LDC Top 50 2026
Hannah Mann and Abigail Stuart
Founding Partners
Day One Strategy
“We never questioned whether we could do it. The only question was how big we could make it,” says Hannah Mann, who teamed up with her colleague Abigail Stuart in 2019 to launch healthcare insights agency Day One Strategy. Combining technology with human intelligence, the company is changing how healthcare research is done, working with many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and employing 65 people across the UK and US.
Looking ahead, Abigail believes AI presents the biggest opportunity yet. “Our vision is to be the sector’s most powerful intelligence partner. We’re building a company that doesn’t exist today.”
Our vision is to be the sector’s most powerful intelligence partner. We’re building a company that does not exist today.”
Q&A
What has driven your growth?
Hannah: Expanding into the US in 2021, two years after we launched, was a defining moment. You can’t be a credible healthcare business without a presence there because it’s the biggest pharmaceutical market in the world. We’ve taken calculated risks throughout our journey: sometimes you have to stop overthinking and just do it. We expect our US business to become twice the size of our UK operation.
What makes your culture different?
Abigail: We’re proud to be a 100 per cent female-owned and managed business. Many pharmaceutical companies are looking to work with more diverse suppliers, so that’s undoubtedly helped us win new business. The bigger surprise, though, has been the impact on attracting talent. People tell us they join because they want a different kind of culture, one that’s more inclusive and where success is shared.
What does ambition mean to you?
Abigail: When we started out, we had a picture of Everest on the wall because that’s how it felt; like we were climbing the highest mountain in the world and wondering how we’d ever reach the top. But we love ambitions that feel tough; big, hairy, audacious goals. Our next target is to triple our net revenue in the next three years.
