Come and meet Team Engine

Matt Key

Co-founder / Managing Director

Matt is responsible for overseeing all management and decision making within team Engine whilst still retaining a hands on approach to the development of the business. To this end, Engine's ambitious plans for the future will be driven forward with Matt firmly behind the wheel.*

Matt's knowledge and obsession with 3D design is on a par with Google's need to 'digitise the world' and, starting with the studio and the office Matt, one day, aims to recreate the whole world in 3D on his Mac.

Matt is also proud father to Eddie and Ben and enjoys nothing more than bestowing his extensive gaming knowledge onto his sons.

*Engine analogy number 1.

Phil Christer

Co-founder / Creative Director

As the Creative Director of Engine, Phil is our very own turbo charged creative driving force.** In addition, Phil acts as the primary account handler to Engine's key accounts.

The close relationship that Engine has with Universal Music TV is largely down to Phil's development of the Clubland brand. This partnership is built on openness, innovative thinking and organisation - three virtues that Phil values dearly and which are reflected in the company as a whole.

Outside of Engine time Phil can be found soaking up modern culture through film, television, music and books. Phil's vast library of cultural resource is, worryingly, organised alphabetically from Aphex Twin all the way to Zombie Honeymoon.

**Engine analogy number 2.

Glyn Allen

Director

Glyn joined as a Director in 2005 after his hugely successful video production and motion design company GASP Studios merged with Engine in order to offer a more complete service to his strong client base.

Glyn's experience in the media industry is vast ranging from major event management for Loans.co.uk, 4U Business and Fireball to video documentation for United for Unicef, Elior UK and Mercedes High Performance Engines.

When Glyn is not spending time in the brand new HD ready production suite or offsite with clients, he can be found at the cinema expanding upon his extensive knowledge of contemporary film.

Andy Wise

Projects Director

Andy ensures that all projects are completed to the highest standard, on time and on budget. He started life as a designer and has worked in the creative industry for over 14 years covering a broad selection of disciplines from brand creation to complex dynamically driven websites across a range of sectors.

As well as producing creative marketing strategy documents and being fiercely competitive in a pitch situation, Andy also plays a key role in Engine's new business development.

Andy spends his time outside of Engine in the female dominated environs of his home where his wife and two daughters keep him out of trouble and in touch with his feminine side. Good food, real ale and great music are just some of the other elements that form the rich tapestry of Andy's existence.

Paula Lane

Production Manager

As Production Manager of Engine Paula brings with her over 13 years of experience in the creative industry and some much needed additional feminine charm to the Engine studio.

Deadline driven and commercially focused, Paula oversees the production of all jobs through the studio and ensures that our clients continue to receive the high level of service that they have come to know and love from Engine.

Life outside of Engine involves her playing a starring role in the real life version of a 'Kevin and Perry' sketch with her teenage son Sam. Despite being female and a mother she firmly believes in the 'can't cook, won't cook' style of living!

Marieke Vink

Creative Co-ordinator

After a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Marieke worked as a radio and TV reporter for a Dutch broadcaster for 4 years.

Looking for a new challenge, she moved to England in 2004, took up rugby and started an office job. The rugby lasted, the office job did not. Pining for a more creative environment, Marieke joined Engine where she combines her admin skills with her media experience keeping the Engine studio organised as well as increasing the company's profile through PR and Marketing.

In her spare time, Marieke prefers sports that require protective headgear. Her sportsbag contains both scrumcaps for rugby and mesh masks for foil fencing.

Dan Smith

Senior Creative / Illustrator

A high calibre, award winning creative with a perfectionist attitude, flexible in style and highly attentive to detail, Dan began his career at the start of the internet gold rush, and worked exclusively within web focused agencies.

Hankering for a more bohemian existence after the bust he set out to work in Berlin and eventually returned to Albion, settling down at Engine in 2003. Benchmarks include his work for MTV's Pimp My Ride, Fuel and the Clubbers Guide 2006 series for Ministry Of Sound.

Dan fills his social life with a full-flavoured and somewhat eccentric mix of taxidermy, gaming, photography and beards.

Paul Chisholm

Senior Designer

Aside from his wide-ranging abilities as a designer, which includes experience in design for print, mobile animations, Flash expertise and an unrivalled background in presentation design, Paul also acts as the main point of contact for a number of Engine's key accounts.

