Chris Woollams

Chris Woollams, born July 4 1949, is currently the head and founder of the UK cancer charity CANCERactive.
Having graduated from Oxford University in 1972, he built an extremely successful career in advertising, becoming MD of Publicis and then the youngest-ever chairman of an international agency group in London, (Ted Bates) before setting up his own company, Woollams, Moira, Gaskin, O'Malley who were for a time the fastest-growing, private UK communications group. With 9 companies and 74 clients, WMGO joined the stock market in 1994.
A year later in 2005, Chris 'retired'. En route, he had also founded the UK company Spiral Cellars, building wine cellars for private homes.
Chris then set up a New Ventures Business Consultancy called The Business Development Partnership, helping amongst other things, to launch Virgin Active, the Health and Fitness chain, whilst studying Nutrition. In 2000 his eldest daughter, Catherine, developed a brain tumour and, in trying to help her, he became a major force behind the launch of CANCERactive, Britain's only Integrated Therapy Cancer Charity.
Chris has also recently launched an online discount chemist operation, and has a health company entitled Rainbow Foods together with a developing Wellness Resort (Rainbow Valley) in Thailand. He has published six books in recent years on health and cancer including 'The Rainbow Diet - and how it can help you beat cancer', and Britain's best selling cancer book, 'Everything you need to know to help you beat cancer'.
He is listed in Debrett's People of Today and International Who's Who and is a Freeman of the City of London.
Publications
Integrated Cancer and Oncology News (icon), a quarterly magazine freely distributed in over 420 hospitals and cancer centres in the UK
2001: Everything You Need to Know to Help You Beat Cancer
2003: The Tree of Life
2004: Oestrogen - the killer in our midst. Cancer - your first 15 steps
2005: Conventional Cancer Cures - what's the alternative?
2008: The Rainbow Diet - and how it can help you beat cancer
Over 400,000 copies of a CD which was an interview with Chris about Beneficial Bacteria and called 'The Secret Source of your Well Being' were distributed in the UK in 2008.
EDUCATION AND AWARDS
York House School
Watford Boys Grammar School, 1960-67 2 'S; levels, 4 'A' levels, 13 'O' levels
St Peter's College, Oxford University 1968 - 72. MA Biochemistry.
Biography
Christopher John Woollams was born near Watford in Hertfordshire England and remains an avid follower of the local football club. He was educated at Watford Boys Grammar School where he became head boy, after a vote by the whole sixth form. Apart from excelling academically and winning a scholarship to Oxford University he played Hockey and Cricket for Hertfordshire Colts and Chess for Hertfordshire.
At Oxford he played cricket for The Authentics and football for Centaurs, apart from representing his college in everything from rugby to table tennis! He still managed to earn a degree, being offered a first to stay on and do a doctorate in cancer research with Peter Cook, now Professor.
Instead he went into the world of advertising, joining Ogilvy and Mather in 1972. A few years later he moved to Grey Advertising working in London and New York and being associated with a number of creative awards, on Corning and John West, for example. He returned to Ogilvy and Mather in 1979, becoming a Director and working on a number of award winning campaigns. During this time he played football for Epsom and Ewell, in the Athenian League and Cricket for The Wanderers and Streatham CC in the Surrey Championship. He is listed in Wisden. He then reverted to Hockey with Cheam, and became number 1 at squash at Sutton and Cheam and Oxshott squash clubs.
In his spare time, through an interest in fine wines, he met and advised a French wine cellar builder on how to market his invention in the UK. Cave Harnois became Spiral Cellars in the UK, and Chris' original business plan built a successful company in the UK, which was later sold.
In his Advertising life, he moved with a group of Ogilvy and Mather staff to join the new Publicis agency in London in 1979, helping consolidate the agency and grow it from number 38 to number 18 in Britain over just under three years. Former UK Managing Director of Renault, Patrick Faure, said that 'Chris re-invigorated the agency and helped Renault almost triple market share.' This success saw Ted Bates make him their UK Chairman in 1984, at the age of 35. After 3 months he also took on the role of Creative Director and under his tenure they developed one of the most successful worldwide campaigns ever, the 'Ain't no Mountain High Enough' campaign for DHL, which ran for 18 years. To solve the agency's revenue decline, he merged the below the line operations and pioneered the concept of 'Integrated Communication'. Marketing Week wrote up this innovation, saying that it would fail. Twenty years on and it is now the norm throughout the communications industry.
Chris completely turned round Bates' finances, and in 2006 was put on the European board, and later the Worldwide Board of this, the third largest communication group in the world. Roy Langridge, one of London's top Media men who worked with Chris said, "He used to be very democratic and ask each board member to state their views. Then he would start talking about what appeared to be something completely unconnected. Until you all realised if we fixed what Chris was talking about, everything else would fall into place. He was just too quick for most of the board."
