Digital strategy and design partners for health and pharma
We work with organisations that play a valuable role in improving people’s lives and health. We care about this. It’s why we do what we do. But we know that the healthcare and pharma industry is complex and you’re under pressure to connect with patients and HCPs and build effective digital experiences.
To be successful it’s vital to work with people who understand you and speak your language. Innovation and creativity come first, but not at the cost of approval.


We know what we’re good at and stick to what we do best. Our clients trust us to create digital customer experiences that work — and have a life after launch. Together, we think about the purpose through the eyes of the user and set meaningful KPIs to measure progress for continual improvement. Through monitoring, experimentation and iteration, we can work at speed without sacrificing quality to help you reach your goals.
Why work with us

People first
Patients and HCPs are more than just ‘users’. Our clinical UX researchers get to know the people and their unmet needs.

Compliant innovation
Safety and compliance is key in health and pharma innovation. With our deep regulatory knowledge, we challenge and collaborate to create approvable solutions.

Design for growth
We can help ensure digital success. Insight-driven design and our lean workflow means testing and learning quickly, then scaling proven solutions.
Our team
We’re a diverse pool of strategists, designers and clinical UX researchers with a shared ethos and approach. Our dedicated ‘squads’ are completely focused on you and curated with you in mind. Functioning as an extension of your in-house team, with all relevant training accreditations, we know your challenges inside out. We’re committed to you and to making things happen. With no drama and no fuss.
Learn more about our squad model and why it works
We’re the glue between people, teams and markets, keeping everyone aligned to one goal with a shared understanding and confidence. With our clients, together we’ve designed and delivered successful websites, mobile applications, design systems, and digital tools that have improved experiences for millions of people.
Meet our leadership team

CEO

Delivery Director

Creative Director

Customer Experience Director

Senior Operations Manager

Head of Talent
Rob Verheul
CEO
Rob leads the vision, strategy, culture and team at Graphite. He is driven by the opportunity he sees to empower people around the world through digital health, and is focusing Graphite’s energy towards enabling positive, measurable impact on people’s health through digital design and technology.
A committed leader, Rob is passionate about people and has enabled a culture of continuous improvement where the team is empowered and creativity and collaboration can flourish.
Before specialising in pharma and healthcare, Rob worked with many businesses and brands in industries including retail, energy and financial services. He firmly believes that cross-sector learning is key for business and digital success, and that by bringing people together, with diverse experience and thinking, greater outcomes can be achieved.
Away from Graphite, Rob delights in spending time with his family - you’ll often find him creating Lego projects extraordinaire with his two girls or spending time painting or cycling. With extensive experience in growing and running successful businesses, he also mentors other leaders as a qualified executive coach and consultant.
- Leadership
- Culture
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Client Success

Joanne Reid
Delivery Director
Joanne is responsible for elevating our delivery function by aligning to client needs and building a resilient, proactive and efficient project management team. She oversees resourcing and training and is a skilled problem-solver with an exceptional eye for detail.
She believes in the value of project management and always strives for excellence with clear processes for business and client success; educating the agency on how to utilise the delivery function for problem-solving.
She works closely with senior stakeholders at organisations including Amryt Pharma, CSL Behring, NHS, Pfizer and others.
Prior to Graphite, Joanne was Head of Project Management for a global agency specialising in Sitecore and digital experiences. She was recognised as a BIMA100 in 2021 and supports the wider digital agency community through regularly speaking on Clubhouse and sharing her experience and insights at events in collaboration with organisations like Agencynomics, Forecast and FemMentored.
Joanne is family-orientated and when she's not spending time with her husband and young son, she enjoys fashion, beauty, gardening, travel and interior design. She also carves out time each day to focus on her own personal development - learning something new, reading, mentoring, mindfulness or meditation.
- Project Management
- Delivery
- Resource Management
- Stakeholder Engagement

