Our team

Kate Martin

Kate is an experienced marketing professional specialising in client relationship management, strategy execution, and campaign leadership. As a senior client lead, she oversees client campaigns across diverse industries and serves as the main point of contact for all marketing activities.  
 
With expertise in content creation, digital marketing strategy and project management, Kate ensures campaigns align with business goals. Her problem-solving skills and strong communication make her an invaluable partner in delivering impactful marketing results. 

Favourite Project:

Across the board, I’m proud of driving consistent client success, improving rankings, increasing traffic and boosting organic enquiries through technical SEO and high-quality content. I always get a buzz, delivering a strong return on investment for clients.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like.”

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) English Language & Literature 

– Google Analytics and Ads Certifications 

Hobbies and Interests:

Reading, puzzles and brain teasers, good food and cocktails, and spending time with my toddler.

Hannah Parker

Hannah is a skilled content writer specialising in SEO-driven, engaging content for both B2B and B2C clients. She creates blogs and onsite content, conceptualising fresh ideas to meet diverse client needs.  
 
With a keen eye for detail, she proofreads, quality-checks and uploads content while collaborating across departments to ensure cohesion. Her background includes digital content creation for an accountancy firm, research assistance at Lancaster University and private tutoring in English and History.  
 
Hannah has built up strong research, organisation and time management skills, and with over seven years in hospitality, she excels in creating content that meets the needs and requirements of the customer. 

Favourite Project:

Writing for Banks Lyon Jewellers and getting to know the intricacies of luxury retail. 

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing” 

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) English Literature and History (Lancaster University) 

– MA History (Lancaster University) 

Hobbies and Interests:

I own a beaded jewellery business, where I make jewellery and host events for people to make their own pieces! When I’m not making jewellery, I enjoy reading and other forms of arts and crafts.

Kamal Essa

Kamal heads up SQ’s strategic leadership team and provides consultancy and project support to clients. He brings over 30 years of experience in finance, operations, commercial, marketing, and property. He has worked with major organisations such as Compass Group, United Utilities, and The Co-operative Group, bringing entrepreneurial thinking to SQ, the team, and clients.

Starting his career as a finance analyst while studying to become an accountant, Kamal discovered a passion for business partnering and strategy. He has collaborated with senior directors and consultants, including Boston Consulting Group, to drive business growth and improve efficiencies. His expertise includes business development, forecasting, financial and data analysis, and project management.

With a keen ability to spot opportunities and solve complex challenges, Kamal leads with a strategic mindset, ensuring sustainable growth and innovation in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Favourite Project:

SQ Digital! Helping lead its transformation has been one of the most rewarding and challenging projects I’ve worked on (and am still working on!).

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“If you’re not failing now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything innovative.” – Woody Allen

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) Economics and Finance 

– FCCA (Fellowship member of ACCA)

Hobbies and Interests:

Property development, football and travelling.

Ben Holloway

Ben is an SEO Consultant with over 10 years’ experience helping businesses improve their online visibility through technical SEO, content strategy and organic search. Having worked across higher education, SaaS, B2B and eCommerce, he enjoys turning complex SEO challenges into practical, results-driven solutions.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Make the customer the hero of your story” – Ann Handley

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) Media and Communication

Hobbies and Interests:

Music… Especially making it and performing. When I’m not doing that, I love spending quality time with my two kids.

Jem Kotecha

Jem is a Creative Executive with a multidisciplinary background in graphic design, writing and illustration. Since starting into digital marketing, Jem has worked across a range of projects from full rebrandings to web design to print and packaging. As a key part of the SQ design team, Jem believes in visuals as a form of communication, helping people and brands tell their story and uncover the strength in their identity through her work.

Favourite Project:

I recently took on a full rebrand for a game developer. I learnt so much about a completely new industry whilst also getting to play with some really cool tools like Unreal Engine and try my hand at minimalist 3D meshes – everything looks delightfully daft when drawn in low poly art style.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“People ignore designs that ignore people.” – Frank Chimero / “Design is the intermediary between information and understanding.” – Hans Hoffmann

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) English Literature

– MA Education

Hobbies and Interests:

Yoga, paddle boarding, being a bit of a coffee snob & any opportunity to go out and doodle.

Freddie Price

As part of SQ’s digital marketing team, Freddie helps clients improve organic performance through SEO strategies and data-driven insights. He manages a portfolio of client programmes, develops email marketing campaigns to drive engagement and sales, and collaborates with teams to deliver results.

Passionate about continuous learning, this is his first full-time role after university. 

Favourite Project:

Working on a new website for ROCCIA, ensuring the go-live process from the old website to the new one went smoothly. This includes 301 redirects, ensuring all pages remain optimised for the correct keyword.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Master the topic, the message and the delivery.” 

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) Geography

Hobbies and Interests:

CrossFit, golf and football.

