Julia Cleverdon
from Desert Island Discs: Archive 2011-2015 Hosted by BBC Radio 4
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the campaigner, Dame Julia Cleverdon. As head of the charity, Business in the Community, she fine-tuned to perfection the art of persuasion. A phone call from her and many of the big beasts of the business world - the "pinstripes" she calls them - stride from their boardrooms intent on giving something back to society. Her energies and endeavours have powered countless corporate social responsibility programmes. In a life dedicated to public service, she has charmed not only chief executives but apparently royalty too - HRH the Prince of Wales is a long time supporter and collaborator. She seems keenly aware that not everyone has her good fortune of a first class education and top drawer connections - when she's not harrying the blue chip brigade, she's inspiring young people from all sorts of backgrounds to follow her example and get involved in social action. She says, "one of the most important leadership roles is to grow people. It is very much like gardening. You tend them and apply fertiliser. But sometimes you have to prune them to make them grow stronger." Producer: Paula McGinley.
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