People Inspired By Purpose - Purposely Podcast

Professor Ioannis Ioannou joins Purposely to share his thoughts on ESG and sustainability. Ioannis is respected and renowned strategy scholar whose research focuses on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Purposely caught up with Ioannis while he was in on sabbatical in Miami and we covered a wide range of topics. Ioannis's focuses on how modern business contributes towards building a sustainable future and his academic work evolves around two main themes, including; understanding how the broader investment community perceives, evaluates and reacts to corporate engagement with, and integration of, environmental and social issues into strategy. Also, understanding the multiple and multilevel factors that may affect the corporate decision to adopt environmentally and socially responsible strategies. Ioannis regularly publishes in top-tier peer-reviewed academic journals regularly winning awards for his leading and thought provoking work. In 2016 he was awarded the ARCS Emerging Sustainability Scholar Award; an award that recognises a scholar in the area of corporate sustainability. He is also very active on social media and a frequent contributor to articles in the popular and managerial press including outlets such as the Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian, BBC, Le Monde, and Forbes. In further recognition of his impactful work, Ioannis has been shortlisted for the Future Thinker Award of Thinkers50, the first-ever global ranking of management thinkers whose mission is to recognize ideas that have the power to change the world. Dr Ioannou’s has also been recognized by various rankings as one of the top social media influencers around the world for issues of responsible business and sustainability. Ioannis graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, majoring in Economics and Mathematics and holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University and the Harvard Business School. He joined London Business School in 2009 as an Assistant Professor and he is currently an Associate Professor with tenure. He has taught on the MBA and EMBA Core Strategy courses at LBS, and several other degree programs such as the Masters in Finance degree, the Emerging Leaders Program and other senior executive programs, including the Senior Executive Programme (SEP). He is a regular contributor to multiple LBS executive education programmes including modules on Responsible Business and Sustainability. Dr Ioannou has presented his research at many academic conferences, and universities around the world, and also, he is very often invited to deliver keynote speeches on issues of responsible management and sustainability at numerous high-profile events and conferences globally. He is a member of the UK Network Rail’s External Transparency Challenge Panel and the Advisory Board of Ethical Corporation. Dr Ioannou is also a member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network with expertise in the area of Sustainable Development.

Hannah Bellamy joins Purposely to share her leadership story with global aid organisation charity: water. 77 million people live without clean water. Nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide. The majority live in isolated rural areas and spend hours every day walking to collect water for their family. Not only does walking for water keep children out of school or take up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick. Hannah and her team know that access to clean water is vital and means education, income and health - especially for women and kids Hannah outlines their vision to create a world where everyone has clean, safe drinking water. Incredibly they have funded clean water for 15 million people since inception in 2006 Globally revered, Charity: water has been recognised for their innovative, transparent, impactful approach by Fast Company, Forbes, and the New York Times among others. In 2019 Hannah brought the charity's model to the UK and Europe, she launched subscription giving, and forged partnerships with fashion, retail, and other brands to catalyse change. We touch on the charities origin story, with founder Scott Harrison transitioning from a decade long career as a New York City club promoter to running a charity helping millions. From 2004, Harrison committed two years of his life to the poor and marginalized through volunteer service in Liberia with Mercy Ships. He recognized that problems surrounding education, safety, and health may trace back to a lack of clean water and basic sanitation systems. Originally from Dorset, Hannah Bellamy has lived all over England and in Scotland, Norway, Alaska, Abu Dhabi, India, and Texas. Her degree in English and American Literature launched her career in publishing, but she transitioned into corporate responsibility and then the nonprofit world. Prior to charity: water Hannah was the founding CEO of United Way UK. In this episode we explore her purpose led work journey and also explore how she navigated the pandemic and adapted the way she worked. You will also hear how she believes in the power of mentoring, both to help motivate her and how she mentors women through FemMentored, and is an advisor for Good Brains for Good People.

