People at Hoop
We take a human centred approach to all the challenges we face, including the way we find and engage talent.
Sean O'Halloran
Managing Director
Sean is a passionate advocate of user-centered thinking and open innovation. He advises major clients on ways to develop successful business and communication strategies in a changing media landscape.
Originally an artist working in the UK and abroad, Sean started Hoop in 1996 with Paul Nunneley. Since then he has also helped start a number of high growth businesses and held non exec directorships in a variety of sectors.
Paul Nunneley
Director and Online Strategy Consultant
Paul leads our thinking on usability and user experience. With a hands on approach, he's not only helping transform the way we do things, but also the online presence of some of the UK's most high profile brands.
A founder of Hoop with Sean O'Halloran in 1996, Paul is an active entrepreneur prepared to put his money where his beliefs are. He has held a number of non exec directorships with high growth start-ups and advises many Hoop clients on developing authentic, successful online brands.
Marian Forkin
Client Services Director
Marian provides strategic communication advice to many of Hoop's key clients. She believes in the importance of practical design and communication solutions and is a fan of 'keep it simple'. She also specialises in helping clients decipher social media. Marian has been a Board Director at Hoop since 2004.
All studio traffic is co-ordinated by Marian and she manages relationships with our broad network of suppliers and collaborators. A superb communicator of boundless drive she enjoys excellent relations with staff and clients alike, managing key accounts with major clients including PepsiCo UK, PepsiCo Europe, BUPA , The Carbon Trust and Notting Hill Housing.
As well as running the Hoop business, Marian also finds time to bake cakes.
Russell Weighton
Head of Content and Social Media Strategy
Russell makes a broad and invaluable contribution across our strategic and creative output and leads our thinking on how words make brands come alive. His incisive wit and intelligence are in high demand across our client base, where his versatility sees him generating ideas, advising on copy strategy and tone of voice as well as writing content for websites in a way that improves their search engine rankings.
An objective and insightful thinker, Russell's judgement is trusted by clients across sectors. He's also the man behind social campaign Fish on Friday.
Nick Smith
Front-end developer
Nick is passionate about accessible web design and usability. As well as breathing elegant life into our work he is one the organisers of London Web Standards.
With a degree in Cybernetics and Virtual Worlds from the University of Bradford, he has been making websites since 1998. With such lengthy experience he might be considered a veteran. But we know him to balance youthful inquisitiveness with knowledge and experience.
Follow Nick on Twitter or check out his blog
Jim O'Donnell
Javascript developer
Dr Jim O'Donnell joins us from the Royal Observatory, where he spent many years watching the stars and creating elegant user interfaces. As well as being a genuine Doctor of Astronomy, Jim is the author of the much read Eat Your Greens blog.
He's come on board at Hoop to make the complex a bit more streamlined and our web properties even more usable. If you ever hear Jim say, 'it's not exactly rocket science', you can be sure he knows what he's talking about.
Kate Hazell
Production
Kate studied for a degree in Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art before arriving at Hoop. Beating off over 700 applicants (yes 700!), she joined us having travelled through South America.
She handles projects, incoming traffic, supply chain matters and credit control. Kate also turns her hand to illustration for pitches, briefs and presentations, you'll see her work dotted around this website.
Wil Benton
Digital and Social Strategist
Wil joined the Hoop team in early 2011 and is prodigiously accomplished in social media for one of relatively tender years. Read his regular Insight pieces plus the weekly Startup review and 5 top finds on the Hoop Blog.
With a background in Pharmacology, he is the founder and driving force behind the influential culture blog FatKidOnFire. He is also the winner of the 2010 Guardian Media Award for Digital Journalist of the Year.
Wil's native talent for all things content and social helps strengthen the Hoop team as it meets increased client demand for social media strategy and online engagement.
Matt Crow
Designer
Matt Crow graduated with a first in Graphic Design from the University of Tesside. Before joining Hoop in 2011, he built up his design skills and experience at agencies in London and Sydney.
Equally at home online and in print, Matt leads on design at Hoop working collaboratively with clients to deliver work they are delighted by.
Rob Taylor
Back-end developer
With an MA in International Relations and a spell as a snow maker near Lake Louise in Canada, Rob does not conform to developer-type.
He is a key member of the team at Hoop, responsible for all the back-end development work and for the smooth running of the systems we run and websites we support. Rob is skilled in the use of PHP, SQL, MVC and is enhancing his skills to meet the needs of clients and the changing business landscape.
Sophie Bryde
Production
Sophie is a graduate in Film and Television from Glasgow University with a positive outlook and infectious enthusiasm.
She works in Production and fast established a reputation with clients as someone who gets things done with the minimum of fuss. She provides project management, print liasion and proofing services to clients including Carbon Trust.