Andy Puddicombe

Early life and monastic training: Andy Puddicombe was born on 23 September 1972 in London, England. As a young adult he left the UK to train as a Buddhist monk in Asia, spending about ten years in monastic training that included study in Theravāda and Tibetan lineages; during this period he received traditional instruction and practice in meditation techniques before returning to lay life in the mid-2000s. Transition to teaching and early career: After leaving monastic life, Puddicombe established a private meditation practice and worked as a mindfulness consultant beginning around 2006, adapting traditional meditation language and methods to be more accessible and secular for Western audiences. During this time he partnered with creative executive Richard (Rich) Pierson, combining Puddicombe’s meditation expertise with Pierson’s design and product experience. Founding and growth of Headspace: Puddicombe and Pierson launched Headspace initially as an events company in London in 2010 and then moved its meditations online; the first Headspace mobile app was released in or before January 2012, with Puddicombe’s calm narration becoming a signature of the product. Headspace grew into a large digital health and mindfulness company serving tens of millions of users across many countries and expanded into research-backed digital health offerings. Later role and departure from company leadership: Over the years Puddicombe served as Headspace’s public meditation lead, author and speaker while the company scaled and pursued clinical research partnerships; he stepped back from the company board and exited Headspace alongside co-founder Rich Pierson in 2022, according to public accounts.