Charles Denton (business executive)
| Charles James Denton | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 20 February 1965 England |
| Occupation | entrepreneur |
| Known for | Molton Brown, charity work |
Charles James Denton (born 20 February 1965) is an English entrepreneur who has served as chief executive of a number of business enterprises and held volunteer positions within various charitable organizations. Educated at Millfield School in the Somerset village of Street.
Career summary: Charles Denton began his career during the 1980's in financial services with Charles Sturge & Co. In 1989 he joined Molton Brown [1]where, until its 2005 sale to Japan's Kao Corporation, he worked in various roles including Sales & Marketing Director, Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman. From 2007 to 2008 he was Deputy Chairman of electronic commerce group, ArgentVive plc. In 2009, Charles became chairman of the award-winning advertising agency Fold7. The agency was set up in 1995 specialising in advertising and brand strategy, with onsite facilities including a TV department, in-house editing, production and motion GFX teams for the commercial, film, broadcast and digital world.[2] He's an active investor in media, technology and new media companies. In February 2011 RBS Special Opportunities Fund, managed by RBS Equity Finance backed Charles Denton to acquire the iconic New York brand Erno Laszlo [3] a name synonymous with Hollywood glamour and famous American film stars.
Philanthropy: Charles has devoted much of his time to supporting and volunteering in various charitable organisations, most notably Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC) where he spent three years as Executive Director before becoming Chairman in 2009. Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) deals with more than 175,000 patient visits every year. The charity exists to enable GOSH to provide world-class care for its young patients and their families; to pioneer new treatments and cures for childhood illness by contributing to the rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital; funding the most up-to-date equipment; supporting research into, and development of, breakthrough treatments; and providing accommodation and other support services for children and their families. From 2006 to 2009 he was a trustee of Jeans for Genes a children's charity dedicated to funding research into childhood genetic disorders. In December 2008 he was appointed trustee and chairman of the African Orphan’s charity Sentebale [4] ['Forget Me Not' in Sesotho], set up in April 2006 by Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and Prince Harry of Wales to help vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho, particularly those who have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS.
Supporting the Arts: In the early 1990’s Charles lead a group of film and media partners to form the VFN (Virtual Film Network) based in London’s Shoreditch. The network was set up to promote new media skills amongst the unemployed. He staged the first solo show for emerging British artist Charles Avery in a disused London underground station and supported several cutting edge projects including the Art Unlimited events, which presented choreography, live arts, visual arts and theatre performance in unique spaces. In 2006 Charles became involved in the inspiring ‘Life & Deaf’ Speech and Language Therapy project, which aimed to develop Deaf children’s self-esteem. [5] In Speech and Language Therapy sessions, the children explored their feelings about their Deaf identity. They created mind maps from brainstorms, explored poetry about identity in different cultures, developed their vocabulary of emotions and wrote their own unique poetry. As the project developed, the Deaf children worked with Deaf poets, Deaf Instructors and actors to translate their written poetry into BSL and learn to perform this confidently and professionally.
Film and Television: Charles has been involved in several film and television projects. He produced the acclaimed documentary Montessori in Action: Learning for Life in association with Children's House Productions. The film has a running time of 44minutes and shows a day in the life of a Montessori Children's House. Virgina McHugh, AMI USA said, "It’s a beautiful portrayal of the Montessori legacy. Montessori in Action captures the essence of Montessori education and the universality of human development across cultures and throughout." Through the Fold7 agency he is an investor in Honora Productions Inc a Los Angeles based independent film and television production affiliate which focuses on authorship, putting the storyteller at the heart of what they do. [6] in late 2011 Honora partnered with Mitchell Donleavy Productions to option and commission a screenplay based on the best selling work The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B by the legendary American author J P Donleavy [7]
