Kate Markey joined Purposely to share her career journey, becoming one of the most talented and respected leaders in the UK charity sector. As CEO of the London Community Foundation (LCF) she has led the philanthropic response to two major disasters.  Kate led the foundation in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire and through COVID-19, playing a key role in raising and deploying millions of pounds of vital funds, ‘I am so proud of our response and our ability to get donated money to the right causes and people’. We explore Kate's career path and her motivation for swapping journalism for leadership roles, those in the ‘for purpose’ sector. Kate cites her parents as an inspiration, in particular her late mother as a reason why she dedicated her professional life to purpose. ‘I was brought up with a real sense that how I choose to live life will have a positive impact on society’ Kate’s mother had experienced kidney failure as a teenager, but despite the health challenges, she went on to be a parent and have a successful teaching career, eventually becoming a deputy head teacher. ‘The example my mother set made it very clear that we are put on this earth to make a difference’ Kate developed a love for storytelling and the power it has to motivate people to act. A love she developed during her early career as a journalist. As editor of her university newspaper and then as editor of The Big Issue she realised the power it had to influence people to do good. Born in Liverpool Kate went to her home university so that she would be close to her home and her mother. Studying a Bachelor of Arts in communication Kate went on to mainstream journalism and then a career as a social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader. Kate travelled, spending a year living in Venezuela and then developed a love for London. This would see her eventually taking on the role of CEO of the Cities Community Foundation. Kate was first choice for the role based on her unique skills and experience. ‘What excited me about the foundation is the unique role it plays. We are not like traditional foundations, we have an entrepreneurial and ‘fleet of foot’ approach to making a difference’ As we look to the future Kate is keen to understand more about giving in the capital. Specifically how much is donated by Londoners but ends up leaving the city, either by individuals or businesses versus how much stays in the capital to do good. Kate pays tribute to her team and points to their brilliance as the main reason for her success as a leader. ‘I really believe in my team, they have dealt extremely well with every challenge thrown their way in a professional way and with empathy’. LCF is one of 47 community foundations in the UK. Combined they have an endowment of £500 million, they perform the role of fundraiser and grant maker. Originally a North American phenomenon Community Foundations are connectors between local philanthropy and community needs and opportunities. Many convene impactful projects and all are building long-term, reliable funding streams for their local communities by investing and growing the gifts they receive.

Welcoming Maria Ramsay to Purposely to share her career journey from nurse to non-profit leader. Maria shares her innovative approach to philanthropy and the evolution of the Toi Foundation under her leadership. Maria joined the Toi Foundation in 2006, appointed as manager to what was known as the TSB Community Trust. The organisation had evolved from the community bank as one of 12 trusts formed in the 1980's with the aim of supporting communities.  Like many trusts at the time, Toi relied on a transactional and passive approach to grant making. They were often characterised by invisible grant committees approving funding applications behind closed doors, with a simple letter to the unsuccessful applicants.    'This organisation has evolved so much, we've gone from two employees to sixteen, we now have a huge connection into our community that just didn't exist previously. We didn't have very strong relationships with Maori and local iwi, mainly because we just weren't engaging - we do now.'   'While we still fund in a traditional 'mail box' philanthropy way by supporting small grassroots organisations across the region we have evolved and we now do a lot more strategic grant making'.   The change in approach followed an assessment of needs that existed across the region, with a bigger focus on helping people on the margins of society. Maria and the Board hired an external company to carry out some independent research and this lay the foundation for a new strategy and a new way of working. One that was much more focused on working with the community rather than just delivering grants in a passive removed way. The Trust identified those who were in most need of their financial support.    Maria describes the move away from a 'master and servant model' to something very different that she believes will bring about social positive and lasting change. ' It's about walking alongside an organisation and being prepared to fund them over multiple years if required. We will look to form a truly authentic and trusted relationship with the organisation doing the work.' Maria also talks about the move to community building that is becoming more common amongst the 12 community trusts in New Zealand. 'We increasingly look to help with capacity and capability building as well as the service delivery.   Their latest giving initiatives are both intentional as well as strategic; including supporting children in their first 1,000 days of life as well as a participatory form of philanthropy and community support.   'On that theme of engaging with the local community, we will allocate some funds and bring together a group of people to advise and help design a solution to an issue or a problem. The big difference is that they will be the decision makers, so if in the example it is a committee of young people, they will decide what is best for them. So it's about power sharing, really, and putting that back into the hands of the community. They also focus on the environment as stated in their new strategy. 'Supporting the protection, care and resilience of our natural environment to ensure the long-term survival and care of Taranaki whenua.' What is a Community Trust? Ostensibly they are grant making charities that exist to help communities thrive. There are 12 of them across New Zealand covering all regions country including Toi Foundation which covers Taranaki, most western part of the North Island. Combined  they have assets of approximately $3.9 billion and make grants for the benefit of their local communities of over $100 million each year.

Josh Hickford joins Purposely to share his story from chartered accountant to app creating cancer survivor and foundation leader. Taranaki, where Josh was born, is on the western side of New Zealand’s North Island. Set on the coast, it has a strong farming industry alongside a talented creative fraternity with its fair share of artists and galleries. Its people are generous and community minded and inspired by the work of a worldwide network of community foundations, the founding trustees wanted to create an endowment for the region and boost charitable giving locally. Established in 2016 as the Te Karaka Foundation the Board were looking to hire their first CEO in the middle of 2020, someone who would connect with people locally and work with them to superpower the foundation. Enter Taranaki born and bred Josh, a chartered accountant and social entrepreneur, Josh was encouraged to apply for the role by his wife citing his passion for the region as well as his recent experiences of doing good. Josh was the co-founder of Ripple, an online platform that helps to facilitate tailored support for people with cancer. Shortlisted for ‘New Zealander of the Year’, Josh was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2017, it was his own cancer experience that inspired him to set up the platform. ‘I didn't come across anyone my age with same type of cancer. I also wanted to help those sitting alongside the person with cancer who often get forgotten or don’t receive the support they need’. Five years on from his cancer diagnosis Josh was given a clean bill of health. During those years Josh kept pushing his boundaries, entering ironman competitions and featuring on the New Zealand version of the hit reality series Survivor. He applied for the role of CEO of the Te Karaka Foundation. ‘I didn't really have a background in charity apart from the Cancer Society. I've been a chartered accountant, but the whole purpose and why of the job just aligned so much with what I'm about. It was vital that I was able to get in front of the trustees and share my passion’. Bravely Josh delivered some ‘home truths’ to the trustees at the interview and this has led to the rebranding of the Foundation, from Te Karaka to Taranki, a name they believe connects well with the people of the region. ‘I paused and took a deep breath and I told them that the website was pretty mediocre and that the branding was confusing and not that inspiring, but that there was a big opportunity to flip that around and really ramp it up and go from there! What followed was silence and a pause but thankfully the trustees agreed. Everyone just probably relaxed a little bit after that as well and they gave me the role.’ The Foundation is embracing its new vision and looking forward to attracting more philanthropic funds to support the communities of Taranaki.

