The Team

Founder of Helastel, the visionary behind Intelastel, and serial tech startup founder Iouri is at our helm. Iouri is passionate about the strategies that engender successful business leadership and how to effect change through technology.

A qualified accountant and ACCA fellow, board member and rep for Wales, CEO Duniya manages Helastel's overall operations and drives the business strategy for the team. Determined and ambitious but still with a penchant for a party, Duniya perfectly represents the Helastel persona.

Ian has been integral in growing the company from a two-man band into the slick and substantial workforce it is today. In his present role as CTO, Ian deftly defines and delivers the company’s technical vision and strategy.

Our business guru Niall draws his energy from the team around him, and is driven by making things happen. Colleagues describe him as a man with a rich repository of anecdotes. Niall's an avid windsurfer, wakeboarder and skipper.

James heads up the Engineering and Technical teams at Helastel, maximising department efficiency and outputs while driving quality. James won a Silver Cannes Lions for Best Use of Technology 2018. His dry sense of humour hasn't won him any awards just yet.

Stephen’s prowess on the rugby field nearly saw him make the Wales U18 team, and his passion for history nearly took him into teaching. Luckily for us, instead he became FCCA and MAAT accredited, and now leads the charge in our Finance team.

Seasoned tech startup founder Gareth brings energy, experience, a polymathic skillset and bad jokes to the table as non-exec director. Gareth might just be the keenest of Helastel’s merry band of cyclists.

Nick Sturge is an expert in innovation and was awarded an MBE for services to the digital economy in the 2019 Birthday Honours List. Starting in the semiconductor industry, Nick is an influential member of Southwest UK’s technology scene.

Helastel has big plans, and Rob has the ambition to match. Committed, dedicated, and always ready for a challenge, it’s ultimately working with people that makes him tick. A rugby and football fan, he’s also a dab-hand with a five-iron.

Emma gets her kicks through helping individuals achieve their career aspirations. Communication, talent attraction, recruitment strategies, interviewing, organisation and time management are her bread and butter.

In 15 years Lee's done everything from initiating an internship programme to improving accessibility for The Economist. He attributes his success to a strong understanding of coding semantics, though teammates might also highlight his fun and reliable nature.

Head of the Helastel marketing machine (and chauffeur of the company whippet, Wilson), Mariela is an expert in B2B marketing, brand, and strategy. A ‘fussy perfectionist’ in work, those who know her better, know better.

Zuckerberg gazumped Harry’s dream of being Facebook CEO, so he joined Helastel instead. He works strategically with customers to ensure they’re succeeding in their business objectives, tossing back his trademark swooshy hair as he goes.

With over 11 years’ experience as a test analyst and lead, Cindy is a highly trained and hardworking test force to be reckoned with. She thrives on the attention to detail and high level of communication her role requires.

'Designing, coding, and talking' are Matt’s core skills, and he’s all about exercising creativity within a digital space. He allegedly has a boat named after him, although The Matthew of Bristol outdates him by 500 years.

Brimful of positivity and boasting enviable energy, Berkshire University graduate Wilson is a worthy and tenacious COH. From leaping on laps to organising walks, his commitment to his cause and admirable work ethic makes him a fantastic addition to the team.

A natural-born ‘word wrangler’, Tallulah is the team's content marketing wizard. She loves learning new tech concepts and creating campaigns that drive action. A free spirit, Tallulah enjoys wild swimming, crochet, dogs and Harry Potter.

Tom’s skills in listening, communication and patience are key to his success on the support team, ensuring customers consistently receive the best quality service. Patience also comes in handy as an LFC supporter.

Problem-solving dynamo Will is a natural-born BA, put on this earth to liaise with clients, document user stories, and tease out the best possible software solutions. Will won out for tallest Helastel employee in a close battle with Ben.

Senior test analyst Jacob has over 10 years in the field, plus an advanced level certification accredited by the ISTQB. His determination to always deliver the best possible quality is ideal for a role that involves finding fault in code.

This level-headed go-getter relishes a challenge and is set for anything once doused in strong coffee. An expert in PHP, Laravel, SQL, JQuery, React and Vue, Mat’s career highs include debugging a world pay issue for a large accommodation portal.

Dennis “really, really likes coding” and documents his day-to-day work as “looking at code improvements in both front and back end application components”. Born in Libya, Dennis enjoys a romp in nature when he can pry his eyes off the screen.

He’s worked as a software engineer at CERN, owns 25 guitars and 120 board games - you don’t get many like Lewis. He craves variety, and with a wealth of experience underscored with credentials in computing, cloud, and product management, it comes easily.

Omar loves getting stuck into ambitious projects. He’s co-written software for East Midlands Police to facilitate kidnap and extortion investigations in real-time and created a tutorial website to help other developers earn their SQL and C# stripes.

