‘I’m an advocate but I’m also a capitalist’: Douglas Lamont on how to run a mission-driven business
The CEO of Tony’s Chocolonely has a long history of fighting for better business. Here, he lays out why it is the smart thing to do, not just the right thing
Douglas Lamont has found his lane. The CEO of confectioner Tony’s Chocolonely has a knack for picking mission-driven businesses that are thriving.
In 2022, after nearly 16 years as CEO of Innocent, the drinks brand, Lamont was looking for a change. As a champion of purpose-led businesses, he knew he wanted to go somewhere with an ethos similar to Innocent’s – but that wasn’t his only consideration.
“I was looking for an opportunity at a similar scale, in that scale-up phase from £100m to £400m in revenue,” Lamont says. For him, the mission is key, but it must work in tandem with profit and growth.
Moving from one B Corp-certified business to another certainly helped the transition. “You feel at home,” Lamont says. “The language that people inside the business speak is very similar and the mindset is there on how to deliver a successful company, but in a way that balances people and profit.”
Becoming a responsible-business figurehead
Bringing on a CEO who thinks in this way also makes it easier for employees to accept new leadership. “You’re there to take the company through a new phase,” says Lamont. “What you need at £100m is very different from what you need at £300m.” This growth phase can be uncomfortable for workers, especially ones who are passionate about the organisation’s vision and impact, and worry about compromising it.
“You have to demonstrate that you care deeply about the mission,” he continues, explaining that his previous work as chief executive at Innocent and chair of the Better Business Act, have helped to raise his public profile, making it easy for new colleagues to Google him and get a sense of his values. “Anyone thinking, ‘Who is this guy?’, could look me up and see things I’ve said publicly that resonate with them.”
If you want to change the world, you have to have a great product
This higher profile comes with challenges. Standing for something means your own actions, and those of the company you lead, come under greater scrutiny. “The great thing about being called ‘innocent’ is that it holds you to a pretty high bar,” says Lamont. “Initially, everyone was on our side when we were the challenger brand, but when you get big every journalist wants to find the guilty story – to write the other side.”