John has a passion for all things creative and always seeks to apply his lateral thinking to brand opportunities. With an art school education he joined a fledgling Holmes and Marchant and was part of the principal team that took it public.

Sixteen years ago John and two colleagues founded The Sandom Partnership and through a series of mergers and acquisitions, has built 1HQ, the Brand Agency we are today.

When not enjoying the company of clients he can often be indulging in a set or two of tennis.

Mark has over 20 years of experience, creatively and strategically growing global brands. He spent 11 years of his career in the USA as Managing Creative Director at Fitch and Chief Creative officer at RPA, the latter sold to WPP in 2004. Before joining 1HQ in 2008, he was the Global Development Officer for Fitch, a part of WPP. Creative and entrepreneurial in his approach but very aware of commercial reality, he has had the responsibility of developing brands across multiple channels including retail, graphic communications, corporate identity and packaging design.

An advocate of the design process and its potential to drive business success, Mark has won many global design awards including “design of the decade” for his work with Chrysler.

Helen has been directly involved with brands and their development for more than two decades, but her belief in the potential of brands tracks back to university, where she studied management, majoring in marketing, at Manchester University. After four years gaining general management and consultancy skills within the entrepreneurial Smurfit organisation, Helen joined the agency world in 1986. Six years with Holmes and Marchant gave her great experience and exposure, but left her frustrated that the design world missed opportunities to drive the value of brands.

As one of the original founders of 1HQ, Helen has been responsible for strategy, research and innovation, seeking to focus and direct creativity to maximise branded potential. Now as a non-executive director, Helen's direct involvement is reduced but her passion for what can be achieved when true strategic and creative partnerships exist, remains as strong as ever.