Board of Directors
Neil Hutchinson
Founder & Managing DirectorNeil founded Forward in August 2004, thus beginning its meteoric rise from one-man-band to one of the fastest growing internet companies in the UK. Neil's vision for the future is to provide industry leading marketing solutions, as well as to build consumer websites and applications that everyone talks about.
Rob Murphy
Finance DirectorRob is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years experience of working with fast growing media and technology companies. Before joining Forward, Rob worked for over ten years in video games where his experience included public reporting, fundraising and acquisitions. Rob joined in 2008 to support the group’s growth and commercial development.
Mark Opzoomer
Non-Executive DirectorMark has 25 years of corporate operating and deal-making experience. He was the Managing Director and Regional Vice-President of Yahoo! Europe, Commercial and Finance Director of Sega Europe Ltd and is non-executive director on the Boards of several companies including Newbay Software Limited, WRI Holdings Limited, MIVA Inc. and Blinkx PLC.
Mark Philips
Non-Executive DirectorMark was made a partner in the Corporate Practice at Harbottle & Lewis in 1990. He's also joint head of their eCommerce and Technology Group and is consistently recognised as a leader in the fields of interactive entertainment, new media and publishing. Mark's background in legal matters, as well as general business acumen, is proving vital as the company expands its operations.
Frank Herman
Honorary DirectorThe late Frank Herman, hailed as the 'first suit in the gaming industry', co-founded the computer game publishing company Mastertronic in 1983. He later successfully negotiated a merger with Branson's Virgin Interactive and then went on to serve as Managing Director for Sega Europe. We all count ourselves as exceptionally fortunate to have benefited from 'Uncle' Frank’s infinite wisdom and kindness. His presence is sorely missed.
Senior Management
Lukas Oberhuber
Chief Technology OfficerLukas graduated with a BA in Computer Science from Harvard and worked in Silicon Valley for the first 10 years of his career. He spent 9 years as Director of Technology at Sapient, one highlight being building the technology behind iwon.com, a top 10 Internet destination with 35 million page views a day.
Martin McNulty
Client Services DirectorWith over 10 years experience in international online marketing, Martin has worked with the world’s most innovative businesses across a range of sectors. From marketing to consulting and administration, Martin has managed established brands including Netflix and Skype, across 26 markets.
Fred George
Agile DirectorFred brings over 39 years experience in software product development experience to the Forward group. Experienced in object-orientated programming for nearly two decades and exploiting agile methods for nine years, Fred helps manage our offshore teams and internal development processes.
Carl Gaywood
Search DirectorCarl started programming 14 years ago at the tender age of 10. After joining as a developer in 2007, Carl showed a real flair for search and played a fundamental role in driving innovation in our search division. Carl now heads up our search team and proved the inception for key projects such as Cardwall.
Matthew Wheeler
Omio DirectorMatt joined Forward in 2005 as one our first employees. Working as a paid search specialist, Matt developed the first of Forward's consumer facing web sites. He now runs mobile comparison site Omio.com, regularly appearing in national press as well as powering popular websites such as CNET UK and TechRadar.
George Malamidis
Software EngineerGeorge is a software engineer, author and speaker with a keen eye on emerging technologies. Before joining Forward, he was a Lead Consultant and Technical Lead at ThoughtWorks. He has helped design and deliver critical applications in a variety of domains, from networking and banking to Web 2.0 startups. His current interests involve scalable architectures for the web, testing and distributed systems.