Who We Are

Frank Lampen started off working in broadcast TV at ITV and the BBC before joining Channel 4 as Editor of Programme Strategy in the team which developed and launched E4. He then left to work independently, producing branded content for Nokia, Nike and BT and working with companies including Virgin, BT and MSN on emerging consumer and digital media trends.

Shilen Patel has a background in consulting and brand management. His last client side job was as Marketing Controller for Guinness in Ireland, where he set up the Witnness music festival. He left to set up his own business whose clients included Orange, Unilever, Diageo, Diesel, CNN, Jobsite and ThisisLondon.com. He specialises in marketing innovation, and consumer planning.

Becks Robertson has worked on major festivals, sponsorships and entertainment brands, including spells at Freud Communications, Cake and the Mean Fiddler. She has worked on Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Homelands, and has run major global communications platforms for Orange, Carling, Nintendo, Motorola and Lynx/Axe.

Rob Povey graduated in marketing and business into a leading multi-disciplinary agency in 1996, gaining solid experience across top FMCG brands - devising and delivering through-the-line campaigns from Direct Mail to TV. At KLP he focused on media and entertainment, developing exploitation for The Guardian’s sponsorship of Glastonbury, continuing with Guinness’s first 3-day music festival and brand activations for Carling, NME Awards, Orange & Smirnoff. He specialises in the planning, delivery and exploitation of brand experiences at events ranging from Homelands to Bestival, where he worked on key brand sponsorships for the first three years. Most recently, Rob has focused his interest in technology and brands with the innovative mobile platform www.getjam.mobi

Rachel Bishop Sunter worked as a production assistant at our sister company CC-Lab on projects including the Isle of Wight Festival. She brings a background in theatre, having studied Text and Performance Studies at RADA and produced plays at the Edinburgh Fringe, in London and on a garden tour across England.

Shevaun Haviland has worked in marketing planning, strategy and research for 14 years, starting her career working at Datamonitor in London before moving to New York. She came back to Europe to join the Walt Disney Co in 1999 running strategic planning for the Parks and Resorts business in Europe before joining Millward Brown as a Global Account Director for Nestlé and Coca-Cola.

Clare Beaumont has a background in music promotion including TV and radio campaigns for artists including Oasis, U2, The Strokes, The Libertines, Coldplay, Kylie, Gorillaz and Lily Allen during stints at leading independent promotions company Anglo and at Parlophone EMI. She ran the Take Me Out club night in Notting Hill and Camden before taking two years off to work and snowboard in France before returning to London to work for IU.

Nick Roe returned to London in 2007 following 14 years in Hollywood, including nine years working with Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's C/W Productions on such films as the Mission:Impossible franchise, The Others and Elizabethtown. He has also worked at Picture Production Company, the largest specialist film marketing agency outside North America.

Bobby Mutraporn worked in digital PR at Slice before moving to independent record label Hooj to establish their online store. He then established his own record label and set up two of London's most successful club brands Issst and Slaang, both of which pioneered the use of social networking sites to build a loyal following. He has also run businesses supplying mobile content to Japan.

Ruth Clarke started out at Cake, where she worked on PR campaigns and events for brands including Orange, Rizla, V Festival, and Oxfam. She then sidestepped into the music industry to work for two of the industry's most esteemed independent music press companies (BestEst, and then Toast Press) working with a range of labels and management companies on artist campaigns including Morrissey, Belle & Sebastian and CSS.

Polly Aspinall joined IU straight from university having graduated in 2008 with an Architecture degree from Cambridge. She has worked across many projects including Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and most recently ASOS. Polly has a love of fashion and enjoys sewing and pattern making in her spare time. Polly is originally from Paradise (Gloucestershire) and owns four alpacas.

Melissa Waters has previously lived and worked in Madrid for Hello magazine, as well as at Slice in London where she ran experiential platforms for Southern Comfort and Heineken. As well as her work for IU, she volunteers for Age Concern, working on their mentoring programmes.

Jon Thompson came across IU on Twitter, answering an ad for summer interns to work on Festival Annual 10. A web developer, he’s now a full-time member of the IU team. He has a keen interest in all things social media and is looking forward to another summer festival season.

Katie Shearer is currently studying for her a BA (hons) Marketing Degree at the University of Plymouth. She’s working on her placement year with IU.

Kelly Woolnough graduated in Graphic Design before following her passion for experiential marketing, events and production. Her clients have been predominantly high profile drinks brands including Grey Goose Vodka, Bacardi, Cointreau, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker & Tanqueray. Having worked at Independents United on the Smirnoff account, she left the UK for a couple of years working as a production manager on a campaign in the Caribbean for Johnnie Walker. On her return, she managed the first year of Diageo sponsorship and events at RPM for the Goodwood Festivals before returning to Independents United to continue work for Johnnie Walker and other high profile brands.

David Smith has spent over ten years working in marketing for a range of broadcasters including Xfm, Capital FM and across the whole family of BBC brands. His main areas of focus have been music – including launching BBC Introducing – and digital – before joining IU he was leading the digital marketing strategy for the BBC.