About

Before establishing Standfirst, Dave freelanced for large corporates, specialising in software development for HR and finance systems. With thirty years of experience in the software industry, combined with his no-nonsense approach, Dave primarily leads on all software development. Focusing on sales, onboarding and business strategy for customers, he's likely to be your first point of contact.

One of our senior developers at Standfirst. Leading on our Standfirst Publish platform, Andrea works to improve our ever evolving products for publishers. Overseeing all work on Standfirst Publish, his focus is on providing the best experience for the end user.

A passionate accessibility and UX advocate, Claire oversees this area at Standfirst. Claire approaches every project with the goal of making the internet a fairer and more accessible space for everyone. With an enthusiastic approach to any project, Claire has led on a number of software projects. She likes to experiment with photography in her spare time.

A member of our management team, Chris has been with us for 9 years. Originally studying as a Graphic Designer, Chris worked in the industry for several years before establishing and running his own design agency for 10 years. His focus is on driving design thinking and project management.

A solid full-stack developer, experienced in WordPress at scale for large enterprise, high traffic sites. Barry’s experience at Standfirst includes developing for Centaur Media, The Spectator and Catholic Herald, to name a few. Barry is a pirate at heart, having built underwater robots as part of an environmental competition he entered and won. Really!

Mim sits on our management team and has been with us for 10 years. Skilled in project management, she understands the wider picture, without losing sight of the finer detail. Outside work if she's not out hiking, you’ll probably find Mim in a coffee shop with an oat milk latte and Kindle.

A backend developer with strong PHP experience in WordPress and Laravel. Jack’s passion has always been web development, graduating from the University of Liverpool with a first-class honours degree in Computer Science. Jack’s experience here at Standfirst extends to both website and web application development. Jack’s a sports enthusiast and adrenaline junkie! He also supports Reading FC but we won’t hold that against him.

A member of our management team, Laurie has been at Standfirst for 10 years. As our Office Manager, she oversees accounts, HR, legal and compliance at the company. Her greatest satisfaction comes from ensuring clients are happy, and that our team feel valued and appreciated. When she’s not at work, she’s usually found on a long-distance run.

With a background in 3D animation, Chris specialises in frontend web development, with a particular interest in user experience. His greatest job satisfaction comes from applying his UX thinking, translating flat designs into fully functional websites or applications. He is a big music fan, playing guitar in a local band.

James is one of our founders. His understanding of every layer of the software stack from Apache to PHP to JavaScript, comes from his experience and watching the industry develop. No problem fazes him. He developed Centaur’s award winning Web Platform, which now powers the majority of their huge portfolio.