—ChampionsFounderOnly Dead Fish

@neilperkin


NICHOLA STOTT

NICK FARNHILL

Having founded multi-award winning digital agency theMediaFlow with zero investment and an organic growth plan, Nichola has gone on to become one of the most respected entrepreneurs in the digital marketing space, driving the company into sustained years of growth and expansion. Using her knowledge of search gained whilst head of UK search partners at Yahoo!, she’s directed growth in revenue and visibility for theMediaFlow’s clients — attracting numerous industry awards as well as speaking and writing on search and digital marketing at conferences around Europe.

Nick is a founding partner and CEO of POKE; a creative ‘practice’ focused on delivering original and exceptional interactive communications and services. Clients include EE, UBS, Google, Ted Baker, Mulberry, HBO and BBC. In 2010, Nick and the Poke partners launched The Lovie Awards and Internet Week Europe – a week-long festival celebrating the wonderful and inspiring things connected by the web’s many tentacles. He continues to Co-Chair the festival.Nick is also founder of charitable initiative The 100 Project, advises Space Studios, England’s largest provider of studios for visual artists and is a non-exec director for National Citizen Service.

The next big thing in digital will be… immersive computing experiences powered by holographic computing and augmented reality.

Not many people know that I… have a world record for the longest horse race.

—Women in TechManaging DirectortheMediaFlow

@NicholaStott

—ChampionsCEOPOKE

@nickfarnhill

Not many people know that I… used to make lightening machines for a living and electrocuted myself almost daily, for the first 2 years of my working life.

I’m where I am today because… I look for ways to move out of my comfort zone and develop new skills and thought processes that push me to make mistakes, but also learn from them.

OLIVIA SALISBURY

OREN GREENBERG

In a career spanning two decades, Olivia has delivered digital, innovation and customer experience strategy for financial services giants and technology innovators. She is renowned for using a balance of customer insight and engineering disciplines to solve complex digital experience problems for global corporations.Olivia can often be found – embedded within her client organisations – identifying opportunities to achieve mutually beneficial relationships between brands and their customers, whilst driving innovation into the core of a company’s culture and practice. She is an outspoken advocate for customer centred design, and is respected in the board rooms of some of the largest FS firms in the world for her ability to recognise the right problem to solve with the right solution.

As the founder and CEO of Kurve, Oren lives and breathes digital. He founded Kurve in 2012 and it has grown exponentially since then. He was head of search at Wonga, and previously held senior roles at TouchLocal and WinkBingo. He has been interviewed by different media channels and is often quoted for his insights and achievements within the digital media industry.Oren is also a public speaker and a mentor for young talent. He helps budding entrepreneurs leap across the perilous hurdles of startup failures to grow successful and socially contributing businesses. Oren believes in purpose, creativity and passion and generates cooperative and responsible work cultures that are based on transparency and communication.

—UX & TechnicalHead of Strategy & Insight / Managing Consultant Tobias & Tobias

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging DirectorKurve

@orengreen


PAUL DAVIES

Paul is the Director of Marketing Communications for Microsoft UK, where he leads the marketing activity for some of the most famous consumer technology brands in the world including Windows, Windows Phone, Surface, Bing, MSN, Internet Explorer and Office. Making him a digital marketer within a digital business. Paul has a track record in marrying the world of art, culture & entertainment with the digital capabilities of Microsoft, through unique talent collaborations. Recent examples include the multi-awarded Brandon Generator online crowd-sourced interactive serial curated by Edgar Wright, a unique film collaboration with Gorillaz to celebrate Internet Explorer, and the creation of the world’s largest Surface tablet device in Trafalgar Square.

I got into digital because… I was drawn to a world where you can surprise and delight consumers directly, instantaneously, and through the magic of technology.

My great ideas… typically arrive when I take a shower.

PAUL RICE

Paul Rice owns several digital companies including Once Byten, an innovative app company that designed, built and managed the Paul McKenna Hypnotic Gastric Band app which topped Number 1 in the UK App Store in October 2014. Paul has recently launched TAGGR, a smart social shopping app which uses a unique algorithm in a first for social shopping and m-commerce, and will soon launch an iBeacon Platform for the Retail sector. Aside from apps, Paul is also the founder of Digital Marketing Agency, Ricemedia. Paul and his teams are passionate about the future of the digital industry in the UK, and work with local schools, businesses and education organisations to help nurture the pipeline of future digitals.

