Our Team

Simon co-founded Splash Projects with his wife Rachel in 2000, overseeing the delivery of hundreds of programmes to more than 65,000+ participants across the world. Since starting the projects arm of Splash in 2005, programmes have involved hospices, respite homes, schools for children with special needs, homeless charities and remote communities in need around the globe. He is passionate about everything having purpose and impact. Simon previously spent 23 years in the British Forces as a Parachute Engineer and a senior instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering and Joint Services Military Diving School, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of specialist training programmes including for the Special Forces. He also managed construction projects involving more than £25m worth of engineering equipment. A member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Simon is also a qualified Emergency Medical Technician in Remote Care, and an HSE qualified Commercial Diving Instructor in Underwater Demolition and Construction. Simon is also a Yacht Master Sail (RYA cruising instructor), a qualified Mountain Leader and is a rugby coach in his local community.

Gareth is a highly experienced and respected business leader with a track record of driving business growth. He started his career at Unilever and has held senior positions at some of the UK’s best-known brands including Innocent Drinks and MoneySuperMarket before becoming Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland and Global CMO for HomeServe. Gareth is a published author on marketing leadership (The Marketing Leader’s CODE) as well as a trained coach. Most recently, he has held several Non-Executive Director positions, whilst working as a fractional CMO and career coach.

Rachel co-founded Splash Projects with her husband Simon in 2000. She is a former journalist with 10 years’ experience on daily UK newspapers and a national news agency. Originally, Splash was an editorial and PR company promoting a wide range of organisations from multinational companies to the public sector. The company was recognised for “outstanding achievement” by the Institute of Public Relations (UK) in 2004. Since 2005, Rachel has worked with Simon to develop the projects arm of Splash but still enjoys outdoor pursuits and working with children of all ages in her local community including running a weekly mums and toddler group, teaching at Sunday school and volunteering at summer youth camps.

Anna has extensive organisational change and programme management experience gained from over 30 years in banking and financial services. Through her Business Management and Chief of Staff roles with RBS and Deutsche Bank, Anna was responsible for creating high-performing global teams and establishing a positive culture at all levels. Anna first came across Splash Projects in 2010 when she took part in a “remarkable” project with RBS. She joined the Splash team between 2019 – 2021, leaving only because of the pandemic, and rejoined Splash in 2023 following a stint as Head of Early Careers at Vantage Point Global. Corporate Social Responsibility is incredibly important to Anna, who is in constant demand as a coach and mentor, helping people reach their goals. Working at Splash allows her to fulfil both these passions. Anna lives in London with her husband and their two almost-grown-up sons and a fabulous fox-red Labrador.

Steve Daniels has 40 years’ experience in the financial services industry including Executive Human Resources Director roles in retail banking, corporate banking and investment banking. He has worked in New York, London, Edinburgh and Ireland and while Director of HR in Investment Banking had responsibility for teams in 53 countries. Steve has extensive experience of delivering transformational, cultural and behavioural change as well as the full range of Human Resources interventions within challenging commercial environments. He has a passion for leadership development and team development and a reputation for delivering change. His mission is ‘taking on challenges that demand vision and energy and helping others realise their full potential’.

Dan’s creative career began as a sculptor in London, selling his work through exhibitions, private commissions and public installations. When he returned to Devon, Dan turned his creativity to building garden features, qualified as a joiner, studied computer aided design, and completed a Master’s in Design. Dan joined Splash in spring 2022 off the back of a teaching art and design, carpentry, computer aided design, architecture, and engineering. He enjoys sculpture, cricket and exploring the Devon coast in his spare time.

Steve’s 39 years in the Royal Engineers includes 10 operational deployments to some of the most austere and dangerous places in the world. He is passionate about developing young people’s leadership and management talents and has a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Management from the University of Portsmouth as well as a PRINCE2 Diploma in Project Management. Steve is also a Chartered Manager, a motorcycle instructor and an avalanche rescue coordinator and works as a part-time security management consultant.

In 2007 Fran found herself in the back of a clapped-out van squashed up against sacks of olives oozing with slippery inky juice, her snowboard digging into her knees, jolting and jerking as the vehicle she was a passenger in negotiated the steep mountain roads. She was returning to Marrakech after a day’s snowboarding in the Atlas Mountains. There was a story in this adventure. She’s been pursuing stories – other people’s stories – ever since and is passionate about being a mouthpiece for others. She has 15+ years’ experience as a content producer, through journalism, photography, and as a communications and media relations professional. When she’s not at her desk or taking photographs, she loves cold water swimming, trail running, mountain biking and paddleboarding, and has snowboarded in nine countries…India, Morocco, Finland, Canada, New Zealand, France, Italy, Austria and Bristol, UK!

