Our team and culture

James has overall responsibility for the business, takes the lead on strategic direction, leads the consultancy work and enjoys designing new processes for client businesses. He set up Decent Group in 2007 after becoming self-employed in 2004 and finding there was more work than he alone could cope with. Previously he worked for an educational publisher, developing automated typesetting processes for textbooks. James enjoys transforming businesses into the most efficient and successful version of themselves. 

He has two As and a D at A level, the D being caused by the teacher who spent two years gambling on teaching only half of the syllabus.

James collects street lights from the 1950s-1990s – a very inconvenient hobby that takes up a lot of space. His karaoke performances must be seen to be believed.

“I love our team and I love my job! I get to meet and understand so many people, at so many businesses, in so many industries. It’s so satisfying to be part of their growth journey.”

As Head of Technical and Operations, Jason looks after a team of eight people, including the development team and oversees the day to day operations of the business. He has been with Decent for over nine years. Jason is PRINCE2 Project Management certified, has an ITIL Certificate in IT Service Management and has recently achieved a Level 3 Foundation Certificate in People Practice from the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD), which along with his wealth of experience, enable him to ensure projects are managed efficiently and smoothly and the business is making the right decisions. 

Jason takes his inspiration and strength from his family and has a passion for driving process improvements through to completion and making sure his team have the tools to do their job effectively and to the best of their ability.

With two teenagers life is busy and not without its' challenges, but he still finds time to manage and coach his local grass roots football team.

“I strive to make a difference, whether it’s for the people that I work with and support or for the clients who benefit from the fantastic work that Decent Group do.”

Rhys is responsible for the Client Management team and looking after our wide range of clients, along with being involved in strategic planning. He has been part of the Decent team for over eight years and has experience in software development, business management and client liaison. Rhys is brilliant at ensuring clients’ needs are met, their expectations exceeded and that challenges or problems are overcome.

Rhys enjoys maintaining long-term business partnerships and is motivated by making an impact and delivering great results and service for clients and ultimately helping businesses do more of what matters to them.

Outside of work, you’re likely to find Rhys in the gym, tinkering with a car engine, or cooking several meals at once so he doesn’t have to do it again for several days.

“Working at Decent Group allows me to collaborate with great people and help a range of different businesses. Helping clients take their software to the next level is extremely rewarding.”

Bekki thoroughly enjoys the diversity of her role, often working closely with the developers to find the perfect solution for her clients. She is renowned for delivering projects on time and on budget. Before entering the software industry, Bekki spent over 10 years in office management and developed a range of valuable skills including first aid (she continues to serve as an internal quality assessor for a First Aid training provider). 

Bekki’s spare time is spent listening to live music at local venues. She also appreciates food from all over the world and will always choose something from the menu she has never had before, especially if it includes a new variety of cheese.

“Working at Decent is an incredible journey and one that continues to amaze me. The vast variety of people, businesses, and systems I interact with is fascinating. Surrounding myself with such a friendly and talented team means my day is a perfect mix of education, creativity, dedication, and enjoyment.”

Tyrone has over ten years of client management experience, having worked at Thames Water in several client liaison roles, where he liaised between businesses or customers to get problems fixed and relevant compensation. More recently, Tyrone worked for a boiler company as Manager of Customer Service Team, then being promoted to Portfolio Manager – both roles focusing on improving customer service and reducing complaints (which he did very successfully).

In his free time, Tyrone leads an active life, playing football for his local Swindon team and going to the gym.

“I find working in Client Management a really rewarding role where I can make a difference. I love interacting with various different people from different backgrounds and enjoy helping people solve their issues.”

Durga is one of our most experienced FileMaker developers with over 12 years of experience at Decent. He rapidly learnt the ropes and has become a one-man production whirlwind. He is also our go-to for IT support, and keeps the queue of jobs pleasingly short.

What really motivates him is working away in the background revolutionising clients’ business systems. He finds inspiration in the quote, “Keep learning new things every day”. 

When not working, Durga likes spending time outside doing landscape photography (and he’s really good at that too – we have his artwork on our walls). However, he is not so good at going home on time and has to be forced to leave the building.

“I love to help clients resolve their issues and help them achieve their goal by improving their system.”

Paul has been with us as a software developer for over seven years. He enjoys the challenges of software development brings and especially likes working on more complex projects. He is very good at making the user interface lovely to look at. He has a calm and quiet exterior but beneath it there lurks a whirling, highly effective brain.