Alecia Hancock joins Purposely Podcast to share her founder story with Hancock Creative. A former fashion journalist and editor, Alecia is now a celebrated businesswoman and entrepreneur who has a passion for helping charities, non-profits and for purpose businesses shine a light on the causes they support. Alecia is a woman on a mission, an incredibly driven individual who is willing to take risks to deliver value to others. Her determination is evident in this episode as she describes ‘keeping on, keeping on’ through some tough times, refusing to be beaten by the pandemic or by her own health issues. Alecia’s mission is to high-light worthwhile causes around the world by providing accessible online education for cause based organisations. Alecia founded Hancock Creative in 2010, initially focused on providing small business a range of creative services. The business Alecia runs today is very different to that early vision. Hancock Creative now focuses on worthwhile global causes by providing accessible education to not for profits and socially-motivated organisations, ‘We help them tell their stories in today’s digital world’. Her education seminars and events aptly named change the world help cause-based organisations tell their story.  They predominately teach causes to use social media to fuel their growth. Alecia describes social media as ‘the most powerful tool that exists today to reach out to an audience and get them to take action – with little or no money spent’. Hancock Creative also delivers impactful content through a podcast and global training events While Alecia and her team are based in Perth Western Australia their reach is global and they regularly work with clients across North America, the UK and the rest of Australasia

Talitha Nelson joins Purposely Podcast to share her leadership story as CEO of the Gloucestershire Community Foundation. Talitha describes the enormity of the challenge faced by people in the UK in the early stages of the pandemic and how her foundation and the 46 other community foundations across the UK played an instrumental role in getting crucial support and aid to people in need. Talitha talks about surviving and thriving as a leader during this time and how the pandemic brought people, businesses, funders and charities together to fight a common enemy and serve the needs of the community. Talitha believes this experience will change the face of the sector in the future, from silo thinking  to collaboration. So what is a community foundation, it is a ‘tax-exempt, nonprofit, publicly supported philanthropic organization with the long term goal of building permanent, named funds, for the broad-based public benefit of the residents in a given area.’ A brief history, started in North America… Community foundations in the United States boomed in the 1920s as the concept spread, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. By the end of the 1920s Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Rhode Island, Buffalo and dozens more American cities all had their own community foundations. In the 1930s community foundations faced a difficult period of decline during the Great Depression, when resources were scarce and the banking system was in difficulty and disrepute. In 1931 the first Donor Advised Fund was established by a community foundation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Talitha has developed a real passion for community foundations, although you will hear how she started her career in retail, 8 years working at fashion legend Karen Millen, ‘This set me up for a life of success in business, working with founders Karen & Kevin, a true iconic British premium brand’ Talitha has also worked in senior roles in the hospitality sector, owning her own hotel at one until she discover the charity sector and what she describes as ‘A truly fulfilling role as the CEO of the Gloucestershire Community Foundation, where we bring people who care together with the most disadvantaged within our community, influencing and driving change for those who really need it'

Sarah Page joins Purposely Podcast to share her founder story starting the Kindness Collective Foundation (KCF). It began with Sarah bringing together a small group of people wanting to do good in the community, their vision to help build a kinder New Zealand.  The collective is now a registered charity with a network of over 10,000 people including active donors, volunteers, brands and businesses. Described by Sarah as ‘quite simply a match-making service’, matching those in need with those who have more to share. They make it easy for people, brands and businesses to help kiwis in need. They work with schools, early childhood education centres, social services, community groups and other charities to donate time, tools, resources and money. KCF point to the poverty and family violence statistics that continue to climb in New Zealand. 1 in 5 children experience hardship, and at least 33% of New Zealanders experience some form of food insecurity. Sarah believes in the power of communities helping each other to offer creative resource solutions to the many problems families face in society. Before the Kindness Collective, Sarah worked in Marketing and PR for many years within hospitality, music industries and corporate event management. Working with bars, nightclubs and restaurant groups with their marketing, music, events and PR strategies. Sarah started the Kindness Collective in 2014 with a mobile food bank operation delivering food to a local Women’s Refuge group and has grown the charity to what it is now. Sarah has big plans for the Kindness Collective to impact the lives of as many people as possible in Aotearoa.