John joined Splash fresh off the back of graduating with a degree in Industrial Design from Bournemouth University in 2021. He loves seeing how much difference his work is having through Splash and says it always makes him smile seeing the pictures which we share on the team WhatsApp! John loves sport and plays football, cricket and golf in his spare time.

Following a five-year stint in the Royal Marines, Steve spent the majority of his career as a manufacturer for a printing company. This preceded around eight years as a furniture builder. So, a lifetime of working with his hands meant Steve was well set for joining the Splash team in 2022. When he’s not with Splash, Steve can be found on the golf course or shouting at the TV in support of Liverpool FC.

Martina originally comes from a German speaking part of northern Italy and is trilingual, speaking fluent Italian, German and English. She lived in England for 32 years and is now based in Itlay. Before working for Splash Projects, she worked for Benetton, Osram GEC and Milcars/Mazda BMW. In her spare time Martina is a local Church Minister. She’s a self-proclaimed foodie and also enjoys cycling, walking, playing the guitar and reading.

Tim spent 36 years in the Royal Engineers as a construction and logistics engineer serving all over the world. He is experienced in Facilities, Health & Safety and Equipment Management. Tim is a highly effective leader, leading by example, with an unwavering integrity and respect for He is therefore an extremely versatile manager of people, and uses a pragmatic hands-on approach to delivering operational efficiency, driving performance improvement and providing exceptional customer service through strong leadership, resource management and planning skills. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management, and a City and Guilds Institute member for Construction and Logistic Engineering. Tim has a passion for coaching rugby and coaches for Devon Rugby Football Club.

Eta graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Mulungushi University in 2023. Her subsequent work as a Site Engineer for Casa Bella Construction involved setting out buildings, structural design, project and material scheduling, site coordination and conflict resolution. In her spare time, Eta loves cooking.

A Chartered Civil Engineer with a degree in Building Engineering, Tim is also a Charted Health & Safety Practitioner with a certificate in Environmental Management & Assessment. Tim has worked in the construction industry for 35 years on a range of projects from domestic properties to multi-million-pound schemes at airports, railway stations, hospitals, schools and commercial shopping centres. His many skills include planning, risk assessment, management systems, project control, training, coaching and developing teams. Tim enjoys photography, fishing and woodwork in his spare time. He loves the Splash concept and always gets a buzz when a project is handed over to the recipients.

Colin has 24 years’ service as a Royal Engineer during which time he was a Senior Instructor with the Royal School of Military. Since leaving the Forces Colin spent several years as a project supervisor, managing multi-million-pound construction projects all over the world including Canada, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Colin has many talents; he’s a qualified electrician and has six property renovations under his belt. He also managed to fit in a 10-month road trip across the USA and Canada in 2012/13; just don’t make the mistake of asking to see his photographs of the trip…

Lloyd has 35 years in the British Army under his belt, with many worldwide deployments, including roles as a military diver, a Commando Sapper and as an instructor for the Defence Diving School and the Royal School of Military Engineering. As a result, he is highly skilled in facilities management, construction and field engineering. Following his military career, Lloyd spent eight years in project management in Afghanistan running large scale multi-million-dollar contracts. He was one of the last UK citizens to be evacuated when the Taliban took over in August 2021. He has a passion for helping those less fortunate, so the work of Splash is right up his street.

Symon is a master craft bricklayer/stonemason and has run his own business since 2001 with work ranging from small builds, house refurbishments, student accommodation builds and land development. He previously worked for for a brewery company for 12 years in a variety of roles which included management, refurbishment and brand development. In his spare time Symon is a rugby player and level 2 RFU coach for his local Devon and Cornwall team.

Devon born and bred, Rich was a professional chef before swapping to window fitting. Other than learning the tricks of the trade from his carpenter dad, Rich is self-taught when it comes to tools and has been a regular on Splash Projects for around eight years. When he’s not working, you can find him on his motorbike or with his kids/grandkids.

