In the fourth of a new series of interviews with social enterprise professionals, On Purpose associate Stephanie Denamps talks to Ariane van de Ven, head of future and trend insights at O2. O2 is a leading communications company which has developed a strong commitment to supporting social enterprises, including sponsorship of Voice11, the UK's largest social enterprise event.
How did you get to where you are now?
I've always been interested in culture and what stimulates our brain and imagination. I studied art history and worked in cultural institutions for a few years. At MoMA PS1 in New York, I was in charge of corporate partnerships. I found the relationship between culture and brands fascinating so I decided to study marketing management. I started off as an international trend consultant in Paris: the perfect blend of strategic and creative thinking. I subsequently moved to Amsterdam where I was a planner, and London where I worked as a strategist. I joined Telefonica UK [02] two and a half years ago, to head up future and trends insights: an interesting opportunity to challenge mindsets and help stimulate innovation. I am now moving to our head office in Madrid to become Telefonica's global trends expert.
Why is being a socially responsible business important to you and your organisation?
Large organisations such as Telefonica have the opportunity to create systemic social change on a macro scale. I believe our company wants to positively impact on the world. The fact that our workplaces are energy efficient, that we are encouraged to reduce our transportation and that we have initiatives such as EcoRating, Proniño or Think BIG are crucial for me to feel proud of the company I work for. Because of the nature of my role, I actually get to influence to some degree our vision and from this I get a sense of purpose and achievement.
What does your job involve?
My job is about developing a future vision for our company based on people's emerging behaviours and to identify opportunities for our organisation. I map consumer trends (five years ahead) and draw out the implications for all the areas of our business: from HR to financial services, sustainability or mobile technology. I am here to inspire people and help align them behind one common future vision. To achieve this I publish a trend book for Telefonica every year as well as organise talks and workshops across our markets to help our teams innovate with bold products and services.
What is the most difficult / rewarding thing in your job?
The most difficult thing is to ensure I create and bring out the most relevant trend information to the organisation. Sometimes, I come across really interesting trends that are not useful for Telefonica so I have to park them. Information overload is a real curse so I need to make sure my content is relevant and impactful.
The most rewarding thing is the feedback I get from my colleagues. When they come to me and tell me they feel inspired, that I changed the way they look at an issue or that I've managed to "spark" an idea for a new innovation.
What do you see the social enterprise movement being in five years time?
I hope that every business will be a socially responsible one in the future. As part of my role, I spend a lot of time interacting with young people and I find the fact that most of them feel a sense of duty and responsibility towards their community and the environment very inspiring. In many ways, young people are a lot more entrepreneurial, ready to take risks and to challenge the order than previous generations. Technology has made all this possible because it has democratised information and knowledge. Together young people and technology will be the biggest enablers of the social enterprise future.
And where do you see yourself at that point?
I see myself doing exactly the same thing I do now. I have the chance to work for a company that enables me to fully develop my creativity and my thinking to help inspire a global workforce to innovate in a way that is meaningful for people and has a positive impact on society. Currently I am working on a project in Latin America to help empower women. I hope I can keep being involved with such initiatives, contributing in my own small way to make the world a better place.
Ariane van de Ven was interviewed by Stephanie Denamps, a 2011 On Purpose associate who joined O2 in July. During her six-month placement, Stephanie will be looking at how O2 can best support young enterprises and particularly those with a social purpose. Stephanie is currently working on projects including the sponsorship of the Smarta100 competition and a recycling programme for business clients.
On Purpose is a leadership programme that helps high-calibre professionals kick-start a career in social enterprise; it combines paid work experience with intensive training and support. Applications for the 2012 Associate intake are now open.
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