A Digital Agency Guru
Julian Leighton is best known as the co-founder of the digital solutions agency Orange Bus. His early career included stints as a music promoter and meat trader before six years at IBM gave him his grounding in tech. After meeting co-founder Mike Parker, the two co-founded Orange Bus, named after Julian’s beloved VW camper van.
From its humble two-man beginnings, Orange Bus grew into a leading service and experience design agency with a 150-strong workforce and offices in Newcastle, Sheffield, London, and Edinburgh by the time of its sale in 2016. Along the way, the agency built an impressive client roster including the BBC, Direct Line Group, Aston Martin Racing, HMRC, and the NHS. Orange Bus was recognised among the Top 50 Fastest Growing Technology Companies and as Digital Agency of the Year at the Northern Digital Awards.
In March 2016, Orange Bus was acquired by Capita. Following the acquisition, Julian served for four years on the Capita software division board. Today, he shares the wisdom and experience from his journey as a chair and non-executive director (NED) across a portfolio of tech and digital businesses, including:
– hedgehog lab
– Different Narrative
– Land Digital
– The Digital Lighthouse
And for what it’s worth, he’s attended every Thinking Digital Conference since its foundation in 2008. Read into that as much as you like! 🙌 🚀
After being one of our judges for the TDC Startup Competition in 2025, Julian joins us onstage this year to interview Mel O’Connor of Okkulo.
