About Applied

I’ve spent the last couple of years meandering my way through a number of roles in London startups, most recently as a Software Engineer at Gousto (but I’ve spent time in tech, product, operations and marketing roles at companies). I’m a big old javascript + React fan and am rapidly falling in love with Vue.js.

I’m a very enthusiastic, but very amateur cheesemaker - pushing the limits of cheesemaking in a small London house.

Before Applied I was at General Electric on their executive leadership program, executing marketing strategy and SaaS sales in their Energy division. I have a Bachelor of Engineering and an MBA from London Business School. I love linking people to new technologies and watching their eyes light up.

I once built and ran an online multiplayer text based roleplaying game - a precursor to the modern MMORPG. If you don't know what I'm talking about that's probably a good thing...

I’m working at Applied while I’m on a sabbatical from Gandour Consultores, a consulting firm based in Colombia, where I’ve led projects involving organisational and behavioural economics and operations research. I am currently finishing a Masters in Cognitive and Decision Sciences at UCL. I have a degree in economics and a Master in economics from University of Los Andes in Colombia.

I have an organic coffee farm back home. I like to take long walks through the farm to discover family stories.

Before starting at Applied I worked at Nesta where I built the digitalsocial.eu platform. I’ve also collaborated with Nesta and the Open Data Institute on various challenge related projects and enjoy putting my skills to use for social good. When not staring at a screen (or two) at work I can be found staring at a screen somewhere else.

I was the first scout in Cornwall to be awarded the computer programmers badge (possibly England, although documentation is hard to come by)

I’ve worked in a wide range of places, from being a Segway Tour Guide, bartending concerts and festivals, to interning as a Data Science analyst, teaching code, and working as a full-stack engineer for a social enterprise and a researcher for VC. I’m currently completing a degree in Mathematical Computation at UCL

I love anything related to pole, aerial and circus arts, and spend most of my free time hanging upside down or training my acrobalancing.

Before joining Applied I was a co-founder of a peer-to-peer insurance platform called Guevara, and had been the lead developer at JustGiving. I’ve got a degree in physics from Imperial College London.

I’ve got the best chat in the whole Applied team. Also, back in 1999 I invented A/B testing, so there’s that.

Prior to Applied, I worked for the Behavioural Insights Team, the UN, and the Australian Treasury, all with a link in some way to social mobility. I have a degree in economics and international relations from the University of Sydney, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard. I’m currently on the behavioural science committee for the World Economic Forum.

My happy place is listening to live music, ideally with an air microphone in hand.

Iris is a Professor of Public Policy and a behavioral economist at the Harvard Kennedy School, combining insights from economics and psychology to improve decision-making in organizations and society, often with a gender or cross-cultural perspective. Her most recent research examines behavioral design to de-bias how we live, learn and work. She is the author of the award-winning book “What Works: Gender Equality by Design,” and advises governments and companies on the topic around the world. Iris served as the academic dean of the Kennedy School, is the director of its research center, the Women and Public Policy Program, co-chair of the Behavioral Insights Group, an associate director of the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory, and the faculty chair of the executive program “Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century” for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. She is a co-chair of the Global Future Council on Behavioral Science of the World Economic Forum and serves on the boards or advisory boards of Credit Suisse Group, Applied, and Edge, as well as numerous academic journals.

Iris’s passion is water. She used to be a synchronized swimmer and swims wherever and whenever she can. She also loves scuba diving, thus the happy times writing her book (almost on the beach) in Australia. She is married and the mother of two children.

James is a Managing Director of Freshminds, a leading provider of executives, strategy consultants and super smart analysts to European corporates on a project or permanent basis. Before Freshminds James worked for Roland Berger and Bell Pottinger. He has a degree in Geography from Edinburgh University and stood (unsuccessfully!) for Parliament twice. He is a Senior Advisor to Inline Policy - a public affairs firm focused on the technology sector.

He enjoys long walks on the beach, was once shot by the SAS, makes up part of the Queen's Bodyguard in Scotland, is an insomniac, is addicted to BBC news and is a father to two young boys who will soon overpower him.

Adam is a Managing Director of Freshminds - a specialist recruitment firm focused on the consulting skill set. He;s a buyer-turned-salesperson, MBA, veteran of failed tech start-up, francophile.

He’s a sports fan, average tennis player, below-average cricketer, enthusiastic cricket coach for Pirton U10s!

Adam is a Professor of Management and Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Adam has been recognised as Wharton's top-rated teacher for five straight years, and as one of the world's 25 most influential management thinkers and Fortune's 40 under 40. Adam received his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Michigan in organizational psychology, finishing it in less than three years, and his B.A. from Harvard University, magna cum laude with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa honors, and the John Harvard Scholarship for highest academic achievement. He is co-director of Wharton People Analytics.

He is a former magician and Junior Olympic springboard diver. Also, once took a bus from Boston to Mexico City—and back.

