The Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit returns at just the right time, in an era where business for good, is good for business! This was one virtual event you didn’t want to miss out on! The theme of this year's Fifth Global Forum was The Great Leadership Reset, a virtual reimagining, about how business can meet the biggest global challenges of the 21st century. Participants joined from all around the world -- executives, entrepreneurs, design thinkers and students becoming next generation leaders!
Since its conception in 2006, the Global Forum has provided a whole new leadership conference experience for participants! This year’s Forum expanded from a 3 day in-person event to a 10-day virtual event of astounding conversations, featuring 40+ empowering leaders, movers and shakers from all over the business sector. The conversations were hosted by David Cooperrider, Founder and Faculty Chair of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, Michele Hunt, Transformation Catalyst, Strategic Advisor, and author, and Audrey Selian, Director of Artha Impact, and Co-founder of Artha Networks. The Fifth Global Forum is part of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit’s mission to help businesses transform into agents of environmental, social and economic benefit. The Fifth Global Forum was convened by The Fowler Center and Berrett-Koehler Publishers and was held from October 19th - 28th, 2021.
With nearly 10,000 attendees, the Great Leadership Reset was an extraordinary opportunity and pivotal time to learn more about business in the 21st century and how even individuals can drive positive change and global well-being. Conversations tackled subjects from climate change to equality to leadership and the impact that business can have on worldwide issues.
During the virtual Forum, attendees were able to quickly go online and access the recordings of many phenomenal leaders in thought-provoking conversations with one of our incredible hosts. This year’s Fifth Global Forum speakers included:
- David L. Cooperrider, Founder and Faculty Chair of The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit
- Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business, Harvard Business School
- Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO, TerraCycle
- Mary-Frances Winters, Author and President and CEO, The Winters Group
- Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman and Group CEO, Natura & Co
- Ken Blanchard, Co-founder, The Ken Blanchard Companies
- Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, Executive Chair, GOJO Industries
- Bart Houlahan, Co-founder and Co-CEO, B Lab
- Natalie Nixon, PhD, Creativity Strategist, Speaker, Author at Figure 8 Thinking
- J. Lyell Clarke, III, Ph.D., Chairman, President, and CEO, Clarke (and affiliated companies)
- Julie Reiter, VP, Human Resources and Sustainable Development, Clarke
- Justin Winters, President and CEO, One Earth
- Jenita McGowan, Corporate Sustainability Manager, Eaton
- Marcel Fukayama, Executive Director, Sistema B International
- Pedro Henrique Lima do Nascimento, COO, Anga&Din4mo
- Robin Anselmi, CEO, Conversant
- Chris Laszlo, Professor and Author, Flourishing Enterprise and Quantum Leadership
- Naveen Jain, Founder and CEO, Viome Life Sciences
- Jed Emerson, Managing Director, Global Lead Impact Investing
- Dr. Gillian Marcelle, Founder, Resilience Capital Ventures
- Ronald Fry. Professor of Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University
- Joseph D. Kenner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greyston
- Jib Ellison, CEO, Blu Skye
- Kathleen McLaughlin, Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart | President, The Walmart Foundation
- Dr. Tiffany Jana (they/them), CEO, Founder, Awarded Author and Speaker, Awareness Artist
- Jeremy Hunter, PhD, Founding Director, Executive Mind Leadership Institute and Professor of Practice, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management
- Seungah Jeong, Chief Executive Officer, MPOWERD
- John Salzinger, Founder and Chief Business Development Officer, MPOWERD
- Bruce Mau, Author, Speaker, CEO of Massive Change Network
- Michele Marie Hunt, Transformation Catalyst, Strategic Advisor, Author
- Michael C. Bush, CEO, Great Place to Work
- Edgar Villanueva, Author, Activist, Philanthropist
- Paul Polman, Co-founder and Co-chair of IMAGINE, Co-author of Net Positive
- Andrew Winston, Adviser, Speaker, Author
- Jodi L. Berg, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vitamix
- Heather R. Younger, Founder, CEO, Speaker, Consultant, Author
- Tom Peters, Author of In Search of Excellence
- Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group I IKEA
- Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO and Chief Change Catalyst, The B Team
- Raj Sisodia, Business Philosopher, Author, Co-founder of Conscious Capitalism
- Marga Hoek, Global Author and Speaker
There was a wide range of takeaways for everyone, including notable leadership and development skills, prominent business strategies, sustainability tools, and advice regarding leading for the greater good and putting these lessons into practice at organizations and in communities.
More than 40 additional bonus gifts, templates, and tools for change, prepared by the speakers, were also available to those that purchased the The Great Leadership Reset Program. The package was a great opportunity for those wanting to own every in-depth conversation from The Great Leadership Reset co-hosts and our world-renowned presenters. A selection of transformative books and resources on how business can transcend the status quo was also included, even the groundbreaking new book from forum co-hosts David Cooperrider and Audrey Selian, “The Business of Building a Better World.” To obtain a copy of this book, purchase online here or contact the Fowler Center at 216-368-2160.
During the event, participants were invited to join The Great Leadership Reset Social Lounge group page on Facebook to interact with one another. The group included over 500 members that participated in discussions as well as yoga and meditation classes provided by the Fowler Center.
The Fifth Global Forum also included a very special celebration, highlighting the 2021 Flourish Prizes honorees. The Flourish Prizes is the Fowler Center’s annual culminating event for AIM2Flourish, a Fowler Center initiative recognizing the positive impact of today's business leaders while changing the way tomorrow's leaders are taught. To check out this year’s 2021 Flourish Prize videos, head to the Fowler Center’s AIM2Flourish Youtube page.
The Fowler Center would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors: Halloran Philanthropies, Fathom and University of St. Thomas for their support.
We also would like to take this time to recognize all of this year’s supporters, including: The David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry at Champlain College - Robert P. Stiller School of Business, Weaving Influence, Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, Drucker Institute, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, World Business Academy, Center for Purposeful Leadership, Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, The Institute of Organization Development, PRME - Principles for Responsible Management Education, Real Leaders, The Global Goals For Sustainable Development, AIM2Flourish, mySustainOnline, Mindful on Wall Street, Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative, the Asia Organization Development Network, The Master of Science in Positive Organization Development & Change program at Weatherhead School of Management, Conscious Development, Pro Ed, Axiom News, Strategic Doing, the Organization Development Network, Happiness & Its Causes and John Carroll’s Leadership Safaris.
Once again, thank you so much for your participation and contributions — together we can create a world that works for all!
If you have any feedback for us regarding the Fifth Global Forum – or are interested in hearing more about the Global Forum series – please email Megan Buchter, Director of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at megan.buchter@case.edu.