Ash Winder

As a Head of Marketing with over 10 years of experience, Ash has expertise across all aspects of digital marketing, with a specialism in digital strategy, growth marketing and unit economics. As SQ’s Head of Growth and Innovation, Ash is responsible for the leadership and development of the digital marketing team, and leads client strategies built on commercial principles like new customer acquisition and CAC. On top of this, he is playing a key role in the implementation of AI and automation into SQ’s workflows.

Favourite Project:

As a proud weekend warrior when it comes to car cleaning, being able to not only work with a car care product brand but manage their digital marketing strategy and product positioning across both the brand store and their appearance in Halfords was a pleasure.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Treat everybody like the lowest common denominator and you won’t go far wrong in marketing” – Winder, A (2026) (okay, a bit self-aggrandising, but it’s true).

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) International Business Management & Marketing

– Google Certified

– Meta Certified

– TikTok Certified

Hobbies and Interests:

Owning stupid cars, hiking up silly mountains and spending time with my three dogs.

Amanda Houlden

Amanda is a creative content marketer with a passion for storytelling and design. With experience in rebranding, social media and visual content creation, she possesses in-depth knowledge of Word, Canva, Procreate, PowerPoint and InDesign.  
 
Her background in hospitality gives her a unique perspective on audience engagement and brand identity. 

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Without strategy, content is just stuff, and the world has enough stuff.” – Arjun Basu 

Accreditations:

BA (Hons) Brand Communications and Advertising

Hobbies and Interests:

Sports, travel and reading.

Jessica Clayton

With a background in digital marketing, design, and website development, Jessica excels at customer relationship management, problem-solving, and innovative thinking. 

She has extensive experience in customer-facing roles and ensures clear and consistent client communication, delivering tailored digital solutions to drive digital success.  

Favourite Project:

I love the variety that comes with each client. Every project is rewarding, and it’s great to see what we can create together with different challenges that provide fresh perspectives. 

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney  

Accreditations:

– Marketing and Design BSc Hons Degree

Hobbies and Interests:

Travelling, cruises and walking in the Lake District.

Matt McCarten

Matt specialises in building, maintaining and supporting websites, including hosting and troubleshooting. With expertise in front-end development, he also provides technical support to the team.  
 
His career began in a small digital marketing agency, where he discovered his passion for coding and website development. Originally studying fine art, he later transitioned from a managerial role at a leading national retailer to web development, honing his skills in SEO and technical website management along the way. 

Favourite Project:

The SQ website. It was built on robust and agile foundations to ensure we can evolve it quickly, with minimal disruption. I’m also proud of IC Insurance, our first major Oxygen-built website, shaping future projects.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.”

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) Fine Art 

Hobbies and Interests:

Computers, gaming and cooking.

Anna Gardner

Anna is a creative lead with over 10 years’ experience in the design industry, specialising in brand strategy, identity design, and creative direction. As Lead Creative, she oversees SQ’s creative output, bringing a sharp eye for detail and a genuine passion for good design to everything she works on.

Favourite Project:

One of my favourites was rebranding a dog training company. Branding is one love, dogs are another – this project let me combine both, including a very fun day on set for the photoshoot.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek

Accreditations:

BA (Hons) Fashion Design

Hobbies and Interests:

Pottery, lino printing, and anything crafty, plus lots of walks in the Lake District with her dog, Monty.

Damian Kelly

Damian is a data-driven digital marketing specialist at SQ, responsible for creating and managing customer reports that deliver clear, insightful results.  

With over a decade at the company, he has progressed from a sales administrator to a key member of the Operations team, overseeing client reporting.

His expertise in data visualisation and analysis ensures that clients gain a deep understanding of their campaign performance through well-structured reporting. 

Favourite Project:

Working with a national financial services company to test a new product in the market over a three-month period.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Don’t use social media to impress people. Use it to impact people.” 

Hobbies and Interests:

Football, gaming and darts.

James Brady

James has over 10 years of industry experience, starting in technical roles within a web design and development team before progressing into project management, team leadership and now digital operations.  
 
As lead project manager, he oversees day-to-day operations and ensures seamless execution across internal and client projects. With expertise in leadership, technical support, and workflow optimisation, he drives efficiency and strategic growth, streamlining processes to deliver successful digital solutions that enhance business performance and client satisfaction. 

Favourite Project:

The development of a new website for St John’s Hospice. It was special for our team to deliver a website for such a meaningful organisation in our local area.

Favourite Marketing Quote:

“Build trust and earn attention. The entity that gets the most trust will get the most customers.” 

Hobbies and Interests:

Football, tech, business and dog walks.

Amy Livesey

Amy is a results-driven Account Manager passionate about building lasting client relationships.

With over seven years of experience in digital marketing and a background in retail and customer service, she takes a customer-first approach to crafting and executing tailored digital strategies. Her expertise ensures clients achieve their goals while driving growth and engagement.

Favorite Project:
Managing diverse accounts across industries, from retail to construction and property.

Favorite Quote:
“If you change nothing, nothing will change.”

Accreditations:

– BA (Hons) Retail Management & Buying

Hobbies & Interests:
Online shopping and spending quality time with her daughter and son.