BEAM began in 2016, but what were today’s BEAMIES doing while our story was just getting started?
Some were building careers, changing direction or finishing school. Others were raising toddlers, renovating houses or spending suspicious amounts of time in pubs. Fashion choices were questionable, eyeliner was essential and Peep Show appeared to be compulsory viewing.
To celebrate our 10th birthday, we asked every BEAMIE take a trip down memory lane to 2016 to tell us about who they were before life delivered new careers, families, homes, cats and several unexpected plot twists.
Let’s get a rewind, it’s time to meet the…
2016’s Amy Middleton | 2026’s BEAM Founder
In 2016, Amy was 34 and navigating life as a new mum of two. She was living in Bramhall, although home looked rather different throughout the year.
The first six months were spent on Dalston Drive. Then, while a major extension took place, the family moved in with Amy’s mum and dad. It was a year of babies, building work, boxes and big changes. Amy was on maternity leave for much of 2016. However, amid the family chaos, she also took her biggest professional leap yet and founded BEAM Fieldwork.
After spending 15 years pouring her energy into someone else’s business, Amy was ready for something different.
She wanted more time with her family, greater freedom and the opportunity to build a business around the life she wanted.
There was plenty of optimism, but there were nerves too. Starting BEAM meant facing unknowns, trusting her instincts and taking a chance on an idea she believed in. Fortunately, Amy had a real fire in her belly and the determination to make it work.
She describes her 2016 self as chaotic, fun and determined, which feels about right for someone raising two young children, rebuilding a home and launching a company at the same time.
When she found a quiet moment, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad provided some much needed escapism. Her wardrobe was equally practical: baggy tops and stretchy leggings, because comfort was firmly in charge.
Amy hoped she would still be running BEAM ten years later. However, she could never have imagined its scale, success or how many brilliant people would become part of the journey.
Today, she still has to pinch herself when she thinks about everything BEAM has achieved. There have been unknowns, risks and inevitable ups and downs, but thankfully far more ups.
And one thing remains unchanged: Amy still rarely leaves the house without her water bottle.
2016 AMY | Chaotic, determined and ready to take a chance.
2026 AMY | Proud founder, still pinching herself, and never far from her water bottle.
2016’s Kay Middleton | 2026’s Director of Business Operations
In 2016 our Director of Business Operations, Kay was 33, living in Leeds and renovating what can generously be described as a house with potential. Previous features included mushrooms growing in the damp kitchen and a printing press in the front lounge. Grand Designs were not believed to have expressed an interest.
By day, Kay was a Senior Account Director at an advertising agency.
Working with Asda, she fought the good fight to bring back the pocket tap and with Greggs, where years of dedicated professional development left her able to identify the contents of a pasty purely from its pastry markings. A niche skill, but a skill nonetheless.
Outside work, things were changing… 2016 Kay was missing the rave, parent-preparing, and PREGNANT.
House music was now quite literally music in her house, elasticated waistbands were the season’s must-have, and she was retaining water by the pint while nervously approaching motherhood, blissfully oblivious to what was coming next.
She was hugely proud of her career and the colleagues and clients she’d worked alongside, having helped change the direction and fortunes of some major brands.
But one important responsibility remained: ensuring the next generation received a proper musical education. Carl Cox’s closing set at Space was played through a speaker into her pregnant tummy. Start them young.
10 years on: Different city, different sense of self, same taste in music. 2016’s Kay would say “You’ve changed.”
2016 KAY | Work renovation, pregnancy and desperately missing the rave.
2026 KAY | Life ch-ch-ch-changes, same soundtrack.
2016’s Genevieve de Sutter | 2026’s Director of Global Projects
In 2016, Genevieve was 41 and living in London. She had just left Kantar and moved to Toluna, stepping into a new professional chapter.
She describes her 2016 self as smart, determined and resilient. She was busy carving out her own space, learning who was truly in her corner and trying to build a family with her husband, Ben.
What made G proudest was standing up for herself.