Ryan Modjeski, Executive Director of Empatico, joins Purposely Podcast to share his leadership journey. Californian Ryan Modjeski heads up a non-profit that helps children connect and make friends with their peers globally. Described as an online pen-pal service for primary/K-9 aged children Empatico helps them experience other cultures. The organisation provides new ways of seeing and connecting with the world, all from the safety of the classroom. ‘We want kids to meet and communicate with people who they think might be different from them. In our experience it shows them that they have a lot more in common than they thought they did. Our mission is to prepare the next generation for this increasingly connected world. Helping them to navigate cross cultural relationships with empathy and what we believe is a core component for success in life and in business.' Ryan's path to non-profit leadership is unique, following completion of an Arts degree in creative writing, he ended up designing online games for a living. A good move for Ryan, combining his love for gaming with his creative writing ability. His work involved the 'Gamification' of television programmes, from Beavis and Butt-Head to Criminal Minds and everything in between. Ryan enjoyed his career in ‘gaming’, however he felt unfulfilled and wanted to make more of a positive difference to the world utilising his varied knowledge and skills. He points to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami who featured a character who wrote articles for travel magazines that were never meant to be read. ‘He called it shovelling cultural snow and it really resonated with me, in some ways I was shovelling cultural snow for a job. I had learned how to build technology, how to write stories, how to work with artists and engineers and all of that was fantastic. But I also knew that it wasn't really what I wanted to do with my career’. Ryan made the decision to start his own business, switching from making games purely for entertainment value to creating educational content that engaged children. His target was 7–10-year-olds who had stopped reading. Eventually this led him to a role working in the non-profit sector for UNICEF focused on building technology to empower children across the globe. ‘I had built this really incredible programme where we empowered kids who typically didn't like to learn or had difficulty learning, they also didn’t understand that they had the power to make the difference in the world’. The UNICEF Kid Power platform, also described as ‘streaming for good’ provides hundreds of activity videos and self-driven content for children, families and educators to access. Following five successful years at UNICEF, Ryan applied for the role as Executive Director at Empatico and started in mid-2021 during the global pandemic. The role was a perfect fit for Ryan, but he had joined during challenging times. He had to convince the Board, who had just hired him, that they would need to redevelop the platform to meet the new demands of Covid-19. ‘The pandemic threw a 'monkey wrench' into our goals and we have just now re-launched the service’. Despite the challenges the organisation continues to go from strength to strength. Empatico now has nearly 60,000 educators from over 166 countries accessing the service and 100,000 children have experienced live exchanges with kids from around the world. Empatico was founded by social entrepreneur Daniel Lubetzky and The KIND Foundation. https://blog.empatico.org/

Bill Kermode joins Purposely to share his story as inaugural CEO of the NEXT Foundation. His mission to give away a hundred million dollar fortune on behalf of a family committed to making a positive and lasting difference to the planet and people of New Zealand. NEXT is a privately funded charitable foundation which is relatively unique for New Zealand. Rather than being a long-lasting foundation, set up to exist forever using an endowment model, NEXT has a mandate to ‘spend down’ $100 million over 10 years. The money is committed to environmental and educational projects that will benefit future generations of New Zealanders. Bill has led NEXT’s investments as well as providing guidance to the previous philanthropic commitments made by Neal and Annette Plowman. 'They had an ambition for NEXT to leave a legacy of environmental and Educational Excellence for the benefit of future generations of New Zealanders. They wanted to show a way of giving that they hoped would be a model that some others would choose to follow'. The Plowmans made their fortune from a laundry business, founded in 1910 by George Plowman. They successfully grew the business and listed it on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, before privatising the company in 1986, and selling to US firm Alsco in 1998. Bill was appointed NEXT CEO in 2014 by the NEXT Board chaired by Chris Liddell, a successful businessman and advisor to the Plowmans. Bill spent the previous two decades as a founding Director of Direct Capital, New Zealand’s most experienced private company investor, and Director of a number of private companies, including Ryman Healthcare, PF Olsen, NZ Pharmaceuticals, and EziBuy. We discuss Bills move from the investment sector to philanthropy running a charitable foundation and the differences between the two worlds. ‘The biggest difference is around evaluation and measurement, knowing whether you're contributing and making a difference. In the commercial and financial world, there are well established norms and ways of measuring success. However, in the ‘for purpose sector’ it is not so clear and not so clearly defined.’ 2024 will see the end of the ten-year giving term, with currently 80% of the $100 million committed to a number of initiatives and causes focused on the environment and education. We discuss what next for the Plowmans philanthropy and what next for Bill himself. ‘The Plowmans plan to continue their giving and the next iteration of the foundation will be focused specifically on the environment - although I will not lead this, instead I will focus my efforts on the development of a Centre of Strategic Philanthropy.’ Bill and the NEXT team have had approaches from others wanting to learn from their journey and he describes how they have always tried to be supportive of others’ giving.This has led Bill and his team to launch the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy aimed at complementing the work of Philanthropy New Zealand. Helping New Zealand individuals, organisations and families who ‘want to do their giving in a strategic or a business-like way’. ‘It's about bringing likeminded people together to explore how they can make a significant difference to the issues they are passionate about with the potential to collaborate or if not then learn from each other and experts.’ In his spare time, Bill was also the Director of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship from 2016 until 2020, offering global social change-makers a path to New Zealand citizenship through New Zealand’s Global Impact Visa. He is currently Chairman of the Palmerston North BHS Educational Foundation Trust, and a graduate of Massey and Oxford Universities.