Thomas Michalak
Creative Director
Thomas leads the design team at Graphite bringing together cross-functional teams of strategists, designers and researchers to solve client business challenges.
He believes in user-centric digital product development and thrives on projects that require conceptual and strategic innovation skill sets, and lean product methodologies.
An excellent facilitator, he works with senior stakeholders at leading healthcare and pharmaceutical organisations to guide them through design sprints, validating hypotheses and translating concepts into intuitive user experiences.
His work in areas such as telehealth, rare disease, patient engagement and digital innovation has helped global brands bring meaningful and effective digital experiences to people all around the world - and for those users who need them the most.
Prior to joining Graphite, Thomas was the creative lead on several projects working with brands including Unilever, Dove, Lipton, Knorr, Toni&Guy, Johnny Walker, and Captain Morgan. Thomas is a French native and trained in Interactive and Telematic art at Aix-en-Provence Art School.
Away from Graphite, Thomas offers his creative skills pro-bono to local charities, or mentors aspiring design leaders. On the weekends, you’ll most likely find him in full lycra riding his bike in the South Downs, or playing with his two children.
- UX Research
- Product Strategy
- Human-centric Design
- Innovation

Kerry O'Connor
Customer Experience Director
Kerry is responsible for our client end-to-end journey from marketing through to client satisfaction ensuring that every step and every interaction with us is the best and most valuable they have.
She supports a range of growth, new business and client development initiatives and is the lynchpin between client communication teams and all the partners involved in taking the brand to market.
Aside from a stint client-side, Kerry has been in the agency world all her career - starting in client service at Ogilvy before moving into in-house marketing roles at group agencies and independents, running the marketing department at several. Immediately prior to Graphite, she ran her own consultancy helping agencies to grow, be more efficient and more profitable, and was exposed to different management styles, structures, cultures and sectors, giving her a deep understanding of all the components that need to work holistically to help an agency to grow.
Outside of work Kerry prioritises health, wellbeing and nutrition and has attended retreats all over the world. She keeps active with yoga, HIIT and cold water swimming. A big music fan (80s borderline obsession!) she’s often found singing and dancing at festivals with friends.
- Brand
- Strategy
- Marcoms
- Business Development

Leanne Doutré
Senior Operations Manager
Leanne oversees operations at Graphite. She ensures our documentation is up to scratch, and our office, systems and IT runs smoothly day-to-day. Her experience extends to finance, HR, health and safety, asset management and data compliance.
A work-life balance is very important to Leanne and this is something she encourages. Part of her role is ensuring a great employee experience so everything from running the induction process, event planning and internal comms. She was one of the key people responsible for Graphite achieving B Corp status and being awarded a UK 'Best Company to Work For' in 2022.
Before Graphite, Leanne held an operational and location manager role at shared working space PLATF9RM, where she learned and cemented many of her core skills.
Leanne studied Spanish and Latin American Studies at university and her love for language and culture has since continued. She loves backpacking and eschewed suitcases years ago, preferring the ease of travel with just a rucksack. Leanne fell in love with powerlifting during the pandemic, and has since gone on to compete in regional meets. A huge house plant nerd, you can count on Leanne to come to the rescue of any plant that may have seen its day and miraculously bring it back to life.
- Operations
- Internal Comms
- Employee Experience
- Health and Wellbeing

Florence Rust
Head of Talent
Flo's role at Graphite is to attract, hire and retain the best talent for our ever-growing agency.
She is focused on enhancing our employee experience through robust frameworks for professional development and personal growth. She is skilled in managing, motivating and engaging people, and passionate about fostering an agency culture that the whole team can be proud of.
Flo has been working in Client Services and HR for award-winning agencies for most of her career. She’s been instrumental in significantly growing teams through building strong talent attraction and retention pipelines. She’s also overseen various projects to enhance internal processes, such as implementing new performance review systems and restructuring employee training initiatives.
To support her development as an HR practitioner, Flo has completed her HR CIPD Level 5 which included modules in managing relationships, fostering talent, guiding strategic planning and rewarding performance in employees.
When not at work, Flo is usually being kept busy by her children. She loves to keep fit and spend time outdoors running, often completing marathons or other long-distance events. When she wants to opt for something more slower-paced, you’ll find her catching up with friends over a pint or snuggled up on the sofa watching a movie.
- Recruitment
- Retention
- Employee Experience
- Professional Development
