we are emerging-u
We activate meaningful human 2 human experiences, using the talents of our highly experienced delivery & design team.
Justin Smith-Essex
Managing Director
Justin is the Managing Director of emerging-u.
Passionate about creating engaging learning and the use of drama to put people on the receiving end of an experience.
Justin works with our clients to help understand their needs or what challenges they are experiencing and through our diagnostic, recommends solutions that help with business performance, employee engagement and customer experience.
Roxy Hooton
Director of Operations: Brands, People & Quality
Roxy is the Director of Operations: Brands, People & Quality for emerging-u, overseeing product development, our People/HR functions and the quality of all of our products, regardless of how they are delivered to our customers.
She is a fundamental part of our team ensuring that our people are looked after and that our delivery is tailored to the clients’ needs and from a quality perspective is ‘on-brand’. She is responsible for overseeing recruitment of all trainers and actors and is part of both the main Group Board and Operations Board.
Nigel J L Rothband
Leadership Coach
Nigel is one of our Leadership Coaches at emerging-u and is an Accredited Insights Discovery Practitioner.
Nigel is a highly experienced CEO and Chair having run Ben Automative Charity, the Retail Trust and The Body Shop, he now chairs Fiorentini Foundation which helps children build confidence and learn life skills through performing arts – close to our heart, and also chairs Sing Inside which provides group singing workshops in prisons across the UK.
A total natural when it comes to performing on stage, Nigel brings great humour and passion to whatever he does. He is passionate about people and creating an engaging and fun environment and helps contextualise how the theory and learning can be put into practice.
Sophie Bryan
Leadership Coach
Sophie is one of our Leadership, Teams and Customer Experience Coaches and specialises in supporting organisations to create happier, healthier more productive purposeful work cultures.
A highly engaging and passionate coach, entirely focused on getting the best out of people.
Sophie has extensive experience in the HR arena, having been an HR Director for a number of years. She is a member of the Association for Business Psychology, and a Chartered Fellow FCIPD.
She has also delivered her own TED Talk and really enjoys working closely with senior leadership teams to drive culture change.
Brian Dannatt
Leadership Coach
Brian is a highly experienced Leadership & Team Coach who delivers learning around Emotional Intelligence. He is an organisational and coaching Psychologist, a member of the European Federation of Psychologists, has a certificate in Counselling Skills, in Transactional Analysis and a Diploma in Coaching and Management.
With over 20 years of experience working with people to identify pragmatic solutions for developing potential and effectiveness. Brian’s focus is on assisting people in building and managing highly effective relationships. His main areas are Leadership & Management & Personal Success and Change.
Brian travels the Globe delivering courses!
Martin Austin
Coach & Actor
Martin has worked extensively in the theatre and also for 10 years as an actor/facilitator, helping create experiential learning that drives long-term behavioural change.
Martin supports emerging-u as both a coach delivering programmes involving coaching and customer experience alongside being one of our drama based actors.
Hamza Siddique
Actor
Hamza is one of the emerging-u actors supporting several of our programmes.
He is highly experienced at bringing the challenges our clients are facing to live in the drama and helps bring our POP (power of personality) product to life.
Jon Stokes
Coach & Actor
Jon is Passionate about helping people reach their full potential using theatre and drama. Supporting emerging-u as both a leadership Coach and trainer and actor. Jon features in several of our digital productions produced to help our clients provide a better customer experience.
Laurence Davies
Head of Creative
Laurence is our Head of Creative and is responsible for designing and producing all of the materials we produce and supporting all parts of the business in ensuring the essence and language is on-brand.
He also oversees our social media team.
He is obsessed with food and loves to travel and taste different cuisines.
Ben Sammon
Multimedia Producer
Ben is the Multimedia Producer at emerging-u with his focus being on creating fun, engaging and interactive online content that reflects the nature of our brand.
He has the responsibility of turning our scripts into something that looks fantastic on various media platforms and specialises in creating animated content.
Ben is also in his own band and loves making super creative objects!
Michelle Boardman
Head of Online Learning
Michelle is our Head of Online Learning. She works internally with the team when designing classroom/virtual sessions on how we digitise the product.
She also works with our clients to translate their learning needs into digital wonderment!
Michelle is LEGO obsessed and any chance to get some, takes it!
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