In his spare time, Paul enjoys watching and following cricket, particularly supporting Somerset County Cricket Club.

“I enjoy working for Decent Group as a software developer, as the work provides many complex challenges for me to overcome, along with a variety of different projects to work on.”

Eilish particularly enjoys building a software system from the ground up – first identifying what’s needed, then designing the solution and finally testing it. She has always loved working with computers ever since primary school and knew it was something she wanted to do as a career. She started out with us as an apprentice and has been with Decent Group for over four years. She loves using Claris FileMaker, which she finds a versatile and powerful platform.

Eilish enjoys spending her free time with her French Bulldog called Jazz and with her family.

“It’s really nice to see clients using something you’ve built and making their work lives easier.”

Bradley is a highly experienced developer and develops and extends a wide variety of systems. He loves the solution design and software development side of his job. He also enjoys understanding clients’ business processes and proposing a best fit solution to their business. A good week for Bradley is using his expertise to solve complex business problems.

He feels it’s a proud achievement when you deploy a new system or see someone using something in their day-to-day job that you designed or created. 

Bradley has a strong interest in new and evolving technology. He enjoys learning to use new things and often does this for his personal projects. Two of his other particular loves are the pub and cooking. He also has a thing for unusual pets and has had both a tortoise and a duck in the past.

“Since I started working at Decent Group I have vastly expanded my people and problem solving skills. No two projects are the same, there is a new problem to solve every day and to do so with a team as lovely and skilled as ours is a really rewarding and fun experience.”

As part of our crack software development team, Sameer enjoys the challenge of identifying and solving a number of problems while responding to a rapidly changing set of competing priorities. He brings with him a wide experience of programming languages including Java, JSP, MYSQL, PHP, Bootstrap, JavaScript, HTML, HTML, CSS – and, of course, FileMaker. 

For him, the mind is everything and what you think is what you become. 

Out of the office, Sameer likes to play guitar and enjoys gaming on his PS4, particularly Call of Duty.

“I am glad to be part of this innovative team and to have an opportunity to grow within the company by learning new skills.”

Samuel is part of our software development team and joined us in 2021. With A-levels in chemistry, maths, and computer science, he is a true asset to Decent. He finds developing quality bespoke software systems fulfilling as no two systems are ever the same. He also enjoys the challenge of learning new things and putting them into practice every day. 

When not working, Samuel enjoys reading, long walks, and playing video games. But all of that is secondary to taking care of his demanding cat, Emile.

“Working with Decent Group is an enlightening experience, and I greatly enjoy learning new things about the FileMaker platform and using them to help our clients. It’s rarely easy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

Having completed his apprenticeship in software development, Russell now takes on the responsibility for overseeing our clients’ systems, maintenance, and ensuring optimal performance of client backups and servers. He is currently honing his skills in FileMaker and will further develop in this area as he gains experience.

He studied Law at Oxford Brookes University, graduating with a 2:1. He also took and passed a short course in business negotiation and mediation at Cologne Academy, Germany.

One day Russell would love to develop software to support access to legal services, providing those with low incomes a fairer playing field, as well as creating a software-based service that helps victims of abuse feel confident enough to seek the help that they need and the justice they deserve. 

In his spare time, Russell likes exploring national parks and baking.

His favourite inspirational quote is: ‘If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life’.

“I have found the FileMaker platform that we use very dynamic and interesting to use, and I cannot wait for the next project to work on!”

Lorraine is a great addition to the Decent Group team and brings with her a wealth of organisational, communication and client service skills. She enjoys data analysis and reporting, so we know that she’s the perfect person to streamline and improve our business.

With two young boys to wear out, along with a fondness for going running in her spare time, Lorraine’s life is very active.

“I find it very satisfying making sure things run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

Ishtar oversees all of Decent Group’s marketing, including website and brand management, communications, digital marketing and research. She has been working with us since 2012 and has a wealth of marketing experience. She is known for her calm persistence in getting the job done and getting it done right.

When Ishtar’s not at work, she enjoys being outside, whether walking or gardening (or just sipping a drink in the sunshine).

“I’ve always loved marketing as it entails so much variety, and the variety of businesses, industries and people we work with at Decent ensures my job is never boring.”