The LDC Top 50 Alumni
Where Are They Now: Sophie Costello, Founder of Costello Medical
25 Sep 2025
Since its launch in 2018, The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme has celebrated hundreds of exceptional individuals. In this series, we reconnect with some of our alumni to discover where their growth journeys have taken them, the impact of being part of the programme, and what their ambitions look like today.
Sophie Costello and her husband Richard launched their medical consultancy after a traumatic event made her reassess her career. Now, 17 years on, Cambridge-headquartered Costello Medical has offices on three continents, is a registered B Corp, and is growing 20% a year. From creating symposia for pharmaceutical clients to writing NICE submissions for drugmakers, “Our ultimate goal is to help patients get access to medicines,” she explains. Costello featured in The Top 50 in 2022 and was named a ‘Rising Star’ and, despite turbulence in the global pharmaceutical industry, she has since doubled turnover to £40m and grown headcount from 300 to over 500 people. “The macro-economic climate has been challenging,” she says. “But a bit of uncertainty can be a good thing. It forces you to stress-check the business.”
Why B Corp?
Getting our B Corp certification has been one of the highlights of the last few years. We hold ourselves to the highest standards in environmental responsibility and how we treat our clients and team. B Corp was more than external validation, it gave us the framework to keep improving. Clients now want to know about our approach to corporate social responsibility, and we can now give them all that information. It’s been important from a recruitment perspective too: B Corp sets us apart in a competitive environment.
How have you grown the business?
All our growth has been organic, driven by demand from clients. The US, in particular, has undergone massive expansion. We opened there in 2020 and now we have 80 people there across our offices in Boston and, as of September, New York. We now have five offices across the UK too. I didn’t found this business with the desire to keep growing like this, but we all want to do more great work which leads naturally to growth.
Why is it so important to look after your people?
Right from the beginning, Richard and I wanted to do good in the world. Last year our people did over 2500 days of pro bono work for charities. We want to look after our staff – this is a high-pressure space where we expect a lot from people. We give people volunteer days and sabbaticals and they can work from home half the time. The result is that we have lots of loyal people here, who have been with us 10-15 years. Almost everyone in the senior leadership team joined out of university and has professionally ‘grown up’ with us.
We talk about The Top 50 when we speak to new clients. It’s a respected programme, showcasing the strength of our leadership. When you are running a business, you don’t often get told you’re doing a good job, so this meant a lot.”
