People

Jonathan founded Rootcause after more than fifteen years working in senior communications roles for high-profile politicians, CEOs, philanthropists and public thinkers across the world. In this time he has worked across more than a dozen countries running diverse teams whilst writing keynote speeches, securing front page headlines, delivering world-first social media moments and helping to secure meaningful changes to public policy.

Through his work Jonathan has built a strong global network of clients and co-communicators, offering concise and articulate strategy with a motivational, optimistic perspective. He has a track record of innovation and established the successful Government Vs The Robots podcast in 2018 to explore his interest in the relationship between politics and technology. This opportunity to quiz more than fifty leading global experts about the changing world of communication led him to publish Digital Information Ecosystems: The Progressive Playbook and many of these ideas inspired Rootcause.

As a Research Associate at ODI Jonathan published Ten things to know about misinformation and disinformation and has written more widely on politics, communication and international development for a range of newspapers. His consultancy clients include The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the Oak Foundation, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Foundation, Who Targets Me and Digital Action.

Ben is a serial, product-focused technical founder with multiple exits and a Y Combinator alumnus. As CTO at Thread, the AI-powered fashion marketplace, he built world-class Engineering and Data Science teams from the ground up, shaping the product's core recommendation engine. He went on to lead the 1,600-person engineering chapter at Marks & Spencer, where he defined and implemented an AI-first software development strategy. His remit spanned mobile apps, personalisation and financial services — products responsible for billions in revenue — and he served as chief engineer for the upcoming relaunch of M&S Sparks, the retailer's loyalty programme with over 16 milion members. A hands-on technical leader, Ben continues to design and build software today.

Rasha is a campaign strategist and researcher bringing together expertise in campaigning, advocacy, communications and AI. At Rootcause, she builds AI-powered workflows that turn complex information environments into high-quality, tailored and actionable insights for campaigners, communications teams and advocates.

She specialises in designing auditable AI processes that help teams surface evidence, map narratives, identify opportunities and strengthen theories of change. Before joining Rootcause, she spent seven years designing and leading campaigns in the UK and globally with Save the Children and The Children’s Society, with a focus on child poverty, child exploitation, climate change, refugee education and the protection of children affected by conflict. Her campaigns contributed to multiple policy changes and shifts in public narrative.

Nick has over 20 years of experience helping think tanks, non-profits and trade unions realise a transformative vision of what they could be in the digital and AI age.

In his career he created and led in-house digital teams at Médicins Sans Frontières Spain, UNISON and ODI Global. Since 2021 he has worked as digital and AI strategy consultant and trainer, with clients including Greenpeace, Concern Worldwide, The Royal Academy of Engineering, Nesta, The International Science Council and more.

He combines strategic thinking with technical knowledge and practical experience in organisational change, communications, marketing and mass fundraising. His training programmes, workshops, and advisory work have helped thousands of professionals to understand and engage with generative AI.

Nick is also the Director of the Centre for Responsible Union AI, a project that seeks to help trade unions strategically harness ethical and worker-friendly digital and AI, building their power and relevance to build a more just world of work in the AI age.

Maya has experience working with non-profits and start-ups designing efficient systems for humanitarian problems and effective communication in modern information environments. She works in the intersection of design, open-source intelligence and journalism.

She previously produced video content covering global conflicts, weapons, state-sponsored campaigns and disinformation for the Centre for Information Resilience. She created a short documentary on Uyghur forced labour and organised multiple screenings, including a panel discussion in the House of Lords moderated by Lord Alton. Alongside her work with Rootcause, Maya works with a charity connecting engineers, designers and journalists with humanitarian problems.