Podcaster, author and comedian Rhea Wong joins Purposely to share her fascinating story. Rhea Wong grew up in the Bay Area of San Francisco, relocating to the East Coast of America to start her first non-profit leadership role at 26. Thrown in at the deep end, without experience, Rhea had to learn fast. 'I was like, what? My first two Google searches in the job were, ‘what does an executive director do?’ and the second was, ‘how to fundraise’. I like that I was that clueless.' Fast forward to today, Rhea is one of the leading voices on fundraising for non-profits globally. Her teaching focuses on developing the right mindset, rather than just teaching income generation tactics. Rhea has caught the attention of the fundraising sector for her insightful thinking around mindset, in particular her theory on 'scarcity and abundance' as a common block for any non-profit fundraiser. 'When we come from a place of confidence and expectation that there is enough money out there for us to do our work, and to feel the change that we've seen in the world, we operate on a different level' At first Rhea struggled with fundraising, she was good at it but found it 'joyless'. She examined the mental blocks and negative outlook to try and understand her resistance to fundraising . Rhea reflected on her childhood experiences around money and charity. She remembers vividly an experience that helped shape her, ' I gave a homeless guy a quarter in front of my father and he goes, Oh, so you're so rich. now you can just give money away.' The moment impacting her psyche deeply, the idea that money is scarce and that we have to hold on to it and guard it. Her grandparent’s experience leaving communist China and arriving in the United States with very little money had a significant impact on her parent’s mindset. This had also shaped her own outlook to giving and charity. 'Money stood for stability and security, because that's what they needed when they came to this country, all they had was $20 in their pocket when they arrived.' Over time and following a period of reflection and introspection Rhea developed a for her profession, the joy of making the ask and raising vital funds for good causes started to make sense. This clarity led her on a new career path, from being a fundraiser herself to helping others be better fundraisers. Rhea shares her move from non-profit executive to launching her own business helping others to reach their full potential as fundraisers. Rhea works with individuals and organisations, and she has particular expertise in institutional, corporate and major donor fundraising. Importantly she knows what it’s like to be a successful fundraiser herself raising millions for good causes and she is well placed to coach and advise others. In 2022 Rhea Wong published the book 'Get That Money! The No B******t Guide To Raising More Money For Your Non-Profit'. The book, despite its relatively racy headline, is focused on the importance of relationship-based fundraising and the antithesis of the transactional approach so often used. 'The name of the book was really about getting people's attention. I think it's very aligned with my brand which is pretty irreverent. I'm not a very formal person and I like to make jokes, obviously. I like to not take it so seriously. But it is about how do you really build relationships such that you can get that money honey?' Rhea has also published over 200 episodes of her Podcast Non-profit Lowdown reviewing and recommending the best ideas, resources, tools and tricks to run a non-profit, using her own lived experiences as well as her guests. We delve into her approach to work, her confidence, her drive and how she doesn't take herself too seriously.

‘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.

Charlotte Nightingale joins Purposely to share her founder story starting the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective The charity based in Auckland supports people from marginalised communities, especially young people with disabilities. Charlotte is the co-founder and inaugural artistic director of the inclusive arts provider, helping young people with disabilities to ‘smash the glass ceiling that has been unfairly set in the arts world’. A teacher and actor by trade she overcame ‘crippling anxiety and a chromosome disorder’ to take roles on the stage and on television. Charlotte has a passion for inclusion and describes how her lived experience of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) transformed her life and gave her a real purpose, ‘my diagnosis with ADHD in my thirties fuelled my passion to want to help others, it went from being a negative thing at the start of my life to bringing lots of positivity’. She has embraced a wide-ranging career from studying, acting, teaching, retail, recruitment, and radio. Charlotte points to her ADHD as a factor in trying so many different roles and experiences.  She also talks about it being a superpower, enabling her to focus intensely on the task in hand, each challenge ‘obsessed over at the time’. As well as her own experience of ADHD she sites her family’s experience of disability, her son’s autism, and her grandparents who both had a disability and suffered bigotry because of their differences. Born in the UK, Charlotte migrated to New Zealand in 2009 and worked as a drama teacher, she then set up her own agency directing theatre productions in local schools. Charlotte announced herself onto the New Zealand television scene with a role on 'Shortland Street', a popular medical drama, playing a high-profile defence lawyer. She also featured in a longstanding and high-profile advertising campaign for a national supermarket. On the stage she held a lead role in an adaptation of Mamma Mia. During her time in the UK her most high-profile roles were on the UK drama ‘Eastenders’ and ‘Keen Eddie’ as well stage roles performing Shakespeare. Charlotte launched Glass Ceiling Arts Collective with her co-founder Michael Eaglesome in early 2020 with a presentation of a new work called The Incredible and Glorious World According to The Fitzroys, as part of the Auckland Fringe Festival. The show is about a young boy with autism and was a wonderful opportunity for audiences to explore their own perception of disability. The show was a great success, and they were all delighted to win ‘Best Performance’ (Ensemble). Charlotte has a BA Hons in Performing Arts majoring in Acting, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education.

Lani Evans, MNZM, joins Purposely to share her story. A celebrated exponent of philanthropy she’s had a significant impact on the New Zealand sector since migrating here from Australia. Head of the Te Rourou, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation, Lani is also an entrepreneur and co founder of an artisan subscription cheese company - The Cheese Cartel. She is a prolific charity trustee, volunteer, mother, runner (Ultra Marathons) and outdoor enthusiast. Lani loves getting things done, meaningful enterprise and philanthropy. ‘I believe in setting audacious goals, experimenting, measuring change and watching for unintended consequences’ Lani credits her parents as the inspiration behind her for purpose career. ‘When I was growing up my mum was always thinking about others and engaged the world with compassion and empathy. My upbringing had a huge influence on my life and the career path I chose.’ Lani was an activist from an early age, she organised a successful protest that mobilised thousands of young people in the fight against nuclear weapon’s testing by the French in the Pacific and Muriol atoll. These early efforts gave her both the motivation and the confidence to work for the community and led her to want to make a difference in the world. Currently, Lani runs Vodafone’s charitable foundation. She first interacted with the New Zealand Vodafone Foundation in 2009, as a “World of Difference” grant recipient. Now, she leads the organisation, a diverse role encompassing strategy, communications, grant-making and government relations. Under Lani’s leadership the Foundation has set ambitious goals, reaching into areas of youth justice, meaningful learning and Rangatahi Maori. Lani talks in glowing terms about Vodafone and how the Foundation utilises ‘their brilliance and resources along with their funds to make a positive and lasting difference’. Lani is committed to community empowerment and philanthropy that happens in collaboration with the very people it is helping to make the world a better place. ‘To get there we need philanthropy, but we also need activism and structural change and hard work and love. Keep giving, and keep giving in all possible ways, but never forget that philanthropy is not all there is.’ We also explore Lani’s entrepreneurial journey as start-up CEO of social enterprise, Thankyou Payroll for two years before stepping into a governance role. Thankyou Payroll is a purpose driven business that provides high quality, cloud based payroll services to thousands of businesses and charities all over New Zealand. The company also gives to the community through the Thankyou Charitable Trust. During Lani’s tenure they contributed more than $1.5 million in benefits to communities through funding and in-kind services. They also raised almost half a million dollars through equity crowd-funding and in 2020 they paid out dividends. According to Forbes they were the first equity crowd-funded company in the world to return dividends to shareholders. Lani is also a fellow of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) where she hopes to connect with people who are leaning on each other to achieve the same goals. ‘None of us create ideas alone, we build them from conversations, relationships and sharing. I think EHF offers up an opportunity to grow and develop new networks and relationships to deepen practice.’ Lani is on the Board of the Peter McKenzie Project, their vision is for an Aotearoa New Zealand where all children, young people and mokopuna flourish. The J R McKenzie Trust established the Peter McKenzie Project as a spend-down fund dedicated to reducing child and family poverty. Lani was Emerging NZ Philanthropist of the year, she is a Winston Churchill Fellow (participatory philanthropy), National Geographic Adventurer, Edmund Hillary Fellow and a member of the NZ Order of Merit for Services to Social Enterprise.

