People Inspired By Purpose - Purposely Podcast

‘Wild card hire’, balancing legacy and a focus on the future, Sufina Ahmad MBE, Director John Ellerman Foundation Sufina Ahmad MBE joins Purposely to share her story and her role at the John Ellerman Foundation. John Ellerman was a 20th century shipping magnate and was once the richest person in the United Kingdom. When he died, he left his £35 million fortune, (£1.5 billion in today’s terms) to his two children, John and Winifred. It was his son John who, despite his intense shyness and private demeanour, decided that the family would create a legacy and deliver impact through more formalised philanthropy. Following wildly different pursuits to his father, John Jr. was a renowned zoologist specialising in the study of rodents. He put a significant amount of money into trust in 1971, a move aimed at making a difference to society and the environment. John Jr. died two years later however, the funds were made available through two charitable trusts. The trusts did not carry the family name and were administered by the City of London Corporate under the name Moorgate. Fast forward to today and the two trusts have been merged into a single entity - a charitable foundation named the John Ellerman Foundation. The broad themes haven’t changed much from inception but the look and feel of the foundation most definitely has. Rather than being hidden away and private, it is in full view of the public. The Foundation has a website, celebrates its heritage, and favours an open brand of ‘relational philanthropy’ that may not have entirely suited its private founder. Today, the foundation is a charity led by a volunteer trustee board made up of qualified men and women who represent a cross sector of society. On a day-to-day basis the foundation is run by a highly respected charity exponent Sufina Ahmad. Sufina, a young, thoughtful and innovative charity leader is in many ways the antitheses of the shy founder. Instead, she is open and willing to share her journey and that of the foundation. As a Muslim and daughter of Indian immigrants she is fully aware that her selection as Director of a foundation was not predictable. In 2019, a few months prior to the COVID pandemic, Sufina Ahmad beat off competition from three hundred other candidates to land the role of Director of the Foundation. ‘The recruiter described me as a wild card, akin to a wildcard at Wimbledon, based on my race, age and gender. I was fortunate that the trustees were open to first time CEO’s or directors and bringing someone in who had potential rather than the exact same experience in another organisation’ While embracing the Foundation’s heritage Sufina talks about ensuring its relevance and delivering impact through their support of modern-day issues and causes. Despite only being with the Foundation for a short period Sufina has led the development of the new strategy as well as a restructure of the organisation. She is continuing that theme of openness and a willingness to share the foundation’s recent journey and approach. Sufina credits the whole team for its efforts during COVID-19, they all, including the Trustees, played a crucial role in adapting their giving to the significant need at the time of crisis. Sufina’s own leadership through these tough times saw her awarded an MBE. ‘There were different points in various lock downs, where I just had those moments of thinking, are we doing enough? Are we being effective enough? Are we doing the right thing at a time when there is no clear route map that tells you if you are. I look back now. And I think that we were affective during that time’ Sufina is positive about the foundation’s future and her role in it. ‘There are lots of things making me smile right now, a new team and new structure and we are developing and evolving our approach to grant making through the different strategic strands of work. I can’t wait to get really stuck in and seeing where John Ellerman Foundation can go next.’

