Communication and learning to empower and transform

Owen Rose

Managing Partner

Owen Rose is a Managing Partner at Acteon and leads our work in consultancy and content development.

Owen’s career began in junk. As a geneticist at University College London, he researched the structure and function of ‘junk’ DNA – the 98% of the human genome that doesn’t code for any proteins. During this time Owen realised he enjoyed teaching and communicating the science more than actually doing it, and so he left academia to work as a communication professional.

Since joining Acteon in 1998, Owen has been instrumental in developing our approach to creating integrated, blended learning and communication solutions. Working with a wide range of international clients in many sectors, he has honed a set of skills and tools that help ensure our solutions deliver engagement and impact. Owen has guided multiple award-winning projects, including our groundbreaking work with HC-One and Priory.

Between home life, work and school governors’ meetings, Owen can occasionally be heard defiling great classic music on his French Horn.

Matthew Borg

Managing Partner

Matthew Borg is a Managing Partner at Acteon and is responsible for leading our technical team and advising on the development and implementation of software solutions for our clients.

Matt is a professional communicator with a particular strength in the use of technology for internal communication. Matt offers consultancy on how organisations can best achieve their business objectives through the deployment of technical solutions. He has worked extensively on global solutions for the dissemination of training and information for many of our blue chip clients.

Matt has won a number of awards for his communication work, including the Thomas Jefferson Award for an internal communication web portal he designed for the US Air Force. Matt is also the key driver behind Acteon's award-winning change communications programme, helping companies align training with overall business strategy, and ensuring maximum uptake and commitment from staff. He has helped our clients Priory Group and Care Management Group each win industry awards for securing widespread adoption of e-learning.

Outside of work Matt enjoys time with his local church, serves as a school governor, and loves spending time with his family. Matt also tries to get in a quick trip around a golf course every now and again.

Debbie Ganz

Partner

Debbie Ganz joined Acteon in 1994 and became a Partner in 1995. Debbie specialises in the development of training solutions for companies whose products or procedures are highly complex or technical. Her exceptional ability lies in understanding and then explaining complex information in a way that the end-user can easily assimilate.

Debbie has worked for many years with retail clients, such as M&Co, Marks and Spencer and Cotswold Outdoor, as well as for a wide range of technical and procedural clients, including KPMG and Magnox. She also specialises in courses on business ethics such as good clinical practice and corporate codes of conduct.

Having started her career in educational publishing in science and maths, Debbie has had experience developing materials for very diverse audiences, and making even the driest information accessible and interesting. She was an e-learning pioneer, working on computer-based learning resources for schools more than 20 years ago, and has always been interested in using technology as a training medium.

A graduate in mathematics, Debbie says: 'The course taught me how to think clearly, logically and analytically, and this is extremely valuable when it comes to presenting complex concepts so that others can understand them.' She likes marrying the needs of the audience with the business drivers, creating practical training and assessment materials, delivered either on paper or on screen, which improve production and quality levels, or advance the personal development of employees.

Debbie is a keen walker, particularly the long-distance routes across Europe. 'I love the way the landscape, food and language change as we progress – it's the best way of getting a real feel for the country.'

Youri Dabrowski

Partner

Youri Dabrowski heads up the software development of Acteon’s web products and services. He has been a core developer of our Knowledge Centre product and Learning Management technology since 2003.

Youri guides our technical team and customers through the strategy and implementation of technically driven projects. He brings 20 years’ experience in building robust, large-scale database software, as well as a continuous practice of web technologies from the early days of the Internet through to HTML5 and latest web & mobile development frameworks. His hands-on approach is driven by a passion for using technology to serve and realise business objectives rapidly.

Before joining Acteon, Youri was a key instigator of pioneering LayerActive technology aimed at improving browser-based user interfaces for online business applications and content management systems. Youri first came to Cambridge to study Astrophysics, involving high performance computing and numerical analysis. He left the academic setting a few years after his PhD to pursue an appetite for real-world software applications in a more fast-paced and service-driven environment.

Youri is a member of several technology innovation and entrepreneurship networks, with a particular interest in disruptive innovation and digital services.

Tori McKillen

Partner

Tori joined Acteon in January 2010, to work primarily with clients in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors; she became a partner in January 2012.

Tori has extensive experience writing and managing a range of complex educational and promotional programmes for international clients. She has worked in a range of media - from print, to e-learning, to interactive workshop materials – across a number of therapy areas including dermatology, rheumatology, respiratory disease, diabetes and ophthalmology.

