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Cowshed’s success is rooted in our people. Here are just some of the incredible humans who deliver our award winning work in the places that mean the most to them.

Photo of Vicki Spencer-Francis

From a vision in a Cowshed on the family farm in 2014, to one of the fastest-growing companies in Wales, Vicki has created a communications agency that prioritises people and purpose before anything else. In little over a decade, the business has grown from a team of one, to a team of 40, and is now recognised as one of the leading creative communication consultancies in Wales. It is Vicki’s dedication to her clients, her team, and her lifelong desire to make a positive difference in people’s lives that ensures everything delivered by Cowshed has true meaning, value, and impact.

Vicki Spencer-Francis CEO and Founder
Photo of Kate Mann

If you need to inspire action, whether that be raising thousands of pounds in a day, encouraging a nation of parents to claim their free school meal, or getting enough signatures on a petition to change a law, Kate’s strategic thinking will enable your organisation to reach all desired outcomes, and then some. Kate oversees every campaign Cowshed delivers with integrity and meticulous attention to detail. Her client liaison is second-to-none, with her empathetic, diplomatic and honest approach.

Kate Mann Chief Client Officer
Photo of David Francis

Dave’s career has been spent working with large corporates in a variety of global finance roles, including FTSE 100 companies. Dave manages Cowshed’s finances and operations, ensuring processes, governance and compliance are correctly managed and fit for purpose. Keen to share his expertise with other organisations, Dave is also a board member at the University of South Wales, Brandon Trust, Audit Wales and Hockey Wales.

David Francis Finance Director
Photo of Stacey Oliver

Stacey has been with Cowshed since the barn doors first flung open. There is no corner of the Shed that hasn’t been sprinkled with a little Stacey magic. She has delivered some of our most recognised campaigns. She developed our progressive company policies, practices and benefits. She drives our culture. And now, as Business Growth Director, she is using her deep understanding and unwavering commitment to our vision, mission and values to expand our offer, culture and societal impact into the future.

Stacey Oliver Business Growth Director
Photo of Charlie Simpson

Charlie brings years of agency experience, a love of people and a passion for process to her role as Chief Operating Officer. In her first three years at Cowshed she built a team of sector-leading creative specialists at Cowshed who are more than ready to make your ideas a reality. Now, she ensures we operate the business with meaning from how we set up contracts to the processes our team need to thrive. Charlie leads our Media Cymru funded research and development project to make the media industry more accessible. 

Charlie Simpson Chief Operating Officer
Photo of Fiona Mitchell

Open the doors to Cowshed and you will be met by a vibrant welcome, as there are very few visitors our People & Place Manager, Fiona doesn’t make feel instantly accepted. A true people champion, she will have you chatting about life in all its facets in no time. Dedicated to nurturing talent and making our open office just that - open and inclusive - Fiona supports employees throughout their time with the company, making sure everyone reaches their potential by feeling safe, respected, and valued in their work.

Fiona Mitchell People and Place Manager
Photo of Rhian Richards

Rhian has an unwavering passion for Welsh communities, charitable causes, and making the world a little bit better for everyone. With her extensive background in the arts and culture sector, Rhian is adept at telling people’s stories in the most immersive, creative and unique of ways. Rhian is a true nurturer of people, whether that’s junior members of her team, or her vast array of clients and contributors, Rhian provides everyone with the space and security they need to succeed. The work of Rhian’s team is visible across all corners of Wales, from the regeneration of Welsh towns and cities and the restoration of local peatlands to lifesaving cancer research and supporting the retail economy.

Rhian Richards Campaign Director
Photo of Beth Edwards

Growing up in the Ogmore Valley post-miners' strike, Beth learnt from a young age that not all voices have an equal platform in society. This motivated her to become a journalist, to give a voice to those who don’t feel heard. Social justice runs through Beth’s veins, and after 15 years in national newsrooms, Beth now addresses some of the biggest issues affecting modern Wales. Whether that’s ending gender-based violence, recruiting more foster carers and adopters, or encouraging more children to read; a fair and prosperous society is at the core of all her strategies. Beth is a survivor ambassador for Calan DVS, as a staunch supporter of women’s safety and rights.

Beth Edwards Campaign Director
Photo of Holly Williams

Holly has an exceptional skillset when it comes to campaign monitoring, evaluation and development. Her ability to analyse media outputs through recognised international frameworks provide our clients with solid reassurance that the work we do is always measurable, effective, and represents excellent value for money. Holly leads our education portfolio for Welsh Government, including the roll out of Free School Meals, changes to the National Curriculum, and the ongoing recruitment of an exceptional national teaching workforce.

