The brainchild of committed environmentalist Helena Mansell-Stopher, Products of Change began life in 2019 as a small networking group of licensing professionals with a shared mission to connect sustainable best practices across industry.
It has since evolved into a global membership organisation with input and support from an impressive roster of official ambassadors.
Products of Change founder Helena Mansell-Stopher’s career has spanned 20 years in the brand and licensing industry. It was during her years as licensing director of National Geographic Partners that the devastating effect of climate change and the impact that the consumer goods industry she loved was having on the environment really hit home, instilling a burning desire to do something that would educate to inform sustainable change, within the parameters of the business world.
Well respected industry executive, Robert Hutchins (above left) has joined Products of Change, taking up the newly created role of Editor and Community Manager.
Rob joins POC as it gears up as the go-to media hub for promoting and encouraging the sustainability agenda across the consumer products industries.The former ToyNews and Licensing.biz editor will work alongside Products of Change founder, Helena Mansell-Stopher to head up editorial across the platform, drawing upon his almost ten years’ experience in toy and licensing industry media to develop robust, must-read content to serve POC’s growing audience and member base.
In pursuit of this Helena formed a small group to ignite the conversation, inviting like-minded individuals that she knew to join her. These early POC pioneers included: Trudi Bishop, founder of Bee Licensing; Jakki Brown, Joint MD and editorial director of Max Publishing, Exhibitions and Ventures; Paul De’Ath, product design course director at Central St Martins; Rob Hutchins, editor of Licensing.biz and Toy News; Peter Johnson, MD of Creature Media; Claire McNutty, head of the National Geographic Society for Europe; Gary Pope, founder of Kids Industries and Louise Williams, head of FMCG & home of The Point. 1888.
Helena then successfully completed a course in Sustainability Management from the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Learning and worked with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, completing a course in Circular Economic Business Practices.
Recognising that to further push the sustainable conversations and initiate real change through Products of Change would necessitate considerable investment in building a central information and networking hub, Helena was delighted when Max Media Ventures (an entrepreneurial company, whose directors she knew well and respected) stepped in to invest.
Products of Change Media was born in April 2020 and work got underway almost immediately to build the educational and networking hub, which launched in October 2020.
Helena Mansell-Stopher
CEO
Helena, who was recently Director of Licensing at National Geographic UK has been driving sustainable change for a number of years. She has successfully completed the University of Cambridge’s course in Business Sustainability Management as well as Circular Economic Business Practices from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Rob Hutchins
Editor/Community Manager
As a founding committee member of Products of Change, Rob has been involved in the mission since day one. POC is delighted to have appointed Rob as editor and community manager for the hub, utilising his knowledge, contacts, energy and desire to help bring the industry forward in a collaborative manner.
Michelle Urquhart
Contributing Editor
Michelle is a very experienced journalist and copywriter, having spent many years in the media, both printed magazines and online content. She writes across many of the Max Publishing titles and always has an ear to the ground for a good story.
Rob Willis
Director
As a director and co-owner of Max Publishing, which includes The Licensing Source Book, LicensingSource.net, The Licensing Awards and the B&LLAs, Rob’s network spans widely across licensing and consumer products. This 20-year address book will be extensively utilised to ensure that Products of Change’s mission is shared.
Jakki Brown
Director
As a co-founder of Max Publishing (which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary), Jakki has been at the forefront of driving the editorial side of the business as well as being heavily involved in the creation and evolution of the company’s well established and respected B2B awards programmes across both licensing and consumer products sectors.
Ian Hyder
Director
Having made licensing the focus of his attention for the last 15 years at Max Publishing, of which he is Joint MD, Ian has very much been part of the industry’s evolution. Leading on the commercial front he has brought to life the Licensing Source Book, the Licensing Awards, the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards (B&LLAs) and digitally LicensingSource.net.