Georges is an independent international consultant and Senior Executive Coach and teaches the MBE (Master Business Excellence), AME (Achieving Managerial Excellence) programmes and Company Specific at CEDEP and Group Coaching at INSEAD. He is also a Team Dynamics Facilitator at Airbus Leadership University and an INSEAD Certified Executive Coach. Georges has been designing and implementing group executive training for senior executives for a decade and counting. He focuses on the Transformational Mindset concept and how to embrace uncertainty. Prior to coaching, Georges starting out life in the Army, later re-training to be a business flight pilot. Georges still enjoys flying today for humanitarian causes. He has also been an Import-Export Operations Director and Sales Director, selling supply chain solutions in the pharmaceuticals industry. In 2008 Georges started his own consultancy company at the INSEAD Business Incubator in Fontainebleau. He was mentored by Professor Ludo van der Heyden and Professor Han Van Dissel. Somehow, Georges also finds time to be an inspirational speaker and a pop/rock band leader.

As well as her vital work behind the scenes in the office, Andrea is an experienced Project Facilitator for us. Andrea joined the Royal Air Force aged 19 as a Mechanical Transport Driver. After nine years’ service she relocated to Menorca, Spain, to pursue a passion in property renovation before returning to the UK in 2002. A career in sports retail management at Tony Pryce Sports, saw her hone her management, leadership and customer service skills. Realising her husband Shaun had more time off than her, she changed career and worked in education as a Digital Marketing Officer before taking “very” early retirement to travel around Europe for five years, with her husband, in their campervan. Andrea also followed her husband into rugby. As a scrum half and goal kicker she led her team to an unbeaten first year at Withycombe RFC. She now has cauliflower ears! During time off from travelling, Andrea worked as a Group Manager on the National Citizen Service (NCS) and was instrumental in guiding a group of 16-year-olds to national success with a foodbank initiative which was implemented and rolled out nationwide by Sainsbury’s. Andrea is also a Trustee and Procurement Manager with her family’s charity, The Adam Stansfield Foundation, and in her spare time she loves doing anything outdoors, travelling and challenging herself.

Shaun is a former Royal Marines’ Physical Training Instructor specialising in Adventure Training and rugby coaching. He gets out on the water and into the mountains as often as possible and still puts his boots on for a run with the Royal Marines Veterans team and Combined Services Barbarians. On leaving the Corps, Shaun attended Plymouth University and went on to teach PE, firstly at East Devon College and then at Exeter College, until taking early retirement in 2017 and travelling around Europe in a campervan with his wife Andrea, “living the dream”! Shaun has also worked for the National Citizens Service as a course manager, responsible for 120 16 –18-year-olds and a staff of 20. As a teacher, Shaun always encouraged students to get involved in fundraising for local and national charities. He is also a Trustee for his wife’s family’s charity – The Adam Stansfield Foundation.

A former Royal Marines Reservist, Andy’s interests are as diverse as his career history…He’s trained in horticulture, can speak Spanish (helpful because he’s been a resident in Madrid for a while now) and German, enjoys beekeeping and used to be an amateur boxer. His work life has involved roles in the security and construction industries, both in the UK and in Spain.

Darren has 30 years’ experience in expeditions and training including in commercial, charitable and operational roles. Darren spent 14 years in the British Army as a Commando Engineer, organising and leading operations worldwide, often in challenging environments. He was an instructor with the All Arms Commando course training team and the Joint Service Military Diving School. On leaving the Forces, Darren taught at the University of Plymouth’s Marine and Diving Centre, before moving to South Africa for 15 years where he set up an adventure travel business specialising in off the beaten track expeditions. Darren founded and served as CEO of The Goodsport Trust, a charity specialising in delivering training and education to schools and coaches in South African townships, allowing participants to deliver world class physical education and activity programmes to their respective communities. The charity is also the operating partner for the Born To Be Elite programme, headed by Olympians Justin Gatlin and Sharrieffa Barksdale. Darren has also served as CEO of the Athlete Development Centre and was the co-founder and director of the Western Province Rugby Academy in Cape Town. Adventure is his passion and Darren has organised and participated in many expeditions, adventure races and challenges, including being the first person to run 3,000km across Africa raising awareness for water scarcity and elephant conservation. This involved wild camping and following elephant migration routes from the north west of Namibia to Mozambique.

A former mountaineer and Army Reservist, Darren has become an international adventure para-athlete and motivational speaker since becoming paralysed from the chest down in a climbing accident. He is passionate about helping others find strength through adversity.

