Paul Newman, Oscar -Winning Actor: Defining The Personal Brand As A Positive Legacy

Paul Newman combined the looks and style of a marquee idol, the thoughtful demeanor of an intellectual, a suprisingly successful entrepreneur who had the drive to improve the lives of others which is, perhaps, his most lasting legacy.

In an era in which 140-character tweets can define a personal brand, Newman left a thriving business known for high quality, clever graphics - and a desire to help the less fortunate. The substance of his contribution stands out.

In this profile from the Financial Times, Matthew Garrahan examines that exemplary legacy:

"He was an Oscar-winning actor who appeared in more than 60 films in a 50-year Hollywood career, with starring roles in classics such as The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. But for charities that received his money, the late Paul Newman’s legacy has less to do with Hollywood and much more to do with salad dressing.

Newman’s Own, the food company he founded, recently passed an important milestone – it has generated more than $300m for charity since 1982, when Newman decided to start selling salad dressing that he had previously only made for friends and neighbours in his home town of Westport, Connecticut.

The idea of selling the salad dressing, which can now be found in supermarkets the world over along with other Newman’s Own products that range from pizzas to lemonade, started as “a lark”, according to Clea Newman Soderlund, his daughter.

The challenge facing the Newman’s Own Foundation, the non-profit entity that administers the grants to the charities and controls the Newman’s Own company, is how to prosper in a future without its charismatic founder, who used his fame to create a global food brand. It is an issue shared by organisations such as Apple and Virgin: how do brands that are closely identified with the founder survive once the dominant personality is no longer involved in running the company?

Robert Forrester has been running the Newman’s Own Foundation since 2005 and is also chief executive of the food company. A long-time friend of Newman’s, he explains that the star took steps to prepare the foundation for the future while he was still alive. “Before we created the foundation in 2005, Paul had personal ownership of everything,” he says. “He owned the Newman’s Own food company and all profits would pass to him. He would then give it all to charity.”

This was fine while Newman was alive, says Mr Forrester, but it presented a problem if something were to happen to its founder, which Newman himself recognised. So the foundation was created and Newman set about transferring to it the rights and intellectual property he owned in relation to Newman’s Own.

The actor had no real interest in running a company, although once he had decided to capitalise on the popularity of his culinary creations, there was never any doubt about what he would do with the profits. “He felt there was no way he could create a company with his name or face on it unless he gave all the money to charity,” says Ms Newman Soderlund, who is a vice-president of the charity. “I don’t think he had any idea that it was going to turn into what it did.”

Appeal for corporate philanthropy

The money generated by Newman’s Own since its inception has helped thousands of charities but has also highlighted how puny the charitable efforts of many other companies are in comparison.

This was not lost on John Whitehead, a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs – and a deputy secretary of state under Ronald Reagan – when he first met Newman 12 years ago.

Mr Whitehead had long been interested in corporate philanthropy and had lobbied chief executives to donate to non-profit groups. “While we were talking to chief executives about giving 2, 3 or even 5 per cent of their profits [to charity], Paul had pledged 100 per cent,” he says.

The two men were cut from different political cloth – Mr Whitehead was a Republican, while Newman was a liberal Democrat. Yet they became friends and Mr Whitehead asked the star to be the co-chairman of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy non-profit group.

“No one would refuse to see me if I told them I was bringing Paul Newman,” he says.
Newman’s Own and its unique public mission – its motto is “Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good” – has evolved into an important source of income for deserving causes, including the network of Hole in the Wall camps for sick children, which was started by Newman himself, the Safe Water Network, and several groups that support military veterans and active service personnel.

All post-tax profits go to charity, and in 2010 almost $30m was given away.

The company does not make the products itself. Instead, a set of carefully guarded recipes is licensed to partner companies, which pay a royalty to Newman’s Own. It employs its own marketing team and quality assurance experts, who ensure the food being produced is of high quality, but is otherwise a lean operation with only 32 employees.

When Newman died in 2008, Mr Forrester had to move quickly. “I had to make lots of different people feel secure that things weren’t going to change. I got together with the employees, went out and met customers and let them know that it was business as usual,” he says.

A foundation has different responsibilities than those of a single benefactor so Mr Forrester also set about implementing some structural changes. He created an advisory board and attracted some heavyweight names: John Whitehead, the former co-chairman and senior partner of Goldman Sachs, is a member, as is Jean-Pierre Garnier, the former chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline.

“I wanted to bring in people who could relate to the company but who could also perform at another level,” says Mr Forrester, adding that each member has provided fresh ideas and contacts that have benefited the foundation and its work. He also shook up the budgeting process and financial planning functions: the company had never had an independent audit, for example, so he instituted one.

The new set-up is a far cry from the rather anarchic beginnings of Newman’s Own. “Paul didn’t like to spend money on unnecessary items,” recalls Pam Pappay, one of the company’s first employees who continues to work for Newman’s Own. “He considered things like desks unnecessary, so we used Paul’s pool furniture for the office – the main table had an umbrella sticking out of it.”

Mr Forrester says: “It was run as a classic small business. They would play ping-pong and whoever lost would have to take minutes of meetings.” The recent changes to the company are part of a process that started in discussions with Newman himself. “He was a very spontaneous philanthropist,” says Mr Forrester. “He didn’t think you should use your money as a club to get non-profit organisations to do things that you wanted them to do.”

But there is another challenge facing the foundation. Thirty years ago, Newman was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars with a face – and blue eyes – recognised around the world. Yet a new generation of consumers has grown up that will be unfamiliar with his films and star power: convincing them to buy Newman’s Own popcorn, pasta sauce and salsa will require a new approach to marketing, which Mr Forrester acknowledges.

“After Paul died, I realised: ‘Holy moly, this company doesn’t really advertise,’” he says. “It had huge visibility because of Paul but we needed to communicate what it was [that we did].” The foundation began developing programmes with grant recipients, allowing them to use the Newman’s Own name to highlight work that was being done. It has also begun to advertise, sponsoring one of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s big basketball tournaments.

Mr Forrester and Ms Newman Soderlund are confident that the foundation will continue to prosper in the years ahead and both speak passionately about the need to safeguard the company and its importance to the hundreds of charities that have been given grants.

“I see the foundation growing the way he would have wanted,” says Ms Newman Soderlund. “Everyone involved wants it to be that way ... there’s not a lot of ego in it. I feel a big responsibility ... [my father] entrusted me with a tiny portion of his vision and I have to take care of it.”

She believes staying true to her father’s concept is key to sustaining his legacy. “Trying to keep his vision in the back of your mind and not losing sight of the whimsical way of doing things is the most important thing.” Which is no simple task. As she points out, her father “definitely had his own way of doing things”.