Former Green Party MP Barry Coates joins Purposely Podcast to share his founder story with Mindful Money. Mindful Money is a charitable social enterprise that aims to make investment a force for good. They aim to switch funding away from pollution and exploitation, and instead to massively increase funding for sustainability and the transition to a low emissions economy. Founded in 2018 the free platform https://mindfulmoney.nz/enables members of the public to find out what is in their KiwiSaver or investment fund and find an ethical fund that fits their values and criteria.  Mindful Money also works with fund managers and the finance sector to raise standards for ethical/responsible/ESG investing and impact investment. They advocate for a legal and policy framework that will enable New Zealand to transition towards a sustainable finance system. Barry lived and worked overseas for many years, gaining a Masters in Management from Yale University, and experience in corporate strategy, fair trade, climate change and sustainability. When he returned to New Zealand he was Executive Director of Oxfam Aotearoa, initiator of a sustainability programme at University of Auckland and a Green Party list MP. Barry has been a member of the Government’s Trade for All Advisory Board and Technical Working Group of the Aotearoa Circle’s Sustainable Finance Forum, and he is a Board member of 350 Aotearoa. Barry was awarded the Sustainable Business Network’s Sustainability Champion in 2016. Barry is highly respected and an expert on a wide range of sustainability issues. He lives a low impact life and leading the way for others to do the same. He has been a frequent and compelling face in the media and amongst other topics he has highlighted the impact of climate change on vulnerable people and the measures that the New Zealand Government and businesses must do to stop polluting.

Dan Corry, CEO of London based New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) joined Purposely Podcast to share his leadership story.  NPC is a successful and respected charity think tank, launched 20 years ago by partners of Goldman Sachs. They wanted to shake up and disrupt the sector by focusing on impact measurement and accountability grading. Dan became Chief Executive of NPC in 2011 following a variety of posts in public policy and economics, ‘I feel like everything I did prior was preparing me to be CEO of NPC’. Dan was Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit and Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2007-2010). The 2008 global financial crisis brought about a tumultuous time for the economy, Dan played a crucial financial advisory role in helping the government survive the crisis. During the episode you will hear how ‘late nights and difficult decisions’ played a role in turning things around. Dan has been Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Treasury and has worked as a special adviser to the Secretary of State in the Education Department. He was a Director in the Economics segment of FTI Consulting and ran the New Local Government Network, voted Think Tank of the Year in 2004. Dan is a member of the Early Action Taskforce, which helps make the case for a shift in priorities away from coping with the consequences of social problems towards work that prevents them arising. He is a member of the Advisory Boards for Big Society Capital, Impetus–PEF, and the Centre for Public Scrutiny, as well as a member of the Charity Tax Commission. He is a trustee of St Mungo’s, 19 Princelet Street and of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and a former member of the Research Committee of the ESRC and of the Greater Manchester Economic Advisory Panel.

Paul Ramsbottom OBE joins Purposely Podcast to share his leadership story. We also touched on how he got his name and what led him to be awarded an Officer of the British Empire.  Paul is CEO of the Wolfson Foundation and has been volunteer founder Chairman of Savannah Education Trust for almost two decades. We discuss the incredible contrast between the two organisations, one a large charitable foundation donating millions of pounds to good causes annually and the other a small effective charity saving young lives in West Africa on a limited annual budget of just over £200k. Paul is passionate about both organisations and wearing two hats , as a funder and fundraiser, has added to his knowledge and ability to  understand the struggle smaller charities have fund their services. Established in 1955 Wolfson Foundation has now passed over £1 billion milestone in terms of grants awarded (over £2 billion in today’s money). The funds have gone to support and promote thousands of remarkable projects across virtually every community in the UK – and within education, science, medicine, heritage, humanities, the arts and health and disability. Paul also shares the fascinating story of the Wolfson family where their success in commerce led them to an impressive philanthropy journey. Paul attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford where he gained a First in modern history. Paul Ramsbottom is Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation and its sister charity, the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust. Paul takes a wider interest in issues relating to philanthropy in the UK as a speaker and writer. He has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in History from the University of Oxford. Outside of philanthropy, he has an interest in international development which includes founding the Savannah Education Trust - a charity which works in West Africa – and sitting on the Board of Mercy Ships UK. His hometown university, the University of Bedfordshire, awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2013. In January 2020 he was awarded an OBE for services to charity.

