Skills Overview
Up to two decades in…
Digital strategy and planning
Startup leadership & ops
AI ethics & outreach
Content and digital marketing
Project and product management
Public and media relations
Copywriting, journalism and editing
Media production and editing
Personal Profile
Strategic and creative thinker. Outgoing and confident in nature. Optimistic and used to operating in a crisis. Natural relationship builder. Lover of science and language, with a flair for communicating difficult ideas in simple terms. Focused on process and structure, with a good head for extracting the logic from complex systems. Technology and innovation geek. Excellent language and presentation skills. Healthy, active and adventurous lifestyle.
Work History
Partner, Loopers
Mar 2021-Current
Partner and co-founder at Loopers – specialising in Digital Strategy, Operations, Communications and Ethics.
At Loopers we build lean feedback loops to reduce risk, discover value & deliver outcomes. We founded the practice on a multidisciplinary team of coworker friends, seeking hard problems to tackle with pragmatic innovation solutions. We pick and remix expert frameworks from design, engineering and science to take leaders through rapid loops that get them closer to customer, insight and success.
Creator, Neoco
Jul 2020-Current
After winning a research grant to explore future-0f-work related content, I created Neoco – Resources for Radical Operations. This free resource platform provides a list of the tools being used by groundbreaking organisations, and a playbook of the many ways in which the new world of work is being conducted.
Chair, Working Group for IEEE P7014: Standard for Emulated Empathy in Autonomous & Intelligent Systems
Jul 2019-Current
I have the honour of serving as Chair of a working group developing a global standard for the ethics of empathic technology, with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest technical professional organisation for the advancement of technology. More about the project at Ethics in Action. Alongside this role, I have participated in technology ethics research & development across the world.
Chief Operations Officer, Sensum
Feb 2016 – Feb 2021
Led operations at Sensum – cultivating the success of all company systems, processes, people and projects by implementing and maintaining adaptive strategies for optimal performance.
Sensum is leading the world at analysing human emotions & behaviour in the wild. Our mobile emotion AI solutions help global brands to build new forms of empathic human-machine interaction, leading to a deeper understanding of the digital self.
Freelance Strategy Consulting
![Loopers-Full-300w Loopers – pragmatic innovation](http://benbland.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Loopers-Full-300w.png)
![Neoco_Logo-1600w Neoco Logo](http://benbland.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Neoco_Logo-1600w.png)
![7014-Black IEEE 7014 Ethics Standard for Empathic Tech](http://benbland.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/7014-Black.png)
![Sensum_Logo-Full-Orange-1000-300w](http://benbland.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Sensum_Logo-Full-Orange-1000-300w.png)
Catalyst Inc.
(Apr 12 – Feb 16) Embedded with the team, providing ongoing support across a range of marketing & communications projects, including: digital strategy, social media management, developing internal digital tools (incl: CRM system), copywriting, editing and managing external service providers. Also provided technology journalism, self-shooting & producing weekly multimedia stories on local tech ventures.
Charities/NGOs
Cinemagic > (Jan 13 – Apr 13) Created a comprehensive digital strategy for this global film festival for children & young people. Deliverables included recommendations for new website, social media communications, digital tools, and branding.
MACS > (Jan 13 – Apr 13) Workshopping and consultation with this social youth charity. Assisted organisation in developing digital strategy, tendering for new website, and hiring new digital marketing team member.
NICCY > (Feb 12 – Mar 12) Conducted a comprehensive review of the organisation’s online communications. Assessment of NICCY’s (The Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner) online presence and the sector-wide landscape in terms of benchmarks and best practices. Recommended tactics and protocol.
Audiences NI (Jul 11 – Aug 11) Developed digital strategy for two sister organisations: Audiences NI and Test Drive the Arts NI. Consultation on digital strategy solutions for Audiences NI’s 80+ member organisations across the Arts sector.
Media Companies
MediaZoo Studios > (Jun 10 – May 12) Developed a marketing & comms strategy for the studios and its sister organisation, the 15 Second Film Festival, focused on digital and social media. Ongoing management of all marcomms and sales, including defining product and service packages, winning PR coverage, building an industry network.
Filmtrip > (Jun 10 – Jan 12) Developed marketing, comms & community management strategy & detailed planning for The Beat Hotel, a multi-platform entertainment production. Researched & assisted on proposal for biofeedback technology, which has now become the company’s sole focus and a great success: Sensum.
Other
Square Circle Triangle > (Dec 09 – Dec 09) Reviewed both the agency’s marketing strategy and social media capabilities and made recommendations for areas of improvement. Advised on social media tactics for two large clients in the retail industry.
Irish Body Care > (Apr 10 – Jun 10) Developed social media strategy for Parasol high quality sun lotion brand. Launched social media profiles across major channels, to start the community.
…and some of the amazing startups I’ve supported recently
Early Work
RMM London
(Nov 07 – Oct 08) Digital marketing research, strategy and planning, with particular emphasis on social media. Part of a small team in the UK with US and Asian extensions. Delivered marketing campaigns for big clients such as Capgemini, Coventry University and the BBC. Developed new capabilities in online monitoring, measurement, PR and crisis management. Instrumental in finding and winning new clients and products.
Boomerang Media
(Jul 06 – Oct 07) Managed the conception, build, launch, marketing and continuing development of an online consumer retail outfit – a first for Boomerang. In charge of an international team covering design, development and fulfilment. Tasks included SEO, product development and pricing, customer service and CRM, accounting, marketing, editing, copywriting, research and planning.
Central Railway
(Sep 00 – Jul 04) Office Manager / PR Executive – running the office, and assisting in comms campaigns, for four years, as the team tried to bring a multi-billion pound transport scheme into reality.
Widernet
(Jul 04 – Jun 06) Web Master – helping to run a pair of successful online dating sites, and dealing with daily customer issues and web dev management.
beBRAND
(Jan 06 – Apr 06) PR Executive for this branding agency, as they experimented with extending their services into wider comms and PR.