Herd Welcomes 8 New Joiners in June!

We're absolutely chuffed to announce eight new starters from the month of June - Adam Speers, Alex Walker, Andrew Smith, Annie Moss-Quate, Chris Mitchell, Laura Martin, Lauren Owens, and Toni Denton!

⚙️ Adam Speers joined us in June as a Consultant Business Analyst. He has worked across software development, business analysis and digital delivery for more than 20 years, helping organisations solve complex problems and deliver meaningful change. Beginning his career as a software developer before moving into analysis and leadership roles, he brings a blend of technical understanding and business-focused thinking.

🚵‍♂️ Adam lives in the beautiful Suffolk countryside. Outside work, you’ll usually find him on a bike (Or Skis), in the gym, out for a walk, or looking for an excuse to stop somewhere that serves good coffee.

🧑‍🎓 Alex Waker also joined us as a Senior Consultant Business Analyst. She has worked in service design and delivery roles for over two decades, primarily in higher education. Her roles within IT, Library and Student Services have given her an in-depth understanding of the student lifecycle and the myriad systems, people, processes and data that support it. Alongside her considerable HE experience, Alex has held the role of COO at an ITSM consultancy helping customers get the most out of their IT service management processes and tools.

🐱 Alex lives in Huddersfield with her husband and their cats, Dora and Minnie. She loves - in no particular order - sewing, knitting, singing, playing piano and walking round the many, many reservoirs in Yorkshire.

📈 Also in June, Andrew Smith joined us as a Senior Consultant Business Analyst. He has worked in various retail financial services for 25+ years, starting off in varied admin and customer support roles before becoming a recognised project Business SME before moving into a BA role 19 years ago which has seen him step away at times from retail finance to spend time in private and public sector organisations.

🎮 He lives in Livingston with his wife of 18 years and their new cat Willow who is the living embodiment of Tortitude. He’s a self-confessed massive Geek who loves board games, trading card games, video games, Lego and comics. He’s also a big music fan and will most likely be found at a gig most months of the year or sitting listening to the latest record pick up to add to the ever growing collection.

💡 Annie Moss-Quate joined us as a Senior Consultant Product Manager. Annie brings over 15 years' experience across central government, health, media, fashion, and travel. She's spent recent years embedded in NHS and DWP, building strong GDS discovery and delivery experience, and her team at BBC iPlayer won Best User Experience at the UX UK Awards.

🧘‍♀️ Annie lives in Leeds with her husband, five-year-old son, and dog Ted. Outside the day job, she runs Product Assembly, a community of practice for product managers, and keeps busy with yoga, good coffee, and a borderline-unhealthy love of film.

💪 Chris Mitchell also joined us in June as a Director. He brings over 20 years experience leading teams in both public and private sectors. He’s held roles both agency and client side, and has a passion for helping organisations better understand their customers and deliver services to meet their needs. Prior to joining Herd, he spent nine years in various roles at the University of Cambridge.

🛠️ Chris lives in Hertfordshire with his wife, two sons and a working cocker spaniel, Ruby. He loves food and exploring the many amazing parts of the UK, especially Norfolk. Convinced he could have been an architect in a past life; he’s also undertaking a house renovation (which is definitely a labour of love).

💻 Laura Martin is a Senior Consultant Business Analyst. She has worked in business improvement and analysis roles for over 15 years, in a range of industries across both the public and private sectors. She is dedicated to the art of business analysis, her true calling. But she is also a product manager and can hybridise those roles effectively. In recent years her work has largely been in consultancy, working with central government clients. Laura is passionate about driving true collaborative working to really harness the 'best of all of us' on teams of all kinds and sizes, and also advocates strongly for a community approach to learning, sharing, developing and connecting.

🎾 Laura lives on the Lincs/South Yorks border with her fiancé and their 3 dogs. Outside work Laura is a keen theatre creative, acting, writing, directing and stage managing all over Lincolnshire. She is also an avid tennis fan, dedicated spa goer, and proud book worm.

⚙️ Lauren Owens joined us as a Senior Consultant Delivery Manager. She has over 13 years' experience delivering complex digital, technology and business change across a range of organisations and sectors. She enjoys bringing clarity to complexity, helping teams navigate uncertainty and turning ambitious ideas into successful outcomes. A passionate advocate for women in technology, Lauren enjoys supporting others to build confidence and progress their careers.

🏕️ Based in Sheffield, Lauren lives with her husband and their fox red Labrador, Mae. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring new places, long walks that end at a good pub, and catching up with friends over great food. Whether it's camping, travelling, a comedy gig or a craft workshop, she's always keen to try something new and firmly believes life is better when there's an adventure, trip or experience in the diary.

💡 Last but not least, Toni is a Product Manager who enjoys making complex problems feel manageable. With experience across product, business analysis and change, she works end-to-end - helping teams move from ideas to delivery. She’s led work across digital products and business-critical systems, and is known for bringing structure, clarity and a collaborative approach that keeps things moving.

🏝️ Outside of work, Toni is a busy mum and auntie, often chasing after her young son and getting outside whenever she can. The seaside is her go-to place to switch off, and she enjoys baking and reading when there’s time - as well as planning her next holiday (she’s always happiest with one booked in). She’s partial to the odd burst of wild energy too, happily throwing herself into a freezing cold lake for the fun of it. The gym gets a look-in as well, although keeping up with her young son is usually enough.

🐘 Welcome to the herd, folks!