Robert Gardner joins Purposely Podcast to share his fascinating story, from a childhood in inflation ravaged Argentina to disrupting the pension industry through his successful start-up ‘Redington’. Rob is currently Director of Investment at St. James’s Place Wealth Management, a highly respected visionary, Rob is leading a responsible investment revolution in wealth management. Rob is responsible for planning, growing and protecting the wealth of over c850,000 clients in the UK and Asia. St. James’s Place manages over c£150 billon of client funds, Rob’s main goal is to ensure that these clients have enough money to live a long and prosperous life, at the same time using this money to be a force for good as delivering financial wellbeing in a‘world worth living in.’ Rob started his career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank working in foreign exchange. Rob then moved to Merrill Lynch where he helped pioneer a way for pension funds to manage their long-term interest rates and inflation risks. In 2006 he resigned to become an entrepreneur and co-founded Redington, “we wanted to do for pensions what Jamie Oliver did for school food”. Redington today is one of the largest investment consultants in the UK, employing over 200 employees in London, Bristol and Beijing. While Rob no longer works at Redington but remains a shareholder in that business. During his time at Redington, Rob also co-founded a charity RedSTART focused on delivering financial education to children across the UK especially those who need it most. Rob talks about his personal commitment to RedSTART’s mission and how they plan to play a key role ‘ in planting the seed for the financial security for young people across the UK. I normally ask my guests about organisational mission but it struck me that you have your own personal mission? ‘Yes that’s right, over the last few years I have used a concept called Ikigai (Japanese philosophy) to decide my personal mission, it mapped what I love doing, what I think I'm good at, what will enable me to make an impact paired with what the world needs. Ideally something I can get paid for and suits my skills - the epicentre of that is financial well being in a world worth living in. So if you look at my career and the things I do, they basically fall under either helping to create financial wellbeing or helping towards ensuring a world worth living in.’ You spent some of your childhood in Argentina? ‘ Yes, my parents were teachers and moved there to take up roles at the end of 1985 when I was seven years old. One of the interesting things about Argentina in that period is that inflation was running at over 30% a month. So imagine being paid and then at the end of the month your spending power is 30% less than it was the month prior. Incredibly prices would change every day and Mum and Dad would get paid a wad of cash and we would then go and do the monthly shop. In the evening, we drove to this house, I don't know if you've ever watched a show called Narcos, this was a scary house big metal bars on the windows and Dobermans in the garden and my dad and one of the other members of staff would go up to change their money into US dollars. Then that night we’d head home with our US dollars and hide them typically in the old 35 millimetre film canisters and hide them around the house. So remember, I'm seven years old, my sister's five, and this is normal and I why are we doing that?! Well, there are two reasons, one was inflation and the second thing is that people didn't trust putting their money in banks.’

Fellow Kiwi Sam Grice joins Purposely Podcast to share his founder story with Guardian Angel. Guardian Angel is categorised as a ‘death tech for good’ start-up focused on reducing the stress in the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death by enabling people to coordinate support from family and friends - simplifying the bereavement process. Guardian Angel was founded in 2017 following the unexpected death of Sam’s mother in a road accident. Having been personally exposed to the end-of-life industry, the lack of digital efficiency became evident as he and his family struggled to coordinate the tasks and sudden influx of communications. Sam said, “The support we received from well-meaning family and friends after mum’s accident was amazing. However, managing that support together with organising a funeral and a wake proved immensely difficult during one of the most stressful periods of my life. And I’m not alone. Most of us have or will experience the death of a loved one and face the same issues that I did. Can you give some examples of what Guardian Angel provides? ‘The platform includes a ‘Key times’ function which informs people when they can visit and when the family would like to be alone. The ‘To-Do list’ allows the management of all tasks and ask friends for help. The user can share funeral information privately and it also staggers support, like flower deliveries, so they do not all arrive at once. These are just some of the features it provides. Tell us more about your founder journey? ‘A lot of founder led businesses are linked or triggered by personal events – an ‘aha’ moment following a life experience and the thought ‘Can I improve this and make it better?’. Unfortunately, mine was linked to the death of my mother who was involved in a car accident. I was 27 and my siblings were young as was my mom who was only 60, she wasn’t prepared to leave us, and we had a lot of admin and things to sort.’ ‘We found out how expensive and full of jargon the process was and we didn't know what was going on and there was no one really guiding us.  There’s often no single point of reference and if you're speaking to a lawyer or your insurance broker and a funeral director and it feels fragmented and inefficient. It inspired my idea to help people plan but also manage the chaos that's left behind. If someone isn't prepared, then so often the family doesn't know what to do.’ ‘We've helped over 100,000 people plan for a better managed death and that's a huge accomplishment.  A positive outcome from something that was quite tragic for both myself and my family.’ https://guardianangel.network/