Social mobility charity welcomes new chief

The social mobility charity Impetus has welcomed Susannah Hardyman, former chief of the education charity Action Tutoring, as its new chief executive.

Hardyman joined the charity this week, taking over from the charity’s interim chief and portfolio director Sebastien Ergas.

Ergas took up the reins on an interim basis from the charity’s former chief, Eleanor Harrison, who stepped down in March after four years in the role.

Hardyman founded the education charity Action Tutoring and was its chief executive from October 2011 to December 2024, building the charity into a team of more than 70 people and more than 1,800 active volunteer tutors per year.

Action Tutoring had been a key delivery charity in the Impetus portfolio for more than a decade, the charity said.

“Under Susannah’s leadership, [Action Tutoring] has grown from a local initiative to a leading organisation in its field, working with hundreds of schools across England and partnering with the Department for Education as a key provider in the National Tutoring Programme,” Impetus said.

Hardyman was awarded an MBE in this year’s New Year Honours in recognition of her service to education and commitment to tackling educational inequality.

Impetus said that as its chief, Hardyman would “continue to champion young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, by ensuring they get the right support to succeed in school, work and life”.

Hardyman said: “I am excited about joining Impetus at this critical time as we begin to deliver our new strategy. 

“Working alongside Impetus for over a decade I have seen first-hand how the unique combination of significant, long-term unrestricted funding and the embedded support of the investment team can help charities to increase their impact and grow their reach, transforming the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and how we can reach many more young people by advocating for policy change.”