Tim Gash – Partnership Director

Science Animated, or Sci Ani as it’s affectionately known in the team, is not just a YouTube channel (although that’s quite a lot of what we do around here). Our mission is to make research accessible to everyone, so we can all keep up to date with what’s important in the world of academic research.

Following considerable success working with clients across our range of flagship publications, Tim has now moved sideways into a role which sees him focusing on his true passion in life – the visualisation of research and complex bodies of information. In this blog series, we’re getting to know a bit more about what makes Tim tick. 

I hear you grew up abroad – was that something that had an impact on you?

Absolutely, I grew up in Hong Kong as my father was in the military and ran the hospital over there.

I used to spend my holidays going to places like the Philippines, or going to see the orangutans in Malaysia. I haven’t stopped wanting to travel and frequently travel with my family to places like the Caribbean or back to Asia.

I was actually due to go back to Hong Kong before COVID hit. There was a gothic looking hotel in Hong Kong that I’ve always dreamed of staying in, ever since I was a boy. I promised myself I’d get to stay there and go for a ride in one of the green Rolls Royces that are always lined up outside. It didn’t happen when we planned it, but hopefully soon!

And what about your background, have you always been interested in publishing?

Not at all – I’ve had a varied background, you might say. My first love is, and always has been, cars. Back when I was a teen, I wanted to be a motor mechanic and work for Ford. That didn’t pan out in the end, but the passion for understanding how things work has stuck with me.

My first job was in electronics, and I found that talking to people really clicked with me. I got the bug for telecoms in the late 90s while I was working in a mobile phone shop, and proceeded to work all over the world through telecoms.

I travelled the world as a project manager, gaining my Prince 2 qualification as I did so. It was fun, but there came a point when I felt like I should settle down and spend more time closer to home. I came back to the UK and worked in telecoms, then moved onto a position as an operations manager for a healthcare company.

2020 rolled around and COVID changed the entire landscape for healthcare – the company was focused on care for the elderly, so my position got hit hard and suddenly I was in the market for a new job.

One of the other guys here has been a dear friend of mine for almost ten years. When Luke found out I was looking for my next role, he let me know that there was space on the team here for someone with a bit more of a commercial eye. I’ve been here ever since!

And what about outside work?

I never lost the desire to work with engines – I just do it as a hobby now. I collect cars from my childhood, I have around 28 cars at the moment in various states of repair. Some are in pristine condition, while some are waiting to be fixed up. They’re mostly from the 80s and 90s – old Volkswagens, Audis, a couple of classic Porsches… They’re all waiting for me in the barn, ready for when I have a spare Sunday to go and tinker.

What keeps you passionate about your work?

Well, that’s an interesting one. As I said, my focus is mostly commercial and although I work on some really cool projects, a lot of them never get seen because they’re hidden behind NDAs.

My job isn’t just a cookie cutter approach. There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to a project, and so the thing that keeps me raring to go is the chance to work with someone and make sure that we understand exactly what they want and need, so we can get the best from their outreach activities. I like to understand their road map for the next 12 months and be a key part of their outreach and marketing activities.

An interview with Tim Gash, Partnership Director