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S3 E6, Balancing AI and humanity, with Sophie Howe, Comtec Translations
Our guest this episode is Sophie Howe, CEO of Comtec Translations. Comtec was established in 1981 by Sophie’s mother, Dr Isabella Moore. The company was sold at one point, but Sophie and her husband later bought it back, and have led it together since 2007. Today, Comtec operates with an internal team of 16 project managers and a global network of around 4,000 linguists, reflecting both the breadth of languages they cover and the depth of subject‑matter expertise required.
Sophie’s route into leadership has been shaped by a long‑standing belief in the value of cultural understanding and human expertise. Comtec provides localisation and translation services across more than 200 languages, working with clients in B2B and B2C sectors, as well as creative, marketing and learning agencies. Sophie believes localisation is about creating an experience that “really resonates and connects with the audience,” going far beyond direct translation to consider cultural nuance and context.
A major theme in our conversation is how Comtec balances purpose and profit in an industry transformed by AI. The company was the first translation business to become B Corp certified, a framework Sophie says aligned naturally with their long‑held values. Even as AI opens opportunities to localise at scale, Sophie is clear that human linguistic and cultural expertise remains central to quality and fairness.
We explore Comtec’s tools such as Pronto (a self‑service machine translation platform) and Clara (a content‑generation tool), and how transparency with clients — showing the difference between AI‑led and human‑led outputs — has become a defining part of their approach.
Two things to take away:
- AI has reshaped the translation sector at extraordinary speed, and Comtec’s human‑centred approach has been essential to navigating that shift.
- Not all languages respond equally well to AI — and guiding clients through those nuances is now a critical part of Comtec’s value.
Visit Comtec at: https://www.comtectranslations.co.uk/
Connect with Sophie at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiehowecomtectranslations/
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By Ned WellsOur guest this episode is Sophie Howe, CEO of Comtec Translations. Comtec was established in 1981 by Sophie’s mother, Dr Isabella Moore. The company was sold at one point, but Sophie and her husband later bought it back, and have led it together since 2007. Today, Comtec operates with an internal team of 16 project managers and a global network of around 4,000 linguists, reflecting both the breadth of languages they cover and the depth of subject‑matter expertise required.
Sophie’s route into leadership has been shaped by a long‑standing belief in the value of cultural understanding and human expertise. Comtec provides localisation and translation services across more than 200 languages, working with clients in B2B and B2C sectors, as well as creative, marketing and learning agencies. Sophie believes localisation is about creating an experience that “really resonates and connects with the audience,” going far beyond direct translation to consider cultural nuance and context.
A major theme in our conversation is how Comtec balances purpose and profit in an industry transformed by AI. The company was the first translation business to become B Corp certified, a framework Sophie says aligned naturally with their long‑held values. Even as AI opens opportunities to localise at scale, Sophie is clear that human linguistic and cultural expertise remains central to quality and fairness.
We explore Comtec’s tools such as Pronto (a self‑service machine translation platform) and Clara (a content‑generation tool), and how transparency with clients — showing the difference between AI‑led and human‑led outputs — has become a defining part of their approach.
Two things to take away:
- AI has reshaped the translation sector at extraordinary speed, and Comtec’s human‑centred approach has been essential to navigating that shift.
- Not all languages respond equally well to AI — and guiding clients through those nuances is now a critical part of Comtec’s value.
Visit Comtec at: https://www.comtectranslations.co.uk/
Connect with Sophie at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiehowecomtectranslations/