Hello, we're Sponge!

Louise Pasterfield

Founder and Managing Director

I’ve always had two big passions in my life – creativity and learning. So, back in 2004, I was excited to see businesses asking for creativity to be woven into their training materials. It sparked an idea… what if we could train people using digital technologies which focused on keeping creativity at their heart?

Sponge was born, and since then we’ve grown significantly to become one of Europe’s largest custom learning providers. Our vision remains true though: to use creativity to help people learn and grow. Our teams especially love to work with forward-thinking organisations, helping them apply innovative learning strategies that both the business and their people love.

Matt Whale

Chief Finance Officer

I love numbers, the patterns you find in them, the way you can use them to navigate paths through obstacles and how, by watching and responding to trends, you can charter a financial path for growth. That’s what we’re doing at Sponge and it’s really exciting. 

We’re focused on growing and expanding profitably in a way that both engages our people and invests in them, because it’s their passion and creativity that our clients really love. And in doing this we’re working with some of the globe’s most exciting brands, helping them guide their people to success through innovative and creative learning techniques. I’ve been with Sponge since we started in 2004 and I’m still excited to come to work every day to see where we go next. How many CFOs can say that?

Kate Pasterfield

Chief Innovation Officer

For me, every day needs to bring something new: a new idea, a new approach, a new moment of discovery. I thrive on change so am never happier than when I’m being truly challenged. Having won Learning Designer of the Year 2016/17 and Learning Professional of the Year 2017, I’m the critical eye that’s never happy with ‘good enough’, always pushing for outstanding.

I’m naturally curious and comfortable with ambiguity so I love pushing boundaries, looking at clients’ needs from a strategic viewpoint and working with our developers to continually experiment with new possibilities, shaping the future for learning. 

I’ve worked at Sponge for 14 years and count myself as extremely lucky. We’re growing and developing every day and I know that whenever I exclaim my favourite catchphrase – I’ve got an idea! – there will never be a shortage of people who get excited to see what we can create next.

Alex Stewart

Chief of Staff/Interim Director of Sales

At the age of nine I achieved the impossible: I became the youngest black belt in Tae Kwando in the UK. That was the first time in my life that I truly realised anything was possible with determination and a willingness to learn. 

Now, I get to support others to achieve their ‘impossible’ goals. For me, life at Sponge is all about the people. I get my buzz from seeing our teams achieve the unknown, exploring new opportunities and finding success along the way. Having started at Sponge leading the design team, I’m especially focused on keeping us loyal to our roots to use creativity in everything we do. As we grow it’s important that we keep what’s special alive, and that’s what I’m here for; to never forget that we’re a bunch of talented, creative people who ourselves need to learn and grow.

Alan Bourne

VP of Operations

What makes me tick is identifying the critical paths; finding the most efficient and cost-effective way to the right solution.

Here at Sponge, every working day brings something different: a fresh challenge to solve, a new plan to action, a fantastic person to support. We’re growing at such a pace that change is constant and I love it. 

I currently lead a team of talented learning specialists who use innovation and creativity to translate our clients’ visions into solutions that inspire and engage. We work hard to make sure the experience they receive is outstanding from end to end, so it makes a positive difference to both the learner and the business. And most importantly I make sure we keep our promises, in project, in delivery and in life, because good relationships shouldn’t have an end.

Helena Belcher

Director of Marketing and Communications

My first love was maths, not marketing, so my first career was of a technical nature. But although I enjoyed it, there was something missing: I had limited capacity to be truly creative. Thanks to a colleague I moved into marketing and immediately found it was the perfect mix of analysis and creativity.

For me, everything centres around the client: understand the desired outcome, then create the wow moment and emotional connection that makes people smile and want to have a deeper conversation with us. What’s really exciting about Sponge is that everyone’s so passionate about what we do, creating learning solutions that delight, surprise and consistently deliver success. It’s my mission to carry that passion forward in the way we communicate with the world; to ensure our clients start smiling and keep smiling all the way through their relationship with us.