It was an important year for trusting her instincts, finding her voice and refusing to make herself smaller for anyone.
Her 2016 wardrobe had a clear formula: denim shirts, short black skirts, lace up flats and black tights with absolutely everything. Colour was apparently available, just not required.
When she switched off, Stranger Things and Fleabag were essential viewing. Meanwhile, the iPhone felt like a genuinely brilliant piece of technology rather than something permanently attached to everyone’s hand.
Genevieve rarely left home without an oversized handbag, sometimes two. Presumably, one contained everything she needed and the other contained everything she might conceivably need.
Looking back, she would happily reclaim more time with her family and another decade full of potential.
What would 2016 Genevieve think of her today? Probably: “Shit, you got old.” She would also be proud to see that her intelligence, determination and resilience have only grown stronger with time.
2016 G | Carving out her space, standing her ground and wearing black tights with everything.
2026 G | Older, wiser and still unlikely to be caught without an oversized handbag.
2016’s Alicia Whyatt | 2026’s Senior Specialist Project Manager
In 2016, Alicia was 20, colourful, chaotic and cringe, living the student dream by which we mean sharing a mouldy house in Fallowfield with five other girls and spending her student loan on nights out.
Officially, Alicia was studying Digital Media and Marketing at MMU…
Unofficially, she was spending considerably more time working in the pub than attending lectures. Her signature look required little more than a box of pink hair dye, liberal quantities of glitter and apparently absolutely no fear of leaving the house in a skeleton onesie.
Entertainment came courtesy of Peep Show on repeat, one of the few aspects of Alicia’s life that has apparently shown no signs of personal growth whatsoever.
Ask 20-year-old Alicia what she expected to have achieved by 30 and the answer is simple: she was having far too much fun to worry about it.
She did, however, have one big ambition — to see as much of the world as possible. With 40 countries visited before turning 30, we’ll call that particular student plan a success.
And what would 2016 Alicia make of the person she is today? She’d be very happy to discover that adulthood arrived, but becoming entirely sensible did not.
2016 ALICIA | Pink hair, glitter, Peep Show and a rapidly disappearing student loan.
2026 ALICIA | Nearly 30, 40 countries down — still reassuringly not too sensible.
2016’s Collette Gartside | 2026’s Senior Core Project Manager
In 2016, Collette’s days were mainly made up of caffeine, motorways and being a mummy. At 31, she’d moved 10 minutes up the road to Cheadle Hulme after time in Leeds and Florida, USA.
Collette was working as a National Account Manager at Chester Race Company.
She was in a role and industry she loved. Her days involved the excitement of race days, entertaining clients and travelling across the UK.
However, with a husband and three-year-old at home, she was beginning to think about her next chapter. She wanted a career with the same energy, excitement and winning potential, but with fewer motorway miles and slightly better odds of being home for bedtime.
Her 2016 look featured a leather jacket and an Alexander McQueen skull motif scarf.
Entertainment came courtesy of The Real Housewives of absolutely anywhere. It was the perfect dose of glorious escapism, helping her switch off a busy mind after a long day. Ten years later, she’s now Below the Deck.
Would she bring any part of 2016 back? Some days, she might be tempted to trade her teenager for a toddler. More often than not, teens are more tempting than the terrible-twos.
Ten years later: 31-year-old Collette would mainly be delighted to discover one thing: she survived the toddler years.
2016 COLLETTE | Caffeine-fuelled, motorway-bound and navigating work and life as a fairly new mum.
2026 COLLETTE | Survived the toddler years, only to unlock the teenager level.
2016’s Elyse Kilmore | 2026’s Senior Global Project Manager
In 2016, Senior Project Manager Elyse was 22, brave, confident and almost unbelievably, not tired.
Elyse started the year in Newcastle working in a call centre and ended it in St Albans.
She moved cities and somehow talked her way into her first market research job despite knowing absolutely nothing about market research. Ten years later, we can probably call that one a successful gamble.
