About us

Mime are experts in communicating complex information with clarity within the public and charity sectors.
We are passionate about using data to improve life chances.
Phil and Steve at No 10

What we do

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.

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.

Open Data Institute Logo
Nesta Logo

Our history

Mime was founded by Steve Preston in 2007 after he identified the huge potential for using data for social benefit. His experience initially led us into the education sector. Since then we have steadily increased our consulting and support staff and expanded into other sectors with a social purpose. We remain small but perfectly formed, proud of the team we have built.

Our core team

Steve Preston

Steve Preston

Managing Director

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 and is a full accredited ONS researcher.

Phil Rossiter

Phil Rossiter

Technical Director

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 as well as in his role as a school governor. Phil is also full accredited ONS researcher.

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 ANDERSON

Project Support

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.

Jules is also passionate about health & nutrition and works with both individuals and business to improve employee health, wellbeing and productivity in the workplace.

Will Mehew

Analyst

Will joined Mime in 2022 after graduating from the University of Warwick with a Master’s of Biological Sciences in Biochemistry. Will developed a passion for data analysis and visualisation during the completion of several research projects and is enthusiastic about using data and analytics to drive positive societal changes. Alongside his studies, Will volunteered as an Editor at Youth STEM Matters, a youth led scientific journal involved in providing young people in STEM with a platform to share their scientific research and ideas in an accessible manner.

Kieran Kelly

Consultant

Kieran joined Mime in 2023 after working as a senior analyst in the Higher Education (HE) sector for five years. He has Batchelor’s and Master’s degrees in Neuroscience from the University of Sussex. He is passionate about applying his analytical skills to create a positive impact on people’s lives.

Kieran’s previous work centred around assessing teaching excellence, addressing risks to equality of opportunity, and analysing student success in HE.

DEBORAH HORROCKS

Accountant & Bookkeeper

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.

RORY NETHERCOTT

Consultant

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.

Laura Jones

Senior Analyst

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.

James

James Corley

Project Support

James has worked with Mime since 2016 across a range of projects. He currently supports us on adult learning data management and phonics reporting, but has turned his hand to all manner of different work over the years.

On top of this, James is also an actor, playwright and filmmaker – the Mime team thoroughly enjoy going to watch his productions!

Joe Miller

JOE MILLER

Senior Consultant

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. Joe is a full accredited ONS researcher, allowing him to work with secure person-level datasets.

Emma James

Project Support

Emma joined us in 2021 and has previously worked in IT support. He main role is to help support a growing number of schools with analysis enquiries. She currently works closely with schools doing phonics assessments, along with running focus groups and requirements gathering.

Outside of work Emma loves reading and helping to create new knitting patterns.

Aiste Timukaite

Analyst

Aiste joined Mime in 2023 after graduating from the University of Manchester with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology. During her studies she gained an understanding of complex social issues and became interested in the use of data to drive positive societal changes. Aiste won the 2023 UK Data Service Dissertation Prize with her final year research.

Aiste is passionate about using data analytics to inform theory and practice in various social fields.

Frank Brady

Analyst

Frank joined Mime in 2023 after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Nottingham.

His passion for data analysis came from running a social media account exploring and sharing esports statistics. He has always had an interest in teaching and enjoyed tutoring maths at sixth form and university. Frank is eager to combine these two passions to help young people around the country live happier lives.

Our Associates

Stuart Coleman

Adviser

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

Consultant

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

Web and App Developer

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

Graphic Designer

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

Consultant

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.

Tom Shirley

Consultant

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.

Eamonn Ramsay

Senior Web Technology Consultant

Eamonn is a web specialist with vast experience of developing interactive applications. He is particularly familiar with technologies such as PHP, JavaScript and MySQL.

Tom Godber

Senior Recruiter

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.

Ulrike Hotopp

Economist

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.

Nicholas Novak

Consultant

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.

Diana Choulerton

Education Consultant

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

Consultant

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.

Pete Ure

Data & Insight Analyst

Pete is an experienced Data and Insight Analyst, having worked with education and skills charities for the past 8 years. He typically examines internal data sources and blends these with external sources to create visualisations in Tableau and reports for stakeholders.

Our Values

Core 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