Among our consortium of Global Associates, we have a presence in The Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and The Middle East with multi-lingual, multi-disciplinary capabilities. Our Associates augment beCause core Services with additional specific capacities in social media, sustainability, conflict resolution, entrepreneurship, executive search, gender equity, design, public relations and more.
beCause CEO Nadine B. Hack
Named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders on Trustworthy Business Behavior globally often enough to earn a Lifetime Achievement Award in Trust, Hack advises business and non-profit executives, heads of state, and other organizations internationally. She was the first woman to be Executive-in-Residence at IMD Business School where she maintains an affiliation. Ethical Corporation shortlisted her Responsible CEO of Year; Global CEO named her a Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Leader. SustMeme consistently ranks her 50 of world’s Top 500 Influencers on Sustainable Green Ethical Business, Socially Responsible Investment and Governance. She was Board Chair of Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and has served as a non-executive director on other for- and not-for-profit boards. Hack has been speaker at meetings, graduations and conferences globally, including TEDx. She’s received numerous awards including International Outstanding Achievement, Mentor of the Year, and Inspiration Award for lifetime achievement presented at Säid Business School Oxford University. She’s a Fellow at New Westminster College and Salzburg Global Seminar. She has Master’s degrees from Harvard and The New School, created and taught graduate courses at NYU and SNHU, and has guest lectured at many universities.
Global Associates
Peter Cook, CEO Human Dynamics, authored seven books on business leadership, innovation and creativity. He’s a scientist, business academic and musician offering conference keynotes, organisational development, training and coaching for the world’s top companies. He appears on television, radio and print media, blending leading ideas on business with the power of music. Peter harnesses his multiple passions — science, academia, business and music — creatively, including: leading innovative new pharmaceutical product R&D teams to bring multi-million dollar life-saving drugs safely to the market including the first treatment for AIDS; trouble-shooting businesses and starting up factories around the world; developing internal business, organizational development and change consultancy; writing and tutoring for Business Schools at MBA level; writing and performing music. His keynote speeches blend thought leadership on business with the power of music: rock, jazz or classical. Peter has a Master’s in Business and is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) master practitioner.
Judith Lorick speaks five languages fluently, is a renowned jazz singer and a consultant. She specializes in leadership, team development, culture change and executive coaching for clients in a variety of fields. Her unique ability: she takes groups through leadership journeys, including through the use of her incredible jazz ensemble. After working in a variety of management positions in Washington DC and Boston, she had a 13-year career in Human Resources at Honeywell and Digital Equipment Corporation holding leadership positions in the US and Europe with global organizational responsibilities. An independent consultant since 1985, she’s an American living on the Cote d’Azur for 25 years and formerly was adjunct faculty at Theseus International Management Institute in France and DIEU in Brussels. She’s a regular contributor to leadership programs at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Taïssa Thierry Chaves, founder Y Coaching & Consulting, is a French-Brazilian leader in the digital industry who speaks 5 languages. She created Digital Boarding©, a breakthrough program combining innovative services in digital transformation and talent management. She’s worked for prestigious brands including L’Oréal Paris, Nestlé, Nespresso, Casino Group, Hublot, Corum and many others. With 20 years’ experience, Taïssa, a certified executive coach specialized in digital leadership and communications, thrives in helping companies and executives achieve performance acceleration in the digital era with humanity. She also is a lecturer and jury member for several institutions on areas such as entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital governance. Convinced about the impact individual actions have on society, She founded in 2014 Women in Digital Switzerland (WSD) that’s now 4’000 members strong. The goal of WDS is to promote the visibility of women experts in the technology sector through thought leadership and knowledge sharing.
Helle Bundgaard, founder Motivation Factor, with over 50 partners throughout Europe and US, has conducted hundreds of workshops and executive coaching sessions all over the world. She’s developed several online assessments, programs and is a popular keynote speaker in motivation field and “becoming a super user of your brain.” She works with Jefferson Roy from the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT focusing on bridging the gap from lab brain research to developing practical and applicable coaching tools for use in business. Her passions are neuropsychology, motivation and “keep it simple.” Formerly, she had 20+ years’ leadership experience in sales and business development for large leading edge European and US software companies. A proud mother of four adult children with her home base in Denmark, she has offices in Boston and San Francisco.
