MIMA GROUP - Key Persons


Adam Parkes

Job Titles:
  • Principal Human Factors Consultant
Adam has extensive experience providing user centered design insight to complex and challenging design programmes in airports, transport hubs and public buildings. Adam gets to the heart of the user experience and understands how the design can meet their needs to be effective, efficient and inherently intuitive.

Alice Kennedy

Job Titles:
  • Senior Service Designer
Alice has a wealth of experience supporting organisations to create and evolve their services. She has worked in various industries including healthcare, public sector, finance, and fem-tech. Alice is passionate about co-design and finding solutions in collaboration with users and organisations. Her experience spans all stages of a project with skills in thinking through the strategy to working with engineers to deliver final designs.

Carlos Santillanes

Job Titles:
  • Wayfinding Designer
Carlos is a graphic designer with nine years of experience in visual communication and wayfinding. Originally from Mexico, Carlos has worked for important international clients in hospitality and retail. Most recently, he concluded a role as a Wayfinding Designer for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. He is a sharp observer and balances design and creativity with fieldwork. Carlos is constantly exploring ways of improving how people experience places, brands and products.

Chris Avis

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member
Chris is a Chartered Ergonomist with a varied level of experience across several industries including Transport, Nuclear and Defence. He has a strong focus on Anthropometry, Human Modelling, Human Machine Interface, Human Computer Interaction and User Centred Design. To Chris, the User's needs are key to successful design.

Chris Davies

Job Titles:
  • Wayfinding Designer
A graduate of Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design, Chris has years of experience working in the Retail Design sector specialising in customer wayfinding and brand consistency. His previous work includes being a key member in the rebranding and rollout of a well-known supermarket chain across the British Isles and abroad.

Chris Girling

Job Titles:
  • Head of Wayfinding
A Director at Mima, for over 10 years Chris has delivered a diverse range of large-scale multilingual wayfinding systems for a number of high-profile international clients. Key sectors have covered rail, aviation, stadia and education. Project highlights include a large Metro system in the Middle East, the London 2012 Games and the University of York.

Claire Freer

Job Titles:
  • Finance Assistant
Claire has over 30 years of experience in Finance and Accountancy and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. She has worked in many and varied industries including manufacturing, distribution, software design and education. Her primary role with Mima is in credit control, dealing with invoicing and collection of monies owed.

Danny Young

Job Titles:
  • Senior Wayfinding Designer
Danny has 15 years of agency experience working in the design industry. Initially, he worked in the sports marketing sector, creating brands and designing publications for the world's largest sports brands. Over the past decade, he has produced wayfinding standards for major transport projects in places as diverse as Bangalore, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv and Riyadh. He graduated from the University of the Arts London with a BA Hons in Graphic Design.

Darren Clarke

Job Titles:
  • Senior Wayfinding Designer
Darren has over 12 years of experience working on a broad range of environments including retail, transport, education and the arts sectors. He graduated in Graphic Design from London Metropolitan University and has since specialised in applying information graphics to the built environment.

David Watts - Managing Director

Job Titles:
  • Managing Director
David is our Managing Director with over 20 years of practice as a Human Factors and design consultant. He has delivered projects across sectors including rail, O&G, airports, utilities and the emergency services. He has worked with clients such as Network Rail, Siemens, easyJet, WSP, National Express, TfL and HS2.

Dr Eylem Thron

Job Titles:
  • Principal Human Factors Consultant
Eylem is a Chartered Ergonomist with a PhD in Engineering and MSc in Human Factors, who has over 10 years experience across aerospace, defence and rail. Her focus is on user-centred design and accessibility and has worked on such high-profile projects as Crossrail and Thameslink.

Dr Suzanne Seaton

Job Titles:
  • Senior Human Factors Consultant
Having recently completed her PhD at Loughborough University, Suzanne has experience in medical, consumer products, spatial design, service design, risk communications & robotics. Suzanne has specific experience leading eye-tracking studies, & is interested in human factors in complex systems.

Emily Yates

Job Titles:
  • Head of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Emily has worked on numerous accessibility initiatives for national and international organisations, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and Heathrow Airport. Emily has also worked with the Council of Europe and sat on equality boards advising premier league football clubs.

Felix Lammert

Job Titles:
  • Human Factors Consultant
Felix graduated from University of Nottingham with a MSc in Ergonomics and Human Factors with experience in transport and defence as well as accessibility. He is especially interested in the intersection between human and technology and how behavioural changes can be facilitated through design interventions.

Fleur Burnett

Job Titles:
  • Studio Manager
Fleur has over 12 years of experience in the photography, print and design industry. Her most recent role was as Studio Manager for a graphic design agency and prior to that she worked as an account manager and production controller. Fleur has an eye for detail and a passion for organisation and along with assisting with the company accounts at Mima, she takes care of all the administrative requirements.

Francesca Podmore

Job Titles:
  • Principal Human Factors Consultant
Fran is an experienced human factors engineer with a portfolio of projects across rail, aviation, energy and government sectors. She has led a number of major projects including our work on the command centre for the ITER fusion reactor. She brings experience across a range of human factors methods including UX design, risk assessment and user trials organisation.

Georgina Morley

Job Titles:
  • Finance Assistant
Georgina has worked in finance-based roles within hospitality, recruitment, event staging, and most recently estate agency. Georgina has a high attention to detail and is keen on expanding her knowledge with Mima.

