Top 10 UK app development company, The Distance, has appointed a new managing director and senior leadership team as the business gears up for the next phase of its journey.
Former Head of Operations Louise Toal takes up the MD role after five years with the business, with Project Team Lead Gemma Oliver filling the newly vacated Head of Operations role. Former MD and company founder, Anthony Main, will move into a more strategic role continuing to oversee and support the business’ ambitions for growth. They are joined on the new leadership team by Senior Account Manager Tom Boatman who has been with The Distance for 4 years.
Founded in 2009, The Distance is one of the longest-serving dedicated app development companies in the world, with a roster of clients ranging from start-ups to multi-billion-pound turnover global enterprises that include Eurotunnel, GNY and PayStream. The company employs 17 people from its York headquarters and prides itself on building an incredibly diverse workforce, of which 41% are female.
Louise Toal joined the company in 2017, after building her own virtual assistant company and sharpening her operations management skills in the NHS. She will now take responsibility for the day-to-day running of The Distance, enabling the team to live by the company’s values to be empowered, creative, experts.
She said, “The opportunity to take over from Anthony as MD is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to use my autonomy to drive the next phase of the business. We have an incredible team that I am keen to support in pushing The Distance to the next level.”
Anthony Main says that the formation of the new senior leadership team will enable him to focus on the bigger picture: “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved at The Distance,” he said. “However, to continue growing and delivering great work for our customers and the industry, we need to evolve and adapt.
“The Senior Leadership Team and I have a clear vision for our future. We have set ourselves ambitious targets, and I’m sure that with the new structure in place, we will achieve them. The business is in safe hands and is set up to succeed.”
Gemma Oliver joined The Distance 18 months ago, bringing considerable project management skills from previous roles with the NHS and Fera Science. On her promotion to Head of Operations, she said, “It is a time of change as we implement new ways of working to make us more efficient and effective. I am excited about what the future holds, both in my own role and for the wider team.”