David Wilcox, founder ReachScale, has established an international following of his knowledge of the nexus of sustainable business and social challenges. The Guardian’s Sustainable Business, at launch of its US Edition, named Wilcox among the top 10 “most influential sustainability voices in America.” His advocacy has been featured at more than a hundred conferences, on leading blog posts at CSRwire, other venues and through his direct work with both Social Enterprises and large corporate partners. His core message is simple: In the future, all business will be both commercial and social, and corporations have a huge opportunity to leverage a select pool of proven Social Enterprises to drive innovations in business models, scale, market creation, technology, and sustainability at the Base of the Pyramid. In the process, investments will shift from dilutive activities to measurable impact and social brand assets that pay dividends for decades to come.
Jennifer Sertl, business strategist, is recognized thought leader in the emerging field of corporate consciousness and influencer in social media. She’s Founder and President of Agility3R, a leadership development company dedicated to strengthening strategic skills and helping leaders become more resilient, responsive, and reflective. She currently is Social Media Ambassador at the UN Social Innovation Summit 2014. Former Kred CEO Andrew Grill says, “Jennifer is one of the most trusted people in her areas of interest, profession, and engagement in social media streams.” She’s the author of Strategy, Leadership and the Soul, which provides an innovation model that integrates personal development and business strategy. Her online followers are based in 86 countries and 525 cities. Hatch 10 in partnership with Intel included Jennifer Sertl as one of the 100 most innovative thinkers in 2013 and she’s been featured in Forbes and Harvard Business Review.
Stéphanie Moles-Rota, CEO SeMaRe, more than a search firm, identifies leaders who inspire their people, teams, clients and partners, embrace diversity and adapt to today’s changing world. Her expertise spans the entire employment lifecycle, coalescing around boardrooms bringing a wealth of experience in key disciplines to coach management teams. Stéphanie, who’d held senior positions in product development, marketing and sales in several Fortune 500 companies, developed her passion for coaching at Dell when she became Diversity Leader and Marketing Site Leader in Holland. Coaching, training and mentoring high potentials was so rewarding that she decided to pursue her career in Leadership Development. A former Heidrick & Struggles International Partner, she started SeMaRe to embrace her people management philosophy and share her new generation leader’s vision with clients, partners and networks. Among other clients, she helps Samsung with their Talent Mapping and Development needs.
Dumisa Ntsebeza, Founder, National Association of Democratic Lawyers; Chairman, Africa Dispute Resolution Company (ADR) and acting judge of the High Court of South Africa is an accredited Arbitrator and Commercial Mediator who served as Commissioner on SA’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and President of SA’s Black Lawyers Association. Ntsebeza practiced law mainly in the area of human rights representing political prisoners throughout the 80s and early 90s. He completed his studies for a law degree while serving a long prison term for political activism in the mid-70s. He also is a businessman: Chairman since 2007 of Barloworld a multinational operating in 24 countries worldwide (a Director since 1999); and was Chairman of Avusa, a leading South African media and entertainment company from 2009 to 2011. In 2002, he was a distinguished visiting professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Connecticut — Storrs and Hartford campuses.
Susan Goldsworthy, a former Olympic finalist, senior executive and award-winning author (Choosing Change and Care to Dare), combines 20+ years’ experience from the fields of sports, business and neuroscience. She specializes in leadership development, change communications and executive coaching working with multinationals, consulting companies and the world’s leading business schools. Susan is a Board member of World Institute of Action Learning (WIAL). She is passionate about helping people turn knowledge into behaviour and creating the conditions for healthy high performance, both in her coaching and teaching capacities. She holds a Masters in Coaching and Consulting for Change (Oxford University/HEC), an Executive Masters in the Neuroscience of Leadership, and a Certificate in Coaching for Leadership and Professional Development, (Tavistock Institute). She is co-author of two award-winning business books: Choosing Change published by McGraw Hill in 2013 and Care to Dare published by Wiley in 2012.
