Introducing ATC’s New Chair & Council Members

The ATC’s Council has elected Council Member Steve Higgins as its new Chair. Steve replaces outgoing Chair Ruth Partington, who is formally stepping down from her Chair role in October 2024, but will remain on the Council and as the ATC’s EUATC Representative.

The ATC is also welcoming four new members to the Council: Shrushti Chhapia, James Halstead and Cathy Branson as full Council Members, and Jane Crossley as Co-opted Council Member and Lead on Standards.

Steve Higgins is the CEO of Mondia Technologies, and brings 13 years of solid experience in the translation and localisation industry to the ATC. Steve joined Mondia Technologies Ltd (Travod International & Wordminds Translations) in 2021 as CCO, and became CEO later that year. Since then, Steve has been working hard to transform the business, making Wordminds a niche provider of multimedia and eLearning solutions, and changing the direction of Travod International to focus on ecommerce localisation in the UK, Germany and North American markets. Steve is a certified NLP practitioner and a commercially-minded leadership figure with a passion for growth and success.

Joining the Council in May 2024, the four newly-elected Council Members bring new expertise and strengths to the ATC’s leadership.

Shrushti Chhapia is Co-founder and CEO of eLanguageWord, a UK- and India-based language service company specialising in Indian languages. Shrushti is eager to contribute with her insights and expertise in technology, youth engagement and accessibility.

James Halstead is General Manager at IMD Translation, specialists in language services for the legal sector. James brings to the Council his deep linguistic expertise and passion, along with his experience in the legal sector and the UK’s Foreign Office.

Cathy Branson is Managing Director at Dialogue Language Services International, a versatile LSC providing training and cultural consultancy alongside language services. Cathy is looking forward to contributing to the ATC’s commercial collaborations work through her connections with client-side trade associations and the Department for Business and Trade.

Jane Crossley is Operations Manager at Andiamo, one of the few UK-based LSCs certified to the medical devices standard ISO 13485, alongside other business and language services standards. Jane joins the ATC’s Council as a Co-opted Council Member, and will take over the strategic Lead on Standards role from ATC CEO Raisa McNab, focusing on ISO standards development in the UK.

The ATC’s outgoing Chair Ruth Partington welcomes the new Chair and Council Members with open arms, “The ATC is a thriving, growing trade association, and we are delighted to be able to strengthen our professional Council with all the expertise and experience that Steve as Chair and our new Council Members bring. It has been an absolute privilege to serve as the ATC’s Chair over the past eight years, and I leave the association’s reins to Steve with a glad heart.”