Warren Johnson, W Communications

Our Chairman, Warren Johnson, has taken a decidedly entrepreneurial approach to purpose. He believes that purpose is not a one-off activity to boost short-term credibility, but an ever-turning machine that progresses with each iteration. While always rooted in altruism and a philosophy of doing good, the purpose initiatives one chooses must become autonomous, self-sustaining extensions of a business if they are to have any real long-term impact.

We don't want to create insincere, short-lived purpose campaigns. We want to take our ideas about driving change and turn them into vehicles that excite and empower in equal measure, ultimately making a real difference. Warren's philosophy is that a great idea, however well-intended, will run out of steam without addressing the reality of fuelling it.

It is through the initiatives he drives at his own business that we have all totally reassessed how we approach and think about purpose. At W, purpose has become the thread that is sewn through the very fabric of who we are as an agency, a business, and a motivator of real change.