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Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

joomla experts - Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

Discover the leading minds in the Joomla community who are pushing the CMS forward through code, innovation, and community leadership.

Below is a curated list of top Joomla experts worldwide, including core contributors, extension developers, community leaders, and entrepreneurs. Each profile features a photo, a brief bio highlighting their expertise and contributions, and links to their professional or social profiles.

  1. Philip Walton
  2. Peter Martin
  3. Nicholas Dionysopoulos
  4. Roland Dalmulder
  5. Marc Dechèvre
  6. Hannes Papenberg
  7. Benjamin Trenkle
  8. Sigrid Gramlinger
  9. Luca Marzo
  10. Brian Teeman
  11. Peter van Westen
  12. Mark Lee
  13. Johan Janssens
  14. Elisa Foltyn
  15. David Jardin

Now, let’s delve into their remarkable achievements and contributions.

Philip Walton

YouTube Video

Nationality: British

Joomla 6.0 Release Lead and Joomla Board Member from the United Kingdom, Philip is a long-time Joomla contributor and leader currently spearheading the upcoming Joomla 6.0 release (scheduled for April 2025).

He previously served as Joomla’s Vice President and Outreach Department Coordinator, focusing on growing the community and marketing Joomla 4’s release. With 40+ years in IT, Philip brings seasoned perspective; he even led Joomla’s CMS Release Team in the past. Under his guidance, the project has implemented a steady two-year major release cycle and more welcoming community processes. An interview in late 2023 described how Philip’s efforts made “the future of Joomla look bright,” as he worked to make the community more open and safe.

Beyond coding, he’s known for organizing Joomla events in the UK and mentoring new contributors.

Peter Martin

Peter Martin - Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

Nationality: Dutch

Joomla 5.2 Release Manager from the Netherlands, Peter is a long-time Joomla volunteer and expert who was appointed as one of the Release Managers for Joomla 5.2 in 2024.

With a background in Joomla consulting, he helps guide development and coordinates the Production teams for timely releases. Peter’s leadership in the Joomla project and his advocacy for high-performance, secure Joomla sites have made him a respected figure in the community.

Nicholas Dionysopoulos

Joomla! is a vibrant community of passionate people.

Nationality: Greek

Extension developer and Joomla contributor from Greece, Nicholas is the creator of Akeeba Backup and Admin Tools, two of the most widely used Joomla extensions.

A former mechanical engineer, he found Joomla (then Mambo) in 2004 and never looked back. He has been an active core contributor (for example, helping improve Joomla 4 performance and the updater) and is recognized as one of Joomla’s most innovative developers. Nicholas’s company Akeeba Ltd. produces open-source tools that set industry standards for site backup and security. He also shares knowledge through his blog and YouTube channel, teaching Joomla and WordPress developers best practices.

Having served on the Joomla Production Leadership Team in the past, Nicholas exemplifies the blend of entrepreneurial spirit and open-source contribution.

Roland Dalmulder

Nationality: Dutch

Extension developer and Joomla release leader from the Netherlands, Roland is the “mastermind” behind RO CSVI, a powerful import/export extension, and other “RO” extensions for Joomla.

A self-described “marathon coder,” he has been contributing to Joomla for over a decade. Roland served as the Joomla 4.2 Release Lead and has recently deepened his involvement in core development and the Joomla Bug Squad. Known for wearing Joomla’s colors (even literally) and always moving forward, he is passionate about helping users get more from Joomla. His renowned extensions (like CSVI) fill critical needs for Joomla sites, and his willingness to share knowledge – through interviews and JoomlaDay sessions – makes him a respected expert in the community. In 2025, Roland continues to give back by improving Joomla 5 and beyond.

Marc Dechevre

Marc Dechevre - Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

Nationality: Belgian

As Joomla 5.2 Co-Release Manager based in Belgium, Marc co-led the Joomla 5.2 release alongside Peter Martin, contributing his expertise to improve the CMS backend and consistency.

A veteran Joomla speaker and community builder, Marc is known for sharing advanced tips (especially about Joomla’s Custom Fields) at international Joomla events. As a multilingual speaker and active magazine author, he “gives back” to Joomla through talks and publications, helping users and developers worldwide.

Hannes Papenberg

Nationality: German

Joomla 5.2 Co-Release Manager and core developer from Germany, Hannes has been involved with Joomla since the Mambo days and is known as a core developer, including leading development of Joomla’s URL routing system.

In 2024 he teamed up with Peter Martin as co-Release Manager for Joomla 5.2, overseeing seven successful releases from 5.2.0 to 5.2.6. Hannes is an advocate of high code quality – he has worked on Joomla’s automated testing and quality improvements, and even created tools for Joomla extension developers. His deep knowledge of Joomla’s internals and long-term contributions make him one of the CMS’s top coding experts.

Benjamin Trenkle

Nationality: German

Serving as Joomla 5.0 Release Lead and CMS Release Team Leader from Germany, Benjamin stepped up as a Release Manager for Joomla 5.0 when one of the original leads had to step back.

Working closely with Harald Leithner, he helped organize and deliver Joomla 5.0 – a major release acclaimed for its smooth upgrade and stability. Now the official CMS Release Team Leader, Benjamin coordinates volunteers testing and merging code for each Joomla release. He is a prolific code contributor and is recognized for his “can-do” leadership in getting Joomla’s ambitious two-year release cycle on track.

Sigrid Gramlinger

Sigrid Gramlinger - Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

Nationality: Austrian

Production Department Coordinator since 2023, Sigrid leads all the teams that develop and maintain the Joomla CMS.

