We are an innovative consultancy that uses data and technology to help organisations make better decisions. We take pride in our ability to use data intelligently, making complicated information accessible to anyone. We are determined that our work should have the maximum impact on the life chances of young people.
About us

What we do
We work with a range of not-for-profit organisations, including schools, local authorities, academy trusts, universities and charities.
What makes us different
Our creative passion has taken us beyond traditional consulting. We are visionary in our approach to making data, and the underlying messages in the data, easily accessible. Our success with this has been recognised externally. Our careers advice tool, Skills Route, was awarded the Nesta/Open Data Institute Education Open Data Challenge and the Nominet Trust Social Tech seed award.


Our history
Mime was founded by Steve Preston in 2007 after he identified the huge potential for using data to increase social benefit. His experience led us into the education sector. Since then we have steadily increased our consulting and support staff as well as our presence in the education data field. We remain small but perfectly formed, proud of the team we have built.
Our core team

Steve Preston
Steve founded Mime in 2007 after he identified that the creative use of data can have a significant impact on the life chances of young people. He is an expert in all aspects of using and presenting educational data to have maximum impact and is passionate that the work Mime does should make a real difference.
His expertise in all areas of education and open data policy coupled with his clarity of thought in solving complex business problems makes him a thought leader in the education data field. His advice is regularly sought by the DfE, No. 10, BEIS and the Cabinet Office as well as other charities and public bodies. He has spoken at conferences in the UK and abroad about the potential that open data can have in addressing social problems.
Steve also co-manages the Wandsworth Education Research and Evaluation Unit on a part-time basis.

Phil Rossiter
Phil is our Technical Director with responsibility to oversee the technical design and implementation of our consulting and system developments. He has been with us since 2009 and thrives on finding technical solutions to complex data problems.
He is passionate about technology and he channels his creative side into using and presenting data more efficiently. He has an extensive knowledge of the sources, uses and idiosyncrasies of education data which he applies on a daily basis to solve our clients’ data challenges.
Not only is Phil an expert in managing data, he is highly skilled at analysing it. He is able to draw out key findings and get behind the data to find the underlying messages.

JULES ANDERSON
Jules joined Mime in 2019 and provides support to some of our key clients. She has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh and a wide experience of working in client services, managing projects in the design and branding industry, including a number within the education sector.

Patrick Donnelly
Patrick joined Mime in 2022. His previous roles in the cut flower industry sparked a passion for automating processes and using data to drive decision-making.
He has a BA in Classics from the University of Nottingham, where he volunteered with the Classics outreach programme (NoCOut). This has led to a desire to improve and create opportunities for all children and young people.

DEBORAH HORROCKS
Deborah joined Mime in 2020. She has broad experience of finance roles from Bookkeeper to Finance Director level across a variety of industries such as insurance and recruitment. Deborah is a chartered accountant having qualified with Deloitte in London.
Her responsibilities include company accountancy and bookkeeping.

Laura Jones
Laura joined Mime in 2021. Before joining us, she graduated from the University of Exeter, having studied an integrated Master’s programme in Physics (including a year of study in New Zealand at the University of Auckland), in which she focused heavily on data analysis. She is passionate about making data more understandable, and working with organisations making a positive societal impact.

JOE MILLER
Joe joined Mime in 2019 from the British Medical Association where he led on their analysis of NHS pressures data. Previously he worked at the Wellcome Trust, in their Education team working to improve science education. He studied Economics at Cambridge and has a Masters in Public Policy. Volunteering as a tutor for two London-based education charities sparked his passion for using data to improve education outcomes.

RORY NETHERCOTT
Rory joined Mime in 2021 after working for the NHS and in the third sector on health and social care policy. They are passionate about evidence based policy and using data to inform decisions, and their previous roles have had a focus on reducing inequalities. They studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford and have a Masters in Experimental Psychology.

