Secret millionaire
Echelon’s CEO offered ‘fame and philanthropy’ deal
Alistair Morrison, CEO of the organisation development consultancy Echelon Learning, was recently invited to take part in the fourth series of the reality TV show ‘The Secret Millionaire’.
Each programme features a millionaire, who goes – incognito – into impoverished communities to give away tens of thousands of pounds of their own money. Created in 2006 by Stephen Lambert, the programmes are produced in the UK by RDF Media and are screened on Channel 4. Each week, a millionaire leaves her/his luxury life behind, takes on a secret identity and lives undercover in a deprived area of the UK for a week to ten days. Living on a limited budget with no modern conveniences, s/he must work and volunteer alongside the locals and find individuals and projects which deserve a cut of the millionaire’s fortune.
On the final day, the millionaires come clean and reveal their true identity to the people they have chosen, surprising them with gifts of money to improve their lives. This experience reveals extraordinary people and heart-wrenching situations inside deprived communities.
As well as highlighting the positive financial and emotional impact of modern day philanthropy, the programme draws attention to some of Britain's social problems in a touching and personal way – tackling such issues as gang culture, gun crime, disability and homelessness. Unfortunately, it transpired that the programme makers had spotted some of Echelon's PR-inspired press clippings but were really looking for a different Alistair Morrison.
There’s a chartered surveyor/estate agent in Newark, a member of the Department of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow and an award winning fashion photographer – among others - who share the same name as Echelon's Alistair. So Echelon’s Alistair Morrison will be keeping his fortune safe until another opportunity for televised fame-and-philanthropy appears.
Echelon, Angles House, 210 Sheen Lane, London SW14 8LB; 020 8274 9965