Elvis’s Tanya Whitehouse: ‘Losing B Corp certification just not an option for us’

“There was a bit of a perfect storm of different people being impacted by different things in the business and were trying to be a better business in terms of how we look after our people, run things, that kind of stuff,” says CEO Tanya Whitehouse.

“It was originally suggested that we go for B Corp by our MD, Caroline Davison, who is highly motivated by what’s going on in the world around us.”

Whitehouse, who took over as CEO in 2017 after almost six years in the MD’s seat, says the process was immense and involved dismantling the renowned creative agency – which has created advertising for brands including Cadbury, Odeon, Dobbies, Birds Eye, Walkers, Philadelphia and Madame Tussauds – brick by brick and rebuilding it.

“B Corp has impacted everything here – how we talk, what we do, who we work with, how we recruit talent, where we give donations, how we pay our people, the works. We take it extremely seriously. We are a creative B Corp and those words totally define what we are today.”

Ironically, in the month that Elvis was celebrating two years as a B Corp, the non-profit that certifies corporations, B Lab, was hitting the headlines for stripping Havas and four of its agencies of their B Corp status after the network had accepted work from fossil fuel giant Shell.

Whitehouse isn’t shy about expressing the impact that had on the whole concept of being a B Corp business: “That was just so epically disappointing. There was just shock, not only from an industry point of view but from a B Corp point of view, with people questioning the value of B Corp, which for us was horrendous as it’s such a huge part of who we are now.

“I think about the people at Havas who were passionate about it and who would have spent many hours working to get it. I think about the people who were employed by it, who bought into it and agreed with it and then, when they’re in the business, were utterly let down. The thought of ever losing that certification is just not an option for us.”

Naturally, certification should mean saying ‘no’ to certain types of business and Whitehouse admits that can be hard. She says the agency has a new business opportunity right now that it is going to have to decline to pitch for. But while the ‘do we pitch/don’t we pitch’ conversations can get quite complex, Whitehouse has developed a simple decision-making mechanism: “I just ask myself how I would feel talking about this client in front of the agency and how I would feel talking about this client publicly.”

Values-driven

It’s clear to see that Whitehouse is a values-driven leader. Other words she uses to describe her management style are “instinctive” (a welcome progression, she says, from previous bouts of impulsiveness), “energetic” and “excitable.” She loves her job and feels privileged to work in the creative industry. Elvis is in her DNA.

To be fair, it’s easy to say you’re values-driven and committed to the business and your people, but in conversation, Whitehouse is refreshingly open, humble and honest and it’s that honesty that is clear evidence of her “values-driven” claim. When asked about her biggest successes in leadership, she doesn’t quote her P&L or any whopping client wins, or even creative awards. Remember Covid? Whitehouse does. “Covid for me was a huge pressure and it was my responsibility as CEO to look after everybody – to look after their jobs from a commercial perspective, but also to look after their morale throughout it. Going through something so frightening and coming out the other side without making any redundancies was huge for me. I looked after everybody. We pulled together as a team and I’m very proud of that.”

CEOs are expected to push through all challenges with a stiff upper lip and a ready-to-go strategy on the tip of their tongue. As Whitehouse discovered during one video call, however, it’s OK to not be OK – even for a leader.

“Covid was the first time that I cried in front of my colleagues. It was a Zoom call a couple of months into lockdown and I cried during an online meeting because of the pure stress and pressure, worrying about people’s jobs, worrying that the money coming wasn’t going to be able to pay all of our people, all that kind of stuff. When I came off the call, I remember feeling mortified that I’d cried but I got so much positive feedback and support. I was like, ‘God, I am allowed to be who I actually am.’ It was actually empowering and enlightening. It taught me that even in a position of power, it is absolutely fine to show emotions, to be who you are and to be affected by things. It’s human, natural.”

Women have shit to deal with

Women in CEO and leadership roles is another area that Whitehouse has open and honest views on and, much like with Havas’s commitment to B Corp, she is disappointed by the lack of women holding senior roles in agency land and accepts that it’s people in her position that have to change that.

“At Next 15, there are a lot of female CEOs, which is fucking great. I also have a heavily female leadership team. So, my experience is being surrounded by really powerful, brilliant women, but, statistically, it’s not the same across the sector.

“Women have a lot of shit to deal with, from having and caring for children right through to menopause and, unfortunately, there are also a lot of stale old dinosaurs in the industry. That said, it’s starting to change, but it’s slow. We talk about equity and diversity, but are we really setting up these businesses to help people work in this industry? I would say no. I had a baby quite late and now the admiration I have for mums working in this industry is unbelievable. I have no idea how you could do that working five days in the office. Same for dads as well.”

Since Covid, Whitehouse has operated a mandatory one day a week working in the agency’s Great Portland Street office in London; the remaining days can worked remotely if desired. While many businesses are pushing staff to get back into the office full-time, Whitehouse says: “It blows my mind that a lot of businesses are pushing to get people back to five days in the office. I think it’s a certain type of leader that believes that you’ve got to watch over people. They’re probably bored. I know when my team is performing and I know when they’re not performing because it’s really obvious. I think there’s a certain type of leader of a certain age that is rallying against hybrid working.”

So, what of the future? Where next for Whitehouse and what’s driving her?

“For me, it’s the pursuit of a better world. So, how can we have conversations with marketers and businesses at the top level as a small business and encourage them to make better choices? How can I make sure, in my business, I’m making better choices? Agencies have such a brilliant platform through the brands we work with to address things like inequality, gender representation, the climate crisis and so on. My goal is to do some good, to help progress this industry and to try and make bigger brands make better decisions – and, obviously, to grow my business in line with those values.”