Businesses need brands. Brands need creativity. Creativity needs leadership.

We believe in-house creative leaders should be in the C-Suite and we are on a mission to give our in-house creative leaders the connections, insights, knowledge and recognition that will get them to the highest levels of influence and persuasion within the brands they are a part of.

An image representing the mission of The Inside Out Community to empower in-house creative leadership.

We have created the go-to destination for in-house creative leadership.

Established in 2013, Inside Out started life as the In-House Design Awards, the only UK Awards to showcase the very best creative work being produced from in-house creative teams.

Read our story

Our values

1

Independent

We operate as an independent business and value our autonomy.

2

Member-led membership

We place our members at the heart of everything we do.

3

Friendly

We pride ourselves on providing a friendly space for our members to make real connections, discover, share, and learn from each other.

4

Collaborative

We recognise and value the benefit of collaborating with partners who can add value to the membership from knowledge sharing, thought leadership and insights.

5

Inclusive

We operate a community which welcomes everyone regardless of their beliefs, heritage, and background.

6

Respectful

We show respect to all who interact with the membership community and expect members to do the same.

The UK & EMEA’s first independent in-house creative community

Just some of the brands who are members 

Meet the team

Emma Sexton

FOUNDER

Emma Sexton is a speaker, advisor and founder exploring how creativity functions as a competitive advantage inside modern organisations.

With experience across both agency and in-house creative leadership, she is the Founder of Inside Out® Community and previously founded one of the UK’s early remote-first B Corp creative agencies. Emma is also Creative Expert in Residence at King’s College London and Imperial College London entrepreneurial institutes.

Sarah Halfpenny

HEAD OF COMMUNITY, EVENTS & AWARDS

Sarah brings over 20 years of experience to the Inside Out Community and Awards.  Sarah has run her own events management agency and previously held senior positions leading community and events teams.

Sarah is visiting lecturer at the Event Academy teaching both Diploma and Post Graduate courses specialising in Operational Planning and Awards.

Meet our Advisors

Read more

Jeff Cobb

FOUNDER, COBB COLLECTIVE

Uri Baruchin

STRATEGY & BRAND CONSULTANT AND CREATIVE STRATEGY TRAINER

Lee Bofkin

Co-Founder and CEO, Global Street Art

Rhona Glazebrook

CO-FOUNDER of J&R COLLECTIVE

Sam Pearce

EXECUTIVE COACH & DIRECTOR

Traci Dunne

FOUNDER, TRANSFORM-RENEW-SUSTAIN (TRS) LTD.

Melanie Ryan

FOUNDER OF WALK THE FLOOR

Abbey Bamford

JOURNALIST AND CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Kevin Frank

INDEPENDENT CREATIVE LEADER

Lucy Hobbs

FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR, THE FUTURE IS ND

Tabitha Winter

CREATIVE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Mali Okoi-Obuli

FOUNDER, OURHOUSE

Gareth Chilton

FOUNDER, MANMACHINE

Marty Davies (She/They)

FOUNDER, SMARTY PANTS CONSULTANCY

Roy Murphy

CO-FOUNDER, G3NR8

Gillian Davis

FOUNDER & MD, OVERTIME LEADER

Janet Markwick

FOUNDER of MARKWICK CONSULTING, CO-FOUNDER of J&R COLLECTIVE AND NED CREATIVE UK

Michael Storey

Mentor/Leadership Coach

Paul Halfpenny

FOUNDER & CTO, FILTER

Cato Hunt

JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR, SPACE DOCTOR

The Exchange is a great way to meet talented creatives in small and huge organisations who share their hard earned experiences with a smile. I’ve always learned something new from them.

Ivan Pols


Chief Creative Officer, what3words

I think you can feel quite on your own and you shouldn’t underestimate the power of feeling like you’re part of a community. Inside Out® can really facilitate that idea of radical collaboration and they’ve got so many great experts you can tap into and talk to – so get involved!

Imogen Almond

Head of Creative, Innocent Drinks

I would say definitely give the Inside Out® Community a shot. Because you don’t realise the support until you get it. When you become part of it, when you see the information that you get, that’s when you realize that it was a good decision.

Sudarshan Waghmare

Global Head of Brand & Creative, Bitpanda

So good to have a forum that recognises and celebrates in-house creative teams. The Exchange sessions are a particular highlight and I love hearing what this group of talented creative leaders have been up to recently and the discussions around common themes in what has become quite a community.

James Turner


Partner Creative Lead, Waitrose and Partners

The whole team were thrilled to have won three awards, as is the rest of the organisation. Particularly the judges award, the comments we had from the judges was amazing.

Sara Chew


Creative Lead, British Red Cross

In a lot of companies, creative leadership is usually just one or two people, so you get that peer network by being part of the Inside Out® Community. It’s a very strong community feel, you get practical advice and encouragement when you’re trying to figure something out.”

Harshil Varsani

Brand & Creative Director, Credability

It’s really built my confidence and ambition as well. I was enjoying the inspiration and admiring other people’s work, and it built up my confidence to enter the awards.
We won – which was amazing for our team and we should shout about that!

Emily Hawkerr

Creative Lead, Save the Children UK

Since joining Inside Out, I’ve been warmly welcomed into a community where passion and talent in design unite us. Here, whether it’s seeking advice on design tools, critiquing projects, or problem-solving, the community is always ready to lend a helping hand. The abundance of support, from networking opportunities to workshops with industry leaders, has provided me with invaluable inspiration and growth in my creative journey.

Savvas Pavlou


Design Manager, Ex-Trustpilot

The Inside Out® community is a creative leader’s secret sauce! It has been truly invaluable for me and I am able to collaborate, share ideas and receive key advice which has helped me in my leadership journey!

Marilyn Yost


Head of Design, Savills

A bunch of super smart and interesting in-house leaders providing each other with peer to peer support, the conversation and advice is second to none. I have seen the immediate added value the sessions bring to me, and subsequently my team. I am so happy to have discovered this wonderful community.

Emma Baines

Global Head of Creative
Tony’s Chocolonely

Inside Out® is special. It’s that most valuable of things: a knowledge store and support group rolled into one. I love being connected to other in-house creative leaders and being able to tap into their collective experience any time I need it. I only wish it had been around when I first became a head!

Michael Storey

Creative Consultant and Inside Out Community Advisor

The willingness of members to share their information and how they’ve approached similar challenges that I’m going through has been super useful. To be able to talk to people that are going through it has been brilliant.

Sam Otterspoor

Senior Brand Designer & Experience Manager, Captify

Being part of the Inside Out® Community has really broadened my network and my understanding of the nature of the challenges that I have because they’re shared. It’s a great confidence booster to know that you’re not the only one with these challenges.

Kevin O’Shea

Global Content & Creative Director,
Johnson Controls

Partners

News & Insights

View All
View All