New Zealander Steven Zinsli first featured on Purposely in 2021 (#59) and he returns to share the very latest on his fintech company HealthNow. They are focused on improving accessibility and equity in healthcare. We reflect briefly on his founder story and then dive into how he is growing and scaling his company across the Globe.  Despite never being to America (mainly because of travel restrictions caused by Covid) he has led the acquisition of a ‘mission aligned’ business in the United States therefore transforming their reach. HealthNow is a company that combines a focus on making profit alongside purpose and social impact. You could say a new kind of company measuring success in different 'better world' ways. HealthNow is a platform that allows customers distribute the cost of their healthcare and they  subscribe to their future health needs via self-insurance through their digital health wallets. In addition, employers make tangible financial contributions to their employees’ healthcare with the aim of ensuring a healthy work force. The platform breaks down healthcare costs into smaller bits, making those big health bills into smaller health bills, and making customers more amenable to the cost and out-of-pocket element. Steven realised that it would be extremely difficult to bring about transformation in the direct healthcare sector using the brick-and-mortar model he tried first. That is why he founded HealthNow and launched the platform to work with existing healthcare service providers and companies within the healthcare space without the need for him to own any clinic. In April 2022, HealthNow acquired CoverUs a prescription discount business that has a network relationship with 62,000 pharmacies across the United States of America. They grant patients prescription discount coupons to them and thereby removing the barrier of prescription cost. Steven shares the acquisition story and how the challenges were overcome mainly because ‘we were on the same page, two businesses aligned to the same mission of making healthcare more accessible by removing barriers. Described by Steven ‘as a relatively smooth business transaction’ that means Steven and his investors and advisors now have an American presence. Incredibly did not visit CoverUs’s Portland’s Headquarters at any time during the acquisition, in fact Steven has never been to the States not even as a tourist. https://healthnow.co.nz/

Amy Carter joins Purposely Podcast to share her founder story launching The Christchurch Foundation. Amy understands what it’s like to lead in a time of crisis. Amy shares the issues she dealt with and the emotions she experienced along the way. However, moments of doubt, sleepless nights did not knock her enthusiasm, she maintained her focus and sense of purpose to see her through the tough times. In 2011, Amy was a business owner when disaster struck.  The Christchurch earthquake killed 185 people and permanently changed the physical and social landscape of the city she lived in. It affected her view on philanthropy and shaped her focus on what the city needed. This eventually led her to set up the Christchurch Foundation in 2017. The foundation went on to play an instrumental role in raising $13 million to respond to the 2019 terrorist attack on two Mosques that killed 51 people. The worst terrorist atrocity ever in New Zealand and with hundreds of lives changed forever The Christchurch Foundation was under immense pressure to get it right. To facilitate the right kind of response that was ‘led by the victim’s needs’ and helping people both in the immediate aftermath and to this day and beyond.  Amy has also been at the centre of a media storm that criticised her salary and took issue with elements of the charity and how it has operated. Criticism that Amy points as unfair and based on a lack of understanding of the community foundation model and the role they play in facilitating and encouraging place-based giving. One of the most respected philanthropy leaders in New Zealand, Amy is bold in her approach, and is not afraid to disrupt the status quo and tread her own path. Her new focus is to tap into the generosity of Cantabrians (a term used to describe people from the Canterbury region of NZ) living abroad with the launch of a UK based entity. This move was about building on their core focus to make it easier for people to give to the causes within Christchurch that they care about whether they live locally or not. They are a donor-led organisation rather than cause-led. That means that they act on behalf of the generous person or business who wants to give, matching them to causes that share their ethics, values, and desired outcomes. They are one of 17 community foundations in New Zealand with a total endowment of over $200 million focused on doing good both today and in the future. Amy’s career has seen her working or volunteering for some of New Zealand's iconic charitable organisations including Surf Life Saving New Zealand, Swimming New Zealand, Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust, and St John. She has always been heavily involved in the Canterbury community and has sat on boards at University of Canterbury Students Association, The Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce and Sumner Lifeboat.

Kathleen Owsley joins Purposely to share her story starting the Bosch Community Fund. The fund has donated over $37 million since inception in 2011 and it is the corporate foundation for Bosch in North America. Kathleen was inspired by her sister whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 41. This experience made her determined to live her life to the full and get the most out of it ‘I felt like I was living my life for both of us’. Kathleen also talks about her Irish heritage influencing her desire to help others and want to make a positive impact to people’s lives, ‘one of our (cultural) attributes is to want to feed people, support people and be generous’ In the 90’s Kathleen spent time in France and Ireland and rather dramatically she cashed in her 401K (pension) and went backpacking around Ireland. Kathleen also studied Irish history in Northern Ireland. It was at the end of this period of study that she ended up temping at Bosch not realising at the time that she was go on to lead their foundation in North America. A return to the United States and a random lunch led to Kathleen to the opportunity to launch the Bosch Community Fund as their founding Director.  We go into the start up phase of the fund and how those early decisions about structure, giving themes, approach to giving has led to its success and enduring effectiveness. The Fund is a grant maker and focuses on the enrichment of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and advancing environmental sustainability initiatives. They partner with charitable organisations and educational institutions across the US to provide quality project-based learning hands-on learning opportunities for students and professional development for teachers. https://www.bosch.us/our-company/social-responsibility/

Hendrikus van Hensbergen joins Purposely to share his founder story and his passion for insipring  young people to protect the planet. In 2012, Hendrikus was working for the largest wildlife agency in the world, WWF, when he took two of his colleagues to his old secondary school to talk about their work. They really enjoyed the experience and caught a glimmer of what might be possible if more young people were inspired to fight for the planet. They decided to recruit their friends working in conservation to do the same, visit schools, talk about what they do and encourage involvement in local groups. There was a steady decline in UK wildlife, a conservation movement that felt stale and a lack of diversity in the sector, something had to change. Action for Conservation was born in 2016 with a vision that every young person in the UK is moved and empowered to protect the natural world. The organisation has grown into an influential, national environmental charity that inspires and empowers young people. In 2019 it built on this reputation by launching the world’s largest youth-led nature restoration initiative in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the United Kingdom. “We want to inspire today's young people to a long-term belief in the wonder of the natural world, that shapes their dreams and actions, however their life turns out. Our Mission is to bring the magic of nature into young people's lives, inspiring a youth movement committed to conservation and to the earth.”o conservation and to the earth. Hendrikus grew up in Southwest England and Central Spain, where he developed a love of nature and the outdoors. He is an author having been approached by Penguin Books in 2019 to write a book for young people about climate action. ‘How You Can Save The Planet’ was published in 2021 and is packed with step by step actions for young activists plus simple explanations, practical tips and stories from children across the world. Described as the ideal guide for young people who are worried about climate change and want to help. Sir Tim Smit, a past guest of Purposely and Founder of The Eden Project said that 'Every young person in the country should be given this book'. He has a BSc in Zoology from the University of Bristol, where he was awarded the Rose Bracher Memorial Prize for the highest First-Class Honours, and an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation & Management from the University of Oxford. He has hands-on practical experience in conservation in both the UK and in Chile and has worked on global forest conservation initiatives at WWF-UK, as their Forest Policy Manager.