Brianne West joins Purposely to share her founder story starting Ethique and most recently the Ethique Foundation. Ethique is a for-profit company, driven by purpose. A highly successful beauty and lifestyle brand with products sold in 22 countries and a valuation of over $100 million - a real success story. However, talking with Brianne, it is clear it that profit is not the only metric they use to judge their success. As one of New Zealand’s founding B Corps, the company is living wage accredited, works with cooperatives around the world to source ingredients and donates 20% of profit to charity. Brianne and the Ethique team put even more value on how they impact people and the planet. Brianne loves the products she creates but is very clear that having a positive impact is her primary motivation, ‘I truly believe we can have a healthy, beautiful and awe-inspiring environment, with fairly shared equity amongst all, sustainable economic growth and that no one needs to be left behind. We just need to do things a little differently.’ Founded in 2012 from Brianne’s kitchen table, Ethique, initially named Sorbet, was the result of her entrepreneurial curiosity, an understanding of science plus learnings from some failed start-ups… including a Pet Detective Business she set up as a child. Originally from the Isle of Man in the UK, Brianne and her family migrated to New Zealand in the mid-nineties. Brianne talks about a happy childhood and loving parents although things just didn’t click for her at school, ‘I was good at doing just enough to get by’ pointing to her dislike of maths, a subject she despised, but something that made more sense to her later in life. Fast forward to her 20’s and while she was studying towards a science degree, Brianne started to focus on particular issues, important issues that she could solve that might also present a business opportunity. She had a real focus on plastic and the damage it was causing to the environment. The other was the significant amounts of water found in our bathrooms in the likes of shampoo, conditioners, moisturisers, household cleaners and cosmetics, which are usually 60-95% water. Ethique was born and Brianne started to think about the possibility of making these products solid and simply sending the active ingredients direct to consumers, removing the plastic containers. ‘My first solid products were formulated in my kitchen, along with the idea of helping eliminate plastic from the global beauty industry. The overarching goal is to put a bar in every shower and to change consumers' behaviour’. ‍ Brianne is best known for being a successful ‘for purpose entrepreneur’ , however, she also describes herself as an, ‘animal-obsessed, science-loving scuba diver with a love for exploring slightly unusual places’.  Brianne is also straight talking, willing to share her time and resources and is committed to helping other entrepreneurs who share the same values. A promise she has delivered on in is the formation of the Ethique charitable Foundation, which will  make donations on behalf of the company to organisations that make a positive and lasting difference to people and the planet. Over the next four years the Ethique Foundation aims to donate $10 million to support regenerative business practices and ‘ help those with outstanding, scalable ideas create the change we need’.  A key part of the strategy is the launch of the Ethique Fellowship, it will support conservation and rewilding efforts and will work with organisations to support biodiversity and champion those defending indigenous peoples rights. Since its beginnings in 2012, the company has donated at least 2% of annual sales to non-profit organisations protecting animal welfare, and biodiversity, and promoting conservation and human rights around the globe. Ethique is proof that this is possible.

Kelvyn Eglinton joins Purposely to share his leadership journey, straddling sport and community sectors alongside corporate and government. Kelvyn thrives in pressure situations, adept at sensitively working with groups of people who do not necessarily share the same views and carefully managing high stake situations. Kelvyn points to his ability to empathise with other people's perspectives. He works hard to truly listen to their side of the story, the fears they may have in any given situation.  He has significant experience working through conflict to find resolution for business and social outcomes. A unique capability to navigate complex governance, management and political relationships and retain stakeholders at the table progressing on issues. Kelvyn has had a wide-ranging career that has included international mining, local government, urban growth strategy, central government roles and the sport industry provide a platform to showcase these skills. ​We explore Kelvyn's approach to life and how his upbringing helped shape who he is today. He lives by his Dad's advice,  "If you can shake hands and laugh with the workers and the Mayor in the same day, you will do well in this world." We go deep into his current role as CEO of Momentum Waikato, co-ordinating generous donors with transformative projects. Kelvyn has played an instrumental role in raising the funds for a new theatre project in Hamilton. Beyond just raising the funds, more than $80 million, he has coordinated all stakeholders in the project to ensure that everyone is in agreement with the plans and the whole community will benefit. Before returning to NZ, Kelvyn was the Chief of Staff in the Jakarta office for Newmont Mining Corporation and oversaw the renegotiation of the contract of work with the Government of Indonesia and the social responsibility programmes of the operation on Sumbawa Island and North Sulawesi. For six years Kelvyn was based in Perth as Asia Pacific Director for External Affairs overseeing government, communications, and development programmes across operations in five countries and prior to that was the External Affairs Manager for Newmont Waihi Gold in NZ. Kelvyn is a Registered Independent Commissioner for RMA hearings alongside his roles on social performance panels for resource companies. He sits on the Boards the Waipa Communities Facilities Trust, Surf Lifesaving NZ and is a Trustee for the NZ Surf Lifesaving Foundation and Hospice Waikato.

