Grant Thornton Unveils Faces of a Vibrant Economy

Who are the people who are shaping a vibrant Britain? How can we showcase them to inspire others to make their mark too? These are the questions Grant Thornton set out to answer as part of realising its purpose of shaping a vibrant economy and unlocking the potential of our nation through working with government, businesses and communities.

The list of 100 Faces of a Vibrant Economy is composed of individuals representing cities, communities and corporations across the UK. They have been photographed by Magnum Photos, the international photography cooperative, as a celebration of the contribution they are making to a more vibrant economy. In addition, Grant Thornton ran a nationwide competition and found two talented student photographers who were mentored by Magnum Photos through the process of photographing the Faces.

Featuring leading figures from the public and private sector, emerging entrepreneurs and not-for-profit pioneers, the list showcases individuals who were proven to deliver against one or more of three categories:

• Inspiring leadership – those individuals that have developed a culture that empowers, develops and motivates their people
• Innovation – individuals who are solving problems in an innovative way, or creating new ways and models of doing things
• Social purpose – people who are making a positive contribution to the wider local or national community

Spanning the length and breadth of the country and from sectors including energy, retail, technology, local councils, not for profit organisations, financial services and food production, the final 100 includes:

• James Timpson OBE, Timpson Group - since taking the reins of the family retail group James has pioneered an ‘upside down’ approach to management, encouraged innovation, empowered employees and developed a programme that selects, trains and mentors candidates from prison towards a role at the company.
• Dave Cates, Donate Technologies – The new Foodbank app notifies contributors to the food demand of their local foodbank. By streamlining the donation process, Dave’s technological innovation is helping 15% of the UK’s foodbanks meet the needs of some of society’s most vulnerable people.
• Laura Tenison MBE, JoJo Maman Bébé – the clothing retailer offers support, advice and care to pregnant women and new parents in the community around their stores. Laura believes that it should be possible to do well whilst doing good and that business leaders should inspire and encourage both their teams and support their local environment.
• Dr Kate Hersov, Medikidz – as a junior doctor, Dr Hersov created superhero-themed education programmes across more than 100 therapeutic areas to help children understand what is happening in hospitals. To date it has distributed more than 3.5 million comic books across 50 countries and 30 languages.
• Amy Peake, Loving Humanity – founded the organisation that supplies machines to manufacture sanitary pads for Syrian refugees. Since its creation its ambition has expanded to setting up and running a fully functioning factory inside Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan. From here they will also be able to help people facing the issue of incontinence which affects the elderly, disabled and 75 per cent of children who wet the bed as a result of the trauma of war.

Sacha Romanovitch, CEO of Grant Thornton UK LLP, comments:

“Earlier this year we set out a clear purpose to shape a vibrant economy, and we know that no one organisation or individual can do this alone. Following the result of the EU referendum it is even more important than ever that we all work together to help the UK to build upon its strengths and ensure that our economy continues to grow.

“Today we’re celebrating the achievements of 100 Faces driving a vibrant economy and sharing their stories to inspire others. Some are inspiring leaders, empowering their employees to reach their full potential. Others are using innovation to help their local communities, and some have created businesses with a clear, social purpose helping everyone from refugees to families that rely on food banks.

“We are connecting and convening these inspirational figures to help us unlock the true potential of the UK. Instead of seeking out the challenges, and focusing on the problems, we believe that by sharing inspiring examples from businesses, government and communities, we can look at how to replicate these across the UK for the good of the economy, and the communities in which we live and serve.”

Please find the list of the 100 Faces below: