About ActuateYou

ActuateYou is a leadership and advisory practice founded by Jo Howorth.

We work with individuals, founders and organisations navigating complexity, change and important decisions.

The practice was created to provide structured space for thinking, judgement and action in environments where clarity is not always easy to find.

Our focus is helping people slow down enough to see clearly, and then move forward with confidence and intent.

About Jo

Before founding ActuateYou, I spent over 20 years at the University of Leeds working across innovation, enterprise and researcher development.

I led the development of researcher entrepreneurship and innovation pathways across the institution, helping researchers move from idea to action.

I directed a £1M flagship innovation fellowship, achieving strong progression and retention outcomes, and built mentoring ecosystems in partnership with organisations such as MIT, supporting hundreds of researchers and founders.

Across my career, I have worked at the intersection of leadership, innovation and systems change, with a focus on creating practical pathways for people to develop ideas, capability and confidence in complex environments.

How we work

ActuateYou works one to one and in small, focused collaborations where trust allows real progress to happen.

Our approach combines:

• deep understanding of complex organisations and stakeholder dynamics
• a strong track record of turning ideas into practical action
• and a warm, honest space where people can think clearly and move forward with confidence

Our work is guided by professional mentoring and coaching standards, including the EMCC Global Code of Ethics, alongside Jo’s formal training in leadership coaching, mentoring and psychometrics.