John O'Brien MBE is founder of Anthropy a gathering of leaders planned taking place at The Eden Project, UK. Inspired to act and counter the negativity that exists post COVID John will open ‘the UK Davos’ on Wednesday 2 November 2022. “A unique moment in time, to change the national narrative, consider the qualities we live by and build a positive, equitable, sustainable, successful future.” Anthropy will feature 300 speakers, 1200 participants attending 160+ sessions over 3 days across 12 stages and John and the team believe that it will provide a ‘launch pad for change’. To find out more visit anthropy.live John O'Brien joins Purposely Podcast to share his career story from life as a soldier, working for the current King of Britain to life as an entrepreneur focused on doing good. John has led the way 'beyond CSR' to a more impactful, meaningful alternative for businesses wanting to make a positive difference. He did this as a best-selling author, leader and advisor, helping businesses to put purpose at the centre of their action. Prior to John's intervention many businesses in the UK had corporate responsibility as a peripheral activity, offsetting their negative impact. John is an expert in helping individuals and organisations to find their purpose. He wrote “The Power of Purpose”, which combines experience with insights around ethical purpose in business from interviews with over sixty renowned leaders. As part of his journey John worked hard to define his own purpose; “Often, when you talk to people about purpose you will get a bland statement along the lines of 'I want to make the world a better place', and there is not anything wrong with that, but it doesn't necessarily give guidance to what you want to do or provide meaning. Realising this fact helped me to find my own purpose and want to help people and companies to find their purpose - so helping others find meaning”. Alongside his business advisory work, he has supported many social impact and charitable initiatives and created several philanthropic initiatives across the UK himself. He has a portfolio of interests including leading a consortium of Omnicom agencies in EMEA, part time, whilst using his remaining capacity on writing books on ethical purpose and communications and other philanthropic activities. John is a former British Infantry Officer and graduate of The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, who retired as a Captain after ten years in various roles around the world. Leaving the Army, he spent seven years creating his own ethical purpose agency and a decade before that as director of The Prince of Wales’s Business in the Community initiative. There, alongside various UK responsibilities, he created programmes covering twenty countries. John is a philanthropist in his own right having founded the Jubilee Hour, recognised by the UK government as the largest mobilisation of volunteering since World War 2, with over 2 million participants. He also co-founded the Remember WW1 volunteering campaign, and is supporter of a variety of UK charities. John has received numerous awards in his career and was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of The British Empire in Her Majesty The Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours list for various charitable endeavours in the UK and overseas. John is based between his London office and his home in Shropshire.

David Downs joins Purposely to share his story. David is an optimist, driven by purpose who is dedicated to serving others. Nominated for 'New Zealander of the Year' he is the ultimate multi-tasker and over achiever.  David is a cancer survivor who overcame the odds to beat a form of blood cancer that had affected his lymphatic system. A terminal prognosis from his doctor had given him only a year to live, however, ‘a series of lucky breaks’ gave him access to a drug trial in the USA. The treatment, revolutionary CAR T-cell therapy, saved his life . David has always talked freely about his cancer and wrote a column in a newspaper sharing details of his journey. It was this publicity that helped him to access the life-saving drug trial. He has written a book on his cancer (A Mild Touch of the Cancer - now a documentary film) and he spends many hours supporting and advocating for people with the disease. We look back at the start of his career and how his Irish roots played a fundamental role in shaping his beliefs and values, as well as his career. Humour and performing played a significant role in his household growing up, he starting out as a comedian, then actor and eventually opened his own venue, The Comedy Club in Auckland. David is now CEO of The New Zealand Story, an ambitious government-funded organisation marketing New Zealand to the world. Previously, David was a General Manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) for 10 years, working with the Technology sector to help fast growing tech companies grow internationally.  At the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown, David co-founded sosbusiness.nz - a not-for-profit initiative to help bars, cafes and other small businesses sell vouchers. It quickly became a huge hit and to date has sold over $2 million in vouchers for over 2500 small businesses. All the money goes to the businesses. Based on that experience, he published a book about the innovation that happened during Covid-19 in New Zealand, ’Silver Linings’, published by Penguin Random House. David studied at Massey University, the University of Auckland and Stanford University, and regularly presents and gives talks on his cancer journey and on the power of positive thinking and optimism.

Linn Araboglos joins Purposely to share her career journey spanning corporate, Government and charity sectors. Linn found her calling in the middle of the COVID pandemic becoming the leader of one of twelve of the largest grant making charities in New Zealand. Chief Executive of the Wellington Community Fund is a role Linn really wanted, partly because of where she grew up. She had also experienced the joy of philanthropy as interim Head of the Vodafone Foundation and wanted more. Linn started her role when New Zealand was in that first COVID lockdown, an online welcome from her trustees and team kicked off her first day in the job. Undoubtedly a tough time to start in a leadership role, particularly, as there was a lot of fear across both the New Zealand and global charity sectors. Charities weren’t sure if they were going to survive themselves let alone be able to respond to the significant level of need out there. Funding was crucial and Linn and her team a crucial role to play. ‘We actually took the opportunity to change things and turn everything on its head. (as a funder) We went from having complex criteria for applications and deadlines for funding rounds to no deadlines and a simple process. Twelve criteria down to three very simple criteria that were really about meeting community need, plus the self-determination and community aspirations.’ Their primary purpose is granting, a strategic funder focused on delivering equity and inclusion for communities across the Wellington region. As a ‘local’ Linn is personally invested in seeing the region and its people and communities thrive. Linn has lived her whole life in Wellington. This includes where she went to University. She secured a Batchelor’s Degree in Psychology and Criminology degree at Victoria University and she was the first member of my family to ever go to university. ‘it was a bit of a big deal for me and my family’. Completing her studies she was unsure of what she wanted to do next, she describes stumbling into the corporate sector, a role in insurance working as a claims manager. Working in a corporate environment was a new experience for her, however, starting in a call centre suited her. ‘It seems like a world away from where I am now but the more I heard about people’s circumstances, trauma’s and challenges the more I wanted to help’ This experience led Linn to a role in Government (for almost two decades), initially as a project manager and then as Director, Ministry of Youth Development, a role she had for 3 years. ‘I was sitting in a building looking out at the Beehive, where our government is housed, and I remember staring at the building and thinking that I really wanted to contribute to a lot of the good work that the government were doing. I guess I made a values based decision. I ended up working there for, gosh, 17 odd years, before making the leap to the philanthropic sector’. In addition to her professional career and new leadership role she is mother to three children who she describes as ‘proud of what I do, although now life is back to some sort of normality they complain I am at the office a lot’. A significant part of Linn’s career has been driven by her passion to improve the lives of people, those most vulnerable and particularly children and young people. Linn has extensive experience working with community organisations, funding partners, governance boards and Ministers and she looking forward to putting this experience to good work to help her community in the future.

