leadership vanguard yearbook

The LeadershipVanguard —Year/01

A celebration of Year One of The Leadership Vanguard

Reinventing leadership. Reinventing growth.

Welcome 01

The Leadership Vanguard Year/01

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There is a tide in the affairs of men.Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their lifeIs bound in shallows and in miseries.On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,Or lose our ventures.

Act 4, Scene 3: ‘Julius Caesar’ by William Shakespeare

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01 — Congratulations on graduating Year 1

By Osvald Bjelland, CEO, Xyntéo

What is the difference between transformative leadership and incremental leadership?

Transformative leaders see abundance where the incremental see scarcity. Transformative leaders do not accept the rules of the game; they change them. Instead of knocking up against the received parameters of a problem, they turn the problem on its head, stretching, tilting and expanding it until the new combinations of a solution emerges.

Today’s challenges call for transformative, not incremental, leaders. We do not need more optimisation of the current system; we can afford no more tinkering. We need women and men – like the Pope, like Malala – who are willing to destroy ‘what is’ to make way for ‘what should be’. These leaders exist, but they are too few.

This is of course why the Leadership Vanguard was established – to increase the world’s capacity for transformative leadership, for leadership that creates instead of optimising the status quo. We see this most obviously at work in phase three of the programme, where catalysts are challenged to attack a human problem by incubating a project that leverages the expertise and commercial interests of the partner companies. In effect, they need to create something where there was nothing.

This is not easy. Nobody told the catalysts what to focus on. Nobody asked them to create inclusive growth in Myanmar, reconceive corporate performance metrics, redirect purchasing decisions or scale collaboration around water access in the Ganges. The catalysts just saw an opportunity to add value for society and for their companies, and went for it. I am incredibly inspired by their bias for movement, and by the support they have received from their own leaders, Paul Polman, Ajay Banga, Peter Coleman, Beh Swan Gin and Remi Eriksen.

Some of the projects will make it; some won’t. Speaking as an entrepreneur, I know too well how this failure can feel. But it is part of the leadership journey, part of trying out new solutions with no guarantee of success and no formal mandate. To borrow my favourite line from Shakespeare, we must take the current as it serves or lose our ventures. Waiting is not an option.

I am so proud of the progress made to date and look so much forward to the journey ahead.

Visionary partners 02


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02 —The leaders who are making the Leadership Vanguard happen

For the Leadership Vanguard’s pilot year, these visionary CEOs joined forces to create a new community of future-fit leaders.

An innovator in financial technology, MasterCard has made payments safer, simpler and smarter for nearly 50 fifty years. Guided by the belief that electronic payments have the ability to create a world with greater opportunities for all, it has made financial inclusion in emerging markets a commercial growth priority.

Woodside Energy is Australia’s largest petroleum exploration and production company. With a global reach that continues to grow, Woodside is recognised for its world-class capabilities as an explorer, developer, producer and supplier of oil and gas. In 2014 it announced the development of the Woodside Innovation and Technology Hub, based in Perth, with the goal to bring together word-class innovators and thought leaders to unlock future growth opportunities.

With a purpose to safeguard life, property and the environment, DNV GL is the world’s largest classification society for maritime and offshore facilities. Its commitment to a ‘safe and sustainable future’ has contributed significantly to growth of the renewable energy sector, including wind, wave, tidal, and solar industries.

With more than 400 brands ranging from food and beverage to health and wellbeing, Unilever’s products are used by an estimated two billion people every day. By increasing the focus on sustainability throughout its supply chains, the company has emerged as the leader for sustainable, purpose-driven sourcing, production and consumption in the FMCG industry.

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is Singapore’s lead government agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business centre and a regional hub for thousands of multinational companies. Its mission is to maintain sustainable economic growth for the country.

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01 Ajay Banga PRESIDENT AND CEO, MASTERCARD

02 Dr Osvald Bjelland CHAIRMAN AND CEO, XYNTÉO

03 Peter Coleman CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, WOODSIDE ENERGY

04 Remi Eriksen GROUP PRESIDENT AND CEO, DNV GL GROUP AND CHAIR OF THE LEADERSHIP VANGUARD

05 Paul Polman CEO, UNILEVER

06 Dr Beh Swan Gin CHAIRMAN, SINGAPORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD

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For Year 2, we are also fortunate to welcome another three organisations to our partnershipEricsson is a world leader in the rapidly changing environment of communications technology, providing equipment, software, and services to enable transformation through mobility. Some 40 per cent of global mobile traffic runs through Ericsson-supplied networks, providing service to over one billion subscribers.