Matt Siegel joins Purposely to share his incredible career story, from war correspondent to documentary maker and sustainable business owner. Born in America, Matt grew up on the East Coast in New York City and studied History at University in Portland, Oregon. He now lives ‘off grid’ in the Southern Hemisphere with his Australian wife and two children, in a remote part of the Northern Beaches. Passionate about sustainability and protecting the environment, Matt founded Green Thumb Media in 2020. It combines his skills as a journalist and film maker, with his passion for a better world, he describes it as ‘a boutique commercial film and video production company, focused on ethical and sustainable brands, and not for profits’.  Talking with Matt, it is clear that Green Thumb has a dual focus - making a profit and delivering purpose to do their bit for a better world. They shine a light on social and environmental issues as well as working with people that share the same ethos and values. Prior to launching Green Thumb, Matt spent four years working for Australian politician, the Greens Leader Senator Richard Di Natale’s, as his media adviser. It was this work that helped open his eyes to the idea of creating a business that would work exclusively with those on the same mission. Matt’s not your typical American, not only has he spent decades living abroad he also speaks fluent Russian and has an in-depth understanding of the old Eastern-Bloc’s politics and culture. A former journalist with the New York Times he describes the changes that have happened in journalism, from the in depth reporting and storytelling to a more superficial journalism focused on grabbing attention and entertaining. Matt’s passion is to help others and to ensure a better environment for future generations, he wants to play his part in ‘sustainable solutions to the climate crisis, so that little people everywhere have a brighter and cleaner future’.

Gauri Manglik joins Purposely to share her founder story starting Instrumentl.  Every year Americans give over $400 million through philanthropy, in 2020 that amount rose to $470 million, largely because of the pandemic and the increased need. This is a  phenomenal amount of money that is crucial to the wellbeing of millions around the world. Gauri Manglik is someone focused on improving this industry and its effectiveness to ensure greater impact. In 2014 Gauri and her co founder Angela Braren launched Instrumentl, a web based software solution to help smooth the transfer of funds between institutions and the causes they want to support. It's like a matching service for institutional donors and nonprofits focused on making a positive difference to society and the environment. Instrumentl is a member of the highly regarded Y- Combinator start-up, winning funding and support soon after launch. It was built to help fundraisers make the best use of their valuable time and energy and their aim was to make the grant process faster, easier, and more efficient. Gauri and her team are headquartered in San Francisco, although their software is used in every US state and country around the world. 'We think it's time for the lack of available funding to stop getting in the way. Our mission is to help you move the world forward, one project at a time' Gauri was also the founder of Fondu, a review site started in New York in 2010 using location data software, Gauri sold it to AirBNB going to work for the accommodation booking platform as a mobile product expert until she left to start Instrumentl. Prior to that Gauri was a developer for Blackrock, joining the investment firm in 2009. Gauri was born in Raipur, India, before moving in her early years to Palos Verdes, Calif., and then Briarcliff Manor, New York She comes from (and still practices) the Hindu faith, and hails from a family of doctors, business people and politicians. Key links related to this episode: The Ultimate Grant Writing Resources Collection Upcoming live, free grant writing classes 14-day free trial at www.instrumentl.com, use PURPOSELYPOD50 for $50 off your annual or monthly subscription

Jamie Newth joins Purposely to share his founder story and why he started Soul Capital. An academic and entrepreneur, Jamie is one of the key exponents of impact investing in New Zealand. Jamie risked it all by remortgaging his house to seed fund his venture. This bold approach enabled him to have an active stake in the company and ensured confidence from his early stage investors, showing that he was 'all in’. So what is impact investing? It's different to Philanthropy, where donors give money to support good causes with no expectation of receiving a financial return. Impact investing is when investors combine an expectation of financial returns alongside delivering positive social or environmental impact. In New Zealand impact investing is a relatively new phenomenon with a small market place, however there are an increasing number of interesting opportunities. Soul Capital was established in 2014 and fully deployed its first fund in 2021, the company aims to get capital to entrepreneurs and enterprises who are tackling social and environmental problems as quickly as possible. Their first fund, called Awhi (which translates as embrace in Maori) has focused on getting growth capital to early stage impact enterprises. Investments have been made in six start-ups focused on; sign language through artificial intelligence; impact measurement tools; sustainable packaging; agri-tec; fintech for good and food delivery. Jamie leads the Soul Capital team drawing on his expertise from a career consulting in entrepreneurship, strategy and growth. Jamie is unique in his experience as both a practitioner working across private, non-profit, and social enterprise sectors while teaching at the University of Auckland Business School. He holds a PhD in social entrepreneurship. He sits on the boards of Social Enterprise Auckland, New Zealand’s only representative body for social enterprise, and on the Board of Connect Supporting Recovery, a large community mental health service provider. Previously Jamie has provided advisory and consulting services for a range of organisations across the SME, NGO, corporate, and social innovation sectors.

Julia Capon joins Purposely to share her founder story starting Do Good Jobs. Julia established Do Good Jobs in 2012, initially as a side hustle, and then later with more intent to commercialise the site. Do Good Jobs is a popular online job board connecting people with job opportunities that create social and environmental change. You will hear how Julia is a serial social entrepreneur that is focused on building businesses that balance purpose and impact alongside profit. Businesses she has co-founded include a social enterprise, Eco Geek Co a low-carbon solutions provider, focused on sustainability and action. Recently a company called Thundergrid, an EV charging infrastructure company which has seen significant growth over the past three years - from startup to a rapidly scaling electromobility partner for government and corporates. Sustainability is a passion of Julia’s and she is driven to do what she can to help solve the climate crisis Julia also helps other purpose-led people to thrive with the beliefs that this will help improve society and the environment. Delivering training, courses and coaching to support the professional development of purpose-led people. Her courses focus on: mindset, vision/strategy and systems. You will hear how Julia came close to burnout when she was balancing starting Do Good Jobs and the pressures of a day job. This led Julia to a period of reflection and the development of strategies and tools that helped her to be more productive at the same time protecting and enhancing her mental health. ‘Sharing my knowledge as a systems and efficiency geek to help reduce burnout, ease workloads and create more time for the for-purpose sector to focus on the key activities that make real change.’ www.dogoodjobs.co.nz www.workshops.dogoodjobs.co.nz

