Meet the team
Meet our talented and committed team from our offices around the world. One of the things that makes translate plus a great place to work is that it’s such a culturally diverse workplace, with staff from over 30 countries – including the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, Poland, the USA, Ukraine, Turkey, China and India!
Umer Nizam
Managing PartnerBorn and raised in Pakistan, Umer started his journey in Finance in 2006 with his BCom from the University of Karachi. In 2011, he moved to the UK and completed a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting at Oxford Brookes University, and also became a Chartered Certified Accountant.
Having worked for an accounting firm, education services provider and fashion brands, Umer joined translate plus in 2015 as a Management Accountant and since then has grown from strength to strength in his roles contributing towards the success of the business. He currently leads translate plus' finances and co-manages the business.
Coming from a culture rich in gastronomic variety, Umer considers himself a foodie and enjoys cooking. He also loves to travel and spends a great deal of his free time with his family and friends!
Adrian Metcalf
Managing PartnerWith over a decade of experience working for multiple translation companies, Adrian’s strong technical background has driven the translate plus technical offering to help meet our client’s requests. Having worked across the world and seeing many different cultures, Adrian understands the importance of localisation to deliver a global message. Adrian: “translate plus is an ever-evolving company that always rises to a challenge to meet the requirements of our clients. I always feel proud to be part of the translate plus family and work so closely with our industry experts.”
Svenja Müller
Global Growth DirectorSvenja is responsible for developing and executing translate plus’ growth strategy, whilst defining the best mix for sustainable customer acquisition, retention and product development. Svenja has a background in both linguistics and business, holding a BA and MA in Business Management and Administration. With 15 years of experience in the language industry, she thrives on the fact that no two days are the same! She’s deeply committed to finding the most optimum solutions for our customers to help them achieve their own growth targets. A lover of all things food and design-related, Svenja has a soft spot for Mediterranean culture, history and art – and an odd love of American Football too!
Liina Thorn
Client Services DirectorLiina is a seasoned localisation & language professional with over 20 years of experience in the language industry. She has previously overviewed activities in our Operations department and now focuses on external client management and accounts, enquiries management, operational requirements and service delivery.
Liina is originally from Estonia. Her greatest passion is to travel and learn about different cultures. Her trip of a lifetime so far has been the year she spent travelling across Australia!
Jean-Christophe Mauvieux
Director of Language ServicesJean-Christophe Mauvieux currently leads the newly created Transcreation & Production Department of translate plus. With 11+ years of experience in Marketing Implementation, he has previously worked for different creative media and language agencies where he specialised in transcreation project management and Moving Picture localisation. Jean-Christophe is a passionate photographer and rarely leaves the house without his camera! He also loves to distil the memories and rich aromas of his favourite travels across South East Asia, North Africa and Italy into his cooking!
Nikolay Nistorov
Operations DirectorNikolay’s interest in working with diverse cultures and teams stems from his educational background (he currently holds an MA in International Relations). After acquiring 13 years of operational experience in large IT companies, he decided to join the translate plus family, embracing the challenge to drive smart operations within the company. Nikolay loves spending his free time with his family and friends and he also enjoys walking and travelling!
Vladimir Nikolov
Head of Human ResourcesVladimir has 15+ years of professional experience in the HR field. He gained his extensive knowledge and expertise by working for different business organisations operating in the BPO, IT, FMCG and Financial Services industries. He holds an MA in Organisational Psychology, has an in-depth specialisation in HR management and is also a certified NLP (classic code) practitioner. Tempted by the new opportunities provided by translate plus and its growth – an area where his competence, skillset and effort are well nurtured – he joined the team at the start of 2021. During his free time, he enjoys being with his family and friends, playing music, sight-seeing and travelling around, sometimes on his beloved Kawasaki vintage motorcycle!
Maria Ivanova
Operations ManagerA graduate of English and American Studies, followed by a MA in Internal Relations, Maria has a flair for languages and thrives in a multicultural environment. She started her translate plus career at an entry-level position and has quickly raised in rank since. After taking over the Operations Manager role, Maria’s focus has been the overall people management and fulfilment of the operational business targets. In her free time, she enjoys reading and long walks with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Nara Cravanzola
Head of Creative Language ServicesWith 20 years of experience in global creative adaptation, Nara currently looks after the Creative Language Services department of translate plus, focusing on the strategic delivery of Groupe-specific transcreation and global adaption projects.
She has previously helped brands generate competitive results through strategic localisation with marketing campaigns, working for media agencies such as Tag Worldwide, Havas, BBH, Mother and Freedman on projects for world-leading brands including Nike, Canon, Intel, Google, Facebook, Jaguar Land Rover, Dove and many more. In 2021, Nara gained a Cannes Lions & WARC Masterclass in Marketing Strategy.
Nara loves all kinds of sports including snooker! She is also a Saracens Touch rugby player, an avid skier and a motorsports enthusiast, ready with the spanner when her son is out on the track.
