Minnie Moll takes on Ambassador role for HRH The Prince of Wales

Our Joint Chief Executive Minnie Moll, has been appointed by HRH The Prince of Wales, as his Ambassador for Responsible Business in the East of England.

HRH personally appoints 12 inspirational, regional business figures to represent his responsible business network and lead other businesses to take action to address key issues. Minnie was chosen for her personal impact and for demonstrating strong leadership within her role here.

Business in the Community (BITC) is The Prince’s Responsible Business Network. It aims to create positive social and economic impact through business engagement, employment, enterprise and culture. They engage thousands of businesses through their programmes driven through a core membership of more than 800 organisations, from small enterprises to global corporations.

Minnie said of her appointment: “I feel honoured to be appointed by HRH and proud to stand alongside other strong Ambassadors chosen for their leadership in transforming business. It is now accepted that businesses have a key role in the communities in which they operate and have an obligation to help build resilient communities alongside local economic growth.

“As a co-op it is in our DNA to be a responsible business and support communities, so I look forward to spreading the message across the region, building on our support of local producers, and engaging the business community in this important agenda.”

One of Minnie’s ambitions in her new role is to drive the our commitment to supporting dementia awareness and inspire other businesses to take action. We have now trained over 3,000 of our colleagues as Dementia Friends, have won an award for Staff Education at the national Better Society Awards, and have been nominated for a prestigious Princess Royal Training Award.

Working with BITC, Minnie will make this award winning training available for free to businesses across the East of England, in a bid to help more companies become dementia friendly. She will also sit on the BITC East of England Advisory Board and will champion our practice and principles, leading on a BITC ‘Seeing is Believing’ event. 

Minnie takes on the role from Dr. Andy Wood, Chief Executive of Adnams. Commenting on Minnie’s appointment, Andy said: “It has been a great honour to be HRH Regional Ambassador for responsible business in the East of England for the past two years. During this time I have been involved in some exciting and valuable programmes such as ‘Seeing is Believing’ and the launch of ‘VETS East’. I am certain Minnie will continue to build upon these great foundations and I couldn't be more delighted for her and wish her all the very best.”

Alongside Minnie’s appointment and in further recognition of the positive impact of the Co-operative model, Mark Smith, Chief Executive of the Southern Co-operative, has also been appointed as the Ambassador for the South East of England. His ambition is to focus on championing the creation of vibrant and resilient communities by encouraging other businesses to see the benefits of community-based solutions.