We believe that purposeful brands can build a more equitable future
While there are many brand purpose agencies that help brands define their purpose, very few help brands meaningfully and sustainably deploy their brand purpose. Purpose is much easier said than done.
Our strength lies in going beyond purpose definition, to brand purpose deployment.
Accelerate brands’ impact on global health and well-being through transformative business models.
Develop transformative business models that improve the lives of 100 million people sustainably and catalyse an additional $1 billion towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
Our Guiding Principles
Where there is a disconnect between what the brand is pushing for and what the brand actually stands for, you will see a lot of missteps.
Ukonwa Ojo
Former Global CMO, Prime Video & Amazon Studios
What We Stand For
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out the UN agenda for people, planet and prosperity, achieving a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable society for all by 2030. Achieving the SDGs necessitates the resources and expertise of for-profit companies.
The SDGs also provide a framework for brand purpose. Embedding brand purpose into business models can unlock economic opportunities. In health and well-being alone, it is an opportunity worth US $1.8 trillion (WBCSD, 2017).
We are a certified B Corp. We are committed to creating sustainable social and environmental impact through the power of brands. We are also committed to looking after our people, our planet and our suppliers.
Click here for more on what B Corp certification means.
Big problems require companies, not to sell the idea of purpose but to deliver on purposeful solutions. Profit can be purposeful and purpose needs to be profitable.
Prof. Myriam Sidibe
Founder and Chief Mission Officer of Brands on a Mission
Our Story
(Click to explore)
While at Harvard during a sabbatical from Unilever, our Founder and Chief Mission Officer, Myriam developed a framework for brands on how to achieve social impact and business growth through purpose. Myriam presented this ‘Purpose Tree’ framework in her book, Brands on a Mission.
When talking about the Purpose Tree framework with various audiences, Myriam realised that ‘Brands on a Mission’ could be more than a book; it could be a movement with the potential to transform the business world, both at a corporate and brand level. In 2020, Brands on a Mission the company was founded. In 2021, we became fully operational.
We were selected as one of the most promising businesses in Asia and Africa by Stanford Seed. Alongside 45 other businesses to make the Stanford Seed Alumni Class of 2022, we embarked on the Stanford Seed Transformation programme. This rigorous programme provided invaluable leadership training, coaching and networking support. In November 2022, we graduated and are part of the Alumni class of 2022.
After a year of extensive auditing, we were officially certified as a B Corp. This explored our impact from our suppliers to customers, from our people to the planet. We knew from the founding of Brands on a Mission that we wanted to pursue this certification because it is not what you say that matters but rather what you do.
We have been working with some of the world’s most renowned brands and organisations to help them deliver and scale up their impact across multiple social issues globally. We can’t wait to continue this growth and expand our impact in 2023.
Our Team: The People behind Brands on a Mission
Brands on a Mission is a home for passionate intrapreneurs who strive to drive meaningful and measurable change through brands and organisations.
We are a small but ever-growing team of dedicated individuals working from all corners of the globe. United in our passion for people, purpose and planet, our diverse experience provides a rich depth of expertise.
Prof. Myriam Sidibe
Founder, Chief Mission Officer
Myriam is one of the world’s leading experts of brands that drive health outcomes through mass behavioural change. In 2021, she was named as one of the 100 most influential Africans in the world for her work on changing global corporate behaviour.
From within Unilever, where she spent 15 years, she created a movement to change the handwashing behaviours of one billion people, the single biggest hygiene behaviour change programme in the world. She is the woman behind the multi-award-winning and UN recognised Global Handwashing Day, now celebrated in over 100 countries.
In addition, Myriam was a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government of Harvard Kennedy School and is an honorary Professor of Practice at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Myriam sits on the board of MSI Reproductive Choices and the AB InBev Foundation, where she advises on their 1 billion USD smart drinking initiatives. She is also a former advisor to Unilever's Global Positive Beauty Council. Myriam is a Co-Founder and Chair of the National Business Compact on Coronavirus, which is now hosted and managed by Brands on a Mission.
Myriam is the author of the best-selling Business Ethics book Brands on a Mission: How to Achieve Social Impact and Business Growth through Purpose (Routledge 2020) and her TED talk The Simple Power of Handwashing has been viewed more than 1 million times. She is a contributor to the Entrepreneur and is featured in FT, Forbes, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Reuters and CNBC.
Avinish Jain
Founding Member, Chief Operating Officer
Avinish has 20 years of experience in creating and deploying brand purpose for big global brands. His key role is to manage our business today and to build a strong tomorrow.
Harriet Woollard
Founding Member, Project Lead (Consulting)
Drawing on over 25 years experience working with global brands to deliver impactful behaviour change communication to drive social and environmental impact, Harriet works with Brands on a Mission as consultant project lead, and communications advisor.
Dr. Ekua Yankah
Senior Consultant & Head of the NBCC Secretariat
Ekua is a Ghanian-German social epidemiologist turned social entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in designing, implementing and evaluating development programmes for young people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. She leads Brands on a Mission’s work on the National Business Compact on Coronavirus and other projects in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
Saptarishi Das
Sr. Strategy & Planning Manager
Having led digital and brand strategy initiatives for agencies and publishers across India and East Africa, Saptarishi now leads strategic planning on purpose deployment and manages Brands on a Mission’s digital and commercialisation initiatives.
Matilda Crowfoot
Programme Manager
Harnessing a background in the development sector and Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, Matilda manages a range of client projects across impact areas. Matilda also leads on external communications and supports the CMO's thought-leadership endeavours.
Elsie Wandera
NBCC Social Media & Events Assistant
Passionate about leveraging technology to deliver scalable social impact solutions, Elsie works with the NBCC team, where she brings her planning and execution in social media and events.
Franklin Ochieng
Finance Lead
A Certified Public Accountant with over 10 years of experience, Frank oversees financial operations, ensuring compliance while maximizing financial efficiency on behalf of Brands on a Mission and our partners.
Lazaro Ighacho
ICT Lead
As a seasoned ICT specialist with over 10 years of experience in supporting various ICT solutions, Lazaro assists the company in all ICT matters.
Our Advisors
Dr. Robert Aunger
BV Pradeep
Ricardo Pimenta
Dr. Remi Trudel
Dr. Robert Aunger
Senior Behaviour Change Advisor
With nearly two decades at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine U. of London and experience working with numerous global organisations including The World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Unilever and Procter & Gamble, Robert is an expert in developing creative interventions for public health programmes. He was the primary developer of Behaviour Centred Design, the framework to change behaviours based on evolutionary psychology, the predictive brain hypothesis and design thinking, which we use at Brands on a Mission.
Based in Sussex, UK
BV Pradeep
Senior Insight Advisor
Pradeep has an MBA from the prestigious IIM, Bangalore and is a Gold medallist in Marketing Specialisation. He has been an Insight professional and a Management leader in the Global FMCG space for over three decades. He has held senior leadership roles across 40 countries. Pradeep advises us on everything from research and insights to behaviour change, social norms and brand purpose.
Based in London, UK
Ricardo Pimenta
Senior Brand & Strategy Advisor
Ricardo is a seasoned global business leader with wide experience in multiple brands and categories from his career at PepsiCo and Unilever. He is an expert in purposeful brand positioning and strategy.
Based in the Greater New York City Area, USA
Dr. Remi Trudel
Senior Academic Advisor
Remi is an Associate Professor at the Questrom School of Business, Boston University. He advises Brands on a Mission on a variety of projects to help bridge the gap between behavioural science, and marketing practice.
Based in Boston, USA
Visit Careers
Brands on a Mission partners with leading brands, agencies, academics and thought leaders.
