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.