Neil is a City & Guilds trained painter and decorator with more than 30 years’ experience. He is qualified in First Aid and CPR for primary and secondary care and is a certified Emergency First Responder. He has helped to deliver Splash Projects all over the world. Neil has captained the Devon (SW England) boxing team and had more than 180 fights. He is chairman of the Exmouth Amateur Boxing club and spends his free time coaching amateur boxing and junior rugby in the community.

Gary spent 34 years with the Royal Marines Band which included being part of overseas operations: he was a stretcher bearer and medic during the Falklands Campaign and was part of a disaster relief effort in 1998 in Central America following Hurricane Mitch which saw him ferrying aid up and down the River Coco to areas of Nicaragua and Honduras. Life as a principal trombone in the Royal Marines Band saw Gary performing solos in the Royal Albert Hall, but also required him to down his instrument and take on diverse roles including as a Special Sea Quartermaster and driving aircraft carrier transporters for the Royal Navy. Gary is now a serving member of the 6th Rifles Army Reserve. With a passion for water sports, Gary is a British Water Ski Federation Ski Instructor and Ski Boat Driver and runs adventure courses for the military. Throughout his life he has always had an aptitude for building which has included building boats, a recording studio for the Royal Marines Band, and most recently a large extension at his home; invaluable experience for his role with Splash.

Paul retired from the Royal Marines in 2000 after 26 years and became the Managing Director of a research company in Exeter. After three years as a civilian he returned to his military roots and became a Military Contract Officer in the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, Paul spent six years as the Chief Instructor of a team of British MCOs assisting with the training of UAE Officers. In 2009 Paul became the Head of Security Operations for the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA). His remit included all security and crisis management related matters across the company’s global footprint. Paul also spent three years as a Regional Security Officer for an oil and gas company based in the Middle East. Needless to say, Paul has extensive operational and training experience.

Tim spent 27 years in the British Army as Royal Engineer, predominantly with the Airborne Forces as a Parachute Engineer. During his career he managed major construction projects all over the world and partook in humanitarian deployments, including the intervention in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide. During the War in Afghanistan Tim commanded the Engineer Logistic Supply Chain, providing logistical support to frontline bases. For the majority of his career he was a military commercial diver so is as happy under water as he is on land. A former instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering, Tim has wide ranging experience teaching subjects such as explosive demolitions, leadership, jungle warfare and survival in austere environments including in Brunei, Belize and Africa. A fully trained carpenter, joiner and electrician, Tim also holds National Board in Occupational Safety and Health General and Construction certificates as well as graduateship awards in both Leadership and Management and Construction Engineering. His hobbies include sky diving – Tim is a formation skydiving coach – and snowboarding.

Colin is a former Royal Marines Sergeant and runs a plastering business with his son. He has worked with Splash Projects since 2018 and has been involved in projects across Europe and the Far East. He launched the sell-out Milklands Festival near Plymouth in 2022. His pet hate is people who can’t use an impact driver to put a screw in, luckily Colin is a dab hand and can demonstrate how it’s done…

Billy is a former Parachute Royal Engineer and Royal School of Military Engineering instructor, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of specialist training programmes and the management of multimillion pound construction projects. A builder as well as an engineer, Billy has more than 20 years’ experience delivering training courses. His work as a Commercial Diving Instructor saw him lead major underwater construction projects and health & safety inspections around the world. Billy has helped run Splash Projects in the UK, USA and Asia.

Daz spent 38 years in the Royal Engineers during which time he was involved in, and managed numerous projects all over the world and was a primary training instructor. These days, he’s back in his home county of East Yorkshire where he works as a handyman, playing golf and running in his spare time.

Based in Jersey, Bert is a serving Class 1 Combat Medical Technician with the Royal Army Medical Corps. This follows 12 years in the British Army’s Reserve Forces and several years with the Royal Engineers Reserves as a Combat Engineer. Bert is well suited to Splash, not just because he speaks French and Italian; he has passion for training and takes great satisfaction from helping others develop their confidence in new areas evidenced throughout seven years as a lead instructor within a Royal Engineers’ Recruiting, Training and Mentoring Team. A qualified Dive Master, Bert’s pastimes include anything to do with bicycles, be it racing, watching, tinkering, talking about, or riding them.