Guy is our go-to guy for everything data-related. BI is his forte and all that encompasses, including databases, data warehousing, and solutions. He can talk about anything, but you might find the topic drifting towards tech, sailing, or his puppy.

Live-wire business analyst Freddie thrives on building close relationships with customers and smashing their expectations. A former gymnast, jumping through hoops comes naturally. A rugby, cricket and cycling fan, he can also build computers!

Jodie’s first-class degree in Event Management was a great grounding for her varied role at Helastel. Jodie eats stand ups, issue resolution and risk mitigation for breakfast, while leisure-time sustenance comprises a prosecco with a pizza fresh from her pizza oven.

An expert in workstream orchestration, Tal enjoys the variety of projects available at Helastel having worked with big-name clients. Though a traveller at heart, Tal is most happy spending time with his 11 year-old daughter.

Chris chose Helastel for the interesting work on offer, and Helastel quite possibly chose Chris for the interesting candidate on offer - this physics grad is a former punk rock guitarist. Besides problem solving, Chris loves turning it out on the dance floor.

Acing a CompTIA course in infrastructure technology, computers and networks are Harry’s bread and butter. When he’s not knee-deep in VPNs, the petrolhead and Go Kart endurance champ is behind the wheel.

A natural-born team player, Louise makes her biggest impact as part of a close-knit unit. She loves coaching her team to help them hit their goals, while applying her knowledge of processes to drive company growth.

Computer Science grad Adam loves getting stuck into big coding projects. An innovative developer and no stranger to tight deadlines, Adam’s at home at Helastel. He likes reading, cooking, cycling and bouldering.

Number-crunching data superfan Aaron loves providing the 'wow factor' for clients through powerful reporting. Eating, sleeping and breathing data seems to be nutritionally sound, fuelling Aaron’s post-work passion - training and competing as a track sprinter.

Former Gloucester Champion of Short Mat Bowls and junior archery coach, Julian has exceptional proficiency in target sports. He’s on target at work too, with “a clear appreciation of the need for exceptional standards of delivery,” and superb analytical skills.

Some-time .NET engineer, one-time globetrotter Richard loves running and his family - that’s ‘and’ not ‘from’. Quiet but reliable, he’s our go-to guy for UX/UI-focused software development.

Coding is Andrei’s bread and butter, and twice-winning the Global Game Jam, is his jam. Andrei’s talents for problem solving and communication come in handy both during his .NET Engineering duties, and during D&D sessions.

While Solutions Architect Andrew is in himself kind, customer focused and caring, he certainly makes a mean flapjack. This tech knowledge powerhouse and certified Scrum Master claims to be a “keen but slow runner” - wait, isn’t that walking?

Much like Olaf from Frozen, Piers’ friends would describe him as “loyal and chilled”. He was drawn to Helastel for the chance to flex his BA muscles and critical thinking skills with a varied client base.

Britain’s Got Talent and Abbie’s determined to find it! It feels like our HR & Recruitment Assistant fell from heaven, and as a skydiving superfan that just might be the case. Abbie also loves crafts, reading and the gym.

David’s the name, enhancing agile delivery’s the game - well, that and golf. With 20 years’ experience, David puts the ‘pro’ in ‘project delivery’, and thrives off the opportunity to deliver innovative and bespoke developments to clients.

Senior .NET Engineer Nathan is in the driving seat of some of Helastel's key .NET projects. While he can juggle workloads beautifully, his real talent lies in juggling on a unicycle - no, really! More conventional skills include scuba diving and DIY electronics.

Brooke Billing has both the name of a superhero and (presumably) the cardiovascular health - this Sports grad used to play hockey for Great Britain. In work, she's all about providing top-notch customer service, and implementing and improving services.

If you can dream it, UXer Tom can conceptualise it, what with his BA in Interactive Design and UX Design Institute certificate and all. While there’s nothing wooden about Tom’s designs at work, there certainly is at home, due to his love of woodworking.

Low code superfan Matt’s made everything from customer automation apps to finance reconciliation systems. When he can tear himself away from his computer he's, er, playing computer games (though he also enjoys the board variety).

Dan must surely live on the cusp of Farthing Wood, having previously cared for around 40 rescue pets. In between his Noah thing, he rolls up his mental sleeves and gets stuck into solutionising - everything from prototyping to project exploration.

Before finding his feet in agile, Suki worked in the music industry for 10 years. Having toured with Will Smith, he finds jokes at Will’s expense a real slap in the face. Nowadays he puts his people skills and engineering degree to good use as our Scrum Master.

During her time in finance Gemma’s tackled everything from developing revenue reporting procedures to training new employees. Helastel caught her eye as a place to develop her skills in a relaxed and friendly environment. How flattering!