Orange Bus founder Julian Leighton joins Different Narrative as non-exec director
Julian Leighton has joined Newcastle-based creative marketing agency Different Narrative as non-executive director.
Having co-founded the North East digital agency success story Orange Bus, Julian stepped down in 2020 after the company’s acquisition by Capita. He already holds non-exec roles at Hedgehog Labs and Land Digital.
Different Narrative provides marketing, creative, film, digital, media, strategy and PR services for a growing list of regional and national clients.
Working with managing director Kieron Goldsborough and the wider senior leadership team, Julian acts a “thought partner” providing mentoring, advice and business support.
Julian said: “Different Narrative is in a really good place and Kieron and the team have dealt really well with some very challenging market conditions over recent years.
“It’s exciting working with a well-run business which is on the way up. I think we’re going to make a decent dent in the landscape, and I’m glad to be part of that.”
In 2025, Different Narrative launched ‘All In’ – an industry-first offering of uncapped marketing services for one flat monthly fee. The agency’s growing client list includes NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Sunderland City Council, Edwin and the NHS, with over £200,000 of new business wins in the past six weeks.
Kieron said: “Julian brings exactly the right attributes we need right now – plus he has lived experience of how to build and scale an agency. He’s honest and is a great sounding board for our ideas.
“We had a phenomenal year in 2025 for client wins and we’ve already had an incredibly strong start to 2026. Now it’s all about building on the agency’s solid foundations, growing the team, getting sustained growth and proving the impact of ‘All In’ to continue to disrupt the market. Julian is the perfect partner to help us achieve all that.”