Tori's project management and communication experience spans over 15 years, across a number of industry sectors, both public and private, including medical education, economic development, tourism and retail. This wide-ranging experience has helped Tori bring a breadth of best practice and a fresh approach to each new challenge.

Tori is passionate about people and communication and excels at understanding audience needs and how best to develop and deliver successful solutions to meet them. She has created and facilitated a number of interactive workshops covering personal development, effective written communications and technical and commercial processes.

Tori holds a degree in law and a diploma in professional development. Outside work, Tori remains active - enjoying running, cycling and watersports - with other interests including DIY, travel, good food and fine wine!

James Woodman

Partner

James delivers award-winning targeted communication and learning solutions. He helps clients translate complex information into clear messages that support their key strategic objectives, finding the best ways to make knowledge accessible whilst meeting the requirements of the business.

He enjoys the challenge of working with an organisation to identify its needs, and can engage with people at all levels to explore new territory and find innovative solutions.

Before joining Acteon, James worked in NHS communications at one of the UK’s leading teaching hospitals. He began his career as a broadcast journalist at ITN, where he specialised in national and international stories about science, technology and medicine. This experience taught him how to ask the right questions of the right people, interpret the answers, and then present them in ways that appeal to the target audience.

The Association for Healthcare Communications and Marketing selected his work as the winner in the ‘best media handling’ category of the Communicating Health Awards 2011.

Most of James’ life outside work is spent with his young family – but when time permits he enjoys building things, writing, and distance running.

Tarin Adams

Consultant

Tarin is an experienced multimedia content producer with a passion for finding innovative ways to transfer knowledge. Tarin’s background is primarily in publishing, with an emphasis on e-learning and educational publishing, although she has experience across a broad range of communication and publishing roles including instructional design, writing, editing and project management.

Tarin has a proven ability to write and produce technical, instructional and educational materials in different contexts, in a range of tones and styles, to suit the client’s needs. She is experienced at designing and delivering engaging and effective learning solutions for high-profile private and public sector clients, and is adept at applying and developing sound instructional models to achieve project and learning outcomes.

Tarin takes pride in getting to the heart of what organisations and learners need, and works seamlessly with clients to make informed decisions about priorities and treatment of learning solutions. At all times, she strives to find a balance between making the learning fun, engaging and relevant for the learner, while meeting the practical needs of the client.

Tarin holds degrees in Media and Film and in Media Theory and Practice, and in her spare time she is a keen photographer and likes to dabble in various artistic pursuits such as quilting, painting ceramics and baking.

Ruth Chandler

Consultant

Ruth joined Acteon in 2014, having worked in and around Pharma all her working life, with experience in medical information, pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs and medical communications. Her experience of creating materials for different cultures and those with limited literacy skills has reinforced her determination to always hold the audience in mind. She has an eye for detail and good project management skills, and enjoys working with clients to achieve the result they require. In her own time she is a singer, jam-maker and walker.

Catherine Molloy

Consultant

Dr Catherine Molloy develops bespoke off- and online learning content for a diverse range of Acteon's clients.

Catherine is extremely versatile and able to quickly absorb and communicate technical information in a wide range of business sectors: government development agencies, retail, private healthcare, manufacturing and professional services. She has helped public sector organisations meet government targets for e-learning delivery, and has written technical documentation for industry, to support their operator training and engineering functions.

Catherine has a PhD in physics and joined Acteon after working as a researcher into medical and telecommunications lasers. Her responsibilities for laboratory training and supervision made her aware of the benefits of effective training and clear communication, to ensure safety and maximize efficiency.

Catherine understands how important it is to clearly explain and present complex information using different approaches for the specialist and the non-specialist audience. She appreciates how best to apply new technologies to assist and enhance understanding of the learning message for any subject, at any level.

In her spare time Catherine enjoys being outside and being active and has completed two marathons.

Majella Munro

Consultant

Dr Majella Munro is a writer, researcher and educator with a background in teaching and project management in the arts, healthcare and higher education sectors. Having worked with large-scale, high-profile organisations in the UK and Japan, she has gained insights into the particular challenges facing sector-leading organisations, and developed strong intercultural communication skills.

Before joining Acteon, her research specialisms included modern Japanese history, the cultural history of psychoanalysis and the relationship between artistic practice and clinical outcomes in healthcare environments. She holds Masters degrees from Cambridge and SOAS, and a PhD in Art History and Philosophy. She is a published author with extensive public-speaking experience.

Majella's interest in continuing her career beyond academia was inspired by her management of stakeholder engagement projects in museums and hospitals. Since making the move into communications she has worked on consumer and corporate PR campaigns for financial, tech and healthcare companies, and been named as the PRII's Student of 2015 after placing first in their nationally-accredited Diploma in PR.