Tony served in the Royal Engineers for 39 years. For the majority of this time he lived and worked in Germany including in Berlin between 1987 and 1991 during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Tony has always loved the teaching aspect of military and describes himself as “lucky” to have trained recruits as a Corporal Section Commander and in the latter part of his career as the Officer Commanding of a training squadron. Tony loves the outdoors, especially skiing, honing his skills while living in the Bavarian Alps over 17 years.

Balvinder is English of Indian origin, currently residing in Madrid, Spain, and working as an Adjunct Professor and Business Mentor at IE Business School. He is the co-author of ‘Going Digital: What it takes for smoother transformations’ which explores the inner secrets of successful business innovation and digital change. Balvinder has a Master’s in Mediation from the University of London and has extensive experience leading business, social, cultural, media and technology projects in Spain and internationally. He is an experienced international trainer on leadership, team management and motivation, innovation culture, mediation/conflict resolution skills and entrepreneurship. And, he is experienced in internal and external communications, creative and strategic input, business development, team leadership, relationship management and business mediation. He has worked with and for many charities and foundations and has been an aid worker for education, health, sustainability and safety projects in many countries including Belgium, Spain, India and East Timor. Balvinder is passionate about the importance of building strong and effective teams and enabling projects which push boundaries. He is a strong advocate of self-empowerment and proactiveness. His favourite quote is from Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Sam is a British and Spanish dual national currently residing in Madrid, Spain. He is studying a double degree in Business and International Relations at IE Business School and has experience in project management, community development, coaching, and consulting for NGOs. During his undergraduate studies he is leading and supporting the planning of numerous initiatives. Sam is passionate about languages, speaking German fluently as well as French and Portuguese at intermediate level, and learning Romanian and Russian. When taking a break from working and studying, he enjoys fencing and hiking with friends.

Elizabeth has a background in the elite sports world, the charity sector and 18 years’ military service. She is driven by a passion for adventure and taking people on a journey of discovery as well as giving back to the veteran community: she was Sport and Operations Manager for the Invictus Games and was Chief Operations Officer for the Armed Forces Para Snowsport Team. As a former athlete and manager of the British Biathlon Team she pioneered the first British Para Nordic Team and she went on to lead Team GB alongside delivering the Paralympic Inspiration Programme on behalf of the British Paralympic Association. Beyond the demands of these roles, Elizabeth is married to a “very understanding” husband, and they enjoy family cycling and kayaking adventures around the UK with their three children.

John has four decades’ experience in video production, filmmaking, directing and editing, including 25 years as a commercials director which included filming and directing for television worldwide. His career kick-started in the early 1980s as a video analyst in elite sport, leading to more than a decade in sports TV and an EMMY award win in 1994. John’s independent professional filmmaking has taken him all over the world on assignments including with Splash Projects. An advocate of the importance of community projects, John describes it as a “profoundly rewarding” to focus on “storytelling” for us and documenting the Splash experience for both participants and charity recipients.

Jack Sim is the founder of the World Toilet Organization. He broke the taboo around toilets by bringing the sanitation crisis to the global media spotlight in 2001 and has since mobilised a global movement involving governments, policy makers, United Nations agencies, international civil society, thought leaders and activists to work together in addressing the global sanitation crisis. Jack also founded Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) Hub, a business-centric organisation using hybrid cross-sector collaborations to alleviate poverty sustainably through creating efficient BOP marketplace for four billion people. He is a recipient of many awards among which are the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Points of Light Award 2018, Time Magazine Hero of the Environment 2008, Singapore President Volunteer and Philanthropy Award 2016, Schwab Fellow of World Economic Forum and Ashoka Global Fellow.

Adélaïde has many years in higher education, governmental and non-governmental organisations and private sector companies. She has extensive experience in business development, marketing/communications and public affairs, working internationally and across various cultures. Adélaïde’s previous roles include Chief of Staff at the Mairie de Fontainebleau, International Business Development Manager at HEC Paris, and Economic Attachée at the French Embassy in Canada. Adélaïde rejoint Splash Projects après de nombreuses années passées dans l’enseignement supérieur, dans des organisations gouvernementales et non gouvernementales et dans des entreprises du secteur privé. Elle possède une vaste expérience en matière de développement commercial, de marketing/communication et d’affaires publiques, et a travaillé à l’échelle internationale et dans différentes cultures. Adélaïde a déjà occupé les fonctions suivantes Chef de cabinet à la Mairie de Fontainebleau ; Responsable du développement des affaires internationales à HEC Paris ; et Attachée économique à l’Ambassade de France au Canada.