Rhod Ellis-Jones

Rhod is a business improvement and communication strategist with diverse experience advising major public and private companies, governments and not-for-profit organizations. He is the Principal of the Australian agency Ellis Jones.

An experienced political strategist, he was a key advisor to Lord Mayor of Melbourne (Australia) John So during his historic term in office and has also advised ministers and senior government bureaucrats at state and federal levels.

Using the brand and place identity models the agency has developed, Rhod has worked with companies and government departments -– including ANZ, the Victorian Government, City of Latrobe, City of Melbourne, Greencap (now part of Westfarmers) –- to develop service, corporate and place branding strategy.

As corporate communication strategist and PR advisor he worked with Emirates Airline to entrench its sponsorships and reputation in the Australian market a decade ago. He has also worked with a number of Australian publicly listed companies in a corporate and investor relations capacity, including Probiotec (ASX: PBP) and Downer (ASX: DOW) as well as mining sector start-ups preparing for IPO.

Rhod developed one of Australia’s first strategic corporate-social sector partnerships between Southcorp (now Treasury Wine Estates) and now provides strategic advice to leading corporations in the area of business-led social impact and shared value, including PwC, Suncorp and Bupa. A pioneer of shared value as a strategy and practice model in Australia and overseas, Rhod established the Shared Value Project in 2011; it is now the regional peak practice organization and partner of the global Shared Value Initiative. He is currently developing two social enterprises with corporate and social sector partners.

Over the past 6 years, Rhod has focused on the complex and growing health and aged care sectors, providing business strategy and marketing advice to governments, peak industry, and major integrated providers including Mercy Health, Calvary Health and the Department of Social Services. He is a regular speaker at industry events and a media commentator.

Rhod has worked on the rollout of CRM programs in Citywide and Tattersall’s and the integration of CRM with marketing, business development and account management systems.

Rhod’s enduring interest in the arts has led to appointments as trustee for Budapest-based visual arts foundation, Blood Mountain, and board member for Chunky Move, Australia’s leading contemporary dance company. He is also Deputy Chair of the Shared Value Project.