Business & Technology
Different Minds names founding partners for launch
Different Minds has named Equativ, Seedtag and InMobi as founding industry partners ahead of its formal launch.
The group was set up to raise awareness of neurodiverse people across the creative industries and push for greater support in advertising, marketing and technology. Its work will focus on neurodiversity in technology, work and creativity.
Different Minds is positioning itself as a cross-industry effort to move neurodiversity higher up the agenda in sectors that rely heavily on creative and strategic work. It argues that different styles of thinking remain under-recognised in business despite their role in problem-solving, leadership and creative output.
The three founding partners are backing the launch and supporting the initiative’s early activity, giving Different Minds support from established companies in ad tech and digital media as it seeks to build industry attention.
Steven Beckwith, co-founder of Different Minds, outlined the reasoning behind the project.
“Different Minds was created to bring this conversation into one of the industry’s most visible and influential spaces,” Beckwith said.
Fellow co-founder Dayna Moon said the aim is not only to increase recognition, but also to encourage practical change in how businesses view neurodiverse employees and contributors.
“With the support of our partners, we’re creating a platform that not only raises awareness, but helps the industry better recognize the value of neurodiverse talent in shaping its future,” Moon said.
Partner backing
For Seedtag, the tie-up reflects a broader argument about how companies assess talent and originality. Sarah Pettitt linked neurodiversity to wider debates in advertising and technology about outcomes, inclusion and the use of artificial intelligence.
“At Seedtag, we’ve built our technology around a simple but powerful idea: that the most meaningful way to connect with someone isn’t to know who they are, but to understand the moment they’re in. That same logic applies to how our industry must think about neurodiverse talent. Without different minds, you don’t get different outcomes – you get the same ones, dressed up differently. AI and innovation give us the tools to stop asking ‘who is behind the screen?’ and start asking ‘what are they capable of?’ – amplifying unique ways of thinking at scale and turning what was once overlooked into an undeniable force for progress. Different Minds exists to make that case loudly, and Cannes is exactly the right stage to do it,” said Sarah Pettitt, senior group business director, UK and international, Seedtag.
Equativ framed the issue as one of workplace inclusion and commercial problem-solving, arguing that varied perspectives are important in leadership teams and in tackling complex industry challenges.
“The future of the ad tech industry depends on our ability to solve complex problems, and you simply cannot solve them with uniform thinking. At Equativ, we’ve seen firsthand that our most resilient leadership and innovative outcomes stem from a mosaic of different perspectives. We are proud to support Different Minds because neurodiversity is a vital, yet often overlooked, component of a truly inclusive workplace. This conversation matters now because the next era of industry innovation will be defined by how well we empower every type of mind,” said JC Peube, chief operations officer, Equativ.
InMobi also tied neurodiversity to the development of ad tech and the creative sector more broadly. Nigel Ashton said the industry needs people who approach problems in different ways.
“At the beating heart of ad tech lies one fundamental truth: people who think differently and are motivated to act to effect change when it comes to some of the advertising landscape’s development. This is impossible without a core of people who are hardwired to think differently when it comes to the problems in the industry. We are proud to be supporting Different Minds’ call to arms at this year’s Lions; neurodiversity has always been part of creativity and ad tech innovation, and it deserves consistent support,” said Nigel Ashton, director of agency partnerships, Europe and global, InMobi.
Wider push
The launch comes as companies across media, advertising and technology face broader scrutiny over inclusion policies and workplace culture. While diversity discussions have often centred on gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background, neurodiversity has received less sustained attention in many corporate settings.
That gap has become more visible as employers reassess how they recruit, manage and retain staff with different cognitive profiles, including people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other forms of neurodivergence. Industry advocates argue that support still depends too heavily on individual managers rather than being embedded in company practice.
Different Minds wants to build a platform for conversation and community around those issues. Its stated aim is to turn awareness into action and encourage more inclusive thinking in culture, collaboration, leadership and opportunity across the business community.
Its backers are also making the case that neurodiversity should be treated as a business issue as well as an inclusion issue.
The Barclays van outside Morrisons in Carterton is set to shut after a gradual drop in customer usage, the town council has announced.
The service is set to shut on Thursday, October 22.
The council said users of the van will still be able to pay cash and cheques into Barclays account at the nearby Post Office.
