Lead Consultant - Susanne Currid

Image: Toby Shaw

Susanne Currid is a strategic consultant and trusted advisor working across two closely related fields: cultural archive development and business consultancy. With over 25 years of experience spanning business development, digital strategy, brand communications and cultural heritage — and a distinction-grade MA in Art History and Museum Curation — Susanne brings a genuinely rare combination of commercial acumen and cultural sensitivity to every engagement.

As founder of The Loop, she works with archives and estates to build culturally relevant, sustainable foundations for their collections. She works with creatives, founders, and independents to find their voice, sharpen their strategy, and grow with confidence. In both worlds, her approach is the same: people-centred, practically grounded, and rooted in a genuine belief that the right support at the right moment can change the trajectory of what you're building.

ARCHIVE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE PRACTICE

At the University of Sussex, Susanne specialised in photography archive curation and inclusive cultural engagement practices. Her academic studies and commercial career are now fully synthesised into a culturally sensitive, people-centred approach to unleashing the potential of cultural archives.

Susanne's archive and cultural heritage consultancy is shaped by a distinctive methodology refined throughout her career. She integrates Cultural Intelligence frameworks, Design Thinking, Lean project management, and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) to create development roadmaps that are both strategic and highly practical. This blended process prioritises co-creation, iterative learning, and using existing assets—especially helpful for start-up and early-stage archives building momentum, clarity, and sustainable growth.

CREATIVE AND LIFESTYLE BUSINESS PRACTICE

Susanne's business consultancy practice spans over two decades of work with SMEs, serial entrepreneurs and independent businesses across food and drink, hospitality, lifestyle, interiors and the creative sector. She is known for helping clients see the bigger picture first — identifying real strengths, gaps and opportunities — before building a focused, agile plan for growth.

She typically works with clients over six months or more as a trusted thinking partner and strategic sounding board, combining deep commercial experience with the kind of honest, respectful challenge that helps founders make better decisions and build more resilient businesses.

CREDENTIALS AND CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Over a 25-year consultancy, project delivery and sales and marketing career, Susanne's highlights include:

  • Masters in Art History and Museum Curation, Distinction — University of Sussex, 2025, specialising in photography archive curation and inclusive cultural engagement

  • Supported fundraising in excess of £3million across community development and charitable projects. (2018 - 2025)

  • Education Lead and board member, Trinity Triangle Heritage Action Zone — board managing £2.3m in grants from Historic England, Susanne was identified as being pivotal in securing a rare second round of funding during the pandemic

  • Former UK Government SME Advisor — Growth Accelerator and Growth Voucher schemes, funded by government grants to support ambitious small businesses across the UK

  • Global Head of Digital Marketing for a UK SaaS tech firm awarded T-Mobile Fast Growth Company of the Year in 2010

  • Guest expert on BBC's The Apprentice — plus regular conference speaker and editorial contributor in UK trade press

COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR

A passionate community activist, Susanne's voluntary sector experience encompasses business manager, trustee, volunteer and community lead roles. Most recently, in a voluntary capacity, she has fundraised and supported volunteer and work experience capacity development at Picnic – A Place for Photography, St Leonards-on-Sea, contributing to strategy development at CIC committee level.

Her community work and her consultancy practice are not separate strands — they reflect the same underlying commitment to helping people and organisations with real potential find the support, structure and confidence to realise it.

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Based in Hastings and working with clients across the UK — in person and online — Susanne helps cultural archives and creative businesses articulate their value, strengthen their foundations, and build confidently towards what comes next.


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