Meet the team

Nigel was Technical Director at Dare until April 2010, when he left to found Smile Machine. He began his career in 1993 at IBM in Philadelphia, then in 1997 moved to New York and joined digital agency Think New Ideas where he worked on a number of dotcom launches and e-commerce projects.

In 2006 Nigel moved to London and worked with AKQA on a redesign of the Sky website then joined Dare as Technical Director in early 2007. Nigel has worked on numerous high profile brands such as CNN, BMW, Barclays, Vodafone and Sony.

Nigel is interested in the intersection of creativity, technology and business, and puts interdisciplinary collaboration at the heart of Smile Machine.

Michael began his career as a graphic designer in Greece, but found his true passion as a creative developer when he moved to London in 2005. After a short time freelancing, he joined Leo Burnett as a web developer then moved to Carlson Marketing as a senior developer.

Michael has worked on a number of prominent brands including CokeZero, Müller Yogurt and Disney, developing solutions ranging from banner campaigns to campaign microsites, iPhone apps and Facebook games. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Liverpool.

Michael loves coding and brings his expertise as a hands-on developer across both front-end and back-end technologies.

Graduating from the London College of Communication with a BA honours in Graphic and Media Design, Tom started his career as a designer for a PR company working on sports and lifestyle brands. In 2006 he moved to a design agency where he made the transition to the digital side of things.

He enjoys designing for the web as it's a constantly evolving environment where new technologies emerge. He likes the process of interpreting a brief and designing graphics and user experiences that deliver the best possible solution to the problem.

Daniel graduated in Biology with Management from Imperial College London in 2006. Having worked across the UK retail sector, he has experience in store development & design, marketing, business development and project management.

Daniel has worked for Harrods, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer and WHSmith, being involved with key client relationships, including those with BAA, Network Rail and London City Airport.

After a period of freelancing, Daniel joined Smile Machine in 2011, satisfying his passion for using technology and creativity to improve business processes and activities.

Julius — our Swedish import — comes to us from the hot house digital media school of Hyper Island. After soaking up as much knowledge as possible with his classmates in Karlskrona, he flew over to London and landed an internship at a design agency in the city. After graduation, Julius held a permanent position there before joining Smile Machine to further hone his web and mobile development skills.

Julius has worked hands-on with digital since the age of fourteen, founding one of the earliest Mac portals on the internet.