Gill Whelan joins Purposely to share her story as the inaugural Head of fashion label DECJUBA’s charitable foundation. Gill swapped corporate sales for a career focused on purpose, combining skills learnt from business and experience with the charity ‘St Kilda Mums’ in her new role, leading a corporate foundation. DECJUBA is a private company and was bought by former Cotton On founder Tania Austin in 2008. A women and girls apparel brand with 140 stores across Australia and New Zealand it has gone from strength to strength. Tania had envisaged setting up a foundation when the time was right. Formally established in 2021, the motivation to start a foundation was partly driven to provide some structure and strategy to their existing charitable giving. Gill Whelan joined as inaugural General Manager of the foundation in July 2022. DECJUBA had been a supporter of the charity St Kilda Mums, and this is where Tania got to know Gill. Gill impressed as someone with knowledge and passion for the charity sector as well as a long-standing love for fashion. Leaving St Kilda Mums was not an easy decision for Gill, she had been with them for over a decade and had grown close to their clients, staff, and supporters. Established in 2009, St Kilda Mums, based in Melbourne Australia, raise funds, and redistribute pre-loved items to children to ensure a safe start to life. Instead of being discarded, prams, cots, clothes, and essential items are donated to St Kilda Mums to then be rehomed to families in need. Gill’s gateway into the charity sector was through volunteering, she had spent a ‘fun’ five years living in New York with her family and had arrived back in Melbourne Australia at a ‘bit of a loose end’ but determined to re-engage with her community and make use of the spare time she had. She started volunteering at St Kilda Mums, performing several roles over the first few years but ended up falling in love with the organisation. Inspired by the founder and CEO Jessica Macpherson (a former guest of Purposely), ‘she was an incredibly inspiring and ambitious woman, she can draw people in and take them on a journey. it was a fantastic organisation to be involved with and ultimately provided me with opportunities in terms of my career.’ Gill outlines the DECJUBA Foundation’s ambitious goal to positively impact 25 million lives by 2025. ‘It's wonderful to have that big ambition, we're really committed to transforming lives and helping those in need and ultimately creating real sustainable change.’ DECJUBA, like other brands trading in the ‘fast fashion category’ is under pressure to lessen their impact on the environment and ensure sustainable practices in everything they do, from sourcing materials to the manufacturing process, and how they deal with waste. There is also pressure on brands to do the right thing by their employees and suppliers to ensure there is no exploitation. This pressure is coming from customers who want to buy sustainable fashion items and who will not buy from a brand if they exploit workers. Employees are also only willing to work for companies who are focused on positive world impact. Gill is very aware of this, and she talks about their approach to sustainability. ‘We don't shy away from the fact that we're a fast fashion brand and that has environmental impact. We're sort of fronting up to that as much as we can and trying to go even further than I guess is expected of us and the foundation goes hand in hand with that’ Gill is looking forward to growing and scaling the work of the foundation and ensuring it has a positive and lasting difference on people’s lives as well as the environment. ‘at the moment it is just me although I have loads of support from all parts of the business to help the foundation’ We are excited to see where Gill will take the foundation and how she will use her experience to help shape the direction of the foundation as well as the company. You can find Gill on Instagram @gill_at_work