—Brand-side Digital StarsDirector of Marketing CommunicationsMicrosoft

@paul_davies

—Entrepreneurs & CEOs Owner / CEOOnce Byten & Ricemedia

@paul_rice

PAUL SMITH

Paul Smith is the driving force behind Campus North, a 10,000 sq ft venue in the heart of Newcastle for early-stage technology companies, and is the CEO of Ignite – the UK’s top pre-seed accelerator programme. The team at Campus North were instrumental in national growth of CodeClub, devising and piloting the first regional coordinator role in the UK regions. The venue also hosts free community coding classes and other educational events. In his role as startup advisor and investor, Paul’s influence is widely-recognised – he is an early-stage investor in Jinn, Moltin and Reframed.tv and an advisor to Shuttlecook and Hassle.com.

I’m where I am today because ...people trusted me and took a chance on me when they had no real reason to. It’s taught me to take the same attitude towards others.

The film title that describes my life is… From Russia with Love.

PETER DOLUKHANOV

Peter is co-founder and Managing Director at Nice Agency, heading up Technology & Operations. Peter’s career in technology has spanned over 14 years and has included architecting, designing and delivering multi-platform digital products for enterprise and consumer industries with financial, media and publishing clients. He co-founded Nice Agency with Ryan Hall in 2009. Nice Agency were recently acquired by Karmarama with Peter being appointed as Group CTO. Peter’s joint-leadership has seen Nice acquiring and delivering success for clients including Flybe, Ticketmaster, The Independent and RTE. This success led to accolades for the agency, including Top 10 Agency status in The Drum’s Digital Census, noted as Ones to Watch by eConsultancy and named in B2B Marketing’s Top Agencies list.

—ChampionsCEO & Co-founderIgnite & Campus North

@paul_a_smith

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging Director, Nice / Group CTO, Karmarama

@dolukhanov


PETER HOOLE

PHIL YOUNG

In 2014 Peter co-founded The Agency Collective which is a networking group aimed at smaller agencies under 1m turnover, offering guidance and support to their founders as they grow their agencies. An agency CFO by trade, Peter regularly speaks on agency growth to smaller agencies and is champion for their growth. Running this venture happens in his spare time, as his day job is as non-exec director to a handful of larger more well-known agencies.

Phil leads digital at TfL, creating world class web, open data, social media and intranet products that serve 10 million customers and 25,000 staff. He has brought TfL to the forefront of public services that are adopting agile ways of working and new technologies. This culminated in the launch of a new responsive-design website in March 2014, now used by 81% of Londoners. Phil has positioned TfL as a leader in open data, releasing feeds and live APIs to a community of over 6,000 registered developers. There are now 360 smartphone apps powered by TfL data and used by millions. Phil leads on a highly respected social media portfolio for marketing, customer services and live travel information spanning 1.8m followers.

My one wish would be… to look back on my life and have no regrets.

Relaxation is… walking in the countryside, time with family and friends and reading.

—ChampionsManaging ConsultantCact.us

@peterhoole

—ChampionsHead of OnlineTransport for London

@how_interesting

I’m where I am today because ...of Google maps.

I’ve never… watched Star Trek.

RAVI RUPAREL

REBECCA BROWN

Ravi established Platform in 2014 to help brands, agencies and entrepreneurs invent digital first experience. The strategy is based on leading some of the fastest growing businesses. These include helping Probability Games to IPO and Fortune Cookie to sale to WPP. Now that the CV boxes have been ticked, Ravi focuses on combining technology with art, psychology and economics to deliver wicked work and make people smile. In its first year, Platform has delivered in the areas of augmented reality, automated content creation, social media content, real time digital art and electronics. This has led to millions of interactions for clients like Universal Music, CURB Group, Seven and startups, including the artists Tiesto, Ariana Grande, Pharrell, ACDC and Imagine Dragons.

Two years on from joining DBD Media, Rebecca Brown now heads up the agency’s content marketing department and has developed an award-winning blogger community used by prestigious brands such as Air France, Breast Cancer Care and Lyle & Scott. The Bloggers’ Lounge was developed by Rebecca and her team as a resource for bloggers interested in improving their digital presence. Rebecca’s initiative in developing content marketing strategies has played a key part in the success of DBD Media’s business, and has contributed to the success of digital marketing campaigns for the agency’s clients. Her work has helped accelerate the move towards high quality, content-led and user focused SEO best practice within the UK industry.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsCEOPlatform

@raviruparel

—Rising StarsContent Marketing ManagerDBD Media

@RebeccaGraceB


RICHARD JONES

RISHI SAHA

Richard has created and launched a hot new interactive marketing platform for brands and agencies, which has grown exponentially over the last three years and is now used by clients in 72 countries. Without taking any venture capital financing, the company has grown organically and now employs over 50 people, with offices in London, New York, LA and Sydney. With subscription revenue growing at over 100% per annum, EngageSciences has attracted a growing portfolio of leading brands, media companies and travel companies such as Discovery Communications, Scripps Interactive, Vodafone, Microsoft, Etihad and Air New Zealand to base their interactive marketing strategies on the company’s award-winning software.

Rishi Saha is the Head of Public Policy for Facebook in the UK. He previously led digital communications at 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for online outreach and citizen engagement. Rishi joined Facebook from the WPP consulting firm, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, where he served as the Dubai-based Regional Director for the Middle East, India, Africa and Turkey region.

My little-known hobby is… playing football. The problem is at 41 I need to manage a team to make sure I still get selected!

My favourite quote is… “We must not lose our faculty to dare, particularly in dark days” — Winston Churchill, 1942.

—InnovatorsFounder & CEOEngageSciences

@oldstriker

—Media Owner & Platform StarsHead of Public Policy UKFacebook

Given the chance, I’d tell… Elon Musk I’m very jealous of him.

The next big thing in digital will be… automation.

ROB SMITH

ROBIN CHARNEY

Rob is the Managing Director of digital commerce agency, Blueleaf. Rob is committed to sharing his digital expertise with the wider community. In 2014 he was on a panel at Manchester Digital’s Skills Summit, sharing his views on the skills gap. He delivered a workshop at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he shared his advice with 300 students and businesses. Rob’s delivered workshops at numerous meet-ups and conferences including FOWD and The Venda Conference. In 2014 Rob’s commitment to digital was celebrated by Business Insider, when he was included in their elite “42 under 42” list. He was also included in The Drum Digerati.

Robin joined the AAR in 2013 and leads the Digital and Innovation practice. During that time she’s led digital transformation projects for Sainsbury’s, MoneySupermarket, SSE and Prezzo amongst others. She also works tirelessly with AAR’s community of digital agencies helping them stand out and win business in an always-competitive marketplace. Previous to joining AAR, Robin was at Adobe for 7 years heading up Platform Marketing for EMEA. She is immersed in all aspects of Digital Marketing from User Experience Design and Social, to Analytics and Mobile. She also has a deep enthusiasm for the startup scene emerging from Shoreditch and Tech City and how that collides with traditional marketing models.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOs Managing DirectorBlueleaf

@rob_smith

—Women in TechBusiness Director, Digital and InnovationAAR

@Rcharney


RODRIGO SOBRAL

RON PETERSON

Rodrigo Sobral is R/GA London’s Integrated Executive Creative Director and is responsible for the agency’s creative output. Since joining R/GA in January 2013, he has brought in a clear focus on developing Campaign and Storytelling capabilities, as well as a bold creative vision to realise the agency’s ambition of becoming a Broadcast leader – and played an integral role in the office winning Campaign’s Digital Innovation Agency of the Year in 2014.Rodrigo is also Global Executive Creative Director on the Beats By Dr. Dre account, working on Beats Pills, Hear What You Want and The Game Before The Game campaigns. Rod has won Gold Cannes Lions, a Clio Grand Prix and was named in the Top 20 Creative Directors by Campaign.

A driven, entrepreneurial leader, Ron serves as General Manager for AKQA. Ron has the honour of creating the future for the most innovative brands in the world, which include Nike, Virgin, Levi’s, BBC, and others. Ron leads teams to deliver simple, customer-centric solutions designed to make an impact.Results-oriented, Ron has a track record of success. He founded and led his own action-sports business through six years of double-digit growth. Ron co-created an independent business entity of TBWA named Business Arts. He was a patent inventor for a social insights tool. He spearheaded AKQA’s Global Social Practice as the Head of Social. And Ron now serves as General Manager in London.Ron loves to surf, take photos, and write.

My little-known hobby is… organising and colour coding.

My favourite quote is… “Reduce to ultimate simplicity” – Tadao Ando

—CreativesExecutive Creative DirectorR/GA London

@Rodrigo_Sobral_

—Rising StarsGeneral ManagerAKQA

@12onPeterson

Feel more of the love by getting involved in the bima community.

Find out how membership benefits agencies, brands, startups, students and freelance digital professionals. Contact Jasmin on [email protected] or 020 3538 6607


Relaxation is… doing something that needs complete focus and removes everyday distractions. Especially when that something involves being in the mountains of Scotland.

My favourite saying is… “Why not?” It can get me into trouble but as you get older you realise life is both short and amazing, so why not go for it!

ROSS WILSON

SARAH JORDAN

Ross has been integral to Kotikan’s success, pushing the company to double in both revenue and team size each year. Kotikan now boasts a team of 60 dedicated mobile professionals. Ross has established himself as a leader in the mobile industry, often called upon to share his perspective at digital events and offer advice to some of the world’s leading brands. Through targeting high growth organisations with a real need for a quality mobile offering, Ross ensures Kotikan builds solid long-term relationships with their partners. In 2014, Ross worked closely with FanDuel, the US leader in daily fantasy sports. The app reached number 1 in the US iTunes sports category and continues to generate millions of dollars in revenue each week.

Sarah has been a significant player in digital for some time, most recently with high-profile roles at Oxfam and the MS Society, as well as strategic advisor for organisations including the BBC and National Trust. Sarah has been in the tech industry for nearly 20 years and is a recognised industry leader and mentor, regular conference speaker and judge for numerous industry awards. Having risen to Director level herself, Sarah is a passionate advocate for women in the digital and tech industries and has recently co-founded NINE, an initiative to support women in these areas. NINE builds on Sarah’s experience and skills in the digital industry, and complements the women’s networking business she runs in Oxford.

—Account Management & Business DevelopmentHead of Business Development and Mobile StrategistKotikan

@kotikan

—Women in TechCo FounderNINE

@sarahbjordan

IBMInteractive Experiencecongratulates Cheyney Robinsonon her induction into the 2015 BIMA Hot 100

IBMInteractiveExperience

Cheyney RobinsonChief Creative Officer, EU


SEAN SINGLETON

SHEY COBLEY

Sean is a digital industry veteran. His taste of digital was launching websites for magazine titles like World Soccer and Rugby World. After he launched and ran award-winning agency Skive for over 10 years, Sean launched a digital consultancy and worked with companies like Wall Street Journal and Telegraph. Recently he was appointed Managing Director of Digital Annexe, where he successfully helped launch DA University 2015 – a digital marketing conference.

Shey Cobley has 10 years of experience in the UX sector. In that time she has crafted UX-friendly digital designs across numerous industries, including government, sports, travel, aviation and financial services. For the past six years she worked for Optimal Experience (now PWC) in Australia, before joining digital design agency Critical Mass in 2014. At Optimal, Shey overhauled digital for the NRL (National Rugby League), for Australia’s leading bank (Westpac) and for government projects. Since joining Critical Mass, Shey has applied her expertise in creating exciting, user-friendly interfaces to CitiBank (overseeing a global UX project), HP and South African Tourism, designing experiences that create new opportunities for the brands. She has contributed regularly to the UX alliance best practice studies.

I got into digital because … I was a publisher of a few declining football magazines and I decided to follow my readers from print to digital. If you can’t beat them, join them!

My one wish … would be to visit every country in the world.

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsManaging DirectorDigital Annexe

@paulpingles

—UX & TechnicalAssociate director of UX designCritical Mass

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … the voice recognition on my new smartwatch. Somehow it’s even more Star Trek than on my phone.

I got into digital because …I enjoy its unpredictable nature. The only predictable thing is that next year will be different to this current one.

SHUVO SAHA

SIJI ONABANJO

In 2014, Shuvo set up Google’s Digital Academy, which runs education programmes including “Squared”, helping develop the marketing industry’s top young talent. In 2015 he’s launching new initiative “The Talent Revolution” which will provide free digital skills benchmarking for marketing departments. Shuvo previously led Google’s Sales Team working with the FMCG industry, and also played host and curator for Google’s “Think Marketing” events. He started his career in Brand Management at Procter and Gamble, driving much of P&G’s first digital work in the late 90s and early 00s. Outside of work, Shuvo sits on the boards of three educational charities supporting development from early teens to young adults. He’s married with two sons and lives in South West London.

Integral to the company’s growth strategy, Siji leads the growth team whilst being account manager to key clients – each scoring consistently highly (92% average) in audited satisfaction reviews. This success is largely down to Siji’s relentless approach when tackling client challenges and his ability to effectively establish and nurture these relationships. Passionate about contributing to the digital community, Siji founded The Digital Pond, London’s largest free-to-attend digital meetup of its kind. In July, he was also selected to be on the Young Rewired State judging panel. All Siji’s achievements over the last year culminated in him winning Account Handler of the Year at the Wirehive 100 Awards, celebrating the best in digital across the South of England.

—Media Owner & Platform StarsDirector, Google Digital AcademyGoogle

@shuvosaha

—Account Management & Business DevelopmentGrowth DirectorCyber-Duck

@Siji_banjo


SIMON DEVONSHIRE

SIMON LEVITT

For many years Simon has been an active ambassador of the business eco-system, passionately campaigning for the success of entrepreneurs and their businesses. Through his Directorship of Wayra, the business accelerator that belongs to Telefonica, Simon has helped scale-up more than 200 fast-growth digital businesses.For five years Simon ran the Business Division of O2 UK, during which the organisation doubled its number of business customers.In parallel to his corporate career, Simon is a serial entrepreneur. He helped cofound and scale a portfolio of digital businesses including: Zopa.com; The Local Data Company; and TalentCupboard.com.Simon is currently the Entrepreneur in Residence — Scale-up for the UK Government reporting to the Dept of Business, Innovation and Skills.

Simon is a talented technical director and creative technologist, driving digital projects that are changing the nature of consumer experiences across the globe. Simon brings the creative vision of his clients to life, making ground-breaking ideas a reality. He integrates rapidly-changing user needs and manages teams to deliver seamless connected solutions.

The next big thing in digital will be … Predictive Intelligent Convenience.

My great ideas … occur when I’m thinking about something completely different.

—Brand-side Digital StarsSerial entrepreneurCo-founder of Wayra Europe / One Water / TalentCupboard.com

@simondevonshire

—UX & TechnicalFord Technical DirectorImagination

@simonlevitt

The film title that describes my life is ...Burn Before Reading

The innovation that’s excited me lately is … augmented reality. The only thing that could let the future of AR down is our imaginations.

STEPHEN LEPITAK

STEVE RADJEN

Stephen Lepitak is editor of The Drum having been with Europe’s largest media and marketing website and magazine for almost a decade. Travelling between The Drum’s offices in London, Glasgow and New York, Lepitak oversees the publication’s international editorial team working in print and online. He is an avid follower of media and film, with a failed five-a-side football career behind him and a lot more dog walking in the park with Treacle to look forward to in his spare time.

Steve Radjen has steered CDD from what was a traditional marketing and advertising agency, formed in 1997, to a multi award-winning creative digital agency. From an unknown entity to the recipient of a 2014 DADI Award and three Wirehive Awards. This year, CDD were voted the UK’s most respected agency in The Drum Design Census Peer Poll. Steve is an ambassador for Digital: His work as a regional advisor for BIMA and involvement with local universities encourages new talent into the sector. Steve is a recognisable and present digital leader with many private invitations to join peers in industry discussion. Steve’s passion for digital continues to drive him, which is reflected in the work that CDD deliver to their clients.

—Media Owner & Platform StarsEditorThe Drum

@StephenLepitak

—Entrepreneurs & CEOsFounder & Managing DirectorCDD

@cdd_steve


TANYA CORDREY

TOM BALL

As The Guardian’s Chief Digital Officer, Tanya has led the development of an unparalleled run of award-winning, innovative digital products delivered to 120 million global monthly unique browsers. This has aided the rise of The Guardian as a global brand and helped increase digital revenues significantly year-on-year. Key highlights include the Guardian’s ground-breaking global domain change in 2013, recognised as one of the world’s largest domain switches; the launch of the next generation responsive website in 2014; and the launch of the Guardian’s award-winning iPhone and Android apps in 2013 as well as being one of the first organisations to create Glassware for the UK Explorer launch in 2014.

At 29 years old, Tom has already amassed eight years of agency-side marketing experience with a heavy focus in digital across multiple disciplines. He has led and delivered strategic social media projects for clients including IBM, Thomson Reuters and Sony Music (One Direction, Little Mix, Labrynth). In the process he has developed award-winning propositions around real-time social engagement and in B2B lead generation. This has landed Tom a string of award nominations including Best Use of Social Media, Best Lead Generation and an International AMEC Award nomination for social media measurement.

My one wish would be … to direct a James Bond or Star Wars film.

I got into digital because … I love marketing and I like a rationale based on science and numbers. And I’m a bit of a geek I guess.

—Media Owner & Platform StarsChief Digital OfficerGuardian News and Media

@tcordrey

—Rising StarsDirector of Digitalimmediate future

@tomball1985

At school I … was boringly well behaved… I think.

I’m where I am today because … I wasn’t afraid to say yes to things that weren’t certain.

