Leading narrative change with Sophie Hobson

I completed the Associate Programme 10 years ago and I still feel the benefits of the connections, learning and tools for self-reflection.

Today, I’m co-CEO of Heard, a multi-award-winning charity at the forefront of narrative change. We help the UK’s biggest media and pop culture organisations to tell captivating stories that ignite action at scale. We also train others in our approaches. We work across climate, migration, trans experiences, children’s palliative care and the economy. We co-create our approaches with people with lived experience, and draw on research into how people make sense of stories. We’ve worked with the BBC, Sky, ITV, Channel 4, The Times, The Guardian, The Sun, the NHS, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Trussell Trust and more. Last year, we sparked stories that were seen or heard by a combined audience of +23 million. Not bad for a team of 15!

I was a journalist and editor prior to On Purpose. I wanted to hold on to a love of crafting stories, as well as experience of working with founders and leaders. Initially I took on a short-term contract with Expert Impact, connecting social entrepreneurs with mentors. I then joined the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) to lead communications – having heard SSE’s CEO Ali Wilson speak at an On Purpose training session.

I joined Heard in 2023 as director of communications, then acting CEO while our founder Nathalie took a sabbatical. We became co-CEOs in January 2025. I’m enjoying discovering co-leadership as a more regenerative and sustainable way to lead change.

You can learn more about our work here or connect with me on LinkedIn.