Charlie Bresler joins Purposely to share his story as co-founder of the charity, The Life You Can Save. In 2013 Charlie started the charity with Peter Singer, widely recognized as one of the world’s most influential contemporary philosophers. He wanted to advance the ideas that Peter layed out in his 2009 book, The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty. In it, Peter argues that if we can provide immense benefit to someone at minimal cost to ourselves, we should absolutely do so. Charlie was inspired by the book and reached out, offering to help to bring his skills in business, online marketing and initial seed funding to super charge the mission.  Charlie and his wife, Diana, provided funding for The Life You Can Save to become a registered 501c3 charity, and Charlie began serving as the organization’s non-salaried Executive Director. Their overall vision is to create a world where everyone has an opportunity to build a better life and where there’s no suffering or death due to extreme poverty. The charity’s mission to make ‘smart giving simple’  continues today. They curate a group of nonprofits online that save or improve the most lives per dollar. It helps donors to access and give to good causes with the knowledge that each dollar will have a big impact. ‘We can, each of us, do our part in ending extreme poverty. But we won’t reach our goal unless many more contribute to the effort.’ While Charlie is no longer leading the organisation on a day to day basis he is still involved as a donor and as an active ambassador and spokesperson. A former professional tennis coach and psychologist Charlie earnt a  PhD in Social and Clinical Psychology from Clark University, he became Director of Behavioural Medicine for The California School of Professional Psychology, Fresno (CSPP-F), where he was a full-time professor and founder of a teaching clinic for treating anxiety & stress disorders.

James Palmer joins Purposely Podcast to share his founder story starting Community Finance and Positive Capital. James founded Community Finance in 2019 on a mission to significantly grow the community housing sector.  He formed Positive Capital in 2021 to provide an investment vehicle to help scale their mission. ‘seventy percent of renters in New Zealand require financial support from the State, billions spent propping up the low-income housing industry each year’. Currently a safe, warm affordable home is out of reach for many in New Zealand. Community Finance connects investors and organisations who have the means and desire to help make that dream a reality. ‘Our aim was to build a bridge between philanthropists, Government, and impact investors to help solve the housing crisis affecting low-income families’ Just getting started James and his team have already raised over $40 million and on target to deliver 118 new affordable quality homes to marginalised and low-income New Zealanders. James has a strongly held belief that finance can be a force for good, he also has a passion for impact investment and believes it can play a vital role in solving social and environmental issues working alongside Governments, charities, and foundations. James was previously Chief Executive of Christian Savings, New Zealand’s only charity that is also a licensed non-bank deposit taker, managing almost $250m. Prior to that he was a commercial lawyer, following in his father’s footsteps he made the difficult decision to walk away from the family firm and launch a career in finance. ‘Delivering that message to my father was tough, although he was a better lawyer than me and I knew that I wanted to do something else. I had a strong desire to be part of a purpose driven business that’s focus was to make a positive and lasting difference to people’s live at scale’ James is the 2021 INFINZ University of Auckland Business School Emerging Leader.

Afam Onyema joins Purposely to share his founder story starting the GEANCO Foundation. Afam is a high achiever on a mission, a graduate of both Harvard and Stanford Universities, he is also the co founder and CEO of a charitable foundation helping to transform lives in Africa. Headquartered in Los Angeles it receives support from Hollywood stars including Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt and David Oyelowo to name just a few. Formed in 2005, the GEANCO Foundation’s mission is to save and transform lives in Nigeria. The charity's team perform complex surgical missions and deliver innovative programmes. To date the organisation has led an initiative to fight anemia and built modern maternity clinics to help vulnerable pregnant women deliver healthy babies. We dive into the charity's founding story and how Afam, inspired by his father, Dr. Godwin Onyema, set up the American Foundation to raise vital funds with the hope of having more of an impact as well a legacy. Afam was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1979. He graduated from Harvard University and worked for Hill & Knowlton, a global public relations firm. Afam entered Stanford Law School in September 2004. During his time there, he served as Vice President of the Black Law Students’ Association and a two-time Public Interest Fellow. In January 2006, Afam traveled to Ghana as part of the law school’s International Community Law Clinic. On graduating from Stanford Law School, Afam had a number of lucrative job offers, however he turned them down in order to help co-found the Foundation. GEANCO’s supporters include, among many others, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Craig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daisy Ridley, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Rock, Forest Whitaker, Djimon Hounsou, Jimmy Kimmel, Chris Rock, David Oyelowo, Bryan Cranston, Steven Soderberg, Whoopi Goldberg, civil rights legend Rev. Jesse Jackson, United Airlines, Google, Disney, The Oscars, Showtime Networks and Netflix. In 2020, Afam was named one of the Top Ten Most Influential Africans in the Diaspora.