Chris Martin
A strategist working at the intersection of political economy, sustainability transitions, and governance to help organisations redefine success beyond growth.
ABOUT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, there. Nice to meet you. I'm Chris. I work with people who want to do things differently, but aren't sure how.
Throughout the decade I've spent in senior marketing and leadership positions, I have experienced the tensions that lie at the heart of modern business. But building the alternative is no easy feat.
To truly serve people and planet means operating under the double burden of survival in competitive markets whilst adhering to additional self-imposed constraints.
My mission is to support organisations moving beyond the logics of growth and profit, and rethink what business can be by grounding activity in systems thinking, liberating practices and public good.
Because change is made possible when we challenge assumptions, nurture collective agency and create the conditions for new ways of working to emerge.
Want to connect, collaborate or chat? Get in touch and let's build something great together.
BRANDS I'VE WORKED WITH -----------------------------------------
WHAT I DO ---------------------------------------------------------------
The best relationships are a meeting of minds. I offer strategic and creative support to organisations that want to become a force for good. Current projects include:
FRACTIONAL EXEC
Access to expert guidance, strategic knowledge and experienced tactical executions without the overhead of a full-time hire. Perfect for lean startups and growing scale-ups, I'm embedded into your business to own process and deliver results.
NON EXEC DIRECTOR
An independent and authoritative voice, lending support, balance and advice to your executive team. In this position, I aim to act as a representative of all the stakeholders with a vested interest in your success - including customers and communities.
STRATEGIC ADVISOR
Prescient and actionable advice based on a robust process of research, analysis and synthesis. My objective is to help your teams achieve the best outcomes with all available information.
PROJECT ENGAGEMENT
In this flexible form of engagement, I can lead or work as part of a team to deliver a range of outcomes. Current examples include acting as Kashiwa-no-Hatake project lead, and developing the short film project A Taste of Tomorrow.
WRITING & FEATURES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS --------------------------------------------
SE Chapter Conference
Training Summit
Annual Conference
Annual Congress
Employment Showcase
TEDx LancasterU
PHILOSOPHY --------------------------------------------------------
The challenges we face are not the result of individual failures, but of systems designed around narrow ideas of success. For decades, economic and social life has been shaped by the assumption that growth and efficiency are ends in themselves, detached from social wellbeing and ecological limits.
I start from a different premise: prosperity is relational, contextual & collective. Success depends on who benefits, over what timescale, and at what cost.
My work is grounded in the belief that viable alternatives to growth must be lived, practiced, and made visible first to inspire systems change. Supporting organisations to operate in service of people and planet is not idealism or fruitless. It is a necessary step in demonstrating that different is possible.
The goal is not to reject enterprise, but to reorient it - away from extraction and short-term gain, toward stewardship, legitimacy, and shared prosperity.
"The ultimate hidden truth of the world is it’s something we make and could just as easily make differently” - David Graeber
PRO-BONO ENGAGEMENTS ----------------------------------------------------
Employer Board Member
Executive Mentor
General Volunteer
ACADEMIA & EDUCATION -----------------------------------------------------------
Postgraduate School
Professionl Education
Contributor
LET'S CHAT ---------------------------------------------------------------
Want to talk? My inbox is open. Let's figure out how to harness the power of your business to create sustainable value, enable positive transformation and build a better society. Click here to send me an email.
