ROLI is not just a company of specialists, but a community of polymaths creating new synergies between the professional and the personal.
After high school, Roland moved to Japan to practise Zen Buddhism. He earned a degree in Classical Chinese and Sanskrit Philosophy from Harvard University. His diverse achievements led to a scholarship to pursue an MA in Design Products at the RCA. There he invented the award-winning Seaboard GRAND and ROLI was born.
Daniel’s years of professional experience cover mechanical engineering, industrial design and entrepreneurship. Originally from San Francisco, he moved to London to attend the RCA and went on to start two design and technology companies in the UK. When time allows though, he loves time with the family, music and board sports.
As a multi-instrumentalist across several genres, David loves making music. He applies two decades of MI industry experience to expanding ROLI’s international markets, feeding also his love of travel, languages and cultural diversity. He is also family-focused and enjoys exploring the Czech landscape, reading and practicing martial arts.
Elena studied music in London for 3 years and now works as a Creator Support Agent at ROLI. A keen producer, she enjoys writing music for both herself and others. She makes a mean bowl of pesto pasta and loves dogs, Paris and live music.
A recent RCA Product Design graduate, Yu Kyung works with ROLI's product designers. For six years, she taught kids to sing and dance at a Sunday school, and she loves exploring London, cooking and making beautiful leather things.
An Ecuadorian designer/engineer now designing ROLI's spaces, Santiago helped perfect the production of the Seaboard's elastomer keywave. His designs use the physical and the digital to create playful, unexpected interactions and experiences.
Previously at Cadac working on the CDC8 audio mixing console, Tom is now part of ROLI’s hardware design team, taking care of circuits, PCBs, firmware and software. He's been a musician for years, playing bass in his band, Chroma.
Luke is responsible for driving growth by building consumer-insight driven marketing campaigns that inspire, engage, and resonate with ROLI's audiences across all channels. He also oversees ROLI.com, digital marketing, and e-commerce. He is an avid musician, playing experimental guitar in a number of projects – and once cycled from Brick Lane in London to Bangladesh for fun.
As Order Fulfilment & Returns Manager, Tom bridges the gap between the Sales and Operations team at ROLI. Growing up playing jazz piano, Tom has always had a passion for music as both a consumer and producer. He spends his time playing football, DJing or tinkling the ivories for recreation.
Ian was selected to exhibit at the New Designers exhibition in London in 2015 with a new product and service proposal for sterilising baby feeding bottles. He can be found creating a touch of sustain on his guitar and has performed at the likes of Latitude and the Great Escape Festivals.
A multi-instrumentalist and composer, Jared uses his musical and technical background to ensure ROLI’s creators have a seamless software experience. He loves exploring musical styles from across the world and learning new instruments.
With experience in music tech start-ups, Jack helps to make engaging content and promote ROLI’s online presence. Out of the office you’ll find him on a quiet hike or at a very loud gig.
Mike is a software engineer and brings to ROLI his experience of developing video technologies and his academic background in music technology. He enjoys hiking in the mountains, particularly in his native Scotland where he has bagged 7 Munros in a single day.
After studying Computing at Imperial College, Heen became ROLI's first Product Demonstrator having now performed at The Royal Albert Hall and Abbey Road. He loves jamming, travelling and eating fried chicken.
Tim grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and brings an extensive background in consumer electronics and supply chain to his role as CFO at ROLI. When not working with innovative technology companies, he can usually be found traveling the world playing golf.
An avid outdoorsman, Danny has taught whitewater kayaking and guided wilderness trips in the Northeast and Alaska and is now dedicated to maintaining the smooth flow of ROLI's sales process. He once paddled alone down the length of the Grand Canyon.
Over the past thirteen years, Dewald has helped companies such as GoPro and Garmin grow their sales. A proud citizen of the Rainbow Nation (South Africa), he is excited to drum up Sales at ROLI and you'll be sure to hear him talking about travel, music and tech.
Jessica loves being outdoors (when the weather is nice), exploring new places, and is a keen festival goer. With a background in advertising production, she now puts her organizational skills to great use as part of the People Operations team at ROLI.
Already listed as an inventor on a patent in the EU and the US, Chris’ work focusses on the development of software and electronics for ROLI's next products. He has been DJing on vinyl turntables since he was a teenager.
As a recent Tonmeister graduate, Rory has had a variety of experience in post production and studios. He is excited to be on the ROLI team as a Sound Content QA Engineer. Outside of work, Rory can be found at the local quiz night or at home testing new recipes.
A highly experienced embedded engineer who has designed over 60 instruments including award winning medical equipment, Murtaza brings a wealth of knowledge to the development of new products for ROLI. He enjoys playing bridge and badminton.
With wide-ranging technical experience primarily in software QA and development, Makiko leads ROLI’s Software QA team and is passionate about making continuous improvements for better quality. She is a classically trained pianist and loves playing the violin in a chamber music group as a learner.
Frankie has gained experience performing and composing music across a wide range of genres including funk, ska, and contemporary classical. He is now excited to combine this with his technical knowledge to ensure ROLI's software runs as smoothly as possible. His other interests include photography and a love for sparrows.
With experience in everything from global branding to product design, Yuta works on design engineering, bringing innovative ideas to life. His philosophy is to always try to strike a balance between rigour and creativity.
After spending his younger years teaching guitar at a music school in his native Wolverhampton, Tom graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with an MSc in Audio Programming. He joined the web team at ROLI after a role as a QA Engineer at FXpansion.
Xorge has fifteen years of experience in engineering. He is passionate about design, manufacturing and creating groundbreaking products. Xorge is also a salsa dancer and has a black belt in karate.
