This op-ed is the result of an unusual and innovative conversation between an exec and a poet, a doer and a dreamer, a Chief Sustainability Officer and a Chief Poetic Officer.
During the lockdown with the world on pause, Virginie Helias, Chief Sustainability Officer at Procter & Gamble, met virtually with author, speaker, storyteller and speech writer, Vincent Avanzi, to discuss a possible storytelling for the world post Covid-19 to build back better for brands and leaders, and to use as a blueprint for the way we do sustainable business in the world of tomorrow.
Please discover a mix of enchanted vision and grounded action as the balance of both worlds. May this manifesto bring hope and be the roadmap for a more regenerative way to do business and to be human.
Virginie Helias
Chief Sustainability Officer at Procter & Gamble
With over 30 years of experience at P&G in Brand Management and Innovation across multiple multi-billion dollar brands and regions, she is also recognized for her visioning, change management and leadership development skills. In July 2011, she recommended the creation of a new position, Global Sustainability Brand Director, working across all P&G business units and regions. Her mission was to embed sustainability into the innovation, brand-building and everyday business practices at P&G. In July 2016, she was promoted to Vice President of Global Sustainability, in recognition of the work she has led to make sustainability a core business strategy, an innovation driver and a catalyst for a more resilient organization.
She is the architect of the “Ambition 2030” goals, an industry-leading roadmap that is transforming how P&G is integrating sustainability across its supply chain, innovation and brand building. Virginie has received the 2018 Women Leading Award from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and was selected as one of the 25 women shaking up the Climate movement in 2020. In 2019, she became the first P&G Chief Sustainability Officer
Vincent Avanzi
Chief Poetic Officer at The Ink of the Future
Vincent Avanzi is a Chief Poetic Officer, author, speaker, storyteller and speech writer. Former Microsoft employee and twice a globe-trotter, he founded The Ink Of The Future to reenchant the world with poetry. He developed the concept of “corporate poetry” to bring out the soul of corporations and develop the human global awareness around sustainability, singularity, wisdom and harmony. He is the author of eight books including “Harmony and the Genius Spot of Mankind” (Human Odyssey) and “Trouver son Point Génial” (Hachette) and was dubbed an “enlightened leader” by Decideurs Magazine. Recurrent speaker at Sustainable Brands and creator of many neologisms included “CoBuild20”, he is also a consultant on brand identity and accompanies CEOs and leaders on their transformational journey, their storytelling and the art of writing inspiring speeches. “Poetry will save the world and we’re all poets”.
