London 1st December: The Valuable 500, today announced the appointment of twelve new advisory board members and the strengthening of its management team. The board members represent both business leaders and disability activists and bring with them a wealth of experience to help drive the Valuable 500 forward as it focuses on phase two of the campaign, which will see the 500 major organisations work together to make change happen for disability inclusion in business.

As the global voice for disability in business, the Valuable 500 is positioning this advisory board to be a first of its kind, in structure and stature. These key appointments come at a pivotal point for the Valuable 500, which in May this year achieved its objective of signing 500 global organisations committed to putting disability on the boardroom agenda. With a cross-section of some of the world’s leading corporate executives alongside global disability thought-leaders, this step delivers a key component of Valuable 500’s mission to be the crossroads of the leadership agenda and disability inclusion.

The Valuable 500 is now working with its Iconic Leaders from the collective including Allianz, BBC, Deloitte, EY, Google, Mahindra Ltd., LSEG, Omnicom, P&G, Salesforce, Sony, Sky and Verizon, who will co-fund, co-create and co-test relevant programmes and solutions, using their industry experience to drive progress for the entire community. This work will include global disability surveys, consumer feedback tools, brand and customer experience audits and a representative media content hub.

The Advisory board members are:

The appointment of our new board members represents a milestone for the Valuable 500. Each member will bring a unique and different viewpoint to the table and their experience and understanding of the Valuable 500 will help us achieve our Phase Two goals. I look forward to working closely with all of them.

Caroline Casey, Founder, Valuable 500. 

The campaign’s ambitious goal to fundamentally transform the global business system and fight for an equal and inclusive society is continuing to gain traction and I am immensely proud of the progress we have made to date. We all have a responsibility to make humanity function better and I will continue to play my part in accelerating disability inclusion worldwide and supporting our new team to reach our Phase Two targets.

Paul Polman, Chairman, Valuable 500

 

In addition to the appointment of the advisory board, the Valuable 500 is also announcing several new Executive Leadership team members reporting to Jo Pritchard, CEO the Valuable 500. Rhiannon Parker, previously of Intertek PLC, joins as Chief Innovation Officer. She will bring her experience as an innovation strategist with extensive management consultancy experience to the team. Betsy Beaumon will also join the team as Chief Product Officer. As the former CEO of Benetech she brings years of experience to the role and will be overseeing scoping, strategy, and planning for four of the Valuable 500’s Iconic Solutions and engaging with Apple across all of their joint work.

Crosby Cromwell will head up the Partnerships Team as Chief Partnerships Officer and will utilise her DEI employment and corporate social responsibility expertise to lead her team who will be managing the relationship and support arm of the organisation enabling the collective to connect, collaborate and advance their disability inclusion efforts across the value chain.

Recently appointed Chief Marketing Officer, Chloe Matharu, will be driving the roll out of the Valuable 500’s new look and feel – presenting disability as it has never been seen before. She will be overseeing the launch of Valuable 500’s Digital Hub which will serve as an invaluable resource for members of the collective to interact, share learnings and develop a sense of community. Chloe’s expertise in delivering international campaigns will enable her to shape Valuable’s messaging in implementing phase two.

Media Contacts

For interviews and further information, please contact:

Amy Shaw, Campaign Director, Seven Hills

Richard Poston, Director of Communications, The Valuable 500

About the Valuable 500

The Valuable 500 was launched by social entrepreneur and activist Caroline Casey at One Young World 2017 in Bogota, Colombia and the inception of the Valuable 500 was announced at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2019. Today the Valuable 500 is the largest community of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion in business.

Since its creation, the Valuable 500 has achieved its initial goal of persuading 500 multinational organisations to make a public commitment to disability inclusion in their organisation, igniting a historic global movement for a new age of diversity in business. The Valuable 500 and their global impact partner The Nippon Foundation, will be working closely with the World Economic Forum and International Disability Alliance – bringing together a leading philanthropic organisation with the most prestigious global business network and the voice of the global disability community.

By engaging with the world’s most influential business leaders and brands, the network now has a combined revenue of over $8 trillion and employs a staggering 21 million people worldwide. Its members include 13 global CEOs and companies who will be spearheading the programmes and services to be offered under Phase 2 of the campaign, which will be activated through global disability surveys, disability trend reports and an executive disability resource hub.

After reaching this important milestone, the Valuable 500 is determined to create a community that supports and empowers its 500 members to systematically transform their businesses so that they include the 1.3 billion people living with disabilities worldwide, thereby unlocking their business, social and economic potential.

We believe that if business takes a lead, society and government will follow, truly inclusive businesses can build truly inclusive societies.

Key Biographies Board members

Chairman Paul Polman, Paul is Chairman of the Valuable 500, co-founder of IMAGINE, Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact and Honorary Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce. A leading proponent that business can be mobilised as a force for good, as CEO of Unilever (2009-2018), he demonstrated that a long-term, multi-stakeholder model goes hand-in-hand with excellent financial performance.

