People

Values

Our values define us as an organisation. We don’t just pay lip-service to them either – for our quarterly ‘Superhuman’ peer awards system, we nominate and vote for colleagues based on how well they have lived up to these values.

Bold

We consistently challenge ourselves and clients to aim higher and go further.

Engaging

We create the right environment, energise people and ensure widespread and enthusiastic contribution.

Inspiring

We raise aspirations, inject insight and open up people’s eyes to fresh possibilities.

Focus on impact

We ensure that solutions are sharply focused on a clear definition of success.

Develop capability

We work alongside clients so that they become better equipped to deliver change and unlock performance.

Personality

Our people have a very strong sense of what it means to be an Igniter. They’re not all cut from the same mould, but in their own ways convey our organisation’s personality. So even though we’re all unique, our clients receive a consistent ‘Ignite experience’ and recognise how we’re different from other consultancies.

Challenging

It’s our job to get to the heart of the issue. Otherwise, how can we help find a solution?
Quite often issues come from long held misconceptions. If we can challenge these, we are helping to move our clients forward.

Surprising

Because we challenge assumptions the results can be unexpected.
How we get there is often surprising too. No one would ever walk away from an Ignite workshop feeling ‘that was dull’.

Human

Ignite’s success is built on the back of our people. People who have different ways of doing things. We’re not robotic, or formulaic. We are who we are as individuals — and we’re good at what we do.

Supportive

We realise that the process we take clients through can be a bit daunting. It’s different to anything they’ve experienced before and often they are making a significant investment against an outcome that is unclear. It’s a leap of faith.

Optimistic

The fundamental essence of our brand is that people can do more than they think. We bring this belief to every client project — the belief that it can be done.

Meet the team

The team

Max Rhodes

Max joined Ignite in 2023 after working in the public sector for 2 years as a Business Analyst. He enjoys translating customer needs into functional requirements and seeing them come to fruition. In his free time, you can usually find him fishing by a lake or out on his Motorbike trying to avoid the rain and other car users.

Mike Whitty

Mike joined Ignite in 2023 after spending 3 years working with local authorities as a Data Analyst. He spends his time on distilling insight from large data sets with public sector clients and working with them to find better ways to work with their current data. Mike is passionate about music, and you are most likely to find him shuffling around used record stores.

Julian Osgathorpe

Julian brings 20 years experience working across all areas of local government. He has experience designing and delivering some of the largest and most complex transformation programmes seen in recent years. When not working or with his family, Julian can usually be found either swimming, cycling or running as he pretends to be a triathlete!

Akash Patel

‘Akash joined Ignite after completing an Occupational Psychology MSc, to pursue his passion in creating behavioural change. He is experienced in supporting individuals through change, while maintaining high performance levels. Akash spends his spare time socialising with friends and family and watching whatever football is on. Though he loves engaging with people, he also enjoy disconnecting from the world by putting his headphones on, and listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook.

Paul Killingley

Paul joined Ignite in 2022 with over 20 years of change experience working within the public sector, primarily within the Police service. He is passionate about developing people and helping to unlock their potential. He enjoys all sports including the NFL and was lucky enough to attend the Superbowl in New York. To relieve stress, he loves to cook and will try anything at least once.

Abi Sohal

Abi is a driven, high-energy change management professional, who joined Ignite in 2018. Making a difference in the organisations she works for is at the core of her working ethos; whether this is through leading transformational change, coaching and developing individuals or championing internal initiatives such as inclusion & diversity. Outside you are more likely to find her at a music festival, sampling new cuisines or trying to recreate them in her own kitchen.

Euan Greatorex

Euan joined Ignite after graduating university and enjoys working as part of a team to deliver exciting and accessible solutions for clients. He is a lover of technology and learns new software by diving straight in. He spends most of his free time balancing his desperate need to run with his chronic shin splints.

Veena Baggley

Veena joined Ignite in 2019, with wide-ranging change management expertise in the public and private sector. Veena is passionate about developing people to help them reach their true potential and applies her infectious enthusiasm to everything she does. Veena’s young children keep her busy at home, which she balances with lots of HIIT workouts and regular mindfulness practice!

