A not-for-profit that supports women working in media across the North has appointed a new presidential team as it looks to expand onto TikTok and YouTube and sharpen its focus on wellbeing, career development and industry change.
Bloom North has named Beth Sutherland as its President for 2026, with Saskia Starritt appointed Vice President. Both are Senior Associate Directors at EssenceMediacom, with Starritt also serving as Bloom North’s Head of Marketing.
The appointments come as the organisation reflects on its 2025 programme and moves to reshape its events and content around three defined pillars: community and wellbeing, professional development, and thought leadership aimed at driving change across the industry.
On taking on the presidency, Sutherland said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be taking on the role of President in 2026. I care deeply about the Bloom North network and have seen firsthand the opportunities it creates and support it provides for women across media.
“A key advantage and reason I wanted to continue in the presidential team is to meaningfully action our learnings from 2025. This year, we have seen a shift in the types of events and content our community want to engage with most, which has shaped our priorities going forwards. In particular, there has been real demand for wellbeing-focused events. Moreover, we saw a fantastic response to our panels and workshops aimed at driving the conversation about midlife and ageism in media.”
Founded eight years ago, Bloom North was established to champion equal opportunities for women working across media, creative, advertising and communications roles in the North West. Returning to that founding mission will be a priority for the incoming leadership team.
Starritt said: “A lot has changed since Bloom North was first founded, both in our industry and of course the working world generally. Our network and its presence in the Northern media scene has grown significantly, which is fantastic. However, we don’t want to lose sight of its founding purpose and mission, which are still entirely relevant today.
“We are doing a lot of work this year to bring Bloom North’s values and bold identity to life and to the forefront of everything we do both in person and online, so that we can drive real change, create conversation, and ensure more people can access our community.”
Bloom North also runs the award-winning Blooming North alongside its programme of events and content.
