James Bidwell, chair

James Bidwell is the Chair of Springwise and believes strongly in the power of innovation and sustainability in redefining the role of business in society as a force for good.

James specialises in leading positive and transformational change in business and has held many Board level and CEO roles. He outlines his philosophy in his book, Disrupt! 100 Lessons in Business Innovation, published by Hachette and now an Amazon best seller. He was listed in the Financial Times Creative Business Top 50, and named as one of London’s 1000 most influential by the London Evening Standard. During his time as Marketing Director at Selfridges, he was described as the “ring master extraordinaire” and “a theatrical agitator”.

James is also a high-profile speaker and commentator. He speaks regularly on navigating disruption, the rapid pace of change, the role of innovation in helping solve the climate crisis, and how to achieve cultural shift.

Matthew Hempstead, commissioning editor

Matthew is passionate about delivering great content for a positive purpose and has pursued this goal in a range of different contexts. He began his career advising FTSE 350 companies on their sustainability and investor-focused communications, before moving into museum design and interpretation. He now oversees the day-to-day editorial work of Springwise and is motivated by a desire to give the world’s most exciting innovators the recognition they deserve.  

Matilda Cox, editorial assistant

Matilda has recently graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a Master’s in English Literature. In the past few years, she has written for a variety of university-affiliated and external publications on a range of social issues, and oversaw Ed Fringe Review’s team as Editor at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She now supports Matt with the production of Springwise’s editorial content. Matilda is committed to giving a platform to those making positive and sustainable change across the globe.

Lisa Magloff, contributor

Lisa has a long career writing on innovation and technology in a global context. She began her career covering business and test-driving Humvees in Egypt, before working as managing editor of publications in Dubai and Aspen, Colorado. She eventually put her degree in Biology to work in exploring – and explaining – the science behind today’s most exciting innovations. Today, her focus is on education and helping others to develop a deeper understanding of the way that technology can help – as well as hinder – broader global development.

Sophie Bidwell, board director

Sophie is a digital transformation and disruption entrepreneur and investor with a background in private equity and investment banking. She spent the first 10 years of her career specialising in retail and consumer goods in roles at Goldman Sachs, Change Capital Partners, and Hg Capital. Sophie is a co-owner of Springwise and co-founder of Re_Set, the leading next-generation strategy consultancy for innovation and sustainability. At Re_Set, Sophie has led innovation and transformational change strategies for many high-profile clients from high-end fashion brand Michael Kors to The Crown Estate.

Andrew Hirsch, board director

Andrew has been one of the world’s pre-eminent voices in content marketing since before the term existed. For over 30 years he has developed the tone of voice, communications strategies, and world-leading content programmes for some of the world’s biggest brands. He believes in bringing market intelligence together with the editorial intelligence that comes from working with the very best creative talents in their field.

Lucy Siegle, editorial director

Lucy Siegle is a journalist, broadcaster, opinion leader, and speaker/moderator who specialises in climate, environment and nature stories.

As a reporter/presenter on BBC1’s The One Show, she has been following the problem of single-use plastic and wider ecological issues since the show began in 2007. Her book, Turning the Tide on Plastic: How Humanity (and you) Can Make Our Globe Clean Again was published in 2018. Lucy is also known as an authority on the environmental and social footprint of the global fashion industry, her book To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World was the basis for hit Netflix documentary, The True Cost, for which Lucy was co-executive producer.

Lucy co-hosts the popular podcast So Hot Right Now (Sony Music) and has interviewed many natural world heroes, including Sir David Attenborough, Mary Robinson, Ellie Goulding, and Christiana Figueres,

She is a trustee for the environmental NGO, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) and chair of the Real Circularity Coalition, spearheading the change to a real circular economy. Lucy is an ambassador for The Circle, the women’s rights NGO founded by Annie Lennox 10 years ago.