MEET THE TEAM.

It’s people that make a company. As we grow we’re always on the lookout for great people to join the team. See which roles we’re recruiting for here

ANDREW STORDY

Founder

 

Andrew, the inventor of IKAWA, grew up in coffee growing countries including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Burundi.

Andrew is an engineer and industrial designer and developed the concept for IKAWA while studying Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art in London. He’s dedicated years of toil to making IKAWA a reality.

SUZANNE CONNELL

Managing Director

 

GEOFF WOODLEY

Head of Marketing

 
Geoff first encountered IKAWA before most of us, meeting Rombout at SCAA in 2015, and became an IKAWA customer in 2017 in his previous role as Director of Coffee for DETOUR, one of Canada's top specialty roasters. He has taken a deep dive into user-led design and product management, after helping our Marketing team build up the IKAWA Pro brand. Geoff is currently leading the IKAWA Pro Marketing team and proudly representing the IKAWA brand globally.

BIJAL SIAN

Head of Finance

 
Bijal is IKAWA's Head of Finance and oversees all financial operations.  She joins us with 20 years of extensive experience in Management analysis and reporting from advertising and marketing industries and has taken a head-on deep dive into IKAWA's finances.
Bijal lives in the leafy East London suburb of Wanstead with her three daughters and a big Punjabi family. She is a serial volunteer and Scouting is her passion and she will take anyone on with her crafting glue gun!

HELEN SCHLUTER

Head of HR & Legal

 
Helen is a guiding force on the IKAWA team, and also has one of the most interesting backgrounds. Her Law experience is comprehensive in Switzerland, where she lived for 12 years, spent a month in Jersey and finally ended up in Liverpool where she is based today. Helen has always been close to coffee, being married to a coffee trader, and has been around IKAWA longer than anyone else - she was hired to help IKAWA's founder Andrew before there was a single IKAWA employee. She's a proud mom of 4 children, and now a new puppy.You can ask her about doing loops in small aeroplanes or meeting Robbie Williams!

JACOB TRAVIS

Senior Sales Executive

 

Jacob joined IKAWA in 2021 from within the Speciality Coffee industry, having headed up wholesale at Atkinsons for 5 years. You may have already met Jacob at Coffee Festivals around the UK in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester as well as attending International Shows and competitions as part of his role with IKAWA.

Jacob is currently working out of sunny Manchester and shares custody of a 14 year old Jack Russell called Dotty.

CRAIG ROBINSON

Sales Executive

 

JOANNA MITURA-PUKSZTA

Senior Reseller Executive

 
Joanna has joined us this year as part of our IKAWA Pro Sales team. She has a degree in Biomedical Engineering and has worked in the medical industry before moving into coffee and joining our team. You can now meet Joanna in (almost) every global event we're hosting or attending. In her free time she experiments with coffee roasting at home and enjoys long hikes.

ED GREENALL

Technical Support Manager

 
Ed is yet another IKAWA team member with an awesome user-to-employee story. With over a decade of coffee experience at UK roasteries including Origin, HasBean and Crankhouse, Ed has moved through the ranks from Production Assistant to Head of Coffee Operations and (almost) everything in-between. Outside of keeping customers happy for IKAWA, you'll find Ed soaking up the latest NFL scores, catching the latest Marvel movies and navigating the galaxy as an avid Star Wars fan.

SOPHIE SPEAR

Service and Support Operative

 
Sophie may have started life in the UK but grew up in France, giving her a dual Anglo-Franco cultured attitude to everything, including her intake of coffee! Previously having worked in a barista role abroad and with many years in customer-facing roles in 4 different languages around the world, she is now working in a support/office management role at Ikawa. When not helping customers and colleagues Sophie can be found running around parks at varying speeds, swimming in warm pools and cold seas alike and painting to her heart's delight.

PETER RODRIGUEZ

Production Team Leader

 
Born in New York and raised in London, Peter has always had a passion for food and drink. Before joining IKAWA Peter worked with PACT coffee and instantly fell in love with the coffee industry, forming a passion for V60 brewing. His eye for precision and detail serves him well on the line hand assembling roasters each day in his role of production assistant. Outside the workshop, Peter can be found track and road cycling. However since the introduction of Cally (his poodle) Peter spends a lot more time on foot. Cally ought to have a profile of her own, but can regularly be found asleep upside-down in the workshop.

SARAH REED

Product Manager

 
Sarah's professional journey began as a Design Engineer at Dyson. She then brought her expertise to Musto, where she designed Team GB's Sailing Kit for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Her passion for coffee ignited when her Swedish colleagues introduced her to Fika, and it grew even more after joining IKAWA. In 2021, Sarah joined IKAWA as an Industrial Design Engineer and has recently transitioned into the role of Product Manager. Outside of work, she loves to travel and seek out new adventures.

TIMO SSALI

Senior Production Technician & Internal Quality Specialist

 

Timo brings an impressive technical background with him to IKAWA. He studied Mechanical Engineering at London South Bank University and worked as a Production Technician making submarines!

Timo was born and raised in Jinja, Uganda (“the most beautiful part of Africa”) and brought with him a love for sports. Since he moved to the UK, he’s been part of the National Baseball League playing for the London Pirates!

