The North East has a way of getting under your skin — just ask Corinne Lewis-Ward. What began as a move from London to study photography at Northumbria University became a permanent love affair with the region. Her work is now rooted in the place, whether she’s creating niche products inspired by the North East or supporting local neurodivergent creatives through Creative Heritage Studios CiC. Corinne told us more about the joy of selling on Newcastle Quayside in all weathers, the power of knowing your own story, and the importance of listening to your community.
Charlotte, Lauren and Gemma comprise the team behind Cameo Digital - a strategic SEO and digital marketing consultancy. Learning what not to do from their years in corporate agencies, the trio emphasises their human-centred approach to marketing and carries this over to their own wellbeing, making sure they make the most of a flexible, balanced worklife. The team told us about their different routes into marketing, their favourite parts about Cameo Digital, their inspirations and more.
Jen Harrison and Jonny Pearce are turning bold ideas into positive action. Since founding their business, Better Places, the pair has worked with numerous forward-thinking organisations who want to make a lasting impact on society but need a little guidance on how to get there. We asked Jen and Johnny about their drive for social good, their dream jobs, and the people who inspire them most.
Managing Director Kirsty Ostell is leading the agency into a new era of AI, championed by its founder Kari Owers who started the business back in 2005, the same year social media flipped traditional PR and marketing on its head.
Change is a word they both use daily, if not hourly. Working in an industry that shifts before the rest of the world has had breakfast, they sat down to talk about Original Thinking in a sea of sameness, the effect AI will have on young people entering marketing, and what the future holds for O.agency as it enters its third decade.
Prof Greta Defeyter OBE is Dean of Social Mobility Policy Engagement at Northumbria University, and Chair of Feeding Britain. A developmental psychologist by background, she has advised government on the impact of food insecurity, school breakfast clubs and holiday hunger.
Sarat Pediredla spent nineteen years building one of the North East's digital success stories, with Alan Morris as its chief technology officer. They've started again, on a bet that AI has changed who gets to build serious software, and how fast.