Sara Mears, Founder, Communication by Design (CXD), is a future-looking thinker and communicator with a track record of creating award-winning strategies, brands and designs. CXD is a visual marketing agency integrating business strategy with messaging and design to deliver communication campaigns across multiple media and social networks. Prior to founding CXD, Sara worked for over two decades for NYC branding firms with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to global nonprofits and charitable foundations. Sara now focuses on business and nonprofit startups, as well as existing organizations looking to take their brands to the next level — including the beCause identity, this website, and ancillary materials. Sara is an environmentalist, urbanist, and parent of two teenage sons. When not at work, she can be found biking in Manhattan’s Riverside Park or walking the High Line. Sara is a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in economics.
Andrea Learned, Founder LearnedOn, is an expert in sustainability and corporate responsibility focused on social communication strategies. Her book, Don’t Think Pink, about marketing to women, and her current work combine to reflect a unique understanding of communications as core to values-based leadership. She is among the most recognized bloggers/social media connectors in her field. Over the course of her thirty-year career, Andrea has experienced the greatest success and impact in three categories: Gender Marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility / Sustainable Business and Social Media. Her productive career in writing and consulting on marketing to women led to a deeper look at organizational leadership and then combined with her personal passion for sustainability. With an M.A. in Sustainable Business and Communities from Goddard College and now based in Seattle, Andrea is an avid city bicyclist who also became a biking-as-urban-transportation advocate. She writes for leading publications including The Guardian, CSRWire and TriplePundit.
Arjen Iwema, CEO W-focus, specializes in consulting, training and coaching. He has broad and deep experience as a 10-year leading McKinsey strategy consultant, trainer and executive coach. He maintains close ties with McKinsey and other Fortune 100 companies on early- and mid-tenure learning. His particular interest is organizational transformation projects in challenging cultural environments. Arjen’s professional focus: Training individuals and organisations to become aware of their improvement potential, help them perform better and find more satisfaction in their work; Consulting on strategy definition in collaborative efforts with top-teams, focused organisation design/implementation, performance management and capability-building; Executive Coaching enabling individuals to become more effective, with concentration on increased quality of deliverables, enhanced control over time and communication. His industry specialization is global public health, health systems/public sector regulators and energy sector with broad exposure in other sectors. He holds an MBA, a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering and is fluent in four languages.
Madelon Evers, Founder and partner, Lifetree, has 20 years’ experience in innovation, systems design and change management. Madelon guides transformational programs on responsible leadership worldwide, facilitating top tier teams to lead change for a better future. She has a PhD in design and learning applied in business and speaks 6 languages. She’s a certified executive/team coach and director of Lifetree Switzerland. Client: “Madelon is a high performer who works with high performers. She dares to think big, brings to her work courage, a zest for life, and a relentless drive to achieve transformative results. Creativity is in her DNA, and she strives to catalyse innovation in others.” Her motto: “Trust your potential and do great things, don’t just dream about them! Start walking your talk as a role model.”
Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research, is a renowned Indian women’s rights activist and academic who has authored nine books on gender equality and women’s empowerment. She is an activist, researcher and social worker offering expertise in gender and development, gender mainstreaming and women’s rights. Dr. Kumari has 30 years of experience in women’s rights advocacy, strategy, research and program management. She has made significant contributions to the women’s rights movement both in India and internationally holding numerous leadership roles. She is currently the Coordinator of the South Asia Network Against Trafficking in Persons (SANAT) and has been a member of the Prime Minister of India’s National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW). Her field of expertise includes engendering democracy and governance and violence against women. She has been a member of the Task Force on Industrial Relations for The International Labour Organisation in Geneva.
