Adrian Hodges Advisory – AHA – is a young company of seasoned professionals with big ambitions to help companies maximise the positive impact they have on society whilst simultaneously growing their brands and businesses.
Led by recognised sustainability expert and author Adrian Hodges, AHA’s work is driven by the belief that by considering business goals and societal issues together rather than apart, solutions can be created to benefit both business and society.
AHA provides a range of strategic advice and execution support services on linkages between business and brand growth and societal challenges and social impact. AHA support help clients access new consumer and customer insights, new market opportunities and new business partners.
A primary focus is working with marketers and brand teams to help scope and define brand purpose, including activation options, partnership opportunities and programme design in multiple countries. AHA also works to support NGOs and international development organisations engage with the private sector, providing brokering and facilitation services.
The AHA team have several decades of experience working in senior roles in business helping companies and brands understand and optimise their social and environmental impacts, as well as a track record working in and with organisations and institutions representing the interests of communities and the disadvantaged, like NGOs, international development organisations and the UN.
The fact that business is the principal engine for growth and economic development is not contested. Whether that growth is sustainable or unsustainable and whether the costs and benefits are equally shared is however rightly hotly debated.
At AHA Ltd we believe that many firms do - but more firms could - contribute to sustainable growth and equitable development. The private sector has capabilities and competences which, when utilised alongside complementary skills and resources from other sectors, can help address some of the world’s seemingly most intractable societal challenges.
Ask not just what your business can do for Sustainability, but also what Sustainability can do for your business
We work to demonstrate that it is in the enlightened self-interest of companies to seek ways in which to make a difference, as addressing key societal challenges reduces barriers to reaching new markets and generates insights for innovative new products and services. By pro-actively managing social and environmental risks and capitalising on associated opportunities, firms create corporate competitive advantage and value for society.
Adrian is a recognised leader in the role of business and international development, corporate responsibility and sustainability, and corporate purpose and brand purpose.
Adrian advises multinational corporations and global development organisations on responsible value chains and creating social purpose brands that build competitive advantage and help meet sustainable development goals.
Adrian’s expertise derives from senior management positions at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and The Body Shop, and from senior roles at Business in the Community (BITC) and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), where he worked closely with Fortune 500 business leaders, UN executives and international development experts on market based responsible business solutions.
Over the years, Adrian has acquired an in-depth understanding of corporate responsibility issues across industry sectors and has first-hand knowledge of forging and facilitating cross-sector partnerships on issues such as women’s empowerment, economic and enterprise development, health, water and sanitation - both on the ground in different market contexts as well as at a global policy level. Adrian has delivered training on corporate sustainability and brand purpose skills and topics to business leaders, marketers, country managers and NGO leaders and managers across the world.
Adrian has worked closely with and provided support to a wide range of institutions, from local and international NGOs through to the World Bank and the United Nations, where at the latter he was a member of the Growing Inclusive Markets Advisory Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and strategic advisor to UN Women.
Adrian is co-author of two well regarded management books as well as a regular public speaker and media commentator on corporate responsibility and international development.
During his career Adrian has
Kathrin acts as senior associate bringing a wide range of relevant corporate and sustainability experience with a proven track record in the field of corporate responsibility (CR) and international development having worked with the UN, the private sector and NGOs around the globe.
Kathrin’s role at AHA is to help corporations create social purpose brands, broker NGO partnerships and co-create on-the ground interventions in multi-cultural environments. She works intensively with corporations and brands on issues of women’s and girl’s (economic) empowerment, on methods of challenging harmful prevailing social and gender norms as well as social and community inclusion and development issues.
Kathrin’s experience and knowhow derives from over 13 years working with/for the private sector, the UN and civil society organisations around the world including the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Hanns-Seidel Foundation (Kenya), the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), global food service company VAPIANO SE and Value for Good, a German-based sustainability consulting firm.
Emma acts as analyst and researcher for AHA Ltd, bringing a wide range of relevant sustainability and entrepreneurial experience. To advance her knowledge she is studying sustainable agriculture and global food security and gaining practical insights into successful urban and rural farming models worldwide.
With a social anthropological background, Emma has developed extensive understanding of business and international development issues and challenges through wide-ranging research and consultancy assignments with organisations like UK UNESCO, War on Want, SNV Latin America and the American University of Beirut (ESDU).
Emma nurtured her entrepreneurial spirit by running the retail operations of a flower chain in London. She went on to engage the private sector on key development challenges at the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) where she helped establish multi-stakeholder platforms to support enterprise development and social entrepreneurship with organisations like UNDP and IFC.
Emma is able to draw on direct experience in emerging markets. In Latin America she co-founded an NGO working to support street children and in the Middle East she supported social development programmes in organic farming.