Anne Tison

As Office Manager, Anne is passionate about building an efficient, happy and productive work environment, removing blockers whenever they appear to create a path of “ease & grace”. She always strives to do her best and seeks the best from others. In her spare time, you’ll find her gardening, lost in a book or teaching yoga. Being born and raised in the French Alps she enjoys nothing more than sharing a good meal with friends.

Mark Smith

A co-founder of Ignite, Mark is the architect of the Ignite innovation and change approach and has pioneered bringing an innovative approach to organisational transformation and the management of complex change programmes. In recent years Mark has specialised in bringing our approach to the transformation of Local Government and the development of a mould breaking “Future Model”. For fun Mark will normally be found on a mountain – walking up in summer, skiing down in winter.

Mark Long

Mark co-founded Ignite back in 2004. It was his passion for tackling complex and challenging change through creativity and sheer bloody-minded tenacity that set the organisation on its path to greatness. A keen rugby fan and cyclist, Mark spends his weekends on his bike going up and down hills across the Chilterns.

Susan Churcher

Ignite’s talent manager, Susan’s pre-Ignite background was in retail buying and consulting. With Ignite since 2009, Susan’s role is to ensure that Ignite has the right people, supported and challenged so that they flourish in all the aspects that are important to success and balance. Food is a passion – cooked indoors or out – with some weightlifting and park running thrown in to help offset over-indulgence.

Emily Bolton

Emily joined Ignite in 2018 having previously worked for the NHS. She is an enthusiastic individual who enjoys engaging with complex problems, using her initiative and collaboration to provide effective solutions to clients. Outside of work, Emily loves to travel and explore new places.

Dave Mullin

Dave has broad experience across a range of strategy, change and innovation leadership roles. He combines a sharp focus on impact with an approach that supports and challenges clients to be brave in their ambitions for success. When not entertaining his young children, Dave enjoys the contrast of some time playing his piano.

Rebecca Welch

Rebecca helps organisations discover and ignite their own potential, developing the creativity and confidence of the people she works with. She is pretty shameless in her adoption and reconfiguration of many brilliant ideas (leadership, design, change) already in the world and on a good day, may even use one of her own. Her weekends are mostly full of family and youth rugby, plus the odd gin or two.

Charlotte Ellis

Charlotte joined Ignite fresh from university in 2013. She has developed from a script-writing intern to a process re-engineering specialist with her compassion, detail orientation and enthusiasm. Having recently moved house, Charlotte’s passion for gardening is blooming – unlike most of her bulbs.

Dan Butler

Dan joined in 2015 after being inspired by Ignite as a client. He’s brought his skills in process re-engineering, operating model design and technology implementation to large transformation programmes. A technophile, he always has the latest gadget and an eye to the next big thing. A keen rugby supporter, walker and foodie, he is also a little addicted to Egypt, having spent time there indulging his passion for diving and cocktails – never at the same time!

Henry Branson

Henry joined in 2017 after leading large change programmes in local government, the last five in partnership with Ignite. Experienced in technology-enabled transformations, he believes that sustainable change is based on… people! The right people, in the right roles, with the right team culture and hopefully some good technology too. Henry is one of the Plucky Dippers, a group of enthusiastic wild swimmers who enjoy year-round dips off the Sussex coast.

James Stainer

James joined Ignite in 2014 having studied Civil Engineering at university. He spends most of his time working with public sector clients on large transformation programmes, fundamentally changing how they deliver for their customers and ensuring financial requirements are met. James is interested in all things sport but you can often find him at his local golf club.

Jenny Vasey

Joining Ignite in 2018 to pursue her passion for delivering positive change, Jenny excels working in challenging environments bringing together ideas and teams to achieve success. In her spare time, she enjoys running and attempting to play netball, as well as creating a scrapbook of the many amateur photos she takes when visiting new (and old!) places.

Michelle Weller

Michelle joined Ignite in 2018 having spent over 15 years working in UK Law Enforcement. Her enthusiasm for her work is often described as contagious and sparkly as she strives to get everyone she works with excited and inspired about what they are currently doing and what they are working towards. Away from the office you tend to find Michelle doting on her two German shepherds or cheering on her favourite ice hockey team.

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