E36- Leigh Smyth

Leigh Smyth is the Founder of Impact Match and she is an award-winning pioneer in inclusive and impact-led talent search, digital skills and social impact strategy. Leigh was the first leader to introduce young peoples access to Technology via retail to the UK and then went onto to work for UK Government to design access to Technology for Low Income families. As the UK’s first-ever Responsible Transformation Director, she led the creation of the Lloyds Banking Group Digital Skills Academy, designing its strategy and pilot which has go on to train more than one million people for free. Through partnership consultation, Leigh also built what became one of the country’s largest digital skills-based volunteering networks. Her team also developed the UK’s first benchmark for Basic Digital Skills, now embedded into the national agenda and referenced globally. The Consumer Digital Index, now in its 10th year, is still the UK’s largest measure of digital and financial capability, used by policymakers, educators and employers to track progress and shape inclusive services. A lifelong talent matchmaker, Leigh has placed some of the UK’s most influential social impact leaders into senior roles across FTSE firms, NGOs, and purpose-led scaleups. Through her work at ImpactMatch, she continues to connect values-driven talent with organisations serious about doing good, helping them embed inclusion and impact into their culture, leadership, and workforce strategies. She also helped establish the Digital Poverty Alliance, helped to establish 11 national advisory taskforces for financial inclusion, and played a key role in embedding inclusive design and accessibility into Lloyds Banking Group’s transformation programme, enabling the bank to become the first FTSE to achieve Accessibility accreditation. Leigh is also the Co-Founder of ActionAble on a mission with Sara Weller CBE to drive workplace disability inclusion. From designing inclusive strategies to building the teams that deliver them, Leigh’s work sits at the intersection of impact, innovation, and inclusion, making her a vital voice in shaping the future of recruitment and training.Listen to find out how  Leigh has found success in different aspects of hier life, and what she would put in the guide...