Laura has worked in the tech industry for over 14 years, from small scale and start up enterprise to global blue chip market and world leaders including TomTom. Before work Laura can be found running the streets of east London or at a Barre class.
With a degree in Musical Instrument Technology, she co-founded FXpansion with Angus Hewlett and SKoT McDonald. She brings a passion for innovative music technology to the ROLI team and extensive experience of managing cross-functional product delivery. She loves to free-motion quilt in her spare time.
With degrees in Philosophy and Music Production, Marcus draws upon his experience as a freelance producer and musician in order to provide a high standard of support to ROLI creators. He loves woodwork, making jewelry, playing with synthesizers, and hanging out with his dog, Lexi.
After completing her Maths degree in London, Sabeen then became a chartered accountant working in both audit and internal audit. She has made her first step into the music tech industry with ROLI as a Finance Manager. Outside of work, if she is not attending various DJ sets, she is boxing.
Previously, Zsolt worked on digital guitar amplifiers at Blackstar Amplification and he now develops ROLI's audio DSP algorithms for the Seaboard and future products. His interests range from guitars to the philosophy of consciousness.
A graduate of Oxford University & London School of Economics, Sophie builds ROLI’s community of Creators, leading ROLI's global marketing team. She is also a Founder Governor of Hackney New School and a violinist and composer, performing as a soloist with artists as diverse as Paul Weller, Rufus Wainwright and the LSO.
With a wealth of experience across digital and graphic design, Matt has worked in a range of creative agencies on brands such as McLaren F1, Barclays, Umbro & Sky. He enjoys photography, reading and playing sports with his two kids.
Since the days when ROLI's offices were too small to fit a Seaboard, Zain helped the company to develop and grow financially. He likes to dabble in social media and marketing and loves travelling, photography, music and cooking.
With past industry experience in Lighting and Furniture design, John oversees the repair and refurbishment of ROLI products whilst also aiding with in-house prototyping and proof of concept hardware. A two time veteran of the Hackney half marathon, he’s also a keen hiker having visited both Tasmania and New Zealand.
Trained as an anthropologist, Tahmima is an award-winning writer. She also writes a column for the International New York Times. She sits on the board of ROLI, coordinates senior recruitment, and heads woman-forward initiatives to the ROLI team and beyond.
With nearly ten years audio engineering experience, Michael has been developing expansion packs for FXpansion's BFD software, carrying out Quality Assurance testing, and creating product audio demos. When not bringing these skills to bear at ROLI, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, playing the guitar and cricket.
Formerly the CEO of FXpansion, a leading company in virtual instruments which he founded at the tender age of twenty-three, Angus’s background is in software engineering and music production. He can usually be found riding his bike, digging his allotment or attempting to coordinate a jam session with his family.
With a creative and technical background in the games industry, Lewis now puts that to use while testing ROLI software. He’s a composer with a passion for exploring how people can experience and interact with music.
Before completing his masters and PhD in anthropology, Matt studied sound engineering. He's traveled all over, including building a log cabin in an Alaskan forest. When not building or fixing things for ROLI he is probably riding his motorbike, pointing a camera at something or tattooing someone.
Former pit master at some of London’s leading BBQ restaurants, Sam can now be found making innovative vegetarian cuisine in our kitchen. A lifelong collector of records, Sam has been lucky enough to share his love of electronic music at a number of highly acclaimed international parties and festivals.
A music and tech enthusiast, Sherene leads the strategy for ROLI.COM and maintaining an exceptional customer experience for the brand’s online presence. You can often find her at concerts or dancing with friends around London.
Formerly a professional contemporary dancer, Corey works to comprehensively cohere the ROLI community. He co-directs VT's Governor’s Institute on the Arts and is passionate about activism and the discourse related to issues of gender, race, non-human animals and social justice.
After gaining a BSc in Design for Digital Media in Aberdeen, Chris moved to London and spent the next ten years building a career in web development with some of London's leading design agencies, before joining ROLI as part of the web team. Chris is a lifelong video gamer, and is partial to good food and good sleep.
With years of experience in electronic music production and music technology, Lawrence now works to ensure ROLI and FXpansion products reach the highest possible standards. He enjoys composing, cycling long distances, and spending more time than perhaps necessary to make the perfect cup of coffee.
An international upbringing, a Central St. Martins' Product Design degree, and an electronic music production hobby situate Rami well as a senior product designer at ROLI. He also loves to disassemble/reassemble bits of tech and fixed-gear bikes.
After 15 years touring the world as Keyboard Technician for artists such as Britney Spears, Lionel Richie and Leonard Cohen, Dan now leads the ROLI creator support team. He still tinkers with modular synthesisers and loves physics and cosmology.
As a session drummer, Jay has toured the world and recorded with several platinum-selling artists. Also an experienced mix engineer, Jay applies all of his skills at ROLI by creating unique and inspiring drum content for BFD and our other sound engines. He enjoys cheese, ale and scenic walks.
An RCA graduate, Hong designed the podium for the 2012 London Olympics and joined ROLI to oversee the manufacturing and realization of the product vision. He loves 80s music, Matsuda Seiko and trying new things.
With a BSc in Creative Music & Sound Technology and diverse professional experience, Chesney supports ROLI’s CEO. When not at ROLI he can be found performing with his band, exploring hidden corners of London, or learning about nature and science.
Making music and creating new sounds has always been Rafael’s passion. Encouraging the ROLI software development team for yet more features? if it means a better sound, it’s a must for Rafael.