Adrian Grenier’s Latest Role? Dell’s Social Good Advocate

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You may have seen the recent announcement of our first-ever Social Good Advocate Adrian Grenier and wondered just what it means to take on that role. The actor told a group of us gathered to hear more last Friday, that to him it presents a unique opportunity to affect positive change.

“I think it’s exciting to be the first ambassador of this sort for Dell. And it’s a true commitment by them to doing good,” he said. “I think one of the reasons I was asked to come on board was because I have an ability to bring people together.”

Adrian Grenier in the Dell Lounge at SXSW

With the announcement of the new role so recent, he says that’s exactly the first thing to do – gather around a table with our Dell team and talk about what possibilities exist for us to work together.

"We’re just getting to know each other, but one thing that I’ve gathered is that Dell has real tangible goals which is really exciting. When you have real goals that you can actually measure and know whether or not you’re being effective, that’s really useful,” Grenier said.

They are goals that we first started articulating in 1998, and as knowledge has increased since that time, we’ve evolved them into what is now called our 2020 Legacy of Good Plan. It’s the culmination of nearly 18 months of work that took place at the same time we were in the process of taking the company private.

“So when we were presenting this plan to our leadership, we had to ask what impact that might have,” David Lear, executive director of our sustainability programs said. “And unequivocally, they agreed that this was important and no matter what happened, our company would remain committed to it.”

 David Lear, executive director of our sustainability programs at Dell and Adrian Grenier answer questions at the Dell Lounge during SXSW

A company our size brings scale to social change and creates infrastructure for others.

“Scale comes slow, though. We offer free recycling in 78 countries, but that didn’t happen overnight,” Lear said.Dell Reconnect, a partnership with Goodwill Industries, has enabled easy drop off of unwanted technology. It is a great example of the type of partnership we’re looking for, but they start small and then get bigger.”

We think bringing a social good advocate like Grenier to our team will help us spotlight sustainability initiatives, and inspire responsible lifestyles in a way that feels simple and easy.

“The 38-year-old actor/filmmaker/entrepreneur – ironically – was the epitome of conspicuous consumption as Vince Chase, the lead character in Entourage,” John Swartz noted in USAToday. “Off-screen, he is spreading and living the gospel of green. He uses shredded jeans for insulation, for instance.”

That commitment was critical for Dell.

“I admit I’ve never watched Entourage. I haven’t had cable in 10 years,“ Lear said, “I knew Adrian more for his entrepreneurial and environmental endeavors than for his acting career. But a little star power doesn’t hurt us either.”

Writing for Mashable, Lance Ulanoff noted that the actor is especially adept at blending his celebrity profile and social awareness pursuits.

“When people come up to me and they want to take a picture or get an autograph, to me I think it’s a wasted opportunity if I just walk away. I have an opportunity to really connect with somebody in that moment,” Grenier told Ulanoff.

About the Author: Laura Pevehouse

Laura Pevehouse was profiled as one of five “social media mavens” in the March 2009 issue of Austin Woman Magazine and named an AdWeek’s TweetFreak Five to Follow. She has been part of the Dell organization for more than 15 years in various corporate communications, employee communications, public relations, community affairs, marketing, branding, social media and online communication roles. From 2014-2018, Laura was Chief Blogger/Editor-in-Chief for Direct2DellEMC and Direct2Dell, Dell’s official corporate blog that she help launch in 2007. She is now a member of the Dell Technologies Chairman Communications team. Earlier in her Dell career she focused on Global Commercial Channels and US Small and Medium Business public relations as part of the Global Communications team. Prior to that, she was responsible for global strategy in social media and community management, as well as marcom landing pages, as a member of Dell’s Global SMB Marketing, Brand and Creative team. When she was part of Dell’s Global Online group, Laura provided internal consulting that integrated online and social media opportunities with a focus on Corporate Communications and Investor Relations. She managed the home page of Dell.com, one of the top 500 global web sites in Alexa traffic rank, and first brought web feeds and podcasts to the ecommerce site. In her spare time she led Dell into the metaverse with the creation of Dell Island in the virtual world Second Life. Laura has earned the designation of Accredited Business Communicator from the International Association of Business Communicators, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Louisiana State University. Before joining Dell Financial Services in 2000, she worked at the Texas Workforce Commission and PepsiCo Food Systems Worldwide.
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