Our Team
Our team is built on the foundations of communication and professionalism, and we deliver this through the knowledge and expertise of our people. We respond to enquiries quickly, make sure that we’re available to meet within a reasonable timeframe and bring clarity to a situation through our jargon-free approach.
Nat Mortazavi
A natural and driven leader, Nat has held several senior leadership roles in both corporate and startup environments. Always seeking a challenge, Nat started his career with the Royal Marines, and went into business soon after.
Rapidly advancing to leadership positions, Nat ran the UK flagship branch of a German multinational before co-founding an R&D tax relief business alongside Jack.
After introducing Josh and Ben into the business, he left to found Apogee, with the vision of creating a values-driven company, uncompromisingly committed to delivering the absolute best service in the industry (for less than competitors were charging). Nat’s passion for leadership enabled him to build a team and culture founded on the values of Respect, Integrity, Continuous Improvement, Tenacity and Responsibility.
Believing in the unrelenting pursuit of excellence, Nat completed an Executive MBA at Warwick Business School whilst co-founding and running Apogee, going on to graduate with Distinction.
Nat has a keen interest in science and technology and an inherently inquisitive mind. He enjoys precision rifle, practical and clay pigeon shooting, skydiving, motorcycling, paramotoring, scuba diving and martial arts.
A passionate outdoorsman and amateur mountaineer, Nat has maintained close ties to the military over the years, where he currently works part time.
Managing Director
Jack Morgan
Starting his career in purchasing for the agricultural sector, Jack gained an understanding of industry-specific technology, developing his commercial ability to form meaningful, mutually beneficial and lasting business partnerships.
He went on to work with various start-ups, ranging from software companies to automotive firms, further expanding his technical knowledge. Jack gained an appetite for entrepreneurialism, due to a desire to build and shape a business directly, allowing him to help people in a more tangible way.
He co-founded an R&D tax relief company with Nat in 2018, helping 100’s of businesses ranging from pre-revenue tech start-ups to multinational PLCs identify opportunities to recover their R&D costs.
Jack formed Apogee in 2020 with Nat, Ben and Josh out of a desire help innovative businesses access the funding opportunities that are available to them but are too difficult for them to access independently. This allowed Jack to fulfil his desire to develop a comprehensive, first-in-class service, enabling accelerated growth in any innovative UK business.
Outside of work, Jack is a regular gym-goer, and snowboards annually. He enjoys watching sports and has recently developed a passion for golf, practicing and playing competitively as often as he can manage.
Director
Josh Mortazavi
Josh started his career in engineering, working and studying at one of the UK’s leading automotive manufacturers. During this time, he gained valuable insight into mechanical engineering, physics and mathematics, contextualised in a research and development environment.
Josh joined Nat and Jack shortly after they founded their R&D tax relief business in 2018 as a Technical Consultant. Leveraging his mechanical and engineering knowledge, Josh rapidly progressed to training, managing and developing a team of 15 R&D tax relief report writers.
Since then, Josh co-founded Apogee to change how things are done in the innovation funding space for the better. He has personally written over 300 Qualifying Activity reports, guided just as many clients in identifying their qualifying expenditure and successfully helped companies defend against HMRC enquiries. He has overseen the successful processing of more than double that number of R&D claims.
Through his startup experience, Josh discovered his talent and interest in strategic business operations and is always looking for ways to make Apogee’s processes more efficient and effective.
Josh’s main passion is scuba diving (though being based in The Midlands, he doesn’t get to dive as much as he would like). Josh’s other hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, motorcycling, clay pigeon shooting and fitness.
Director
Ben Hewitt
Ben’s innate numerical comprehension and ability to understand complex mathematical concepts organically, drew him towards business from an early age.
After studying Mathematics and Accounting and Financial Management at Loughborough University, Ben qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a leading international accountancy practice. During this time, he gained experience in the Forensic Investigation Services, Audit and the Deal Advisory teams, before eventually moving across to join Nat, Jack and Josh at their specialist R&D consultancy.
