Diana Verde Nieto: A Crusade of Positivity
Founder, Positive Luxury
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianaverdenieto
Bio:
Entrepreneur and game-changer Diana Verde Nieto is co-founder and CEO of Positive Luxury, the company behind the Butterfly Mark. Argentinian-born Dian is a serial entrepreneur who was nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, went to Harvard Kennedy School of Global Leadership and Public Policy and trained with Al Gore at the Alliance of Climate Protection.
Innovating in Field of Work:
• Diana is a pioneer in the sustainability sector, in 2002 she founded a sustainability communications consultancy before the topic was on most people’s radar and built it to international success.
• In 2011, Diana co-founded Positive Luxury, rewarding luxury lifestyle brands with the Butterfly Mark, a trust mark which legitimizes a brand’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability.
• Positive Luxury helps consumers to identify brands that have a positive impact on people and the planet, and brands to maximize their positive benefits whilst increasing their return.
• Positive Luxury also provides access to their Trust Button, which tells a brand’s positive story directly at point of sale whilst capturing real time consumer data.
Impact:
• Diana is a globally recognized figure in the sustainability field and has been honored by the World Economic Forum in Davos as a Young Global Leader.
• She is also a member of the Global Agenda Council for Sustainable Consumption and Circular Economy.
• In the past 3 years, more than 200 brands have received The Butterfly Mark and are now recognized by consumers as a brand to trust.
Role Model:
• Diana is an inspiration, proving her courage, strength and determination through overcoming her upbringing in Argentine dictatorship to create and build two companies in the UK (although in her own words, she would never been able to achieve any of these without the help of family, friend, teams and close business acquaintances).
• Diana acts as a mentor for her team, always on hand to provide guidance and the tools needed to help them excel under her leadership.
• She sits on the Advisory Board for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders.
Reinvention / Risk / Momentum:
• Diana has spent a lifetime mentoring people/companies about the importance of integrating social and environmental sustainability into their business process in order to future proof their businesses
• In 2002 she set up Clownfish, a pioneering consultancy helping brands such as Coca-Cola and Nike develop their sustainability programs. It sold to Aegis-Dentsu Group in 2008.
• Diana isn’t afraid to use the term “failure”. She calls it “Living in Beta” you try things out and if they don’t work you keep trying things until they do. She attributes the ‘can do’ attitude from being brought up in her native Buenos Aires.
“For me success is beyond power and money, so I felt that I had not achieved my goal of normalizing sustainability. Sustainability had become a dirty word — un-chic and inspiring nothing but apathy. I wanted to start a business that moved away from the rhetoric of sustainability and instead, became a crusade of positivity.”