A Joomla user since 2005, she has built 100+ Joomla sites and is passionate about usability and accessibility in Joomla. Sigrid was previously the CMS Release Team leader and has been instrumental in organizing Joomla’s release processes. She loves open source and often speaks at Joomla events (keynoting JoomlaDay D-A-CH and JoomlaDay USA) about the future of Joomla. Under her coordination, Joomla has delivered timely updates and improvements. Sigrid’s longstanding contributions and her advocacy for administrators and end-users make her one of Joomla’s most influential experts.

Luca Marzo

Nationality: Italian

Often referred to as Joomla’s one-man encyclopedia, Luca served an unprecedented eight consecutive terms as Secretary of Open Source Matters (the Joomla board) from 2017 to 2025.

He has an encyclopedic knowledge of project governance, legal, and historical matters – hence the community joke “Ask Luca” for any Joomla question. Luca started in the Italian Joomla community in 2007 and later moved to global roles, contributing to the Extension Directory, Certification Program, and more. He co-authored the Joomla! 4 Masterclass book, showcasing his technical expertise as well. Having just stepped down from the board in 2025, Luca continues to advise and support the project. His dedication and vast experience make him one of the top Joomla experts in the world.

Brian Teeman

Brian Teeman - Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

Nationality: British

One of Joomla’s original co-founders, Brian is a lifelong open-source advocate.

With a background in IT and community work, he helped launch Joomla in 2005 and has been a visible figure in the project ever since. Brian is known for his engaging conference presentations and his blog that shares “hidden Joomla secrets.” He received the UK Open Source Award for Individual Contribution in Joomla’s early years and remains an influential voice in the community. As a Joomla user group organizer and speaker worldwide, Brian continues to inspire users and developers alike with his depth of experience (and humorous insights) into Joomla.

Peter van Westen

Nationality: Dutch

Founder and developer behind Regular Labs in the Netherlands, Peter is the sole developer behind Regular Labs, which offers many of Joomla’s top-rated extensions – from Articles Anywhere to Sourcerer.

He started building Joomla websites in 2005 (when it was still Mambo) and began creating extensions to fill gaps he saw. Regular Labs (founded 2008) now provides an expanding suite of tools that greatly extend Joomla’s capabilities. Peter’s extensions are famous for their quality and usability, and he has won multiple J.O.S.C.A.R. awards (Joomla Oscars) for them. He works full-time on Joomla software and is very active in the community forums, helping users.

His dedication to “making Joomla easier” through code has made Peter one of the most impactful Joomla developers globally.

Mark Lee

Nationality: Malaysian

Co-founder and CTO of StackIdeas in Malaysia, Mark is the lead developer behind popular Joomla extensions like EasyBlog, EasySocial, and EasyDiscuss.

Since 2010, he’s been building powerful social networking and blogging solutions on Joomla, enabling thousands of Joomla sites with advanced functionality. Mark still actively codes (holding the title of Lead Developer at StackIdeas) while also guiding the company’s technical strategy. Under his leadership, StackIdeas’ products have won multiple “best Joomla extension” awards. Mark often shares his knowledge at Joomla conferences and via webinars, and is respected for staying in close touch with the Joomla developer community.

He exemplifies a startup founder who still loves to code and innovate within Joomla’s ecosystem.

Johan Janssens

Johan Janssens - Looking for Joomla Talent? 15 Top Experts to Watch

Nationality: Belgian

Joomla co-founder and CEO of Joomlatools, Johan was one of the original core developers who forked Mambo to create Joomla in 2005, serving as Joomla’s first lead developer.

He was instrumental in Joomla 1.5’s architecture and is widely respected for his software engineering skills. After leaving Joomla core team, Johan founded Joomlatools, which produces professional Joomla extensions like DOCman, FILEman, and LOGman. He continues to contribute to Joomla through these open-source tools and by advising on the project’s development strategy. Johan is also the founder of Timble, a web development firm, and remains active on GitHub (where his bio proudly says “Co-Founder of @joomla”). With over 20 years in open source, Johan’s strategic and technical contributions make him one of Joomla’s top global experts.

Elisa Foltyn

Nationality: German

Joomla blogger, educator, and community leader, Elisa was elected Joomla Vice President in 2020.

She runs a popular German-language Joomla blog and YouTube channel where she shares SEO tips, performance tricks, and “did you know?” tutorials for Joomla. Elisa has contributed to Joomla’s marketing and outreach efforts, and is often seen speaking about Joomla SEO at events. As VP (though for a short term) and longtime volunteer, she advocated for smoother contributor onboarding and better documentation. Her clear, friendly teaching style has empowered many Joomla users to get the most from the CMS.

Elisa’s mix of technical know-how and community passion solidifies her status as a top Joomla influencer.

David Jardin

Nationality: German

Security Strike Team Lead, David is Joomla’s security chief – the Team Leader of the Joomla Security Strike Team (JSST).

A PHP developer and self-proclaimed “Joomla!holic,” he has been ensuring Joomla’s code remains secure by reviewing every core contribution and coordinating vulnerability fixes. David frequently speaks at Joomla and WordPress events about web security, sharing insights from the dozens of security issues he and his team handle. He was interviewed by Wordfence for his expertise in open-source security. Besides core work, David maintains popular security extensions and contributes to developer documentation to educate extension developers on writing secure code.

His vigilant, behind-the-scenes work keeps millions of Joomla sites safe, making him one of the project’s most crucial experts.

Wrap Up

These legends represent exceptional talent, making them extremely challenging to headhunt. However, there are thousands of other highly skilled IT professionals available to hire with our help. Contact us, and we will be happy to discuss your hiring needs.

Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top talent. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.

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