HARRY PURVIS

Production Technician & Technical Automation Specialist

 
Harry is yet another coffee head who has joined the IKAWA team as part of the Production team. When he’s not building world-class coffee sample roasters ;), he can be found reading a good book, working on one of his own (!) or cruising on his skateboard.  Harry is still active in the UK coffee community, apart from his work with IKAWA. He even competed in the UK Cup Tasters and helped host a few editions of the English AeroPress Championship during his time with Caravan Coffee Roasters.

MATT MOLLAHAN

Supply Chain Manager

 
After moving to London in early 2021, Matt joined IKAWA from the Emerald Isle, working in our warehouse and now manages our supply chain. Joining IKAWA marked a significant switch up for Matt having previously trained in Law and Politics, and practising as a Paralegal in Dublin! When he's not at Bayford Street, he can usually be found swimming, attempting pottery or dancing at a festival! 

IOANA BOMBEA

Marketing Executive

 
Ioana is the newest addition to our IKAWA Pro Marketing team, working as a Marketing Executive. She has extensive experience in the Coffee and Marketing industries across 3 different countries, ranging from barista work, community management in the alternative milk industry, and even organising music festivals (!). Ioana is taking care of all things social and IKAWA community related activities which means you’ll most likely get to see more of her at our global events. Feel free to ask her about what’s in her current brew bar rotation. @ioanabombea

ANDREA PANIGHELLI

Logistics Executive

 
Andrea came to IKAWA after several years working in hospitality, with a focus on the coffee industry and over 4 of those years spent at WatchHouse, an UK based world known coffee brand. His daily duties involve making sure that every shipment leaves IKAWA HQ exactly as it should. If you have ordered from IKAWA in the past months, chances are Andrea was the person double checking your order. In his free time, Andrea enjoys drinking many coffees from the amazing selection of specialty cafes in London, trying out new and exciting restaurants, and spending time with his partner.

EMILY JACKSON

IKAWA Home Manager

 
Emily came to IKAWA in 2021, after 3 years of doing freelance work for IKAWA and working at the Climpson and Sons as a Production Manager for over 4 years, a whole 100 metres away from IKAWA HQ. But Emily started her journey in coffee all the way back when she was in high school in the US.  Her role is managing the IKAWA Home division of IKAWA, helping home consumers get the best home roasting experience possible.  She spends her free time working on perfecting her gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe and knitting endless pairs of socks for her friends and family. 

HAL DUBUISSON

User Researcher

 

GREGORY EPPS

Senior Product Manager

 
Greg brings deep expertise in new product development, both in technology and commercially, through his experience as a start-up founder developing robotic metal forming technology and robotic simulation software, as well as building mobile robots such as robotic dogs and self-driving cars. He has a passion for products where hardware meets software, and so found a natural affinity with the IKAWA roaster. He has worked with IKAWA developing new products as a consultant since 2020 and more recently in a full-time role since 2023. As Senior Product Manager, he is in charge of user research, hardware design, user interface design, market testing and new product introductions. He spends his free time reading challenging books about the state of the world and walking his dog in the beautiful nature that surrounds his house. Usually after a cup of speciality coffee.

MATHULAN PARAMSRI

Finance Assistant

 
Mat was born in Italy, has moved to England when he was 13 years old, but his background is Tamil Srilankan so his unique skill is that he can speak all three languages. His passion for accounting & finance comes from the example his father set while running multiple businesses in Italy during Mat's childhood.
Since he has joined IKAWA, Mat says he has learned a lot about what it takes for him to be able to have his coffee in the morning, from the farm, all the way to his cup. At IKAWA, Mat is running day-to-day finance processes and ensures that our company stays healthy and sustainable!
Outside of his work for IKAWA, Mat enjoys trying new food spots, both in the City and in his travel and attending music events.

OUR NON EXEC BOARD

PHIL SCHLUTER

Now Managing Director of Covoya Speciality Coffee Europe Ltd, and formerly of Schluter Coffee a coffee trading company specialising in East African speciality coffee. Phil was a founding member of Speciality Coffee Association of Europe and while based in Liverpool, works all over the world.

Phil has been involved with IKAWA from our early days and his knowledge of the coffee sector – and using IKAWA roasters across the business – has been invaluable.

CHRIS SWORN

Chris brings a wealth of experience from the manufacturing sector to his role as Finance Director on the IKAWA board.

During Chris’ career, he’s been Technical Manager, General Manager and Finance Director of RPC Group PLC which is now a global design and engineering company with centres of excellence worldwide and a turnover in excess of £2bn following floatation which he oversaw in 1993.

ANDREW STORDY

Founder, CTO and Chairman

HIKMA ALI

Hikma has established a large product trading company in Ethiopia, after her studies in Computer Science and International Finance. She was introduced to IKAWA in 2021 and joined our board later that year. Beyond her professional pursuits, she’s a proud mother of two wonderful girls.

ROMBOUT FRIELING

As a co-founder of IKAWA, Rombout joined forces with Andrew in the early days at the Royal College of Art, after previously studying at Stanford University and Imperial College London.

He now works independently as an award winning designer, engineer and researcher, and loves to develop new experiences that unleash unused human potential. Rombout has worked with Siemens, Merck and Proctor & Gamble and directed one of Philips’ open labs in Eindhoven where he’s based.