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.

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.

Emily came to IKAWA in 2021, after 3 years of doing freelance work for IKAWA and working at 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.  She was part of the Home division for over 4 years and has now transitioned into being our Business Growth Manager and helping us reach more coffee businesses.  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. 

Bijal is IKAWA's Head of Finance and oversees all financial operations.  She joined us with over 20 years of extensive experience in Management analysis and reporting from the advertising and marketing industries and has taken a head-on deep dive into IKAWA's finances.

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 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.

Joanna joined us in 2023 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, as our Senior Reseller Executive. In her free time, she experiments with coffee roasting at home and enjoys long hikes.

Paulo was born in Portugal and raised in Liverpool. His journey with coffee began at UCC Coffee, where he discovered a passion for delivering excellent training and sharing his coffee knowledge with others. He developed a deep appreciation for the art of coffee and found joy in creating exceptional coffee experiences.

As his career progressed, Paulo transitioned into green coffee trading, where he expanded his expertise in coffee processes and roasting techniques. Now, as a team member at IKAWA, he is eager to apply his knowledge and collaborate with businesses to help them achieve their goals.

Outside of work, Paulo enjoys CrossFit, having taken part in competitions around the UK and Portugal and finishing every workout session with a coffee form his local coffee shop!

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 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.

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!

With a solid 10 years of experience in Quality Assurance, Harry has built a career focused on inspecting physical products and developing procedures and processes. His expertise spans four diverse industries, including Defence, Toys & Games, and Ecommerce. Born and raised in Hillingdon, Harry has lived in London his entire life and completed an apprenticeship in Production Engineering in 2016. Outside of work, he has been an avid tabletop wargaming enthusiast and miniature model painter for nearly 20 years, dedicating his time to this creative and immersive hobby.

Ioana is part of 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 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, a 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 years, chances are Andrea was the person double-checking your order. In his free time, Andrea enjoys drinking many coffees from the amazing selection of speciality cafes in London, trying out new and exciting restaurants, and spending time with his partner exploring the world. 

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 Head of Projects & UX, 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.