Welcome to the Fourth Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit
The Fowler Center will host the Fourth Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit on June 14–16, 2017. Thematically titled Discovering Flourishing Enterprise: The Key to Great Performance, the forum will bring together leading executives, entrepreneurs, and change agents to collaborate on participants’ priority initiatives.
Using Appreciative Inquiry, the Global Forum will address some of the key issues facing business today, including:
· Retaining, engaging and inspiring the best people.
· Meeting growing consumer demand for products that have positive social impact.
· Designing environments that foster greater creativity, innovation and enduring financial value.
· Turning local and global challenges into bona fide sources of competitive advantage.
Several executives plan to bring their leadership teams to the Global Forum to develop their collective vision, improve cooperation, and implement change at the individual, organizational, and systemic levels. Corporate and organizational teams represented will include AACSB International, Clarke, Fairmount Santrol, Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), IMC Group, Inspera Health, Keller Williams Realty, KeyBank, Vigor, and Vitamix. Individual design areas will provide the opportunity to focus on specific interests such as Impact Investing, AIM2Flourish, Quantum Leadership, and the Future of Management Education.
Participants will also draw inspiration from outstanding speakers, including proven business leaders and highly regarded intellectuals:
Keynote Speakers
· Barbara Fredrickson, Director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at UNC — Chapel Hill and President of the International Positive Psychology Association. Dr. Frederickson is one of the most highly cited psychology researchers and is well-known for her “broaden and build” theory of how pleasant emotional states contribute to resilience and wellbeing, a concept that is foundational to positive psychology.
· Jenniffer Deckard, CEO of Fairmount Santrol. Ms. Deckard joined Fairmount Santrol in 1994, soon rising to CFO and then President before becoming CEO in 2013. She has been recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business in its annual “Forty Under 40” list, and she was named the 2008 “CFO of the Year” for large privately held businesses in Greater Cleveland.
· Jeff Hoffman, successful entrepreneur, CEO, and business expert. Co-founder of Priceline.com, Mr. Hoffman has launched several successful startups and supports the White House, State Department, and United Nations in economic growth and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Panelists
· Fred Tsao, Chairman of IMC Pan Asian Alliance Group. Mr. Tsao oversaw IMC’s transformation into a regional enterprise with diverse business interests worldwide. He also founded the East West Cultural Development Centre, a nonprofit organization aimed at building more harmonious relationships in a rapidly globalized world.
· Peter Senge, Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Sustainability at the MIT Sloan School of Management. A leading figure in organizational development, he was named “Strategist of the Century” by Journal of Business Strategy after publishing The Fifth Discipline, recognized by Harvard Business Review as one of the most important management books of the past 75 years.
An exciting addition to this year’s forum will be the awarding of the inaugural Flourish Prizes as part of AIM2Flourish, a Fowler Center initiative that highlights businesses working to promote the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Management students use Appreciative Inquiry to interview business leaders about positive innovations and document them in stories posted on AIM2Flourish.com to serve as sources of inspiration for others. Nearly 40 schools in 17 countries have used the AIM2Flourish curriculum, contributing more than 585 stories (as of June 2017). The 17 Flourish Prizes celebrate the best stories for each Sustainable Development Goal; innovations recognized include Foldscope Instruments, which created a $1 paper microscope to make science education accessible to all, and Conceptos Plásticos, which converts discarded plastic into Lego-like blocks that can be used to build affordable homes. These outstanding examples can help embolden forum participants to pursue flourishing within their own organizations.
For more information or to register, please visit globalforum.case.edu.
Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University cultivates creativity, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership to design a better world.
