Bio

I’ve spent my career understanding why people do what they do.

After eight years in senior strategy roles at the University of Exeter, where my initial focus was on transformative learning and how people change, I launched an e-commerce business that grew from zero to £200,000 in nine weeks. The engine behind that growth was a model I’d been developing, which I now call the Empathy Framework. It turns emotion into something you can reason with, giving researchers, strategists and marketers a structured way to understand why people do what they do and what to do about it.

After leaving ecom I founded Source Nine, a qualitative research agency, to put the Framework to work with global brands and agencies. The Empathy Framework then won the MRS Research Innovation of the Year Award in 2025.

Today I also run Emotive Strategy Studio, which licenses the framework, builds bespoke AI tools on top of it, and delivers pitch-winning strategy in days rather than weeks. Clients include Adam & Eve\TBWA, TUI, Molton Brown, McCain, The Kite Factory, and Médecins Sans Frontières.

My focus is helping clients to unlock the logic of emotion so that achieving their goals and those of their audiences feels like pushing on an open door.

Other Pimlico Team Members

Catherine Allison

I’m the founder and director of Master the Art, delivering pitching, presentation and communication skills training to agencies, media owners and creative-minded businesses.

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David Eakins

After nearly two decades working as an Art Director for some of the world’s leading advertising agencies, I faced a life-changing moment. Whilst I was going through a mental health challenge, the lack of proper safeguarding in the workplace only compounded my situation, ultimately leading to a moment of crisis.

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David Meikle

A recognised trouble-shooter and problem-solver, in a career spanning more than 30 years I’ve worked on some of the industry’s most demanding and high-pressure accounts.

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Emma Thwaite

One of six children in a family of serial entrepreneurs, I grew up with an instinct for spotting opportunity and a love of growing things – whether people, teams, clients or businesses.

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Leanda Trethewey

I’m an accomplished marketer with over 20 years of client-side marketing leadership helping agencies understand what clients truly need.

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Matt Phillips

I’m a fractional director of communications for growth-stage companies and ambitious SMEs — bringing senior-level strategic thinking to businesses that need it, without the overhead of a full-time hire. With 24 years’ experience across media, music, technology and financial services, I’ve sat on every side of the communications equation — as spokesperson, agency director, in-house lead, and founder.

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Simon Steel

With over 30 years of experience leading advertising production for global agencies, my work has focused on managing change, streamlining production, and building effective marketing systems. I’ve helped over a hundred brands and businesses transform their marketing operations - and now, my priority is helping entrepreneurs and brands grow.

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Looking for a blend of expertise? The Pimlico Group can help

Many clients are looking for a mixture of the skills represented by the members of The Pimlico Group. If you have a problem or project that you think would benefit from several Pimlico members, contact