Exciting Changes to Senior Leadership at Digital Growth Agency

13th January 2026

The SEO Works

The SEO Works, an award-winning digital agency based in Sheffield, has appointed two new senior leaders in an exciting move intended to future-proof a number of strong growth years.

The changes see long-standing Head of SEO, Paul Friend, take on a new Operations Director role, with Elliot Stanion moving into the Head of SEO role leading a 50-person strong SEO team.

In recent years, the agency has seen impressive growth, and in June 2025 the agency transitioned to being employee-owned. These senior appointments form a further part of these plans to achieve the exciting vision for the agency’s future.

The move, effective from 1st January 2026, aims to strengthen the leadership team and support growth plans, whilst simultaneously reflecting a commitment to building strong operations and staying true to values as an employee-owned business.

Paul Friend’s operations role will focus on service delivery excellence. He will partner with department heads to champion client retention and ensure seamless workflows across the agency.

On the promotion, he said,

“I'm delighted to be taking on the role of Operations Director. My role will focus on supporting our amazing Department Heads and wider team to optimise delivery and retention, ensuring we maintain the high-quality service our clients expect, whilst staying true to our values as an employee-owned business.”

Elliot Stanion’s role as Head of SEO will take off from where Paul left off, leading the 50+ SEO department at the agency.

Elliot said,

“I'm ecstatic to be taking over the role of Head of SEO - given how much experience and talent we have within the department, it is a real honour for me. It’s really exciting to be in a position where I can nurture and develop the SEO team. I'm looking forward to expanding on our impressive record of delivering digital growth to our clients.”