Michael Stevens joins Purposely to share his founder story developing and launching the Rainbow Tick. Michael’s mission was to support the rainbow community in a tangible way, helping the community to gain acceptance and inclusion in the workplace and he had seen similar initiatives abroad. ‘It was about positively impacting people’s mental health and about accepting and valuing people in the workplace, embracing the diversity of sexual and gender identities.’ The first programme of its kind in New Zealand, organisations undertake an accreditation process carried out by an independent assessor receiving the Rainbow Tick a visible sign that business embraces all genders and sexual identities. As a gay man, Michael knew from personal experience how important this initiative would be for future generations. Michael initially struggled to accept his own sexual identity and had to deal with a school culture that wasn’t fully inclusive or accepting. In 1988 Michael was diagnosed as HIV+, he was 27 years old and living in Istanbul, Turkey. The following years were filled with anger, sadness, sickness and acceptance, as he believed he had only a few years to live. That was nearly 30 years ago. Now, he’s in his 60’s. ‘I spent so long thinking about and planning my own death during those years, although it didn’t happen’ In 1988, the HIV/Aids epidemic was sweeping the world. many of his gay friends began to talk about it, and when his flatmate in Istanbul tested positive he decided he should get tested too. Michael travelled to London to receive his test. The doctor at the clinic told him he had HIV, and advised him to go home to New Zealand and prepare to die within the next two years. ‘I felt absolutely devastated and I went into a deep depression, but I decided I wasn’t ready to go home, so I returned to Istanbul.’ ‘When I told my family, they were upset for me of course, but fully supportive. I know a lot of people were cut off, but luckily for me this wasn’t the case.’ In the next few years, Michael said he didn’t feel too bad, but in 1993, he received the news one of his closest friends who was diagnosed around the same time as him, had died. ‘I figured if he'd now died from it, I probably didn’t have much time left. So I decided to go home for his funeral and prepare for my own.” The next year, Stevens became sick. He contracted tuberculosis and Pneumocystis pneumonia, a type of pneumonia often associated with a weakened immune system caused by HIV. He lost a large amount of weight in a short span of time and was constantly tired. He could no longer walk up the stairs at work without getting out of breath. It was at this stage he was told his HIV had progressed to its final stage, known as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Michael was in his thirties at this point. Michael was admitted to the ‘AIDS ward’ of Auckland Hospital but later released to Herne Bay House, a residential centre and hospice dedicated to caring for people diagnosed with HIV. Michael believed this is where he was going die. “I had been very angry and bitter about the situation up until this point. My attitude almost got me thrown out of the hospice, but eventually, I came more to terms with it and began to plan my death” Today he describes how the stigma has really decreased around having HIV, it has become much less pronounced as many people have a better understanding of it. “A lot of it was just fear really, people were afraid, and they didn’t understand why it was happening” “If you think of the friends you make in your late teens and early 20s, they’re often the friends that are with you for life. “Nearly all of my gay friends had HIV, and so many died. So many gay men from my youth are not here to turn 60 with me” Michael currently works as a relationship manager for Be.Lab a New Zealand based organisation which helps businesses and organisations to be more accessible. Prior to this he has was part of the AKL Uni Sociology Department.

Elina Ashimbayeva joins Purposely to share her founder experience starting Storyo. Storyo is loosely based on the ‘Humans of New York’ a famous photo blog shining a light on the people of New York, people of all genders, race and class. Storyo’s mission is to contribute to a culture shift that improves societal attitudes, behaviours and narratives. The inspiration came after she was scrolling online and was tired of the same “success” stories. Elina and her partner Steven wanted to share the journeys of their amazing friends. They wanted to celebrate people who are social workers, local artists, local politicians, sex workers and teachers. They also wanted to celebrate gender diversity because these narratives are so rarely shared in the media. They did their first interview for Storyo in June 2019 and have been hooked developing it ever since. Elina’s driven by the privilege she feels from moving to New Zealand from Kazakhstan and getting a great education. Her mission “to live a life that is useful to others,” guided her through all her different roles and study. Drawn to help people in the health sector Elina studied biomedical sciences and became a research assistant working in the immunology field. It was through this job, she realised she wanted to work more closely with people, and directly see the outcomes of her work. She utilised the short breaks between lab experiments and started listening to podcasts. She was fascinated by business gurus who showed her there are all sorts of ways of helping people outside of science.

Dr. Carol Homden CBE joins Purposely to share her leadership story. Carol is a renowned professional and volunteer charity leader, guiding some of the UK’s largest, and most respected nonprofits. Professionally she is the CEO of Coram and voluntarily she is the Chair of The National Autistic Society and Diabetes UK. Carol is a self confessed workaholic, driven by purpose to help children to live healthy, and happy lives. Her purpose is motivated by her upbringing as well as her experience as a parent. Carol's eldest child has severe autism and both Carol and her husband have first hand experience of the challenges this brings.  Carol started her career setting up print media enterprises in East Anglia before moving to London as a freelance arts journalist and editor. She then became director of marketing and development at the University of Westminster, later moving to the British Museum in 1999 as its first director of marketing and public affairs. Carol became the commercial director of The Prince's Trust for four years, working on incredible projects such as Party in the Park and Fashion Rocks. She then became CEO of Coram in 2007,  revitalising the charity and aligning it to meet the needs of disadvantaged children, young people and their families. Established by Thomas Coram as The Foundling Hospital in 1739, Coram is the UK's oldest children's charity and has been supporting vulnerable children for 280 years. Leaving The Prince’s Trust for Coram, Carol wanted to be the boss, to be CEO, and knew the importance of helping children early in their lives, "It is crucial for a child's wellbeing and development that attachments are formed as soon as possible." Carol sheds light on the charitable work of Coram in supporting the rights, welfare and education of children throughout its 280 year history.   Carol’s super power is her ability to combine commercial acumen and skills with social empathy and knowledge for the greater good. You will hear how she transformed the fortunes of Coram, The Prince’s Trust and The British Museum ensuring they could deliver on their charitable missions on a much larger scale. Carol was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her contribution to services for children and families.

Simon Lucas joins Purposely to share his founder story launching executive search firm Society. We hear how Simon stumbled into a career in recruitment in the UK, eventually taking a leadership role in the industry. He innovated when he went out on his own with a distinctly responsible, ethical and sustainable approach to executive search. Founded by Simon in 2005 Society is a B Corp Certified executive search firm that has a dual focus of both purpose and profit. Now a global company It was set up to add value to society and make a positive difference to people’s lives. Simon explains his thinking and how the power of meeting people’s needs rather than just sales can lead to commercial success. We hear how his team thrived despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and the long lock down. Society’s headquarters are in London with offices in the United States and New Zealand. Each year they donate 10% of their profits to good causes through their own Foundation. The foundation is an independent charity dedicated to tackling issues of workforce inclusion. Simon grew up in South Wales, and read Philosophy and Politics at the University of Warwick. Along the way, he was Head Boy of Olchfa Comprehensive School in Swansea, and President of the Students’ Union at Warwick. Before setting up Society, Simon was an employee of executive search firm Perrett Laver for several years. He is now a founding Trustee of The Society Foundation and a Trustee of Hitchin Girls' School in Hertfordshire. Simon lives in North Hertfordshire with his wife and his two children.  His company website describes him as having, ‘a ridiculously large collection of DVDs and a bit of a history and politics buff, with a soft spot for what he calls 'classic' rock.

