IT firm marks milestone with more growth
AN IT company is celebrating 10 years in business and continuing to expand with four new recruits.
Sigma, which has its headquarters in Macclesfield, specialises in improving the usability of digital products including websites, intranets, mobile apps and soft- ware.
The agency was first established in 2007 by Hilary Stephenson to provide a range of services including research, design, development, training and support. Her original remit was to establish a presence in the UK and develop key relationships for Sigma’s Swedish parent company, Sigma IT Consulting.
Over the past 10 years, the company has grown into a 40 strong team, with a second office in Cambridge and a turnover of £3 million. Sigma’s client base includes Sport England, InterContinental Hotels Group, The University of Manchester and Citizens Advice.
As part of its ongoing growth plans, the firm has recently taken on four new employees. Steve O’Connor, Rick Read and Shirley Sarker will be joining the Macclesfield office, while Lou Shackleton joins the Cambridge team.
Steve comes on board as a senior designer following six years with Airsource, a Cambridgebased developer of mobile apps.
Rick, who has worked in software and web development for the last 10 years including at McCann Manchester and Reading Room, has been hired as a senior software developer. Shirley is a recent graduate of Hyper Island and former Art Director at Channel 5.
After a decade of communicating complex ideas through animation she will be helping to build Sigma’s product and service design capability as a user experience designer.
To commemorate a decade in business, colleagues from Macclesfield, Cambridge and Sweden went out for a Swedish-themed meal to mark the occasion.
Hilary Stephenson, managing director, said: “Our 10th anniversary marks an exciting time for us here at Sigma.
“Last year we expanded through strategic hiring in our Cambridge office and we plan to continue our growth by adding up to 10 new members to the team in 2017.
“Attracting forward thinking individuals that are passionate about user experience is a high priority for us in order to provide the very best service design work for our clients.”