Rory O'Gorman
Rory joined Mime in 2022 with 4 years’ experience working as a Financial Consultant in Dublin. During this time, he regularly saw the power and influence of data analytics and visualisation to develop and communicate innovative solutions. This led him to pursue a post graduate degree in Data Analytics where he primarily focused on research involving social issues. He has a bachelor’s in Economics from Queen’s University Belfast and strongly believes in making the power of analytics accessible to everyone.
Our Associates
Stuart Coleman
Stuart helps Mime on a range of activities that support our growth, including strategic planning and commercial deals. One of the founding executives of the Open Data Institute, Stuart draws upon his experience of growing technology, and consulting businesses and making connections through his network.
Gwen Sinnott
Gwen is a school and Children’s Centre specialist with over 20 years of experience working with education, children and families’ data and support schools in using data effectively. She has previously led education analytics teams in the London Boroughs of Islington and Southwark.
Domi Szabo
Domi started developing websites 8 years ago but more recently has focused on the development of mobile apps. He works with a number of startups that need a high quality Minimum Viable Product to test their market and also existing successful web companies that are developing an app to grow their business.
Richard Excell
Richard runs Excell Design and has worked on a number of design projects for us. We use Richard to create a coherent and attractive brand for our systems to ensure they are both user friendly and visually appealing.
Chris Mullarkey
Chris has worked with Mime for many years and has helped to develop some of our key products such as the Post-16 Profile and Super School Profile. Chris also operates as an independent consultant.
Neela Dolezal
Neela has over a decade of experience working in the education sector, in theatre, the third sector and as a qualified maths teacher. She was a Head of Business and Economics at a school in Tower Hamlets and now she works freelance on education and research projects. Neela is also a playwright.
Neela works with us on projects that require strong project management skills to ensure smooth delivery of complex briefs involving multiple stakeholders and high-profile outputs.
Eamonn Ramsay
Eamonn is a web specialist with vast experience of developing interactive applications. He is particularly familiar with technologies such as PHP, JavaScript and MySQL.
Dave Jones
Dave works with Mime on a variety of our more technical projects. He has a wealth of experience and works as a freelance application and database architect. He has a strong interest in developing python interfaces for the Raspberry Pi. His picamera module is very widely used and he was heavily involved in the development of the GPIO-zero project.
Ulrike Hotopp
Ulrike is director of LIVE Economics ltd. She holds a PhD and MA in Economics and a diploma in Econometrics. She has worked for over 18 years in the Government Economic Service and private economic consultancy. Ulrike’s research focuses on evaluation and appraisal, non-market valuation and applied microeconomics. She holds an honorary professorship and membership of an Advisory Board for a UK university.
Briony Phillips
Briony initially worked with Mime on a fixed term contract to manage the piloting of Skills Route. She now works as an Associate combining her teaching and startup experience to advocate for and spread awareness of Skills Route. Briony also works with a variety of freelance clients across education, nutrition and data.
Diana Choulerton
Diana has 25 years’ experience working in education as a teacher, leader and inspector. Diana worked as a Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI) from 2014 to 2017, where she developed a range of skills in inspection and education improvement. This included leading school inspections and monitoring visits as well as SEND area inspections. Prior to joining Ofsted she worked as a senior advisor for a local authority leading on 14 to 19 and post-16 SEND strategy.
Rebecca St John
Rebecca is an independent school data specialist and trainer with 10 years’ experience of helping primary and secondary schools to ensure that data collected contributes to improvements of outcomes. Originally a school data manager, she has more recently worked with SISRA Ltd, FFT, GL Assessments, ASCL and Herts for Learning.
Tom Shirley
Tom works across our data activities including database development, interactive dashboards and visualisations, with a particular specialisation in Tableau.
He is particularly interested in using data to provide a sound evidence-base for policy changes with the overall aim of improving the life chances of young people.
Nicholas Novak
With more than 15 years of driving growth for social enterprises, Nick has unique expertise in building and leading customer-focused organisations that deliver positive social impact at scale. Despite living in Britain since 2012, he’s still no closer to losing his American accent or his love for baseball.
Tom Godber
Tom has 20 years’ recruitment experience, operating in both in-house and external search settings. With broad functional experience covering corporate and technical disciplines, he has worked with a wide range of organisations, from start-ups to multi-nationals. As the founder of a specialised resourcing consultancy, he provides expertise in the areas of talent attraction, assessment and acquisition.
Our Values

Impact
We always seek to make a difference
We are flexible with our clients and our colleagues
We are technically creative
Client centric – or clients always come first
We thrive on solving problems
Zest
We are enthusiastic about what we do
In a technology led sector we are refreshingly normal
We take great pride in all our work
We always seek fresh ideas which make a difference
Clarity and transparency are key to our success
Passion
Our tenacious character results in exceptional delivery
We are relentless in seeking the best results
We are committed to working with each other and our clients to get the best results
We go that extra mile
Quality is at the heart of all we do