Rosaleen Blair CBE, Rosaleen is a passionate entrepreneur and philanthropist. She founded AMS to transform the way that blue-chip multinationals attract, engage and retain top talent. In addition, she is Chair of the London Irish Centre and a fellow of the Prince’s Trust. She has won multiple enterprise and industry awards and was appointed CBE in 2017.

Jeff Dodds, Jeff is Virgin Media O2’s Chief Operating Officer and has long championed disability equality, spearheading partnerships with Scope, the British Paralympic Association as well as the Valuable 500.  Jeff is also a Non-Executive Director of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Jeff previously held executive roles at Callaway Golf and Honda.

Katherine Garett-Cox CBE, Katherine is the CEO of GIB Asset Management. She has decades of experience in global asset management, both in the institutional and retail sectors and across a broad range of investment disciplines. In 2014, Katherine was awarded a CBE for services to the asset management industry and charitable services through the Baring Foundation.

Rama Gheerawo, Rama is an international and inspirational figure within design. He won a ‘Hall of Fame’ award for his work at the Design Week Awards in 2019. As Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design alongside sitting on a number of advisory boards, he uses design to address issues around age, ability, gender and race.

Ichiro Kabasawa, Ichiro is Executive Director of The Nippon Foundation, based in Tokyo. He oversees international projects and D&I projects that The Nippon Foundation conducts in various countries and has initiated a series of international performing arts events in celebration of diversity and inclusion. Prior to joining The Nippon Foundation in 2017, he worked for over 20 years as a journalist at Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK.

Renee Manfredi, Renee is a consultant for Special Olympics International, Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger and a passionate advocate for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Neil Milliken, Neil is VP – Global Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion, Atos, co-founder of AXSChat & NED for several disability focused organisations.  Neil is a leading strategist and community builder and has been working in the field of Accessibility and Assistive Technology for over two decades.

Natasha Muller, Natasha is a Next Gen impact investor, philanthropist and mental health activist. Natasha actively campaigns on mental health issues; has worked on policy initiatives; helped fundraise and create philanthropic solutions and is CEO of NM Impact Ltd and Founder of Kokoro.

Eddie Ndopu, Eddie is an award-winning humanitarian and renowned disability justice practitioner who currently serves as an advocate for the United Nations Secretary-General to galvanize concerted action on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Eddie is currently building the Global Access Fund, a $1 billion mechanism to shore up and bolster the global humanitarian system.

Greg Nugent, Greg is the Creator of HTYT Films. The company’s debut film, Rising Phoenix, a landmark feature documentary on the Paralympic Games, was released globally on Netflix in 2020.  Greg was the CMO of London 2012 and formally a NED of the British Paralympic Association.

Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director for the Centre for the New Economy and Society, World Economic Forum. Her teams work with leaders from business, government, civil society and academia to understand and shape the new economy, advance competitiveness, drive social mobility and inclusion, close skills gaps, prepare for the future of work and foster gender equality and diversity. Saadia founded and co-authors the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, Global Gender Gap Report and Human Capital Report. Her book, Fifty Million Rising, charts the rise of working women in the Muslim world and was longlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2018. She has been selected as one of BBC’s 100 Women and won the inaugural FT/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize for prospective authors under 35. She holds a BA in Economics from Smith College, an MPhil in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of Geneva and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Her interests include the future of work, the impact of technology on employment, education and skills, income inequality and using big data for public good.

Valuable 500 Executive Leadership Team Biographies

Caroline Casey, Founder and award-winning social entrepreneur dedicated to driving change. Caroline has created several organisations and initiatives centred on disability business inclusion. Caroline is also a TED speaker, Ashoka Fellow, Eisenhower Fellow, a past advisor for the Clinton Global Initiative, a One Young World Counsellor and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Jo Pritchard, CEO, with a marketing and advertising career spanning over 20 years working alongside the biggest brands such as the likes of Citibank, Samsung and Land Rover. Formerly a Managing Partner of a series of creative agencies and recently named as one of 50 leading lights for Kindness in Leadership at The Women of the Future Awards.

Betsy Beaumon, Chief Product Officer, is a social entrepreneur, technologist, and author.  Formerly CEO of Benetech, a non-profit that empowers communities with software for social good, where she advocated for ethical technology for over a decade and developed products to address inclusion, equity, and justice for marginalized communities across the globe.

Crosby Cromwell, Chief Partnership Officer, has worked across the corporate sector, global NGOs, and as a social impact entrepreneur, dedicating her career to ensuring people with disabilities can thrive economically.  She previously joined Walmart to design and implement the company’s first national disability platform.

Chloe Matharu, Chief Marketing Officer, has a breadth of experience working in several award-winning brand and digital agencies as well as spearheading the community activation programme of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for Lloyds Banking Group.

Rhiannon Parker, Chief Innovation Officer, has extensive international management consultancy experience in energy, transportation, and travel and tourism.  Within travel and tourism space, she has worked with some of the world’s best-known brands such as Expedia, EasyJet, TUI, Club Med, Carnival UK, and Disneyland Paris.

Richard Poston, Chief Communications Officer, has 30 years of experience as a senior communications advisor to FTSE 100 CEOs on all aspects of corporate affairs having led this within Telefonica, O2, TI Group and Racal Electronics.