TOM SCOTT

VIKKI CHOWNEY

Tom is still within his first three years in the digital industry. After university, Tom landed a role as one of the four members of the award-winning team providing social media coverage of the London 2012 Olympics for the official @teamGB accounts. Describing it as a “baptism of fire”, Tom credits this as key to getting his first permanent role. Tom now works at digital agency Engage, not just on social but across many digital disciplines, helping shape great campaigns for national clients. In 2014, Tom won the Mark Hanson Award at the UK Social Media Awards, which recognises the brightest and most promising social media communicator under 30 years old.

Vikki doubled the size of her team at TMW Unlimited throughout 2014, ending the year by overseeing 25 people who worked across 35+ major brands within Unilever, Activision, Reckitt Benckiser, Canon and more. At the beginning of 2014, parent company Creston also gave Vikki a second title within the group, as Head of Agency at Things Unlimited. She then worked on a rebrand that repositioned the agency as a joint venture between TMW and Nelson Bostock. In January 2015 Vikki joined H+K Strategies as Director of Content & Publishing Strategies, to lead on the creation of world-class content across all of its portfolio and sectors, also joining the agency’s most senior leadership team.

—Rising StarsDigital Marketing ManagerEngage

@tomscott1

—Women in TechDirector of Content & Publishing StrategiesHill+Knowlton Strategies

@vikkichowney


WILL WRIGHT & JAMES LUCKING

WYNDHAM RICHARDSON

Will and James have just landed their first job straight out of SCA 2.0. During their single year of studying they created the online movement Donate & Nominate which transformed neck nominations into blood donations. It crippled NHS donor centres, made it into the Metro newspaper and continues to help save lives. It also won them Students of the Year at the BIMA Awards. At 27 and 20 respectively they are one of the youngest full time creative teams in London and their ambition guarantees this is just the very beginning. Will and James aren’t trying to win pencils and lions; they want Oscars and Nobel prizes.

Wyndham serves as a Board Member for both Hawk-Eye Innovations and Pulselive.As Managing Director of Pulselive (acquired by Sony in 2011), Wyndham oversees all areas of the business and has ultimate responsibility for managing the digital properties and products of Pulselive’s major clients, including the International Cricket Council, World Rugby and ESPN. Working at the intersection of broadcast, digital and social, he has delivered numerous multi-platform fan engagement initiatives, including the first use of real-time voting on BBC Match of the Day. This work led to Pulselive becoming an Official Twitter Display Partner, the first in the UK.Outside of work, Wyndham loves a summer music festival and to travel, particularly during the UK winter!

We’ve never…been able to concentrate on one thing at a time.

Given the chance, I’d tell… anyone not enjoying their work to move into digital – there are so many diverse and exciting opportunities, especially in the UK.

—Rising starsCreativesJWT / formerly SCA 2.0

@itswillandjames

—InnovatorsCo-Founder & MDPulselive (A Sony Company)

@wtqr

The next big thing in digital will be… the mass proliferation of screens, including smart watches and connected cars, in the next year or so – and all based on a mobile operating system.

The next big thing in digital… will be when the next billion people in Asia come online and start spending more and more.

ZAC PINKHAM

ZEESHAN MALLICK

Zac Pinkham was appointed Millennial Media’s EMEA MD in November 2013. As a keen media commentator on mobile and digital advertising, Zac has helped to drive Millennial Media’s reputation in a year when it was crowned Most Effective Advertising Network 2014 at the EMMAs. Zac is a member of the IAB’s Mobile Board as well as a regular speaker at industry events, including Festival of Media and the Dublin Web Summit, where he evangelises to brand marketers on the power of mobile for brands to engage and delight their target audiences. As a digital veteran of 12 years, it is individuals like Zac with his leadership of Millennial Media who are shaping the future of the industry in the UK.

Zeeshan’s experience, approach and influence on the industry is drawn from roles at NetBooster, SapientNitro, Sony Ericsson, Orange and now at 7thingsmedia. Experienced in managing multi-million global campaigns, Zeeshan actively sets the tone of 7thingsmedia’s world-wide scale including growth in the UK & US, plus managing the agency’s first African based client – Ecommerce giant Konga.com. Beyond this, Zeeshan is a part time lecturer at IBCS Inseec Business Consulting Service to help develop the next generation of digital marketers.

—ChampionsManaging Director, EMEAMillennial Media

@zacpinkham

—InnovatorsDigital Director7thingsmedia

@ZeeshanMallick

bima hot 100 of 2015

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