Holly Williams Campaign Director
Photo of Charlie Morgan

Developing recognisable, respected, and well-loved brands is Charlie Morgan’s forte. Whether you’re a national building society, a family run wedding venue, or a brand-new sporting venture, Charlie can turn your vision and purpose into a stand-out brand story. Charlie has a wealth of experience in corporate communications, across a variety of sectors, and is also a true champion of other women in the industry, by organising regular female networking events in Cardiff and the surrounding areas.

Charlie Morgan Campaign Director
Photo of Amy Hiatt

From Savage x Fenty to Foster Wales, Amy’s breadth of experience in media planning and buying is extensive and varied. Amy knows the paid media sector inside out and has cultivated strong working relationships with a huge array of suppliers over many years. Using community led insights alongside bespoke client objectives, Amy can pinpoint the best activations for your campaigns, to cultivate guaranteed return on investment, and most importantly, brand awareness and trust.

Amy Hiatt Head of Media & Digital
Photo of Tahnee Chambers

It’s a real skill to be able to walk into a room full of strangers and leave an hour or two later knowing rather a lot about each person you just met. But with her exemplary facilitation skills, Tahnee achieves this feat regularly. With a background in community arts and education, Tahnee heads our community insights team. There is no corner of the country Tahnee and her team won’t visit, to listen and learn from the audience at the heart of every campaign.

Tahnee Chambers Community Engagement Manager
Photo of Sam Roberts

Inquisitive by nature - the trait of a former music features writer - Sam has an innate ability to connect with people and adapt to the communities he works in to amplify voices. With a deep understanding of Welsh culture and the Welsh language, Sam makes everyone he meets feel at ease. From talking to perpetrators of violence to consulting with residents on changes to their towns and cities, there is no topic Sam won’t get to the core of through a genuine respect and attention to contributor experience. This makes him an integral part of Cowshed’s mission to create campaigns that are people first.

Sam Roberts Senior Community Engagement Officer
Photo of Ashrah Suudy

A multidisciplinary artist, Ashrah’s experience lies in creating voices for communities, rooted in her Welsh-Somali heritage. Her studies focused on the representation of Black women in the media. She has worked with the BBC on a short film about Cardiff’s Somali community. And her photography has been exhibited in galleries across the UK. She uses this experience and passion daily to develop creative, inclusive community engagement and creating safe spaces for people to talk comfortably about the topics most important to them.

Ashrah Suudy Community Engagement Officer
Photo of Marcus Hughes

Telling compelling stories that get directly to the heart of the matter is where Marcus is at his happiest. As an award-winning journalist, he’s covered everything from breaking news, features, health, business, and politics to a memorable 48-hour armed standoff with police. Championing under-represented communities and telling challenging stories about the mental health crisis - inspired by the memory of his brother - remain a proud focus of his work. As head of Cowshed’s PR team, Marcus works with newsrooms up and down the country to develop stories people want to read.

Marcus Hughes PR & Media Strategist
Photo of Elle Cretney

With a flair for trends and a passion for zeitgeist, it was only a matter of time before our PR and Social Media Manager, Elle, made a career out of being chronically online. With a background in campaign and account management, Elle is our specialist in creative social media strategy, trusted influencer partnerships, and dynamic content creation.

Elle Cretney PR and Social Media Manager
Photo of Tom Wilding

Tom brings nearly 20 years of award-winning design experience to Cowshed, with a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from fully integrated advertising campaigns across print and digital to immersive experiences, motion graphics and apparel. Sporting an MA in Graphic Communication, he’s worked with hundreds of clients from Wales and far beyond, including Toys R Us, SciMx, The NHS, University of South Wales, the Welsh Government, phs Group and FORCardiff. Tom believes that any problem can be solved with well-considered design, close collaboration and a generous slice of decent cake!

Tom Wilding Design Lead
Photo of Hollie Edwards

Marrying her background as a designer in brand and creative studios with her love of project management and organisation, Hollie has created the perfect role as our Creative Account Manager. She knows the difference between good creative and stand-out creative and enjoys helping clients achieve their project goals. If you have a design or branding project in need of strategic and creative thought, Hollie is your key contact.

Hollie Edwards Creative Account Manager
Photo of Fiona Byrne

Fiona cut her teeth in the world of TV and theatre where she built a wealth of experience and skills across a number of areas, including production and event management, client and artist liaison and health and safety. Turning creative concepts into reality is what Fiona does best. The bolder the idea, the better. With a real knack for problem solving, there’s no deadline too tight or budget too small for Fiona to work her production management magic. If it requires a spreadsheet and a risk assessment, she’s in her element.

Fiona Byrne Production Manager
Photo of Wil Stewart

From London to Berlin, like Wil, his work is global. He’s edited documentaries, short films, adverts, and social media shorts for channels including National Geographic TV, BBC iPlayer and S4C, and clients such as Adidas, Calvin Klein and Siemens. Now back in Wales, Wil is using the language of his homeland to craft bilingual video content narratives and produce visual stories that attract attention and evoke emotion.

Wil Stewart Editor