South West creative technology studio bolsters senior team with quartet of new hires 

BIMA award-winning Aer Studios announces key appointments following a year of growth 

Following a year of significant growth and new client wins, BIMA award-winning creative technology studio Aer Studios bolsters its tech and leadership team with four key appointments, planning for further growth in 2024. 

Image: Aer Studios’ key appointments. From Left to Right: Max Waring, Lucy Rees, Aaron Bushell, and Joshua Jacobson.

Aer Studios has welcomed four new hires into the team as of Q4 of 2023. Aaron Bushell (centre right) and Max Waring (left) join the Tech team as DevOps engineer and lead developer respectively. Joshua Jacobson joins as a full stack engineer (right), while Lucy Rees (centre left) rounds out the Aer Studios leadership team in the newly created role of Head of People and Culture.

Bushell brings a range of skills in software engineering, DevOps, cloud and blockchain, having previously held roles in IT consulting and more recently in the sustainability sector, developing solutions to measure the impact of climate change using blockchain technology.  

Prior to this, Bushell served in the Royal Navy, training navy divers to disarm sea mines. He will play a key role in the development of Aer Studios’ DevOps and engineering function across its entire client base.   

Waring joins with a wealth of experience as a full stack developer, having led teams in a range of roles for well-known global sports media organisations including the Play Sports Network and Spotlight Sports, as well as fashion brands such as Dickies. More recently, Waring headed a team of engineers developing a DevOps platform for UX and development at ZeroHeights.  

Waring joins Aer Studios following a series of key new business wins in the NGO, public and charity sectors and will be supporting Head of Technology Duncan Mckerracher to evolve our development practices. 

Jacobson joins the technology team as a full stack engineer working across a range of clients including radio listening service, RadioPlayer, helping to develop the platform for continued global expansion.  

Jacobson spent the last 5 years as a co-founder of the start-up Feed, an automated advertising platform serving the music industry. Prior to this, Jacobson held a number of digital roles across record companies such as Warp Records and Ninja Tune. Jacobson’s entrepreneurial spirit and sector expertise makes him a welcome addition to the studio.  

In a newly created role to help continue Aer Studios’ journey to become the best place to work for creative technology, Lucy Rees has been appointed to the senior leadership team as Head of People and Culture. Rees brings a wealth of HR experience having held leadership positions in creative and technology agencies including Six and Newicon.  

Rees’ arrival marks a new chapter for the studio, which plans to double down on its people first strategy. Partnering with fellow department heads, Lucy will be working closely with MD, Tom Harber, to continue to enhance the Aer Studios Employee Experience as the studio prepares for future growth. 

Tom Harber, Managing Director, comments, “We’re extremely excited to welcome Lucy, Max, Aaron and Joshua to the team! 2023 has been a pivotal year for Aer Studios from a growth and culture perspective, winning exciting new clients, industry awards and ranking in the top 100 best workplaces in the UK. Being able to attract high calibre tech talent like Max and Aaron is testament to this. Lucy’s arrival and appointment to the leadership team is a significant milestone for the business and will enable us to accelerate our journey to becoming one of the UK’s best places to work.” 

Lucy Rees, Head of People and Culture, adds, “I am delighted to be joining Aer Studios at this time of growth. Having followed Tom and the team at Aer closely for a little while and witnessing their shared values driving forward a leading culture in the industry, I knew this was the place to be. I cannot wait to help steer Aer into the future, continuing our journey as being a Great Place to Work, putting people at the forefront of our people strategy and partnering with some of the best talent around.” 

Source: Aer Studios

  Aaron Bushell, Aer Studios, Joshua Jacobson, Lucy Rees, Max Waring