Nicole Mayes
HR & Training ManagerOriginally from Berlin, Nicole joined translate plus’ London office as a Project Coordinator in 2009 and a few years later moved into the HR department, where she currently works as an HR & Training Manager. Nicole holds a BA in Chinese & Linguistics and also an MA in Bilingual Translation from the University of Westminster. Spending time outdoors with her family is what she loves doing the most, as well as practicing martial arts, doing crochet, reading and enjoying stand-up comedy!
Nuno Raposo
Technical Operations ManagerNuno started in the pre-press industry, being responsible for newspaper design departments at the age of 22, before he joined translate plus London. Nuno enjoys long family trips with his wife and two boys, as well as cooking and gardening! He also loves the countryside. Although a true Portuguese at heart, Nuno does not like hot weather and prefers the British weather instead!
Cristian-Laurentiu Necula
Technical ConsultantWith vast experience in the translation industry, Cristian’s passion for technology has nurtured his interest in the latest tech trends and developments - from gadgets and cutting-edge software to consumer products and more B2B solutions. Since taking over the Technical Consultant role, Cristian’s focus shifted to finding new ways of improving translation workflows through the power of technology. He’s also an avid gamer and loves playing tennis, as well as exploring new hardware and gadgets!
Chiara Bellodi
Business LeadWith 8+ years of experience in client services and account management and an educational background in translation and interpreting, Chiara is currently responsible for driving new business opportunities on the Creative Language Services side of the business, as well as expanding existing ones within Publicis Groupe. When she is not discussing global adaptation and transcreation opportunities with different Publicis Groupe agencies, you’ll find her playing basketball (or football) with her teammates - or spending time with her two lovely young children and husband!
Alexandra Kravariti
Marketing ManagerPassionate about marketing and digital trends, Alexandra leads the marketing team’s activities including strategy, campaigns, brand design and comms. She previously studied Media & Comms in Athens, and then later on, Promotional Media at Goldsmiths, University of London as well as Film Curation and Programming at Birkbeck, University of London. Alexandra strongly believes in the power of collaboration combined with creativity to achieve inspiring work. Before joining translate plus, Alexandra worked at different creative design studios, as well as supporting independent short film productions in London. She’s a film buff and loves modern art, dogs and nature - especially Greek islands!
Arian Dehsorkhi
Software Development ManagerArian is a Software Development Manager at translate plus, currently based in our London office. He holds a BSc in Computer Science with Games Technology from City University, London and has a long-standing interest in how software technologies are built and work. During his free time, he enjoys playing video games and watching films!
Atanas Pashov
Finance ManagerAtanas started his career path in the US with Work and Travel exchange student programs – this is when he discovered his passion for Finance. After graduating with a master’s degree in Accounting, he took the opportunity and joined the translate plus Sofia family. When he is not dealing with invoices, numbers and spreadsheets, he spends his time with his family and friends.
Darko Ivanovski
Enquiries Team ManagerDarko has experience in different roles with numerous companies in the BPO, IT and Sales industries, and has also worked as a freelance translator for over 10 years. Having a passion for languages and a BA in Translation and Interpreting, it is no wonder that he found his true calling and joined translate plus in 2021. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with family and friends, watching movies and travel.
Sales & marketing
Our highly qualified team of business consultants and account managers are the first people you will speak to at translate plus. They make sure you receive the tailored approach you are looking for in a cost-effective way. They each specialise in certain industry verticals, so you are guaranteed to speak with someone who knows your sector inside out. And they dress rather well, too! When it comes to marketing, we ensure the smooth-running of regular industry events, we keep our web, social media and PR presence up-to-date, and we create case studies, fact sheets, brochures and other documentation on an ongoing basis.
Operations
Our project management teams represent the central point of our service offering, always going the extra mile, making sure our clients receive the highest quality service and results. What they don’t know about managing projects isn’t worth knowing! Our project managers are friendly, professional and extremely organised and all have a strong linguistic background coupled with a high level of technical knowledge. Our in-house localisation engineering, QA (quality assurance), DTP (desktop publishing), linguistic resources and translator teams work closely with our project managers for the best possible results.
IT support & development
Our fantastic in-house developers ensure our clients receive truly bespoke technical solutions, no matter how challenging or ground-breaking they may need to be. They are the brains behind the regular enhancements you will see within i plus, our translation management system, as well as working on internal development tasks which often end up as industry-leading solutions. Backed up by solid IT infrastructure and desktop support, we are at the cutting edge of localisation technology.
Accounts
Keeping a clear overview of finances is essential to running a sustainable and efficient business. Across credit control, accounts payable and accounts receivable functions, we use our internally developed applications and industry-standard accounting software to ensure invoices are issued in line with our clients' requirements, that suppliers are paid on time, and that any queries are handled promptly and professionally. Staff payroll, pensions administration and bank reconciliation are just some of the other responsibilities which our accounts team handle smoothly on a day-to-day basis.
HR & administration
Our smallest – though hugely important! – team ensures that translate plus runs smoothly as a professional workplace in line with laws and regulations as well as the requirements of the ISO 9001 and ISO 17000 standards. From hiring the best possible talent and organising our company away-weekends to delivering ongoing training and keeping us all stocked up on fresh fruit, they have a positive impact on all areas of the business.
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