Qiulae Wong Joins Purposely to share her story. A passionate ‘business for good’ advocate Qiulae points to her upbringing, ‘My family really drummed into us the importance of the collective’. ‘It wasn’t about individual gain although that’s not to say they weren’t incredibly hard working and could see the importance of making money’. In many ways this combination of influences helped to get to where she is today. A belief that business success can be measured by profit as well as the positive social and environmental impact. We discuss Qiulae’s return home after a transformative decade in London where she crystallised her career aspirations and became a mum, ‘the UK was great but made less sense when we had our daughter and returning and re connecting with family became a priority’. Quilae is excited to be back home, landing dream job as Head of B Lab New Zealand. ‘I was so excited about the opportunity, I really wanted it and I did a lot of prep for the interviews, almost too much prep which left me a bit sleep deprived’. Qiulae is B Labs first full-time employee in Aotearoa and the decision to hire reflects the increased popularity of ‘business for good’ with more and more businesses choosing B Corp certification. B Lab is a nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. They certify companies — B Corps — who lead the way. They are aiming to build a movement to change our economic system. B Lab began in the United States in 2006, and the network has grown across the world ever since. Qiulae will be busy collaborating with businesses, government, and academic institutions to grow the movement.

Andrea Brewster joins Purposely Podcast to share her career journey including her passion for sustainable and responsible business. Head of Sustainability and Social Impact at payments software company Xplor, Andrea is a great example of someone who has aligned her professional and volunteer goals. Her mission is to create positive change in the world where she believes business can be a powerful force for good, describing herself as ‘a change maker’. Andrea has spent 10 years working with charities, NGOs, government departments, social enterprises and corporations. Roles have included strategy as well as doing… ‘getting her hands dirty’. She played a role in the rebuild of Christchurch following the devastating earth quake and has also helped start-up entrepreneurs to launch and scale their businesses. Andrea has travelled extensively, and been involved in international development which helped to shape her purpose as well as given her perspective on life. Andreas passion for making a difference started early in life, she has been recognised as an influential young leader in the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards, Women on Boards Awards Impact Awards and Champion Canterbury Business Awards. Andrea is also a Fellow of Leadership New Zealand, and a regular conference speaker and thought leader. You'll hear Andrea talk about things like millennials and the future of work, feminism, finding purpose, and diversity for the 21st century. Andrea is also on the Board the YWCA’s Young Women’s Fund.

Rui Peng joins Purposely to share his founder story with circular economy start- up Critical.  This New Zealand start up is focused on achieving environmental sustainability through waste reduction - repurposing plastic even if it has been contaminated. Rui shares his vision for the future of Critical and how he and his co-founder Adam Ransfield overcame some incredible challenges to stay the course. Incredibly they lost their brand new factory to a tornado in 2021. That followed a reshaping of their business model from pure social enterprise to a ‘for purpose’ business focused on sustainability.  We talk about Rui’s heritage, the son of Chinese immigrants - a first generation New Zealander. He talks about his parents in glowing terms describing them as hard working, determined people doing their best to make a new life for their family. Rui is passionate about his roots and mindful of his responsibility to protect Aotearoa's environment, reduce plastic waste, and help other nations around the world follow suit. Peng maintains ‘Our life's work is to care for the environment by developing technologies and circular solutions.’ Rui is a family man... 'Besides serving the 4 rangatira of our household including my wife and our three tamariki, I'm obsessed by the challenge to end plastic pollution - starting with the 252K tonnes NZ sends to landfill each year, and building pathways towards meaningful work for the 183K New Zealanders who are unemployed or underemployed.'

Tim Jones joins Purposely Podcast. Episode 2 of 2 with Tim Jones, founder of The Grow Good Guy.  In this episode we talk purpose and identity. Tim is full of energy and is a great communicator as you will hear. As well as guiding clients to gain their B Corp certification, he delivers consults trains and coaches individuals and organisations. His aim is to help them achieve meaningful goals in life and work, by tapping into the potential of their purpose fuelled performance. We haven't met in person but have read a description of you that caught my attention, it said that you have the thinking ability of Russell Brand, the energy of Tony Robbins and the humour of Greg Davies - who is the real Tim Jones? ‘That's a great question. I think the version of me now is not who I've always been. I went to a strict private school in England where there wasn't really much realm for artistic creation. It went along the lines of yes sir, no sir. You were basically told what to do. I spent 10 years in a sales role and time in the British Army. I'm not a complete introvert and I would probably an ambivert, which is when you're comfortable with silence and your own energy, but equally, you don't mind being in an extravert position where you might have to talk or you might be surrounded by people.’ I would like to talk about purpose and identity, this is something you have really focused on? ‘I think it's massive and think this is one of the big contributors to the general modern mental health malaise, I think, it is at the core of it. Purpose is something that is not mentioned, when we talk about mental health crisis. This lack of meaning that a lot of us get through the work that we do. However, a big part of that purpose journey is identity, who are you? And there's a couple of good expressions on that one. This is a bit of a tongue twister and I can't remember who coined it but it's basically, ‘I am not who I think I am. I am not who I think you think I am. I am what you think, I think I am’. ‘You need to know who you are today and why you’re that person. To do that you need to go back and work out what has led you to be who you are today. Self-exploration is the journey that we all need to go on find our purpose. Who am I? Why am I who I am, and what has led me to be who I am today. Working out who you are and what has constructed you is massive. Most people don't want to do that because it's hard and you must go and fight some demons and you must go and challenge everything that you hold to be true, you need to go and challenge and not many people want to do that.’ So, there's, I think that's a big part of it, the other part of it of identity. So again, in front of me here, I have a big Welsh dragon flag, because, you know, I'm a Jones, let's face it, and, you know, as far as Welsh is you can get.’

Tim Jones joins Purposely Podcast. Episode 1 of 2 with Tim Jones, founder of The Grow Good Guy. In this episode we explore ‘business for good’ and the exciting and growing B Corp Movement. We also explore Tim’s career and his dissatisfaction with profit only or at all costs paradigms. Tim was New Zealand’s first qualified B Corp consultant and he has helped more than 50 companies from around the world successfully navigate the B Corp Impact Assessment, and is working with new businesses every month to take them through the process. So what is a B Corp? Put simply it is a company that prioritises purpose, positive social and environmental impact along with making a profit. Companies gain certification B Corp (short for Certified B Corporation) is the term used for any for-profit entity that is certified by the nonprofit B Lab as voluntarily meeting higher standards of transparency, accountability, and performance. Tim is full of energy and is a great communicator as you will hear. As well as guiding clients to gain their B Corp certification, he delivers inspirational, motivational, memorable and impactful consulting, training and coaching to individuals and organisations. He helps them achieve meaningful goals in life and work, by tapping into the potential of their purpose fuelled performance. Beware… the episode ends on an unanswered question and you will need to listen to episode 2/2 out on the 4 May 2022.

