Who we are.

The M Word brings together senior corporate experience and first-hand understanding of menopause.

We know the pressure to keep delivering when something has changed and you cannot quite explain it. We also understand the decisions businesses face about their people, performance and future leadership.

We built The M Word to connect those two perspectives and make support work in practice.

Sophie Wheater

Co-founder

Sophie spent most of her career in senior marketing leadership, most recently as CMO of giffgaff. A few years ago she stepped back from that role for what she thought was burnout. It turned out to be menopause, symptoms she didn't recognise, in a workplace with no language for them and no plan to support her.

That experience is why The M Word exists: to make sure fewer women have to learn this the hard way, and fewer businesses lose experienced people to a problem nobody's naming.

Kirstie Walker-Poole

Co-founder

Kirstie's experience of breast cancer and early menopause shapes her understanding of how abruptly life can change, and how much can remain unseen while you try to carry on.

Her coaching helps women make sense of changes in confidence, identity and direction, with space to think honestly about what they need and what comes next.

At The M Word, Kirstie leads coaching delivery, supporting employees and senior leaders through midlife transitions with a practical, personal approach.

Together

Together, we connect business priorities with the reality of people's working lives.

That means helping leaders understand what is at stake, giving managers the confidence to respond, and creating space for employees to work out what support they need.

Our work reaches across the organisation, because a commitment made in the boardroom only matters if people experience it in their working day.