Chris Laszlo
As a co-founder and managing partner of Sustainable Value Partners LLC, Chris Laszlo provides advisory services to senior leaders in some of the world’s largest companies. Laszlo has led hundreds of seminars and spoken widely on sustainability for strategic advantage both at companies and at leading business schools such as INSEAD, Darden School of Business, Cornell University, and Kenan-Flagler Business School.
In addition to his academic experience and consulting work, Laszlo spent nearly 10 years as an executive at Lafarge, a world leader in building materials; he held positions as head of strategy, general manager of a manufacturing subsidiary, and vice president of business development. Prior to that, he spent five years with Deloitte Touche, where he consulted on strategy to global industry leaders.
Donna Hicks
Dr. Donna Hicks is a dynamic and thought-provoking speaker who brings her unmatched insights on dignity and conflict resolution to each of her award-winning presentations. Her powerful ideas on human interaction enable organizations to build a culture of dignity, heal highly-charged emotional wounds, and thrive in today’s global marketplace.
Donna has 20 years of experience as a facilitator during international conflicts in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Cuba and Northern Ireland, and the United States. Her unique focus on dignity, and the essential role it plays in resolving conflict, has transformed work environments for the world’s most prominent companies, non-profits, and governmental agencies. Past clients include the World Bank, United Nations, US Navy, and the Senate of Colombia.
Donna is the author of the bestselling book,Dignity: The Essential Role It Plays in Resolving Conflict, published by Yale University Press, with a foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The title was the New England Book Festival’s 2011 runner-up for best non-fiction title, and subsequently released in paperback in 2013. Donna, and Dignity, have been featured prominently throughout the media, appearing on the BBC, Fox News,Psychology Today, NPR, Newsday, and radio stations across the country.
Hunter Lovins
L. Hunter Lovins is the President and Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions(NCS), a non-profit formed in 2002 in Longmont, CO. A renowned author and champion of sustainable development for over 35 years, Hunter has consulted on business, economic development, sustainable agriculture, energy, water, security, and climate policies for scores of governments, communities, and companies worldwide. Within the United States, she has consulted for heads of state, departments of defense, energy agencies and hundreds of state and local agencies.
Hunter has taught at numerous universities around the world. Currently a founding professor of Sustainable Management at Bard MBA, she was named a Master at the Chinese De Tao Academy, where she helped launch the Institute for Green Investment in Shanghai. She is a Fellow of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case Western University.
Sandra Waddock
Widely published, Dr. Waddock’s research interests are in the area of macro-system change, intellectual shamanism, stewardship of the future, wisdom, corporate responsibility, management education, and multi-sector collaboration. Dr. Waddock has published well over 100 articles on corporate citizenship, sustainable enterprise, difference making, wisdom, stewardship of the future, responsibility management systems, corporate responsibility, management education, and related topics.
Widely published, Dr. Waddock’s research interests are in the area of macro-system change, intellectual shamanism, stewardship of the future, wisdom, corporate responsibility, management education, and multi-sector collaboration. Her papers on corporate citizenship and responsibility have appeared in The Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Executive, Strategic Management Journal, Business & Society, and The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, among numerous other outlets.
Jim Walsh
Research, teaching, and service define Walsh’s professional life. Two qualities distinguish much of his work. His is fascinated by cross-level relationships: the influences between and among individuals, organizations, and society. And as romantic as it may sound, he thinks we are all called to try to leave the world a better place. The desire to better understand these cross-level relationships, done with a clear eye on bettering our world, animates most everything he does.
His research explores the purpose, accountability, and control of the firm (and even more generally, business itself) in society. His teaching aspiration is to help students learn to lead. With leadership rooted in a person’s being, knowing, and doing, he is open to all kinds of teaching approaches. He is particularly drawn to action-based learning. Ultimately, he believes we are called to service. He has tried to contribute to the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College (earlier in his career), and his profession over the years.