Jeremy Schwartz is the former CEO of Body Shop, Conival and Pandora, the former Managing Director of L’Oréal UK, and the former Marketing Director of Coca-Cola where he created the multibillion-dollar band Coke Zero.
Jeremy Schwartz is renowned for fusing sustainability with commerciality and launching innovative retail products and marketing campaigns. Jeremy’s candid insights shed light on how businesses can drive the protection of the environment and become a force for good while also increasing profitability.
As Body Shop CEO, he shifted the business model, making 100% of products vegan, persuaded authorities around the world to protect endangered strips of rainforest, and travelled to the Amazon to source new ingredients and protect biodiversity by creating income for local indigenous groups. At Coca-Cola, Jeremy noticed that young men stopped drinking Coke after turning 18 and created the multibillion-dollar Coke Zero brand to plug the gap in the market, at L’Oréal he launched the iconic “Because You’re Worth it” line, and at Pandora he transitioned from stores to an e-commerce focus, resulting in a 300% increase in share price.
Video Timeline
- 00:16 – As former CEO of Body Shop, Conival and Pandora, as well as the former Managing Director of L’Oréal UK and Coca-Cola where you created the multibillion-dollar band Coke Zero, you are a pioneer in sustainability and innovation branding. So, what advice can you give to companies who also want to be competitively sustainable?
- 01:26 – What prevents companies from innovating?
- 02:24 – Do you think companies will invest in sustainable innovation of their own accord or are regulatory incentives needed?
- 03:25 – You’ve been working to develop a concept for regulatory incentives. Can you tell us about it?
- 04:20 – As a leader how did you implement sustainable innovation and what challenges did you face?
- 05:43 – How did you adjust business models including models of profit and loss?
- 07:12 – When employees and possibly consumers are afraid of change, how do you assuage that fear?
- 09:10 – You created Coke Zero. How did you detect the gap in the market for this product and develop the branding?
- 12:00 – Following the pandemic, what are the changes will companies need to make?
- 14:20 – As CEO of Pandora, you transitioned the company from majority store sales to online sales, raising the shareholder value by 300%. How did you implement digitization?
- 15:56 – How can other leaders spot where in their businesses the need to innovate lies?
- 17:37 – What companies do you think are really doing it right at the moment?
- 19:25 – What led you to develop the podcast Saving Tomorrow’s Planet?
- 21:05 – That’s a sombre note, where do you think we can derive hope from?
- 22:05 – Do you have a parting message for us today?