In late 2006 Ted Bates were bought by Saatchi and Saatchi. Chris felt that the merger was a mis-match between two completely different cultures and was worsened by poor communication, politics and mis-handling. He famously described this as 'Management by Sellotape' - but was later proven correct as business streamed out of the new group.
After 9 months sabbatical, when he learned to fly light aircraft and built a one and a half acre show garden at his house, he joined forces with three partners and set up WMGO on September 11 2007, with no business. Within two years they had a won a stream of large clients like Virgin, the RAC, the Legal and General, Mercury One-to-One, Norwich Union Healthcare, Fedex, Invesco and Freemans Mail Order.
He continued to pioneer the concept of Integrated Communication - of the first ten people hired two were Direct Marketing specialists, and two were Promotions specialists. With new advertising agencies unable to buy their own media he developed another 'first': A joint venture with Chris Ingram of CIA - WM Media was the first of its kind and despite early cynicism, proved very successful. After strengthening the WMGO group offering with the purchase of top Promotions company, LGM, he led the group into a reverse take-over on the stock market - in his spare time! One year later he retired telling reporters at the time that he was, "Two years past his sell-by date".
David Cavers MD of Norwich Union said, "Chris always made it his job to understand the client business fully. He has a wonderful retention for facts and detail and is a pleasure to work with".
After a year off he formed The Woollams Outsourcing Company - or TWO, another innovation since copied. It was Britain's first virtual communications agency. But he found himself working too hard as clients wanted him personally on their business - he helped develop Virgin Active gyms, the Lucky Strike 'Originals' business, and worked with Norwich Union, Kettle Chips and Sony amongst others.
After some time, he really wanted to change direction, and spend more time on his passions - fitness and health. So he studied Nutrition, Body Energy and even became qualified as a Personal Fitness Trainer.
The beginning of the charity: CANCERactive
Then, out of the blue, in Spring of 2000, at the age of 22, his daughter Catherine was diagnosed with a glioblastoma and 'given' 6 months to live. St Thomas' Hospital had never had anyone live longer than 18 months. Chris got to work using his research abilities coupled with his knowledge of biochemistry and nutrition. Catherine lived for three and a half years. Two Doctors suggested Chris wrote down what he had found out. This led to the top selling book 'Everything you need to know to help you beat cancer'. This in turn led to requests to speak in the UK, then the USA, and Australia. Chris has now spoken all over the World from 3,000 people in Moscow to 28,000 people in Japan. Always on the subject of how to best empower yourself to beat cancer. As he says, "There's so much information out there - I just want to pass it on".
This has now become a full-time career. But he refuses to be paid for it. All monies from speeches, books and fees are passed straight on to the charity CANCERactive, to fund a quarterly magazine (icon) and a 2000 page web site. Says David Pearson, formally Chief Exec of Sony in the UK, "Chris is a great bloke. He has turned personal adversity into the opportunity to benefit thousands of people." Geoff Boycott, the former England test cricket who Chris helped when he developed cancer, calls him the 'Cancer Guru'.
He also runs www.therainbowfoods.com, a programme called 'Natural Selection Products of Choice' where his team look at all the supplements available and help people through the confusion to choose the 'natural compounds with a plus'. "Again, we just wanted to provide something people could really trust", he adds. All profits go to the charity. He is already planning his next projects, developing 20 acres into an organic farm and 'Wellness Centre' called Rainbow Valley near Cha Am in Thailand, and an 'online discount chemists' in the UK. He freely admits he is unlikely to ever retire.
He says his weakness is simple: "I don't suffer fools, stupidity, bullying or people who pronounce and pontificate with no real knowledge of the facts. I like to be well informed before I state a view, and I like those around me to do the same".
He likes people with real personality and his favourite quote is one of George Best's: "It's true I've spent a lot of money on wine, women and song. But the rest I just frittered away!".
Chris has spent almost 18 years in Debrett's People of Today, and has been included in International Who's Who and was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2008, "An irony really as Catherine went to Freeman's school in Ashtead, Surrey", he says.
Family and Social
Chris has three daughters and a son:
1978 - 2004 Catherine Louise
1983 Georgina Clair
1986 Stephanie Marie
1995 Benjamin Henry
He lives in Hua Hin, Thailand and is married to Amphorn.
He is Captain of Springfield Golf Club, voted the fourth best Golf resort in Asia by Golf Magazine, and remains a member of the RAC in the UK, and Royal Mougins in France. He is a member of the Confrerie de Tatevin in France, and also skis, sails, fishes and dives.
"I am blessed with a wonderful family, a great collection of friends and a number of talents" he says. "I did my time in capitalism. Now I'm just putting something back into the World."
Links
www.canceractive.com
www.therainbowfoods.com

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