Meet Mark, Our Digital Strategy Director

Mark Probert is one of our Directors — the people behind the wheel, driving Newicon from strength to strength. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He’s also a dab hand at table tennis, a paddle boarder and much, much more. We sat down with him, to get some insight into the life of a Digital Strategy Director…

What’s your working background, and how did you come to work for Newicon?

Having started my career working with design agencies, the transition to digital software over the past five years has been a steep learning curve, but one that I’ve enjoyed tremendously. My passion for all things tech, coupled with my knowledge of user behaviour and message hierarchy stood me in good stead for the challenge of understanding client requirements and designing intuitive user experiences at Newicon. With design and UX playing an ever more important part in product development, it’s been a great transition for me.

To think it all started over a coffee with my now business partner, Steve O’Brien, who, in the early days, rented a few desks from my design business back in 2011. We’ve come a long way since then!

Describe your job to a six-year-old.

I help businesses show off what they do, and work with people to bring their ideas to life on the internet. And I make sure that these ideas are as helpful to other people, and other businesses, as possible.

What’s it like to work for Newicon?

It’s fun and fast paced, but hard work. The industry constantly changes as new technologies emerge, so we are forever evolving. However, as the team gets to work on some exciting projects for ambitious businesses and innovative entrepreneurs, there’s no better place to be. We’ll soon start work on an exciting VR project, so no one day is ever the same at Newicon!

What was your proudest moment at Newicon?

I was extremely honoured to have been invited to attend a Royal reception for the UK Technology Industry, hosted by Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace. It was an event put on to recognise and celebrate the growing contribution of the technology sector to the UK economy, and the country’s proud tradition of innovation.

Entering the palace and shaking hands with the Queen isn’t something that happens every day, so I will look back on that day for years to come with fond and proud memories.

Describe yourself in three words.

Personable, creative and astute.

If you could switch jobs with anyone else at Newicon, who would you swap with, and why?

I would switch with Ross. I spent twenty years designing, but I now pass the design work to the team to carry out, having moved into a business development and strategy role. However, there are days when I miss sitting down at my Mac and creating unique applications.

Do you have any interesting or unusual hobbies?

I used to play football, but I’ve just got into paddle boarding, which I frequently do in the estuary at Salcombe.

Favourite film/TV show?

Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, The Usual Suspects and The Departed.

Who’s your celebrity doppelganger?

Some of my family think I look a bit like the tennis player Andy Murray. I can live with that, but I’d like to think I have more personality than him though!

If you could time-travel, where would you go?

Back to the Triassic period!

Do you have any hidden talents, or is there an interesting fact about you?

I was a three-time junior table-tennis champion, and once attended the Lilleshall School of Sporting Excellence, where I was coached by the legendary British champion, Desmond Douglas, MBE!

Keep an eye out for more of our team blogs. And find out more about what we do in our recent case studies.