Daniel Simmons, the former CEO of Populate Social, has joined Lumen SEO as Non-Executive Director.
With over ten years of experience in founding and scaling a Cardiff-based agency, Simmons’ appointment will support Lumen SEO through its next growth phase as it plans to expand internationally.
Now in its sixth year of trading, Lumen SEO has seen consistent year-on-year growth.
Known for its ‘32-hour work week’ and people-first culture, the agency has a strong foundation and a clear ambition to scale sustainably with the aid of an expert like Simmons, it said.
Lumen SEO’s Founder and CEO, Aled Nelmes, said:
“Despite continuous yearly growth, it’s been at the expense of me being incredibly overworked in the business when I should be working smartly on the business.”
Now looking to focus on strategic, goal-driven development, Nelmes believes Simmons’ appointment will help address challenges such as prioritising profitability goals over revenue, hiring great leaders, delegating, and ensuring team members are equipped and confident to do their best work.
This appointment has come at a pivotal moment for Lumen SEO, as the company aims to become one of the UK’s largest SEO agencies, guided by its mission statement: ‘to be the best place to work in the world’.
Nelmes said:
“I believe we can double in revenue in 2026, but it’s more about how we get there.
“We must be able to get there by maintaining our cultural values that make Lumen one of the greatest places to work, and we need to get there by making sure I confidently delegate more and hire some great leaders during the year.”
Simmons added:
“I truly believe culture and leadership are two of the most important things when running a people-powered business. It’s important to still have a strong commercial focus to sit alongside this, and having the right balance is integral.
“There are so many decisions you have to make each day as a senior leader in an agency; I can bring knowledge and experience of these decisions to help ensure focus is kept in the right areas, spending time on what really matters and drives impact.”
Nelmes believes moving into the US market is the next natural step, explaining that “the very culture that runs through SMEs in the USA is more experimental, more pro-risk, and more ambitious compared to the UK, where businesses tend to act more conservatively. I love working with curious risk takers, and so does our team”.
