Andy Puddicombe

Co-Founder of the world leading meditation app, Headspace, Andy Puddicombe is credited with bringing mindfulness into the mainstream. The former Buddhist monk turned award winning entrepreneur has made an accessible, affordable, and instrumental application, which has transformed the lives of millions. From fast paced to inner peace, Andy uses his insights to offer actionable advice to event audiences on how they can develop in their personal and professional lives. As a speaker, Andy infuses his talks with anecdotes and shares how he created a business that benefits others, in a profitable, ethical way. Equally beneficial for corporate clients as individuals, Andy’s presentation demystifies meditation practices, ensuring audiences are left with a fresh perspective.

Founding Headspace as a meditation events company in 2010, followed by the app released in 2012, Andy’s vision was to make meditation simple, accessible, and relevant. In producing ten-minute guided talks that aimed to reduce stress and anxiety, Andy ensured users could incorporate meditation into their daily routine, with a valuable outcome. To date, the app has been used in 190 countries with 62 million downloads worldwide, a testament to the global impact of the service.

A former sports science student, Andy’s life was derailed after the consecutive deaths of family members and friends. Haunted by grief, Andy left his university life and embarked on a journey of self-discovery, travelling to the Himalayas to study mediation. Over the course of ten years, Andy was ordained as a Buddhist monk, meditated for up to 16 hours a day and travelled around the world to countries including Nepal, Myanmar and Russia. On returning to the UK in 2004, Andy was inspired to establish a mediation practice in London, the beginnings of Headspace.

Currently, Andy is sought after to appear in the media, having featured on informative programmes like ‘Pause for Thought’ and ‘The Truth About Personality’. As an expert in the field of mindfulness, Andy recently collaborated with Netflix to produce three series of guides, the first ‘Headspace Guide to Meditation’ was released in 2021. Publishing his expertise across three acclaimed books, Andy has explored the impact of meditation on mental health, pregnancy and even diet. Expanding on his findings as a speaker, Andy gives audiences the tools to incorporate mindfulness into their routine with long lasting impacts.