Ben co-founded Apogee, gaining the opportunity to make a difference for many innovative UK companies by guiding them through the various funding mechanisms available, and being a small part of their journey to develop some of the most exciting new products, processes, and services in the market.
Using his unique skillset, he took responsibility for the financial management of the company, ensuring Apogee’s financial stability despite the turbulent economic environment of the 2020’s.
Ben is a keen sportsman, spending his time either playing or watching any and every form of sport, having consistently played for multiple competitive sports teams throughout his life. Attracted to any athletic pursuit, he has most recently developed a passion for running, competing in both the London and Manchester marathons.
Finance Director
Antonio Narducci
After graduating in Business and Administration at the University of Studies G. d’Annunzio, Italy, Antonio spent several years working as a personal trainer, pursuing his passion for both fitness and helping people achieve their goals.
In 2018, Antonio decided to take on his biggest challenge to date, moving to the UK to learn a new language and explore Marketing. He joined Apogee as a Marketing Associate as the first non-founding member of the team, whilst studying a Master’s degree in International Marketing Strategy at the University of Northampton, which he graduated from in summer 2022 with Distinction.
Fascinated by the opportunity to work closely with some of the most innovative businesses in the UK and excited to be a part of an ethical organisation where he can put his Marketing knowledge into practice, Antonio’s passion allowed him to rapidly progress to the position of Marketing Manager.
He has shaped Apogee’s marketing strategy from the very early days, taking the company’s marketing from that of a startup to an established and recognised innovation funding provider.
In his spare time, Antonio practices natural bodybuilding training and enjoys a variety of other sports, particularly football and motorsports.
Marketing Manager
Anastasija Kolcova
Always up for a challenge, Anastasija made the decision to leave her home country of Latvia at the age of 18 to study Accounting & Finance at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where she expanded her skills and knowledge by taking part in different business competitions.
Here, she was elected Treasurer of her university football club and had the opportunity to attend the International Summer School at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China.
After graduating, Anastasija joined Apogee shortly after the company’s founding, out of a desire to be part of an ambitious and goal-oriented business, that also shared her strong ethical values, with an emphasis on positive social and environmental impact. Since joining, she has honed her natural financial ability to become Apogee’s Finance Manager.
Wanting to make the world a better place, Anastasija has always enjoyed volunteering, having previously coached a football team of young girls back in Scotland.
Anastasija dreams about traveling the world, learning new languages and finding out more about different cultures. She likes to stay active, and can usually be found exploring the hills of the UK or cities of Europe on weekends.
Finance Manager
Sarah Kilmister
Sarah studied Sports Coaching at university to match her love of rugby. She went on to graduate with Honors. Her natural empathy and friendliness lead her to roles where relationship building and helping people were the core focus and she brings these qualities to her relationships with clients and peers.
Sarah joined Apogee as it allowed her to build on the foundational skills she had developed. Eager to help innovative companies make the most of the funding incentives available, she developed a natural talent for identifying the best funding opportunities for businesses.
Outside of work, Sarah enjoys playing rugby, watching sports and live music. She plays both guitar and piano and has recently found a passion for solo-traveling, which gives her the opportunity to meet new people and discover exciting places.
Business Development Associate
Matt Howarth
After graduating in the midst of a global pandemic with a degree in English Literature, Matt began his career as a freelance writer, leveraging his passion for the written word in a commercial setting.
Matt was drawn to Apogee as it offered him the ability to apply his love for writing in the fascinating context of science, technology and innovation.
While it was never something he’d planned to do (how many children dream of doing tax work?), it's something he’s fallen into with a passion, enjoying the in-depth research and cutting-edge innovations.
Despite moving on from academic literature, Matt has maintained a keen interest in the narratives people create. From epic fantasy sagas to the latest blockbusters and sprawling open-world games, he spends most of his time outside of work exploring these passions.
Technical Associate
Interested in working at Apogee?
With positions ranging from finance to marketing, and writing to management, we’re looking for ambitious and motivated people to join our team. Contact michael@hoorayworks.co.uk, our recruitment partner, to see what roles we currently have available.