Paul's understanding of our clients needs combined with a flexible and hard working attitude are absolutely key to the successful day-to-day running of the studio.

After a busy working week, Paul enjoys spending his spare time trying to keep up with his son George who, like his daddy, has boundless energy and enjoys sports. Unlike his daddy, George avoids vices such as alcohol and unbelievably oversized pasta dishes.

Adam Sibley

Senior Designer

Adam is another Northamptonian who comes complete with a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. As with all of our designers here at Engine he will be working on design across a range of media channels from print to motion.

He prides himself in his bad taste in music - cheesy 80's tunes in particular. Luckily for us his tastes in design are a bit more up to date!

Outside work you can find him in the pub with his friends, swimming or watching classic films (but never all at the same time).

Alistair Stead

Senior Interactive Developer

Apart from a broad range or development skills, which include PHP, JavaScript and Flash, Alistair has an intensely creative background, studying Fine Art before discovering digital media. With a passion for usability and interaction design, Alistair drives forward interactive development at Engine.

Alistair has over 7 years experience developing websites and applications for a number of major brands including Playtex, FIA, Tommee Tippee and the Open University. From bespoke CMS to eCommerce applications Alistair has built it and is one of the first 100 UK certified Zend PHP5 engineers as proof of his abilities.

Alistair is also a certified Yorkshireman and is shortly setting out on a life of married bliss... should he ever turn off his laptop and stop submitting code to open source projects.

James Gardner

Interactive Developer

James is an experienced programmer who creates a broad range of online and offline applications from e-commerce and micro sites to fully dynamically driven corporate websites and e-learning systems complete with bespoke Content Management Systems.

As well as creating a range of interactive solutions for our clients James also handles the ongoing development of Engine's in-house intranet, which has revolutionised the day to day running of the company by streamlining administration procedures.

A newcomer to the area, James has shown his dedication to the Engine cause by relocating all the way from North Wales in pursuit of a new life. He has, however, retained an element of home by moving into a flat in Sheep Street - some habits are just too hard to kick.

Simon Temple

Video Technician

Simon has a long track record in television and media as camera operator, editor and sports journalist. Not one to keep knowledge to himself, he has also spent time teaching at Epping film school giving media training to company spokesmen teaching them how to handle hostile journalists and crisis management.

Simon is a long time collaborator with Engine and has been involved in many of our projects on a freelance basis over the years. We were so happy with his camera work and project management skills that we wanted him all to ourselves and asked him to come on board full time.

Born and bred in Milton Keynes, Simon is a true football fanatic and during the last World Cup he spent 3 weeks in the land of bratwurst and beer in support of Beckham's boys. At least the beer was good.

Ed Crofts

Video Technician

Ed is another native to Northampton and made the massive trip (all of half a mile) from his studies at the University of Northampton to Engine in 2005.

Developing a range of skills under the watchful eye of Glyn, Ed has become an integral member of the Engine team and is continually bringing new skills to his role as video production assistant.

His BA in Film and Television Studies have meant that he can take his almost obsessive love of Marvel and DC Comics into his working life. Outside of work, Ed can be found at a film premier, rock concert or collectors fair near you!

Mark Taylor

Designer

Mark is yet another graduate from the University of Northampton who joins Engine with a degree in Graphic Communications. He has won awards for his designs for Cancer Research UK and Cadbury and has worked on advertising for prestigious clients such as B&Q, Calvin Klein, Adidas and Quicksilver.

Mark will continue to hone his talents at Engine working across the board on a range of creative projects from print to digital and just about everything in between; the force is strong in this one.

He is a big fan of tea and biscuits (who isn't?!) and a keen reader (as long as there are lots of pictures). There's also a story about a juggling fish incident but this isn't the time or the place...

Barry Sutton

Accountant

Barry is very much the new kid on the block - a Northampton boy, born and bred, brought in to make sure these guys don't spend too much!

Barry certainly has a wealth of experience in that area (sorry about the pun), having acted as both a Director and Financial Controller in previous lives.

Having strong family values (and a dog!) Barry is a regular cinema goer who loves a good movie. Music also features highly in Barry's life, so when he's out walking that dog, just you try prising his iPod away!