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February 18, 2026
Joe Averill
5 mins
Some leaders follow the playbook. Others rewrite it entirely.
Isobelle Panton, Izzy to everyone who knows her, is a commercial leader, career strategist, and unapologetic advocate for women in business building power on their own terms. Currently Commercial Lead at The Overlap, Gary Neville's media and entertainment business, she has spent the last decade building a career across tech, education, and media while amassing a community of over 200,000 people who know her for one thing: saying what others won't.
In this edition of LEVELATIONS, we explore a career built on clarity over polish, what it means to learn from the worst leaders to become a better one, and why leadership is measured by who shows up when things get tough.
Beginning as a graduate at UKFast, then the UK's largest privately owned hosting provider, the journey progressed to Director of Commercial Development before moving into senior leadership roles across multiple industries including University Academy 92 and PHMG, a global audio branding company.
Recognition has come in the form of the Northern Power Women Judges' Special Award, a place on the Embryos Top 100 Northerners Who Say It Like It Is list, and Talent, HR and Recruiter of the Year at the MYTAs. Alongside the corporate career sits a following of over 200,000 people across Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, built on a no-nonsense approach to careers, confidence and leadership. The work has been featured in the New York Post, the Guardian, and the i paper.
"I'm recognised for saying what others won't and leading with clarity rather than performative polish."
When it comes to leadership, the approach has been shaped as much by what not to do as by what works. When faced with a leadership challenge, the question asked is simple: what would the worst leaders do? And then lean into the very opposite.
But the best experience of leadership has come from working with Gary Neville for the last five years across two of his businesses. He's a proper grafter who trusts his teams, defends and supports them wholeheartedly, and gets stuck in when things get tough. The character traits that get mentioned less often are what make him truly human, he cares beyond what's expected at work and has a sharp instinct when someone has a lot on their plate in their personal life too.
"So much of how we show up at work is a result of how we show up in the rest of our lives. My measure of great leadership has always been who they show up as when the going gets tough, not when things are plain sailing and simple."
Fierce independence, high standards, and a refusal to settle have driven success. But there's a flip side, a reluctance to ask for help, hardly ever slowing down, and a hard time feeling accepted.
Race and identity have been a huge factor in navigating both personal and professional life. The feeling of belonging has always been something just slightly out of reach, and the racism experienced, whether overt or passive, doesn't stay at the office door. It can become all-consuming.
Despite it all, the response has always been the same: excellence.
"I find the best revenge for racism in the workplace has always been excellence, and fortunately for me, that's something I've got a huge appetite for."
Success isn't just about career progression. It's about building a life that creates options.
The family recently sold their dream house and bought a less expensive 1700s cottage in Lancashire that needed a full renovation. It wasn't a step back. It was strategic, driven by a huge vision for freedom of money and time to travel while keeping a home in the UK.
Right now, the focus is on quality time and moments of magic with two daughters aged two and five months old. Returning from maternity leave means winning and working with partners at The Overlap, continuing work as a consultant, career content creator and panel host, and a couple of secret projects in the works. The only resolutions this year are simple: walk every day, read every night. The goal is a calmer nervous system.
When the pressure of juggling it all gets too much, there's an anchor, a ritual that marks the end of the working day. Switching the car off triggers the activation of 'home Izzy', a physical action that signals the start of personal time and being fully present.
"I always like to remind myself that I'm saving PDFs, not lives."
This is a story about leadership without the polish. A reminder that the best leaders aren't the ones with perfect credentials, but the ones who show up, say what others won't, and build power on their own terms.
At LEVEL, we believe those are the stories worth sharing.
LEVELATIONS is our ongoing series spotlighting business leaders shaping what's next, one conversation at a time.
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