Leaving Business in the Community will be a wrench for Adrian Hodges.
Now 34, he has just been appointed to one of the most eagerly watched
posts in PR - as head of corporate communications at The Body Shop.
Right now though, he is talking about the last five years of life, as
director of communications at Business in the Community.
That BITC has been much more than just a job to him becomes apparent
when he is asked to list his hobbies. His eyes light up and he says:
‘Business in the Community...I don’t jest.’
‘I’ll be very sad to leave BTIC,’ he says, ‘it’s a different
organisation from the one I joined five years ago and it’ll be a very
different organisation again in another five years. It’s an interesting
time, and business in the community is high on the boardroom agenda.’
When it comes to talking about his new job - which he takes up after
Christmas - Hodges diplomatically avoids any questions to do with his
predecessors at the company. Certainly The Body Shop has had its share
of change in terms of PR personnel. Last June it lost Shaun Whatling,
its UK head of PR. His departure came just months after that of Gwen
Gober, head of corporate communications, who lasted just six months in
the job.
Hodges smiles and explains that as a communicator he needs to listen
before he can talk and while he’s already had some ‘stimulating
sessions’ with The Body Shop, he’s not yet in a position to comment. But
he adds ‘I’m champing at the bit to get there’.
For someone who has spent so long encouraging business to take an active
role in the community, The Body Shop is a natural progression for
Hodges. ‘The Body Shop manifestly embraces social and environmental
change as part of its mission statement. I worked for five years to
promote those ideals and I see my new job as an opportunity to continue
with this cause.’
‘Being at the leading edge of its field, The Body Shop offers the
opportunity to experiment and be innovative,’ he adds.
Undoubtedly, BITC has stood Hodges in good stead for future challenges.
He sees corporate reputation as one of the keys to product
differentiation. But he says there’s still a lot of work to be done on
this issue.
Those who know him praise Hodges’ professionalism, and his organisation.
‘He’s a good behind-the-scene man rather than the thrusting PR type,’
says one journalist. While Julia Cleverdon, chief executive of BITC
praises ‘the sharp strategic focus’ Hodges has brought to BITC’s
communications.
A one-time member of the National Youth Theatre, Hodges has always had
an interest in the arts - and until a year ago was on the national board
of Business in the Arts.
His first job, with Arun District Council’s Leisure and Tourism
department, saw him booking stars such as Max Bygraves and organising
Big Daddy wrestling events.
After Arun, he moved to London and worked for four years with Kallaway,
one of the leading arts sponsorship agencies, finishing up as head of
communications. Managing director Bill Kallaway remembers him as
‘likeable, direct and on occasion tough’.
But, if it is challenges he’s after, Hodges has certainly chosen well.
Last year The Body Shop appeared to be in crisis after US ethical
investor Franklin Research and Development accused it of failing to live
up to its ethical credentials.
The whole issue threatens to re-ignite in January 1996, shortly after
Hodges joins the company, when The Body Shop publishes the findings of
an independent ethical audit it commissioned itself.
‘It demonstrates the Body Shop’s commitment to transparency,’ says
Hodges, already limbering up to hit the ground running. ‘The company’s
learnt from the past, it’s always celebrated success and it’s trying to
do better.’
HIGHLIGHTS
1983 Event manager, Arun District Council
1985 Marketing manager, Commonwealth Institute
1987 Press officer, later head of communications, Kallaway
1990 Director of communications, Business in the Community
1996 Head of communications, The Body Shop
