Exploring 21st-century leadership and governance, sustainability and the SDGs, and the role and impact of global higher education through research, practice and executive education and organizational settings.
As organizations move to differentiate themselves considering disruptive megatrends such as technology, connectivity and globalization, they have drawn upon their people and the places in which they operate to sustain value creation. However, they are tackling this new world with old leadership tools! We need new models of leadership and governance in pursuit of a world where no-one is left behind as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Leadership can unlock creativity in pursuit of innovation, or it can paralyze individuals and teams and destroy value. Indeed, it has been suggested that the corporation is at odds with the future.
Given than an organization and its partners operate as an ideopolis, ideas emerge from individuals, teams and through their interactions with one another, stakeholder groups and clients/customers. This type of community reflects social networks that are agile and adaptive, characterized by idea creation, co-creation and idea flow across institutional barriers with healthy idea flow a key performance factor that can be shaped by leadership.
Exploring new leadership models and governance frameworks and the 21s-century leadership skills, attributes, beliefs and values are current research and practice questions explored in executive education settings and within organizations.
I am a transformational leader able to deliver excellence in mission-driven organizations in executive and non-executive roles and through management consultancy practice and leadership coaching.
My purpose lies in helping to transform lives through education and research in pursuit of social equity and the knowledge economy. By harnessing the abilities of talented people working across disciplines and professional boundaries, I have led organizations from ‘good to great’ and enabled leaders at all levels through education and practice.
Comfortable with complexity and scale, I am analytical as well as enterprising in my approach. With deep experience of the global higher education sector, I connect universities with business and society on an international scale. I am an Associate of the American Association of Universities and Colleges. Working with national and local governments, the charity/social enterprise sector, and business – corporates, small- and medium-sized enterprise and start-ups – I support knowledge-based growth, impact and sustainability.
I take a keen interest in diversity and inclusion, leadership and governance and pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. I am a Council Member of the United Nations University and a Visiting Scientist with the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University. I was a Non-Executive Director with the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Chair of its Nominations (Talent) Committee. Expert Adviser to Sir Andrew Witty’s Review of Universities and Economic Growth and Sir Adrian Smith’s Postgraduate Review, I advise Whitehall, working with the Cabinet Office on Talent and Diversity and the Government Office for Science on Foresight. I consult on global trends in the higher education sector and the leadership challenges resulting from disruptive forces.
I hold Director/Trustee roles with Charities and was Founder/Chair of the Council for Healthcare Scientists. I am a life scientist with practice in knowledge exchange and innovation, having worked with pharma/biotech. I continue to write academic papers and popular articles/blogs, with my book on ‘Leadership Disrupted’ due fall 2019. I have secured competitive research funding from UK, EU and USA sources and have significant experience of raising philanthropic funds. I am an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.