Jennie Stewart

Job Titles:
  • Junior Wayfinding Designer
Jennie has a degree in Music from York University and is also a graduate of Kingston School of Art where she obtained a degree in Graphic Design. Jennie has a particular interest in exhibition design and typography, and her previous experience includes working with a large firm of architects in central London as well as designing for exhibitions at an events management company.

John Wood

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Consultant
John was a co-founder of Mima in 1977 with the express purpose of offering practical, professional ergonomic services in conjunction with design. John grew the company from those early days into one of Europe's leading ergonomics and design consultancies. John is a leading expert in control room design.

Karen Jackson

Job Titles:
  • Human Factors Consultant
  • Principal Human Factors Consultant
Karen is an experienced Human Factors Consultant who has provided consults across multiple domains and environments, including rail, road & air transportation; medical; and security. She applies her wide experience of multiple HF methods to real world problems to deliver efficient, effective human-centred solutions.

Kay Anderson - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Head of Finance
Kay has over 20 years of experience in Accounts & Finance ranging across a variety of industries including Television, Cosmetics, Property Investment, Recruitment and Software Development. She enjoys credit control and cash flow management and in particular maintaining strong relationships with our clients and suppliers.

Laura Jones

Job Titles:
  • Senior Human Factors Consultant
Graduate of Loughborough University in MSc Ergonomics (Human Factors) with a background in Psychology. Laura has experience working in healthcare ergonomics and within Mima has been involved in multiple projects including control room design and rail, leading testing and analysis.

Lily McDougall

Job Titles:
  • Marketing Researcher
Lily has a Masters degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, with a keen interest in understanding the why behind people's behaviors. Recently moved from New Zealand, Lily has experience in policy and place-based research in the design sector. Lily is passionate about community development and continues to seek opportunities that have a real and positive impact on our people and planet.

Lisa Baker

Job Titles:
  • Principal Human Factors Consultant
Lisa is a Chartered Ergonomist with 15 years of experience across various industries, including healthcare, transport, culture and heritage. Lisa specialises in bridging human factors and design research to create innovative and sustainable services and experiences, grounded in evidence.

Louis Bailey

Job Titles:
  • Wayfinding Designer
A graduate of University of West London with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design, Louis has a passion for typography and information design and is always working to develop his skillset.

Luke Murgatroyd

Job Titles:
  • Senior Human Factors Consultant
Luke graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc Ergonomics & Human Factors Design and is experienced in automotive design and engineering, as well as UX design and research methodologies. Luke has a strong interest in the future of transport, immersive design and applying Human Factors knowledge to solving real-world problems.

Lydia Harris

Job Titles:
  • Senior Project Manager
Lydia is a PRINCE2 qualified project manager with experience of working alongside designers and architects to deliver across a wide range of sectors, including workplace, residential, cultural and heritage, and rail. Previous clients include Chanel, Sky, HS2, English Heritage, Lendlease, and the Science Museum. She enjoys facilitating design teams and consultants to focus on their core work of delivering creative, innovative work for clients.

Martin Freer

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Head of Human Factors
With 30 years of experience in transport, digital human modelling and control systems, Martin is a Mima Director and is Head of Human Factors. He runs our team answering complex human-related problems for our clients.

Natasha Davies

Job Titles:
  • Senior Access Consultant
Natasha is an NRAC accredited Access Consultant. She has worked on a broad range of accessibility projects for organisations based in the UK and internationally, helping clients to implement inclusive design solutions. Her previous project experience includes working with historic buildings, art galleries, office spaces, sports centres and mixed-use development schemes.

Nicola Hayden-Smith

Job Titles:
  • Principal Human Factors Consultant
Nikki is an ergonomist with seven years of experience providing consultancy to safety critical industries, especially rail. She has worked on projects such as Thameslink and Crossrail. Previous work includes workload and workspace assessments, training needs analyses and system design.

Oliver Bennett-Coles - CMO

Job Titles:
  • Head of Marketing
Oliver has over 15 years worth of global marketing experience, managing marketing and new business teams in advertising, media, brand strategy and fast-growth software companies.

Paul Reynolds

Job Titles:
  • Principal Industrial Designer
Paul has a broad range of experience in engaging end users in the design of complex workplaces. He recently delivered control room design work to Banedanmark for a major project in Copenhagen, and interior design advice to CERN for their main design office in Geneva. Paul holds a BA (Hons) in Industrial Design and Technology.

Phil Nutley

Job Titles:
  • Head of Experience Design
Phil is an innovator & experienced lead creative, combining his skills & passion for using design methods, tools & practice based learning across a range of disciplines and sectors. He leads global innovation projects from immersive technology to human-centred design services. Phil Nutley, Head of Experience Design, has a residency in Fusebox Brighton, one of four Digital Catapult centres in the UK. FuseBox is a collaborative R&D space in Brighton where innovators engage, develop and design new and immersive technologies.

Rosie Smith

Job Titles:
  • Senior Wayfinding Designer
Rosie brings over 10 years' experience to the Mima Wayfinding team and has worked within a variety of sectors including the urban realm, transport, commercial and residential. Rosie's expertise lies in developing wayfinding strategies for complex environments as well as producing graphic communications for the built environment.

Tom Kenneford

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Manager
Tom has over 10 years of experience in helping businesses grow and finding new audiences for their work. With a strong background in property & real estate, his experience expands to the travel & hospitality, sport & leisure, automotive, and FMCG sectors.