Cortney McDermott is an award-winning writer, TEDx speaker, and strategic trainer to corporate executives, business students, and entrepreneurial leaders globally. Her work has been featured in major media including: Success Magazine, Women’s Health, Fox News Chicago, MindBodyGreen, Startup Canada, and The Huffington Post. Cortney’s debut book, “Change Starts Within You: Unlock the Confidence to Lead with Intuition” was selected for Inc. Magazine’s “26 Favourite Books of High Achievers” and was described as “‘Eat, Pray, Love’ meets ‘The 4-hour Workweek’.” Before turning entrepreneur, she was an executive at Vanity Fair Corporation, vice president at Sustainability Partners, professor of graduate studies for Big Ten US universities. She’s worked extensively internally and externally with leaders in a broad range of industries, including education, sports, banking, fashion, technology, and entertainment. She’s a graduate of the London School of Economics and a certified cultural mediator in multiple languages. She lives with her family between Italy and the US.
.
.
Jorgen Poulsen, Founder, The Catalyst Partnership, was voted the number one social media keynote speaker people would most like to hear. His approach to social media marketing strategy involves engaging people on social networks to generate exposure, increase traffic, improve search rankings, build strong brand advocates, generate quality leads and grow sales. After a decade in senior positions in GE, he started The Catalyst Partnership. He provides the development, execution and integration of social media marketing strategies; analysis of current marketing deployment; social media workshops and webinars; and social media community management. He also can manage all your social media platforms on your behalf and/or train your social media manager: With a Master in Business Administration from London Business School, he also gives presentations about social media strategies. He has developed social media campaigns at Leysin American School, Webster College Geneva, Top Marques Monaco and many other companies.
Renata Radoman, founder and CEO, RD Design, has over 25 years’ experience developing and executing innovative and highly creative branding, marketing and motivational campaigns for both corporate and non-profit clients. Her work has received worldwide recognition and garnered numerous awards for its originality and incisiveness. Her design studio, which offers many of the services of a full scale advertising agency, serves a wide range of clients worldwide, including universities, foundations, advocacy groups, etc. From website design to fund raising packages…from advertising in print and interactive media to the design and production of all manner of collateral material (direct mail, event packages, donor promotions, etc.), RD Design is an expert in all phases of corporate, non-profit and governmental communication.
Isabel Wade, Founder/President, Urban Resource Systems, has three decades experience in environmental planning, urban forestry/urban agriculture, nonprofit/environmental organization startup/management and board leadership. Highly skilled in community organizing, civic engagement, strategic planning, resource development, Dr. Wade received SF Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services’ first Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious Silver SPUR. Founder/Executive Director, San Francisco’s Neighborhood Parks Council, she attracted more than 100 park groups to participate in the coalition, 4,000+ volunteers and raised over $8 million. Her most recent project, Just One Tree, is an urban sustainability initiative to illustrate how tree crops are ideal for cities to improve food self-reliance and promote urban greening. She has initiated or co-founded six nonprofit environmental organizations that focus on the urban environment and engaging the public in urban greening and the protection and enhancement of public open space. She established California’s Urban Forestry program for Governor Jerry Brown in the 1970s.
Edwin Douglass specializes in developing and leading change management programs and has over 20 years broad financial management experience including holding CFO role, restructuring organizations, identifying/removing growth barriers, preparing company IPO, leading mergers and acquisitions, securing strategic funding, managing business integration projects, and implementing enterprise-wide business process re-engineering and IT/ERP systems. His awards include Exemplary Leadership (Europe) Silicon Graphics (senior management distinction). He tuned his program management and problem solving skills working as a member and leading multi discipline construction management teams delivering turnkey projects in New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland. Prior to financial management, he practiced civil engineering specializing in design and construction of earthquake resistant buildings. He is a result orientated professional who enjoys working with management teams to make change happen. He holds an MBA from the IMD, Lausanne Switzerland and a civil engineering degree from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Lynn Verdina-Henchoz, founder, Reach The Top, has 25-year international career in strategy, management and human resources, spanning multiple countries. She consults, trains and coaches leaders on business and leadership issues, in international, corporate and academic environments with a focus on the strategic and people side of organizations and the development of leaders. Before dedicating her full energy and experience to helping organizations and leaders become more effective, successful and fulfilled, prior leadership positions included: Partner/Managing Director, Kepner Tregoe, Continental Europe; Principal and Leader Talent/Organisational Consulting, Hewitt Associates in Central and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia; Director UK and North America, IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is a published author of articles on key business and an experienced speaker and networker. Lynn holds a Master’s degree in HRD, is a certified Business Coach (Meyler Campbell), Facilitator in Group Dynamics (Tavistock trained), is certified in numerous psychometric tools and is bi-lingual English-French.