Helen is Investment Director at Nesta Impact Investments, and works across the fund’s investment themes making investments and managing the portfolio.Helen helped manage a new fund investing in small businesses in east London and later joined The Capital Fund, a £50 million venture capital fund backing fast-growing SMEs in Greater London. She has successfully backed companies in retail, technology, marketing and support services. She later sat on the board of Octopus Apollo and Protected VCT vehicles and has advised Finance South East on investing its Enterprise M3 Growth Fund.

Helen loves time with her daughters, which is often in taxi driver, cook or mentor capacity. Loves London life and country walks

Alex is the co-founder of Public, a company I launched to help, invest and build companies to solve public problems through technology. Prior to launching Public, I helped start a healthtech business and worked with two other startups as an angel “investor-in-residence”, helping the founders to avoid some of the early issues around scaling, hiring and product / market fit. Before catching the entrepreneurial bug, he spent eight years in private equity where he focused on the branded, consumer sector. He has been a non-executive member of the board of Heineken Holding NV since 2013.

Alex’s biggest disappointment in 2016 was failing to become a spinning instructor. He made it down to the final 20 but apparently didn’t convince the selection panel that he had the necessary emotional bandwidth to make the cut! He has put this down to investing too much energy and emotion into the startups, entrepreneurs and engineers that he is blessed to work with on a daily basis. He will ride again...

Travis has been a private equity investor for last 20 years, primarily in North America (Monitor Clipper Partners, Narrow Gauge Capital)

He’s an aspiring angel investor, particularly interested in the intersection of technology and making things better.

Carol has extensive experience in business, property, the arts, and community organizations and has been a director on a large number of public company and government boards. Carol is currently the Chairman of Creative Partnerships Australia, Our Community and Founding Chair of the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia. Some of Carol’s other directorships include, Director, Stockland, Director, Reserve Bank of Australia, Director, Qualitas Property Partners, Founding Director, Scale Angel Network, Director, Australian Chamber Orchestra and a BoardLinks champion. Carol was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honors list in 2006 for her achievements in business and commerce and her contribution to community and the arts. Together with her husband Alan and four children, Carol established the Trawalla Foundation. The Trawalla Foundation invests in social enterprises and opportunities that focus on arts, ideas, innovation and scholarship.

Carol has been a yoga practitioner for more than twenty years. Her original practice was Ashtanga but she’s recently moved to a Vinyasa Flow practice which she’s really enjoying

Bernard is a director of SV Strategic Solutions and has over 30 years of combined experience in management consulting and private equity. He’s noted for his hands on, down to earth and outcomes focused approach when working with businesses. His professional skills and experience can be summarised as follows: leadership to drive vision, mission and organisational change; operational management skills and the ability to manage growth throughout the cycle and take initiative and make pivotal decisions; partnering and communication skills and the ability to negotiate commercial outcomes to complex issue; and capability to develop and shape strategy, focus on organisation performance and develop a dynamic and entrepreneurial culture. Bernard has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Queensland and an MSc in Economics from the University of Oregon.

Richard’s ‘North Star’: Harnessing people's talent to create social impact. He’s been an internet start-up veteran since 1995; was the Founder of jobsgopublic.com and other HR/recruitment tech ventures; is Trustee of Unltd.org.uk for 9 years; and his current incarnation is as the CEO of GoodPeople. He’s a creator of mission-led recruitment/matching marketplaces.

Richard is insatiably curious and in his element when meeting new people. He also has an elastic relationship with time in social situations - when in flow. Combined, I tend to disappear for prolonged periods at concerts / festivals / events. My wife / friends now know it’s nothing personal... ;)

Owain Service is the Managing Director of the Behavioural Insights Team and Board Director. Owain was previously a Deputy Director of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, where he led programmes of work on public service reform, education, energy and developed the UK’s first National Security Risk Assessment as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Prior to that, Owain chaired European negotiations while at the Foreign Office during the UK Government’s 2005 Presidency of the European Union. Owain holds degrees from Cambridge and the London School of Economics and has written widely on public policy strategy and behavioural insights, having co-authored most of the team’s papers (including ‘Test, Learn, Adapt’, ‘Behaviour Change and Energy Use’ and the EAST paper).

I like cooking. My favourite things to make are those that take at least six hours of slow cooking. I own three very different (honest!) barbecues, including a spit roaster with an electric motor.

Tom is a consultant, investor and venture builder focused on growing profit-with-purpose businesses. Previously Executive Director for Enterprise Development at Nesta, he cut his professional teeth with a decade at strategy consultancy Monitor, where he was a founding member of the Inclusive Markets practice. From 2013 to 2016, he lived in India where he co-led the FSG Mumbai office. Tom has an undergraduate degree in modern languages from Cambridge and an MPA from Harvard.

Tom played a year of semi-professional rugby in Italy’s Serie B with ASR Milano, and is an enthusiastic but average footballer and tennis player. He is married to a Scot, and is currently breaking the cardinal rule that one’s surfboards should always outnumber one’s children.