LDC Top 50 2025
Sally Alington
Founder and CEO
Ethos Farm
Sally Alington founded Ethos Farm in 2016 with bold ambitions: “I wanted to build a global consultancy. My goal was to compete against the Big Four.” Her company specialises in customer experience strategies for high-footfall locations such as airports, malls, stations and cruise liners. Today, Ethos Farm counts Westfield, Heathrow and LaGuardia among its clients.
“We’ve been in bids against consultancy giants – and we’ve won.” The business now employs 1,200 people and is close to £40 million in turnover. “I read that only 80 women in the UK have built a business beyond £50 million in revenue. I’d love to add my name to that list.”
I read that only 80 women in the UK have built a business beyond £50 million in revenue. I’d love to add my name to that list.”
Q&A
How did you get the business off the ground?
I started working at Blackjack Promotions during university holidays and was managing director by the age of 29. After helping sell the business to ABM Industries, I left in 2016 to launch Ethos Farm. I wanted to build something of my own but leaving a salary behind was terrifying! Our first client was Stansted Express. We offered them a free month to prove our value and created a case study that went on to win Global Air Rail’s Technology of the Year award. That, among other early client wins, gave us credibility and the business snowballed from there.
What has been your toughest moment?
The first was the Covid-19 pandemic. All our clients shut down overnight. I cried for two days, then got creative. As a side-hustle, I started selling transparent face masks designed for the hearing-impaired and for workers in customer-facing environments. Then we built an ACI-accredited training programme which ended up being rolled out to 50 different airports.
The second was 2022. Professionally, it was exceptional – I added a staffing arm and bought back the business from my investor. But personally, it was awful. My husband was diagnosed with two unrelated cancers. I ran the company from the Royal Marsden. My team were incredibly supportive. I see them as family.
What’s your proudest achievement?
Being named a Great Place to Work – for women, for wellbeing, and in our sector – is something I’m really proud of. My father is deaf and my brother has a hidden disability so I’m passionate about inclusion. We’re foundation partners of LandAid, and we funded a piece of cancer treatment equipment now used at the Royal Marsden. We partner with the Down’s Syndrome Association and have welcomed our first team members with Down’s yndrome.