David Connor, Founder, 2030hub, is a globally recognized influencer, explorer, educator and evangelist for business as a force for social good. With 17 years award-winning experience and success promoting responsible business, he’s engaged with global giants including Microsoft, L’Oréal, Société Général, SAP, Diageo and hundreds of non-profits and traditional SMEs. 2030hub raises awareness of the SDG framework and shares how it adds value to cities, businesses, social sectors and individuals, both whilst also facilitating additional local impact against the 17 goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators. With particular passion and expertise in communications, strategy, technology, entrepreneurship and sport, David’s CSR related career has been split between winning awards for Everton Football Club in the English Premier League and his own consultancy. He provided the energy and creativity behind Everton’s multi award-winning community engagement process, which he (and others) converted into an industry-leading independent charity.
Berrie Pelser is co-owner Ber|Art Visual Design, a full service bureau for completely managed business internet sites hosted on its secure, fastcloud environment. He specializes in WordPress, search engine optimization, social media integration and strategy. He is an S3 strategic partner, creating market traction and offering social media training. He can address all your social media needs in a fast-changing environment and can provide your complete website to create and manage your full online presence. Berrie co-founded Ber|Art in 1999 as a web design firm and he’s consistently broadened its scope since. He inspired the creation of S3Buzz that expands companies outreach by developing an engaged, interactive relationship with customers. He’s made many significant contributions to developing the technology since its inception. He can help you discover the power of Buzz Marketing and its powerful effect as the “new SEO.”
Maureen Hetherington, Founder and Director, The Junction: Towards Understanding and Healing, has worked in peace building for 25+ years, received Northern Ireland’s Community Relations Award for Outstanding Achievement. She led major projects from inception through delivery, including training resources, adapted and used in The Balkans, the Middle East, South Africa and Cyprus. Dealing with the past (in all its dimensions) in post conflict societies, Maureen developed a methodology of storytelling and positive encounter dialogue as a tool for healing and social transformation. Her work includes Ethical and Shared Remembering, creating a framework and guiding principles for new and innovative practice to deal with old problems. She believes crucial to peace-building is the ability to apply academic rigor to accessible grassroots community education. The Junction has contributed to policy formation at all levels in Ireland, North and South. Maureen has traveled widely and has written extensively. Junction-trained facilitators provide accredited training.
Maria Wilhelmsson, Founder VoxImpact, coaches/trains executives in personal presence, specializing in helping them use all their resources — mind, body, and voice — to be more powerful leaders and communicators. An accomplished singer and performer, Maria has held senior consultancy and business development positions in multinational companies and at IMD Business School. She now blends her passion and knowledge of the voice and performing arts with her business acumen to bring out the best in her clients. Maria regularly contributes to leadership programs at Nestlé and at IMD Business School, and has trained groups and individuals at a large number of global organizations. Having lived and worked outside her native Sweden for more than 20 years, Maria is fluent in four languages. She is a mother of two young children and loves to make music and explore the mountains surrounding her home in Switzerland.
