Client story: Vision Partnership
New Horizons is unlike any other leadership development program – designed for, and by, people with lived experience of sight loss.
The full video transcript can be found here.
Vision Partnership – a collective of eight UK charities that deal with sight loss in the UK – partnered with Hult Ashridge Executive Education to create a first-of-its-kind program for blind and visually impaired leaders.
The result was the New Horizons program: leadership development designed for – and by – people with lived experience of sight loss.
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“It’s the first time that anything’s been done like this. The absolute overall intention is about having more blind and partially sighted people in leadership positions.”
– Cathy Low, Director of Partnerships, Thomas Pocklington Trust
The Vision Partnership wants to change perceptions about the value of lived experience in leadership.
One of their key focuses is on ensuring that leadership teams are an authentic reflection of the communities they serve. By championing people’s lived experience, they strive to increase representation and drive improvements in Vision Partnership organizations and the wider sight loss sector.
“Sight loss gives you exposure to different skills and experiences which are actually really valuable leadership capabilities,” says Cathy Low, Director of Partnerships at Thomas Pocklington Trust.
"It's quite often overlooked that losing your vision does have a really big impact on your psychology, outlook on life, and identity. Finding a partner who takes the time to understand the issue and is in it for the long haul is key,” says David Aldwinckle, Director of Insight, RNIB.
Vision Partnership chose Hult Ashridge Executive Education as their partner to co-design a leadership development program for leaders across the eight sight loss charities.
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“From the get go, the Hult Ashridge team have very much been about: ‘Help us understand the problem, help us understand the purpose. We want to learn, we want to – 'partner' – I think, is the key word.”
– Alex Pepper, Head of Accessibility at Guide Dogs
In collaboration, the Vision partnership and Hult Ashridge challenged each other to think differently about how leadership development can and should be delivered.
Their shared mission was to create a program that would empower participants with the skills and confidence to accelerate their careers, fostering a more diverse and inclusive leadership landscape.
"From the get go, the Hult Ashridge team have very much been about: ‘Help us understand the problem, help us understand the purpose. We want to learn, we want to – partner’, I think, is the key word,” shares Alex Pepper, Head of Accessibility at Guide Dogs.
“There's been real listening and humbleness – and constant testing: ‘This is what we're thinking – how does that land with you as people with lived experience?’”
Reflecting the lived experience of leaders in the Vision Partnership’s steering committee was a central guide throughout the program. “It was something that was really important to honor in the design,” says Jen Morris, Program Director.
“It’s about thinking how we can create a working world, which is as open and barrier free and inclusive as possible to everybody, that enables them to learn and to deliver and to thrive.”
The design took a psychology-based approach that recognized lived experience of sight loss as an asset, while recognizing the impact of it on people’s identity.
What resulted was an immersive leadership development journey spanning 10 months, consisting of in-person residentials, experiential learning with actors, coaching, and action learning to support the transfer of learning back into the workplace.
Bringing together leaders from different charity organizations and across the UK, the program was intentionally designed to expand peer networks and create a community of leaders with lived experience of sight loss across the sector.
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Visual description of image: Alex Pepper and Jen Morris walking away in discussion, accompanied by Alex's guide dog.
With the first cohort graduating in February 2026, the program is still in its infancy. The focus now is on refining it for the next group of leaders starting in summer 2026.
But wider aspirations for the program stretch further into the future. As David Aldwinckle, Director of Insight at RNIB, shares: “I'd like to see it evolve so that it becomes not solely for the sight loss sector. So, people with sight loss who are working in other industries: in banking and finance, in the law, media, creative industries, in retail, wherever they are – there's a program that will help them.”
“And then the big prize further along the line is that, through this program, we start influencing this wider ecosystem of executive learning, showing the value in taking an approach like this so that other providers take note.”
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“This feels like it’s the start of something that could be transformational, both for the Vision Partnership and, more importantly, for blind and partially sighted people."
– David Aldwinckle, Director of Insight, RNIB
Narrator: In this video, we explore the New Horizons program in interviews with leaders at Vision Partnership and faculty at Hult International Business School. New Horizons: Leadership development designed for – and by – people with lived experience of sight loss. Hult Ashridge logo. Vision Partnership. Cathy Low, Director of Partnerships at Thomas Pocklington Trust
Cathy Low: 75% of blind and partially sighted people aren’t working, which is a statistic that has been that way for generations, really. You’re often told, as somebody who’s visually impaired, about all the things you can’t do. What we were trying to do is really change that narrative – that sight loss does give you exposure to different skills and experiences which are actually really, really valuable leadership capabilities.
Narrator: Jennifer Morris, Faculty at Hult International Business School
Jennifer Morris: It’s about thinking, “How do we create a working world which is as open and barrier-free and inclusive as possible to everybody, that enables them to learn and to deliver and to thrive?”
Cathy Low: The New Horizons program is a leadership program which is specifically designed for visually impaired people who want to develop their careers in leadership. And it was designed by visually impaired leaders.
Narrator: Alex Pepper, Head of Accessibility at Guide Dogs
Alex Pepper: We had a purpose. We wanted to get things right. We wanted to change the landscape. We wanted to increase representation and break down barriers and misconceptions, etc. It’s been a journey over the last few years to get to where we are now.
Cathy Low: We work as a sector through the Vision Partnership, which is a partnership of eight different organizations that deal with sight loss across the UK. It’s the first time we’ve done something like this – I think it’s the first time that anything’s been done like this. The overall intention is about having more blind and partially sighted people in leadership positions across the sector.
Narrator: David Aldwinckle, Director of Insight, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
David Aldwinckle: It’s quite often overlooked that losing your vision, or growing up with little or no vision, has a really big impact on your psychology, your outlook on life, and your identity. Finding a partner who takes the time to understand the issue, and is in it for the long haul and sees the wider benefit, is the key to this. We interviewed and spoke to a number of other very high-profile and very strong business schools who didn’t quite come from that angle. I was really impressed by the fact that Hult Ashridge grasped that very, very early on.
Alex Pepper: From the get-go, the Hult Ashridge team have been very much about, “Help us understand the problem. Help us understand the purpose. We want to learn.” We want to understand – we want to “partner”, I think, is the key word.
Cathy Low: They also challenged us on some things, which led to a really great conversation during the interview process.
Jennifer Morris: Throughout, they’ve said this is a first for them, like it’s a first for us. We are going to learn and grow, and certainly it’s much better if none of us pretend that we know it all. Actually, we ask, “How are we going to navigate this? How are we going to make this work?”
Alex Pepper: It was very refreshing to hear that. We knew they were leadership development experts, but they weren’t saying, “This is how you need to do it.” It just clicked. There’s been that real genuine listening and humbleness. And constant testing – “This is what we’re thinking. How does that land with you as people with lived experience?”
Jennifer Morris: That was something that was really important to reflect and honor in the design and the intention. And the other was the higher-level aspiration of the program.
David Aldwinckle: They saw that this could become more than simply a leadership program – it had a wider social impact. I’d like to see it evolve so that it’s not solely for the sight loss sector. So people with sight loss working in other industries – in banking and finance, in the law, in media, creative industries, wherever they are, in retail – there’s a program that will help them. And then the really big prize further along the line is that, through this program, we start influencing the wider ecosystem of executive learning, showing the value of taking an approach like this so that other providers take note. This feels like the start of something that could be transformational – both for the Vision Partnership and the organizations involved, and more importantly, for blind and partially sighted people.
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