Her 2016 essentials included Annie Mac Mini Mixes, Stranger Things and a choker with absolutely everything. Having moved to a town blessed with a suspiciously high number of pubs, a reasonable proportion of her disposable income was promptly invested in supporting the local hospitality industry.
She also ran the Great North Run, picked up the worst sunburn of her life and responded in the only rational way possible: she hasn’t exercised since.
Elyse assumed that by 30 she’d be a qualified counsellor with some dogs. Instead, she’s a Senior Project Manager with two cats — a plot twist that would apparently leave 22-year-old Elyse genuinely stunned.
2016 ELYSE | Moved city, changed career, ran a half marathon and survived catastrophic sunburn.
2026 ELYSE | Senior Project Manager, two cats, still recovering.
2016’s Kirsty Antrobus | 2026’s Partnerships & Commercial Lead
In 2016, Kirsty was 34, living in Houston, Texas and loving life in the sunshine after relocating from Dubai with two children under three. Her full-time job was keeping two tiny humans happy, entertained and, ideally, away from anything venomous.
Kirsty’s 2016 uniform was summer dresses and flip-flops, usually accessorised with a buggy and baby carrier.
When the Texas temperature eventually dropped, she fully embraced her surroundings, swapping the flip-flops for cowboy boots and a fringed-hem jumper. When in Texas…
Entertainment was largely dictated by the under-threes. Think Peter Rabbit with an American accent, Frozen, Tangled and every awful Barbie movie ever made. When Kirsty finally got control of the remote, Fixer Upper provided some much-needed grown-up viewing.
Life in Texas was a huge family adventure, although the sunshine came with certain occupational hazards. Kirsty was secretly terrified of venomous spiders, snakes and, most importantly, the alligators living in the lake next to the pool. Nothing says relaxing family swim quite like keeping one eye on the water.
Back then, the plan was always to return to the UK, but Kirsty had absolutely no idea she’d eventually build a new career in market research, an industry she’d never even heard of in 2016.
Ten years later, she’d be proud of where life took her, amazed that her babies are now in high school, and very pleased to have finally made it back to Pilates.
2016 KIRSTY | Sunshine, sundresses, two little ones and a healthy respect for alligators.
2026 KIRSTY | New career, teenagers, back at Pilates and considerably less American kids TV.
2016’s Pat Connolly | 2026’s Panel Operations Manager
In 2016, Pat was 23, living with his parents in Chinley and attempting to maintain two careers simultaneously. By day (and probably most of the night)he was working stupid hours as a Sous Chef. In whatever time remained, he was playing in a wedding band and trying to be a rockstar. Sleep, presumably, was optional.
Pat’s 2016 aesthetic was jeans far too skinny, some kind of jazzy shirt and a pair of headphones permanently attached.
He’d like us to believe he was spending his downtime watching Game of Thrones. The truth is rather less rock ’n’ roll: Peep Show reruns and Countdown.
The soundtrack to the year was Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac and I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers (not necessarily by choice), but because apparently no British wedding in 2016 was legally allowed to finish without them.
Ten years on, 23-year-old Pat would be mostly confused. He’s married, a homeowner and has swapped kitchens and wedding gigs for an entirely different career. Pretty much proving the advice he’d now give his younger self:
“Don’t stress about the details. Your life is going to be completely different in 10 years.”
2016 PAT | Busy, sociable, chaotic… cooking all week and wannabe be a rockstar at the weekend.
2026 PAT | Turns out he was right about the chaotic bit.
2016’s Caitlin Patterson | 2026’s Project Manager
In 2016, Caitlin was 16, living with her mum in Cheadle Hulme and preparing to leave school with one clear personal brand: emo, emo and more emo.
It was the year of her last big summer holiday, although the word “holiday” was doing some fairly heavy lifting. She spent most of it working at a barbers or down at the BMX track in Bruntwood Park.
Caitlin’s 2016 uniform consisted of a baggy hoodie, skinny jeans, fishnet socks and Vans.
The one completely non-negotiable item was eyeliner. Presumably, leaving the house without it would have caused some kind of supernatural event.