Lina Srivastava, founder Transformational Change Leadership is a strategist combining technology, culture, art, design, and storytelling for social transformation. She is one of a handful in the world creating narrative-based social change initiatives with NGOs, global institutions, and independent media creators, combining field experience with skills in documentary engagement and transmedia design. Lina worked on project design with UNICEF, World Bank Institute, UNESCO, Rockefeller Foundation, Internews, MobileActive, 3Generations, BYkids, and Donor Direct Action. She’s done campaigns for documentaries with significant impact in communities, including Oscar-winning Born into Brothels and Inocente, Oscar- and Sundance-award winning Who Is Dayani Cristal? Emmy-nominated The Devil Came on Horseback. A former practicing attorney, former Executive Director of Kids with Cameras and Association of Video and Filmmakers, Lina has taught at Parsons, The New School of Design, and is on faculty in the MFA Program in Design and Social Innovation at the School of Visual Arts.
Ghandi Badela, recipient of prestigious Ellen Khuzwayo Award, High Court of South Africa advocate and member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK. Well rounded with over sixteen years’ experience at senior executive level in corporate environment, an MBA from Gordon Institute Business Science, he provides litigation, mediation and arbitration services. Ghandi has international exposure and a wealth of experience working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. He is a member of Duma Nokwe Group of Advocates, a board member of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Denel Group. His social consciousness and experience have enabled him to make contributions at both national and local levels of the South African society. Ghandi’s practice is based in Sandton, South Africa. He also is an Electromechanical Engineer and Packaging technologist. He renders litigation and alternative dispute resolution services in commercial and construction arenas. Ghandi speaks and writes in Russian, English, Zulu and Xhosa.
Harry van der Velde, founder zicht.com, works as a visual, multi-dimensional thinker. His ZICHT visualising method is simple yet extremely powerful! The real value lays in co-creating a shared visualisation. Drawing situations quickly reveal gaps in understanding: vague abstractions stay blurred and impossible to represent. Clarity is the final result. The process engages all participants to contribute to the shared perspective and ultimate outcome: outside of their box. Pictures need to be coherent in a very integral way. Blank spots immediately become visible and it shows if ideas are not clear. This is especially useful when applied to abstract and /or complex situations like organizations. Harry interactively sketches out any situation clients want to see as they express what they are trying to achieve. He can represent any sound concept by a clear picture of it, as it is a mental image by its nature. He formed zicht.com in 1978.
David Hain, Director Transformation Partners, has worked at senior level in organisation development for three decades and specialises in people and change issues. An executive coach, team developer, mediator and problem solving facilitator, he focuses on helping individuals, groups and organisations to identify and navigate their transformation journey. Having worked as a people specialist on major global transformation projects for Deloitte, he combines a knowledge of the landscape and context of change with an ability to empathise with and inspire individuals to engage positively with it. A natural connector, collaborator and communicator, he believes the complex and volatile ‘wicked issues’ that beset the world today are best solved at system levels through developing and executing intelligent collaboration and learning between teams, individuals and organisations. Keen to ‘pay it forward’ through charitable work and pro-bono mentoring, his aim is being part of the solution in all his personal and professional dealings.
Joanna Jones, Founder and CEO, Atlantic Speaker Bureau, puts you in complete control of your event and closer to your desired outcomes with your chosen speaker. We promise to achieve this through an intimate and meticulous approach to project, speaker and client management as well as a depth of topic knowledge. Whether you want to instigate change, motivate people, provide a speaker for your CEO’s important client dinner or give your annual conference a little more oomph, our speaker network is unrivaled and our attention to detail legendary. We provide a better way to create engaging and relevant event content, sourcing the best and most credible personalities and business leaders to deliver your messages more powerfully. The positive impact on your business will be priceless. “I found Jo to be an excellent consultant who quickly grasped what we were looking for and helped to make sure everything went smoothly. — Nominet
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, is Co-founder and Executive Director of Trust Across America – Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning Trust Inc. book series. Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International. A former consultant to McKinsey, Barbara has run an award-winning communications firm, Next Decade, for over 20 years and she blogs about organizational trust on a regular basis. She convenes leading experts across organizational and functional categories to collaborate on programs / programming and creates tools to foster organizational trust. Barbara has extensive experience with new business / product launches, creating media campaigns and consulting to start-ups on building marketing and communications programs. She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA in Marketing from Bernard M. Baruch School of Management at the City University of NY.