Instead customers will now have to travel six miles to the nearest Barclays branch in Witney.
The council said “please share this post with anyone who may be affected so they are aware of the upcoming change”.
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A Barclays local van is a mobile, cashless banking vehicle that travels to community to provide face-to-face support where traditional branches have closed.
Its part of Barclays flexible banking network, which includes pods, vans, libraries, and town halls.
In February 2023, Barclays announced nearly 100 branch closures throughout 2024 and 2025, in addition to the 177 branches it closed in 2023.
This included the branch in Abingdon, which went on to close in February 2024.
Earlier this year bosses at Barclays announced plans to reopen more high-street branches, in a dramatic U-turn for the bank.
Over the past decade, thousands of high-street bank branches have shut their doors across the country, including those belonging to Barclays, leaving just 206 still operating throughout the UK.
Freddie Van Mierlo, who represents Henley and Thame, has urged the company to prioritise fixing leaking infrastructure, which reportedly loses 2.87 billion litres of water daily.
This comes after the Environment Agency declared the Thames Valley area in drought.
The responsibility of maintaining water resources during a drought lies with water companies.
Thames Water has already implemented a hosepipe ban in the area since July 22, 2026.
Chris Weston, speaking on the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast, stated that some of the firm’s targets were beyond what they could achieve.
He said: “We have to hit a certain level of leakage, but it is so far in excess of what we are capable of doing, I think anyone would be capable of doing, however much money you invested, that it is not going to be achievable.”
Thames Water, the largest water company in the UK, has been under fire recently for its handling of sewage discharges and leaks.
Last year, it was fined a record £122.7 million by regulator Ofwat, largely for breaching sewage spill rules.
However, Mr Van Mierlo argues that a network-wide hosepipe ban would save around 577 million litres a day.
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He said: “So, although measures such as hosepipe bans are required during drought, it seems fixing leaking infrastructure would be a significantly more effective use of time.
“In your most recent interview with the BBC, you commented that targets to fix leakages are ‘unrealistic’, this is incredible insensitive considering we are experiencing a 1-in-500-year drought event.
“After reviewing the company’s existing drought plans, I am further concerned that the actions outlined in the early stages of drought are limited to awareness campaigns to reduce water use and hosepipe bans.
“Nowhere, even when drought progresses to severe, is there mention of emergency repairs to leaks in the system.”
He added that constituents have been contacting him daily about leaks due to Thames Water infrastructure and the lack of action following their reports.
He said: “Not only do these leaks damage property, but now in a time of drought, Thames Water are washing away an essential resource.”
The company, serving 16 million customers in London and parts of southern England, treats 4.3 billion litres of waste daily.
Mr Weston mentioned that “99.5 per cent of the time” the waste is treated successfully, although “sometimes something goes wrong”.
He added that while the company wants to improve on pollution, the chance of getting to zero pollution was “very, very slim”.
Fraser Jones, the director of Barefoot Oxford, has made clear that all its shops are staying open and there will be no job losses, as the company ‘streamlines’.
This process has seen Barefoot Oxford Limited go into liquidation with liquidators from JT Maxwell Ltd appointed on July 29. A resolution to wind up the company was passed on the same day.
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Fraser Jones, director of Barefoot Oxford, said: “Simply a reorganisation and no changes to the business at all.
“All shops staying open and no job losses.
“We are streamlining to the one company name of Barefoot Bakery, how we are best known.”
The business has three branches across Oxford in North Parade Avenue, Walton Street and Cowley Road and one in Kidlington.
It describes itself as a “small artisan bakery”.
It added: “We started out making cakes from our kitchen at home and selling them on a market stall in Oxford.
“Since then, the business has grown from strength to strength.”
Indeed, in June this year, cast of the smash hit romantic musical Waitress visited the business’ Jericho branch to publicise their performances at the New Theatre in Oxford.
It coincided with the 12th anniversary of the shop, run by Mr Jones and wife Emily.
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Barefoot Oxford – the company going under which Mr Jones is director of – reported creditors falling within a year of £375,000 in its latest accounts to March 31, 2025.
Its average number of employees was 33.
Meanwhile Barefoot Bakery Ltd – which Mr Jones is also a director of – reported creditors of £79,000 falling within a year and five employees.
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