Amanda acts as senior advisor with over 20 years experience working at the interface of business and society, with specialised skills in business and NGO engagement/partnerships, and in employee engagement, management training and development on sustainability issues.
As an AHA advisor, Amanda has supported brand teams in corporations such as Unilever in developing brand with purpose, and supported personnel in NGOs such as Oxfam and Save the Children engage with business to address pressing social and human development challenges in multiple markets.
Amanda’s career has embraced marketing & communication roles with leading brands including Nestle and Sainsbury’s, and management roles in business and NGOs working on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), social investment and cross sector partnerships. Amanda pioneered the corporate volunteering movement in the UK and Europe and developed a wide range of successful corporate community investment campaigns at Diageo and Business in the Community (BITC), before joining the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) as director of a range of partnership programmes and business advisory services.
Amanda has designed and run sustainability, partnership and social impact training and action learning for blue chip corporations (she is a certified Action Learning Coach) and co-delivered the Post Graduate Certificate in Cross Sector Partnership, Cambridge University (forerunner of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership). She co-founded The Partnering Initiative, an independent non-profit, created to promote cross sector partnerships, engaging business with UN agencies and global NGOs. in Cross Sector Partnership and has designed and delivered training for many corporate clients.
In addition to engagement with AHA, Amanda is a Director at Emerging World, a social purpose business that uses experiential learning and immersive experiences to support companies’ leadership development, corporate responsibility and purpose agendas.
Neil acts as senior associate bringing a rich set of experiences having worked extensively on brands and social impact and sustainability, as well as leadership roles in civil society organisations.
Previously Neil held several positions working on innovation and sustainability at FMCG leader Unilever, based in London and Argentina, allowing him to develop an in-depth understanding of how to craft and drive purpose-led business strategies. Neil worked with and for brands such as Rexona/Sure, Radox, Ponds and Persil, on a range of social issues such as women’s empowerment, access to education, water and sanitation. In addition he helped develop business case arguments and evidence to inform resource allocation and investment decisions.
Complementing his corporate experience, Neil has held strategic leadership positions in a NGO based in Greece and a social enterprise focused on Refugee Inclusion based in the UK. These diverse experiences, combined with an ongoing MSc in Poverty Reduction at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), equip Neil with a broad and unique skillset to advise businesses looking to create positive and sustainable social impact.
Depending on the nature and scale of an assignment, AHA Ltd draws from a network of trusted independent professionals to bring additional sector, issue and geographic expertise, a flexibility that helps to keep overheads to a minimum and maximise value created.
What happens to society matters to business - what happens to business matters to society
Extensive engagement with senior executives of leading multinational corporations of key industry sectors – Food & Beverage, pharmaceutical, FMCG, finance, infrastructure, logistics, retail, apparel, energy - to help them develop a strategic approach to tackling social and economic issues impacting their business growth.
Deep engagement in a range of business & society and busines & international development themes, including enterprise development, employability, health & nutrition, labour & human rights, corruption & transparency and women empowerment.
Corporate Social Opportunity clearly explains how strong corporate values are key to the challenges of aligning business purpose with societal need, which in turn leads to greater value for companies and communities.
Hank McKinnell, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc. Corporate Social Opportunity. Adrian Hodges with David Grayson. Greenleaf, 2004.
Recent experience in pioneering new cross industry B2B Partnerships to combine complementary products and services and expertise to address issues of shared interest and common concern.
Extensive engagement in forging pioneering business to NGO and business to public sector partnerships to address a range of business needs and social and development challenges.
Extensive engagement in shaping global Thought Leadership on corporate responsibility and the role of business in international development.
AHA Ltd provides a range of strategic advice and execution support services on linkages between business development, corporate social responsibility and social impact:
AHA Ltd has recently pioneered the concept of cross industry B2B Partnerships as a vehicle to deliver substantive and sustained resources to address systemic social and economic barriers that are holding back business growth and – usually simultaneously – local, social, and economic development.
AHA Ltd is currently developing a number of B2B Partnerships with clients in the Financial, FMCG, Healthcare and Retail sectors operating in Africa and Asia.
The current global economic climate puts an increasing pressure on family incomes and personal finances as well as the performance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the majority of the corporate sector in most markets. The need for ready access to safe and affordable financial services has never been greater for personal and business customers.
Following the financial crisis and a number of events damaging to the firm's reputation, a well known Global Financial Services Company made a renewed commitment to be a leading global corporate citizen. AHA Ltd was brought in to provide support in the development of a re-freshed and modernised CSR and Sustainability strategy moving from traditional philanthropy to the development of innovative products and services with substantive social impact.
Assigned work included: reviewing current processes and CSR management across units and markets; mentoring senior executives; scoping and benchmarking activities; facilitating inter-company workshops to identifying opportunities to enhance business impact and create social value; supporting the implementation of selected activities.