Robi Damelin, bereaved mother and Israeli spokesperson The Parents Circle, 600 Palestinian and Israeli families whose family members were killed in bitter conflict, is an advocate and living example of reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge. Featured in documentary film One Day After Peace, and profoundly moving TEDx. Robi is one of four international 2014 Women PeaceMakers selected by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. Her son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper during his Israeli army reserve service. She speaks with a Palestinian partner in communities and schools throughout Israel, the Palestinian Territories and globally, as campaigners from both communities who have paid the ultimate price and still work for peace. She also returned to her native South Africa to learn more about reconciliation processes since the end of apartheid, starting with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Ravi Chaudhry, founder of CeNext Consulting and Investment, New Delhi, author of Quest for Exceptional Leadership: Mirage to Reality, advises corporations, governments and civil-society on “Re-inventing Leadership to Cope with Future.” He was Chairman of four companies in the Tata Group, India. He is a mentor to CEOs and corporate boards, an acknowledged thought leader and a much sought-after keynote speaker on Morality and Ethics, Sustainable Equitable Growth, Corporate Governance, and Innovation. An astute observer of emerging global trends, he emphasizes the imperative to acquire three new leadership traits that have become a pre-requisite for success. He blends history, scriptures and modernism to create holistic, innovative modules on ‘Mindfulness’ and ‘Achieving one’s Potential’, aimed at aligning corporate goals with societal expectations. A Fellow of World Business Academy, he is presently writing his second book, on governing a nation with a structure that works.
Katarina Skoberne, specializes in helping companies unlock growth through building resilience and consults on digital transformation, change management, and diversity. The Daily Telegraph named her one of the most influential British business people. She speaks six languages and for seven years authored / hosted a prime time television show about advertising. A three time founder and CEO, she led an advertising agency that became part of a global network and a business that crowd-sourced work from 13,000 creative professionals in 125 countries. She co-founded OpenAd.net, an online marketplace that bought and sold creative ideas for use in advertising, marketing and design. Her first two ventures were successes and her third failed. Based on learnings from overcoming adversity, she has developed a methodology for building resilience and managing fear to enable better decision making. Her highly personal approach is based on 25 years of business and hundreds of interviews with leaders.
Colette Phillips, CEO Colette Phillips Communications is often described as savvy, dynamic, and a visionary. An enterprising risk-taker, she pioneered inclusion/multicultural marketing in New England. She founded Get Konnected!, Boston’s first and only business network convening urban and international professionals, executives and entrepreneurs of diverse cultures across industries and sectors. Named one of the top 10 PR specialists by Boston Women Business, her breadth of experience spans three decades counseling major corporations, mission focused non-profits, C-level executives, and world leaders, successfully managing public relations, brand management and marketing campaigns for distinguished clients. While refusing to be defined by traditional barriers of gender and race, she is widely-respected and recognized for her abilities to build bridges, creating cross-cultural and inter-racial social networks and connections. Her company is listed as one of the 25 top PR firms in Massachusetts. Recently Get Konnected! honored GK100: Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color.
John Seaman, founder of Saybrook Partners, helps clients find insight and inspiration in their past, giving them the tools they need to shape an authentic culture, brand, or reputation as described in his HBR article “Your Company’s History as a Leadership Tool” and his “What’s Your Story?” on the value of storytelling. With more than 20 years at the intersection of research and practice, he crafts strategic narratives that his clients use to reinforce core values, make the case for change, motivate people to overcome obstacles, and engage stakeholders in the lasting purpose of their institution. His past clients include McKinsey & Company, Mylan, MetLife, Procter & Gamble, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Brown University, and Boston Consulting Group, as well as several families and family enterprises. John has authored or co-authored numerous works, including a forthcoming biography of international banker and philanthropist, Edmond J. Safra.
Visualize the big picture, break it into concrete action steps, achieve your goals
Connect to your purpose, connect to others, connect to success