Our People

The former Regional Vice President and head of the London office for AIA Worldwide, Kathryn brings extensive industry experience with her to Stafford Long. With a real pedigree in building lasting relationships, she’s known for her ability to guide commercial clients as they embrace new technologies and navigate global complexity.

Matt graduated with a degree in English Literature and began his career in communications as a copywriter. He’s amassed more than a decade of writing and creative experience covering everything from marketing campaigns to digital strategies and employer brands. Career highlights include: shooting a viral video in a laundrette, landing a smoking meteorite on campus and picking up a clutch of awards for innovations, internal communications, graduate campaigns, ads, websites and brochures. In his spare time, he has also written and performed pantomimes, sketches and a comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Sue has an abundance of experience leading agency teams and working with big-name clients. Whether it’s recruitment, marketing, comms, strategy, or change management, Sue brings passion, inventiveness, a consultative approach, and good humour – all geared toward helping clients succeed in the long run of course. Her career highs include shooting a commercial alongside Gwyneth Paltrow (yes, really); doing an actual, literal elevator pitch (successfully) after getting stuck in a lift with a potential client en route to their boardroom; and of course, the many shiny awards that have recognised the talented teams and clients she has worked with.

Amy has worked in the talent communications industry for nearly 20 years across a variety of different roles. With extensive experience leading on tactical and strategic campaigns for a wide variety of clients she loves nothing more than getting stuck into clients problems (mostly resourcing related, but a lot else can be solved over a glass of wine too) and helping them transform their talent attraction.

After an Economics degree, Tristan wondered whether his side hustle making websites might actually be a career option so started out working as a web developer. Since entering the employer comms industry over 15 years ago he has applied his love for all things digital firstly by project managing websites and now by devising comms strategies for clients. High amongst many skills that he’s proud of is a knack for figuring out how to make the TV work in an unfamiliar meeting room. And a proud career achievement was being part of the reason why the Grosvenor House Hotel introduced a special popcorn clean-up surcharge for exhibitors.

When asked to put together her bio, Emily panicked and said she had nothing to write about herself. After all, what really interesting things could she say? Only that she grew up on an army base in Germany. And that she studied Art History at Warwick University. And that as a child, she once had an entire Swedish beach evacuated because she mistook her own shadow for a man-eating fish. And, of course, that she heads up our Creative team, making sure we’re always doing our most imaginative, top-notch work. That all sounds like a lot to say about yourself, to be honest, Emily.

Since joining us way back in 1993, Philbo has gone from Typesetter to award-winning Art Director to his current role at the head of our Production Department. His keen eye for detail and great typography skills make this an ideal role for him, and he’s been giving his all to it for over ten years now. At the weekends Phil can often be found relaxing beside a picturesque lake catching the odd carp or two; his biggest capture to date being an impressive leviathan weighing in at just over 40 pounds.

John didn’t graduate from art school, he left instead. ‘I didn’t need the qualification anyway’ he claims, ‘I knew what I wanted to do. It’s what’s in your portfolio that counts.’ As proof-of-point, John has since accrued many a year (and accolade) as an Art Director in the field of Employer Comms. Working across all media he has the experience, knowledge and imagination to make you look good, sound good and feel great – with results to boot. Which in turn, makes you happy, us happy and, ultimately, John happy… to a degree.

Andy is something of a nomad. He’s travelled the world, climbed Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, gone on Safari in Tanzania and dreams of paddling a canoe down the Amazon river. Professionally, he’s well-journeyed too, with over 15 years’ design experience, including five as a freelancer, progressing from junior typesetter to senior art director. Even his beard has a certain nomadic charm. In his spare time, Andy likes watching and playing sport, dabbling in DIY, listening to music and admiring nature. He strongly dislikes queues and running, both of which he does regularly.

We don’t know where we were without Susie. Well, we do: we were about to move office, when she appeared from nowhere – like a Northern Mary Poppins – and miraculously herded us all across London. Susie graduated from Loughborough with a degree in Communication & Media, and after a brief stint in PR, she moved into Traffic Management. Ten years later, she’s made a name for herself as a phenomenally organised powerhouse, who keeps the team running with her enthusiasm, builders’ tea, and persistently chipper Yorkshire accent.

Richard likes to solve things. Whether it is using new technology products and platforms to create an exciting experience or helping to sync your Bluetooth headphones, he is the person for the job. Richard has been in the industry for over 10 years and has done pretty much everything in that time, putting him in the unique position to understand how it all interconnects and making him a valuable part of business. Technology is his passion and he loves nothing more than finding something new and working out how to use it. When Richard is not busy fixing things, he likes gaming and wondering why Chelsea has yet another manager.

With an Animation and Visual Effects degree from Falmouth University, Dan is well equipped to handle all things motion! He loves the energy that movement brings, transforming flat graphics, emphasising the right words, and tricking the viewer into seeing something natural and alive. After spending two years in Berlin connecting with his German roots, he started his animation career creating movie trailers for worldwide release. Now he’s settled in East London, enjoying the city views from his flat, and baking delicious treats whenever he can. After a brief stint in a punk fusion band as a teen, he also still plays music, but of a quieter kind, for the sake of his neighbours.

Passion is at the core of everything Alexis does. Growing up in Basingstoke with an incredibly sporty family, her first love was rugby… and then F1 (Team Hamilton all the way!). The sports bug stayed with her at college, with Alexis thrilled to be studying the subject, so falling into the world of recruitment marketing was an unexpected but welcomed surprise. After 8 years with Penna, Alexis has grown up within the company and feels both baffled and lucky to be paid to work on her greatest passion of all – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Other facts include; a past job hosting children’s parties in fancy dress and her 41 tattoos (17 of which she performed herself).