Ajaz.org CEO Nicola Brentnall joins Purposely Podcast to share her story and the joy she gets from philanthropy and advising charities inspired and run by the British Royal Family. She talks about the recent loss of her dear husband Tom from cancer and dealing with the daily challenge of grief, ‘it can hit you out of nowhere’. Tom had a passion for Nicola’s work, and he would often travel with her (at his own expense) to see the charitable projects in person. Nicola discusses the affinity she felt with marginalised young people and how this inspired her 14-year career with the Prince’s Trust. Using her skills to help the team inspire young people to be the best they could be and achieve their full potential. Nicola worked as a strategy and governance consultant to The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation and for The Prince’s Trust, as Company Secretary. Leaving the Prince’s Trust Nicola received ‘a phone call out of nowhere’ outlining an opportunity of a lifetime. A chance to advise and direct the Royal Family on a ‘spend down programme’ donating £35 million to good causes over a 4-year period through The Queen’s Trust. These funds had been raised in a single year in the 1970’s and a decision was made to run a giving programme to help young people in need. Major recipients of the funds include the charity ‘Onside’ supporting the building of youth centres providing an inclusive space for young people in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK. Nicola also led the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust for five years and dramatically furthered its reach and relevance to the communities it served across the world. A qualified Chartered Secretary, she has an MSc in Corporate Governance and Ethics, and a degree in The History of Art. Nicola was awarded an MVO. Nicola is also a Trustee of BEAT (a nationwide charity supporting people affected by eating disorders) and Opera North.

Dave Rouse joins Purposely Podcast to share his journey including his successes and failures. A former medical student ‘I wasn’t mature enough to deal with death and illness at that point of my life’ and commercial pilot. Dave is now a successful entrepreneur and early stage investor. He also has a day job as CEO of a successful green tech company CarbonClick. CarbonClick was created after two of Dave’s colleagues, founders Jan Czaplicki and Paul Brady were working on an offsetting programme for a major international airline. The third founder is aviation expert Michelle Noordermeer. They saw how hard it was for businesses to create their own programme, access or perform proper due diligence on offset projects, and then trace and reconcile those credits to prove customer payments had been accounted for. CarbonClick was born to make climate action simple and transparent for businesses. The founders approached Dave to be their CEO after he had invested in the company early, at the ‘family, friends and fools round’. He believed in the founders and the concept.

Rachel Brown, ONZM – Founder & CEO, Sustainable Business Network Rachel Brown is the founder & CEO of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and was one of the early champions of the ‘business for good movement’ in New Zealand. Rachel launched her organisation 20 years ago at a time when people doubted the science emerging around human environmental damage. Back then sustainability was associated with ‘greenies’ or ‘tree huggers.’ Rachel, however, did believe the science and was determined to do something proactive to turn the tide on environmental damage in an effort to protect the planet. So why business and sustainability? In part because of her childhood, she describes a wonderful upbringing where her parents, especially her mother, introduced her to the science of sustainability at an early age. At the same time, she was intrigued by the growth and buzz of capitalism. Rachel quickly realised that business could play a productive and leading role in sustainability and could be a force for good rather than bad. In the podcast Rachel discusses those times and how ‘well meaning’ business leaders refused to connect business practices to the environment. Often, they could not see a purpose beyond making a profit for shareholders - ‘nice people who would push me towards their charitable giving activity’. They hadn’t made the connection that care for the environment was going to be crucial to the long-term success of their business or that a different approach could give them a competitive advantage. The SBN network she created now includes 600 organisations from a range of sizes and sectors. Rachel has overseen the creation of systemic collaboration projects focusing on climate action, designing out waste, and regenerating nature. SBN runs the Sustainable Business Awards, New Zealand’s largest sustainability award programme as well as a series of successful training programmes. In 2009 Rachel was personally selected by Al Gore to present The Inconvenient Truth (part of the global climate change education programme). In 2012 she was invited by Al Gore to join an elite group of international presenters to be part of the Climate Reality Project broadcast. The broadcast reached over 3 million people across the globe. As a regular presenter, collaborator, investor and driver of action within NZ communities, Rachel is committed to the role business plays in supercharging and transforming NZ’s economy into one that is smarter and more sustainable. Rachel regularly sits on government panels to inform on policy. Currently she is on the Advisory Panel of ‘Jobs for Nature’, a Board member of the Milford Foundation, and on the business advisory panel for All of Government Procurement. She is a member of the advisory panel for the National Waste Strategy and the Million Metres Streams Advisory Board. Rachel also provides advice and support to a number of new and emerging businesses, individuals and social enterprises. In 2018 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for years of service to sustainable business.

Should companies be run to earn a profit, or to serve a purpose? Alex Edmans joins Purposely Podcast to talk about his ground-breaking book, The Pie-Growing Mentality A new approach to business (and indeed capitalism) that works for both investors and society. The book lays down the argument that “Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit” and that it is not an either or choice. Drawing from his research evidence and real-life examples spanning industries and countries, Edmans demonstrates that businesses driven by purpose are consistently more successful in the long term. He describes how a purposeful company must navigate difficult trade-offs and take tough decisions. Edmans' provides an actionable roadmap for company leaders to put purpose into practice, and overcome the hurdles that hold many back. He explains how investors can discern which companies are truly purposeful rather than green washing and engage with them to unleash value for both shareholders and society. And he highlights the crucial role that citizens can play as employees, customers and investors, in reshaping business to improve our world. What is the pie and what is pieconomics'? ‘The pie is the total amount of social value. It's not just financial value, but it's the amount of total happiness or welfare that a company creates. You can think about that pie as being divided between profits to investors and value to society. So often when people think about businesses becoming more responsible, they think about well, should we split the pie differently? So should we reduce profits in order to pay higher wages? or should we reduce profits in order to charge fair prices to customers? Similarly, if you're a CEO, many CEOs think about how to split the pie in their favour. So they might think the way to maximise profits is to charge as much as I can get away with or to pay my workers as little as possible. So what is pieconomics argues is that the relationship between business and society is not a zero sum game and the pie is not fixed. When a company chooses to invest in its workers or to become better stewards of the environment or to treat customers better. They're not just sacrificing profits, instead they're growing the pie, ultimately enhancing profits. For example, if you treat your workers better they'll be more motivated and productive and more likely to stay similarly with the environment and customers. So while there might be trade-offs in the short term but in the long term, a responsible company is not just being more ethical it is being more commercially savvy and boosting its long term returns.’ Alex Edmans' is Professor of Finance at London Business School.  Alex graduated from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York).  After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 and was tenured in 2013 shortly before moving to LBS.

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.’