Barclays and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have recently announced an investment of c£7 million in a pioneering 3-year partnership to increase access to affordable healthcare and medicines for people in Africa, piloting in Zambia, while helping to create improved economic conditions for growth. The Partnership aims to positively impact 1 million Zambian citizens whilst building Barclays and GSK businesses.
AHA Ltd helped conceive the initiative, brokered the inter-company relationship and supported the design and development phase, arguing that by combining complimentary skills and expertise two influential MNCs can help remove financial barriers to healthcare access, while supporting small business development and job creation; and demonstrating how a collaboration would leverage additional resources and support for Barclays and GSK Africa's commercial objectives and business development goals.
Assigned work included: making the business and social case for a B2B collaboration from companies from different industry sectors; identifying areas of shared interest along respective value chains; scoping potential 'sweet spots' and intervention options; proposing governance, legal and financial frameworks; facilitating inter-company dialogue and operational teams; scoping and engaging with additional delivery partners and funders; mapping stakeholders and engagement strategies; creating thought-leadership activities; proposing measurement and evaluation approaches.
Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK said: Though prospects for growth are improving, Zambia still experiences significant healthcare challenges. By combining our specific resources and skills with those of Barclays, we can help unblock financial barriers and enhance government efforts to help increase access to affordable healthcare. Good health is vital for people to live more productive lives, which in turn will help to create the right conditions for Zambia’s economic development and lead to a more prosperous society.
Antony Jenkins, Barclays Group Chief Executive, said: Sustainable economic development and the growth of our businesses in Africa is intrinsically linked to the wellbeing of the communities in which we operate: healthy communities lead to healthy markets. We want to use our core business activities to address societal challenges systematically but we know we can't achieve this alone. We are extremely pleased to be working with GSK.
In support of an International Healthcare Firm's award winning access to medicines strategy, AHA Ltd was commissioned to scope hybrid business models and market based solutions for the safe and sustainable delivery of medicines and vaccines to poor rural areas of developing countries.
Assigned work included: research and mapping emerging innovative market based hybrid commercial and social business models from around the world; assessing suitability for client investment and engagement; helping broker and negotiate a partnership between the selected NGO and associated social franchise operation with the client, for the £2.7 million investment in a network of 240 nurse/entrepreneur owned and run rural health clinics in Rwanda.
On the basis of work undertaken by Adrian Hodges in bringing business, government and civil society together in Colombia to work collectively to engage the private sector in supporting the Colombian Peace Process, AHA Ltd was commissioned by an international Oil and Gas Firm on the occasion of their 60th anniversary to address and challenge senior executives and key external stakeholders on adoption of global best practice in addressing human rights issues through extended value chains.
Investing in women’s economic empowerment is increasingly viewed as a powerful way to advance women's rights and spur global economic growth. Failure to act is recognised as a drag on gender equality and economic development. At a firm level, there is a growing understanding of the contribution women make in vital roles along extended value chains, whether as suppliers and producers, employees or managers, and in retail and marketing fields. Some companies have publicly made the advancement of women’s rights and economic inclusion in their operations and global supply chains a business priority.
AHA Ltd was brought in by a leading FMCG company to support the development of the firm’s global women’s economic empowerment strategy and provide advice on aligning related company wide policies and practices with business goals and societal need.
Assigned work included: supporting leadership in reviewing women's empowerment ‘touch-points’ and related initiatives across business functions, markets and brands; scoping and mapping women’s access to rights and safety, skills and training and economic opportunity in different settings; drafting a firm wide thematic strategic narrative; identifying credible organisations for stakeholder engagement and alliances; creating a women's empowerment programme guidebook and associated toolkit for internal functions; facilitating internal workshops and external stakeholder workshop to identify shared value opportunities and validate approaches to impact measurement and evaluation.
Marketers increasingly see value in incorporating a 'good cause’ into a corporate or product brand's communication proposition. If done well, this can create a richer, more meaningful connection with the consumer. Some firms are pioneering a next level of association between brand and social purpose by embedding a 'social mission' into the brand's DNA and actively investing in brand activation programmes that have a measurable impact on societal challenges.
AHA Ltd was invited to work with a leading FMCG company to support a number of brands in homecare and personal care categories to scope appropriate social mission territories and to advise on impactful programmatic activity in key activation markets.
Assigned work included: High level mapping of target consumer experiences in relation to identified social issues, both globally and in key markets; conceiving and developing intervention possibilities; identifying leading authorities, partners and experts in selected intervention areas; facilitating co-creation workshops with partner organisations; developing programme options including delivery models, business case rationale, social impact metrics, etc; liaising with brand communications agencies on development of related brand communications campaigns to build brand equity.