At Acteon she combines her interests in education and communications to develop engaging learning materials for a range of creative media and care sector clients. Outside work she enjoys spending time with her Jack Russell, Marlowe.

Ami Snelling

Consultant

Ami joined Acteon in July 2015 to work with clients in the pharmaceutical sector. She has more than 8 years’ experience providing consulting, medical writing and editorial services to this industry.

Her career started in educational publishing, but she soon discovered her passion was in communicating medical science. Her experience spans medical and value communications, where she has worked in a variety of therapeutic areas including virology, cardiovascular, haematology, neuroscience and oncology.

Ami’s dedicated to developing high-quality and accurate technical content. She enjoys working with a range of print and digital media, and creating message-led materials targeted to different audiences (physicians, payers, patients and internal audiences).

Ami has a first-class honours degree in Biochemistry and Genetics, and a post-graduate certificate in Medical Communications. Outside work, she enjoys running and playing badminton, travelling and baking.

Rebecca Trigg

Consultant

Rebecca is an experienced project manager, with a background in employee communications and cultural change programmes. She enjoys the challenge of managing strategic communications for a wide and varied audience. Rebecca’s previous roles include working for the Vodafone Group, where she developed a global share plan communication programme for 70,000 culturally-diverse employees in 26 countries.

Rebecca has always loved to travel, and after backpacking around the world for a good deal of her twenties, spent several years working in Sydney. There she worked with a leading fundraising agency, developing training workshops for charities. Her experience in Australia also included working with some of the region’s leading blue chip organisations, developing cultural change programmes aimed at driving high performance in management teams.

Since returning to her native UK, Rebecca has been using her communication and cultural change experience to help organisations produce engaging and inspirational content of their own.

Rebecca lives in Cambridge with her husband and two young daughters, and can be found on sunny days riding her Dutch cargo bike around town. Her passion for travel lives on, although her adventures tend to take place in Norfolk rather than Cambodia, and her backpack now contains children’s wellies instead of Lonely Planet guidebooks!

Elly Wright

Consultant

Elly is passionate about developing effective and inspiring communication programmes. Her nine years’ experience in learning and marketing spans the culture and education sectors. This breadth of experience and adaptability is integral to how Elly approaches her programme development and how she understands diverse audiences.

Using a learner-centred approach, Elly creates engaging content that is tailored to the needs and requirements of the learner. She is practised in working across organisations, involving internal and external stakeholders, and implementing cross-company initiatives in response to core business objectives.

Elly has extensive experience in project management, from complex partnership work in the form of a city-wide cultural programme for the University of Cambridge Museums, through to smaller campaign work such as an adult learning promotional programme for Cambridge Regional College.

Elly holds a degree in History of Art and a masters in Museology. She loves all things creative and being in the great outdoors.

Katie Gouskos

Marketing Manager

Katie joined Acteon November 2013 to take on marketing and business development. Katie’s experience hails from the financial services sector, where she championed new and innovative ways of online and social media marketing.

Katie’s broad range of experience includes working with creative, technical and professional services companies and building relationships with influencers and professional bodies to help maintain a strong and prominent brand. Along with writing content and handling PR, Katie is a highly experienced event organiser, and is always on the lookout for interesting business opportunities.

Katie holds a degree in English and Drama, and a professional Marketing Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Outside of work, you’ll find Katie dancing, travelling, trying out her new SLR camera, or snuggled up with a good book.

Howard Steed

Technical Project Consultant

Howard Steed is part of the technical team at Acteon responsible for the specification, implementation and ongoing support of the software solutions that enable our clients to secure widespread and successful adoption of blended learning within their organisation.

Howard has over 20 years' experience from technical consulting, project management and business development roles within the e-learning, IT and broadcasting industries. Before joining Acteon, Howard worked on a flagship e-learning programme for the BBC to make core subjects from National Curriculum Key Stages 1-4 available online for both classroom and home study.

Howard's strong background in solution consulting helps him remain firmly focussed on each client's specific business objectives along with the challenges they face when he is proposing and deploying technology-based solutions. Howard firmly believes in delivering a consistently high standard of service and building strong, enduring relationships at all levels throughout the client organisations he works with.

Howard holds a BSc in Electronic Engineering and an MA in Media Management. In his spare time Howard enjoys spending time with his family, travel, sailing and music. Howard has recently taught himself to play the drums and is now learning the bass guitar. He is also an active member of a local hockey club.