About – Team
Meet the team behind LightSpeed
We’re a distributed team of strategists, designers, developers, infrastructure specialists and operators who work together to build maintainable WordPress platforms.
Lead developer
WordPress designer and developer
Block theme and block developer
Frontend and backend developer
Designer and site builder
Collaboration
A team built for collaboration
LightSpeed works best when strategy, design, development and operations stay connected. That is why we do not present the team as a list of isolated departments. We work across handoffs, review loops and shared systems so that design decisions, technical constraints and business goals stay visible throughout a project.
AI supports that workflow, but it does not replace the people in it. We use it to help with research, drafting, summaries, code assistance and QA support, while the team remains responsible for judgment, prioritisation, architecture and final review.
Leadership
Leadership and direction
Ash Shaw
Founder
Ash founded LightSpeed in 2003 and has led its evolution from early technical services into WordPress design, development and open-source product work. Publicly, he is also visible through WordPress.org contribution roles and as a WordCamp Europe 2025 speaker.
Barbara Kerr
Finance and operations
Barbara’s public profile across LightSpeed pages centres on finance, project support, client relationships, team wellbeing and HR-related responsibilities. She helps keep the business steady behind the scenes so projects and people are both looked after.
Design and build
Design and development
Warwick Booth
Lead developer
Warwick’s public team profile emphasises planning, mentoring, code review and complex development work. He is the kind of senior developer clients trust when architecture and implementation need to stay aligned.
Brandon Marshall
WordPress designer and developer
Brandon is a WordPress Designer/Developer at LightSpeed, passionate about thoughtful design, structured workflows, and contributing to reliable, high-quality WordPress websites and plugins with the team.
José Abreu
Block theme and block developer
José focuses on web design to code and user interface and experience. He also assists with backend development, theme and blocks updates and development, project planning and mentoring interns.
Tibi Buzdugan
Frontend and backend developer
Tibi works on WordPress theme and block development, translating Figma design systems to web interfaces.
Zared Rogers
Designer and site builder
Zared’s role reflects practical design and build work, and LightSpeed’s WordCamp Cape Town 2024 material also placed him in public demos around Figma design systems and prototypes.
Operations
Infrastructure and support
Chris Vancoillie
Systems lead
Chris’s public profile covers systems engineering, network architecture, database administration and hosting stability. That infrastructure perspective is a real advantage for clients who need more than front-end design.
Lourens Visser
Support and workflow
Lourens’ public role centres on support, workflow coordination and keeping work moving efficiently across the team. That is often invisible from the outside, but essential to reliable delivery.
Working with us
What clients can expect from us
When you work with LightSpeed, you are not buying access to a single hero figure. You are working with a team that combines leadership, design systems thinking, WordPress build experience, infrastructure awareness, and operational support.
Careers
Careers at LightSpeed
Ride the AI Wave With Us
LightSpeed is committed to continuous professional development, driving developer upskilling through internships, senior hires, and AI-powered workflows. We actively look for self-motivated individuals who are excited by modern WordPress block development and eager to experiment with new AI tools.
If you are a passionate WordPress block theme developer or AI researcher looking for a remote-first team that values independence and continuous learning, we would love to hear from you.
Work with us
Want to work with a team that thinks together?
Start a conversation, explore our culture, or see how we work.