Entertainment came courtesy of Supernatural, Twilight and, as a slightly unexpected guilty pleasure, every Transporter film. Meanwhile, Moose Blood’s Bukowski provided the soundtrack.
As for the future, 16-year-old Caitlin was keeping her options open. Photographer, tattoo artist, mechanic, barber or hairdresser were all under consideration. The world was her oyster, although preferably a heavily tattooed oyster with excellent hair.
Her personal dreams were rather more specific: live with her partner, have two cats and maybe a baby. Ten years later, she has achieved all three.
2016 CAITLIN | Creative, fun, eager, heavily eyelinered and ready for life’s next chapter.
2026 CAITLIN | Partner, two cats, a baby and plenty to make her 16-year-old self proud.
2016’s Deborah Thomas | 2026’s Office Manager
In 2016, Deborah was 55, living in Great Moor, Stockport, and working at M&S.
Her three-word summary of the year was optimistic, younger and happier. Younger is difficult to dispute. Happier feels entirely appropriate for someone who was full of hope for the future, complete with enough exclamation marks to prove it.
Deborah’s 2016 uniform centred on skinny jeans, while her ideal escape was Turkey.
Back at home, entertainment came courtesy of Gardeners’ World, bringing calm, inspiration and the occasional reminder that somebody else’s borders were considerably tidier.
The technology that had changed her life most was the dishwasher. Smartphones might connect us to the world, but they do very little about a Sunday roast.
There are two people from 2016 she wishes we still had: George Michael and David Bowie. Two irreplaceable artists who provided the soundtrack to countless memories.
And what would 2016 Deborah think of the person she is today? She would see someone comfortable in her own skin. Still looking forward, still appreciating life’s simple pleasures and hopefully still letting the dishwasher do the hard work.
2016 DEBORAH | Optimistic, skinny-jeaned and full of hope for the future.
2026 DEBORAH | Comfortable in her own skin, with good music, gardening inspiration and no interest in washing up by hand.
2016’s Alison Baker | 2026’s Accounts Admin
In 2016, Alison was 63 and living on Thorn Road in Bramhall, where she had lived since 1984. She had retired from teaching four years earlier, but retirement was proving to be a rather flexible term.
As a full time grandma, Alison helped both Amy and her son Adam with childcare. She brought plenty of relevant experience. Alongside a career spent teaching and caring for children, Alison also knew her way around a set of accounts. Her father was an accountant, and she had worked in his office during her student days. That experience soon proved useful.
When Amy founded BEAM, Alison was incredibly proud of her for overcoming the challenges of the previous year and taking such a brave step forward.
She also began helping with BEAM’s bookkeeping. Ten years later, she is still doing it, proving that some retirement jobs have remarkably long notice periods.
Away from family life and figures, Alison was watching the brilliant Fleabag. She was also eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Crown that November.
Her signature look featured soft, floaty tops with wide leg trousers. Comfortable, stylish and, unlike many 2016 fashion choices, still perfectly wearable today. The one thing she would happily bring back from 2016 is her iPod.
Working from home was far from normal in 2016. Yet Alison was already combining family, childcare and BEAM duties from home, making her something of an accidental trendsetter.
She thinks her 2016 self would be amazed to discover that she now has seven grandchildren. She would probably be less surprised that Alison is still helping with childcare and keeping BEAM’s books in order.
2016 ALISON | Proud mum, full time grandma and newly appointed BEAM bookkeeper.
2026 ALISON | Grandmother of seven, still helping BEAM balance the books and still missing her iPod.
Ten years have brought career changes, growing families, new homes, big achievements and more than a few surprises. However, our 2016 selves are still recognisable beneath the questionable outfits and long-forgotten hairstyles.
Together, these stories celebrate the people behind BEAM and the different journeys that brought us here. We may not have known what the next decade would hold, but we are very glad it led us to each other.
Here’s to the BEAMIES of 2016, the team we are today, and whatever plot twists come next.