EDP, or Energias de Portugal, ranks among Europe’s major electricity operators, and also has a major presence in electricity generation and distribution in Latin America, Africa, and the US. Since 2007, over a third of the energy produced by EDP has derived from renewable sources. EDP is also recognised as the third largest producer of wind energy in the world.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a three-time Nobel Peace Prize laureate for its commitment to protecting victims of armed conflicts. Founded in 1863, the ICRC is the oldest and most honoured organisation within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Today the humanitarian body operates in over 80 countries, with 11,000 employees and 97 million volunteers actively helping in conflict areas such as Syria, Iraq, DR Congo and Libya. The ICRC will be a Year 2 Vanguard partner together with The International Red Cross and Norges Røde Kors.

The Journey 03


03 — The Journey

Today’s world is complex and unpredictable, defined by systems challenges that defy action by any lone actor. The Vanguard programme is designed to mimic that leadership reality.

The Leadership Vanguard was created by a group of global business leaders and Xyntéo to mobilise and accelerate future-fit leadership. This is leadership that is capable of leading businesses through a rapidly changing competitive landscape, while also contributing to the transition to a new model for growth – growth that is capable of delivering value over generations, not quarters; to society overall, not just shareholders.

Over the course of one year, catalysts – next generation leaders from across the partner companies – are challenged to leave the home territory of their companies and industries to engage (both face-to-face and virtually) with visionary business leaders, big thinkers and disruptors from very different fields. They are challenged to learn and work shoulder-to-shoulder with peers from other, sometimes very different industries, collaborating on systems-oriented project ideas that test and advance future-fit growth.

Our year one (Y1) catalysts have spoken to nearly 80 thought leaders, from counter-insurgency experts, humanitarian leaders and Buddhist monks to scenarios planners, social media pioneers, science historians and policymakers. They have met face-to-face five times, met virtually over 100 times, posted 1500 times on Yammer and blogged, presented and pitched. They have helped build a community of leaders that is intended as a force for material change towards future-fit growth.

The journey is not over for Y1 catalysts. Now that they graduate, they become members of the Vanguard alumni.

Vanguard Launch London 13.11.14

Kalundborg field trip

Denmark 12.02.15

Global Vanguard Exchange Singapore

25.02.15

Phase One: exploRECatalysts created research plans to explore systems-level themes. Started to build network of beacons and pathfinders. Activated mentor relationships. Reported

interim findings at first Vanguard Exchange, in Singapore.

23 Catalysts from i3 countries join the journey

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Global Vanguard Exchange Lisbon 24.06.15The five ideas presented were:

● Breaking the resource curse

● The democratisation of energy

● Future-fit 500

● Lifescores

● Raising living standards for half-a-billion people

Field trips Myanmar 19.10.15

Switchpitch and the White House United States 03.08.15

Global Vanguard Exchange New York 17.11.15● Lifescores

● Future fit 500

● Water4life

● Reimagining modern Myanmar

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital field trip Singapore 27.02.15

Marina Barrage field trip Singapore 27.02.15

Sandpit Workshop Berlin 28.04.15

Phase Two: expandLeveraged phase-one insights and connections to generate a high volume of project ideas.

Filtered them, prototyped and pitched at second Vanguard Exchange and The Performance

Theatre in Lisbon.

Phase Three: CreateIncubating projects and carrying out

pilot activities before presenting initial results and refined project plan at third Exchange,

in New York. Hand over to next cohort of catalysts.

A PARTNERSHIP SPANNING 8 SECTORS

WE've seen i500+ yammer posts, 8 blogs and i02 remote sessions

Since the 1970s, the average tenure of CEOs has halved. Long-held assumptions about business fundamentals are being challenged in industry after industry. While new, potentially revolutionary business models are emerging, digital technology is empowering companies to do away with assets, and scale seems a poor guarantee against disruption. Long-held cyclical price assumptions (for example, very high margins in the oil and gas industry) are overturning tried-and-tested strategies, while healthy shareholder return is no longer enough – the public expects businesses to create value for society overall.

Closely interlinked with these trends is the mounting pressure to decouple business growth from degradation of our natural resources, including our climate. We contend that the successful businesses of the future will be those that can turn a healthy profit without contributing to climate change.

In our interactions with leading CEOs and thinkers Xyntéo has identified a set of capabilities we believe are central to ‘vanguard leadership’. This model is not intended as the expression of the ‘perfect catalyst’ but was rather developed as an aide for catalysts and mentors, a framework for reflection about the way we approach 21st century leadership challenges.

The model is build out of five components – four leadership capabilities, multiplied by a fifth category called ‘future-fit mindset’.

1. Contextual acuityContextual acuity is the ability to seek and make meaning of intelligence from a range of sources, to connect the dots between disparate data-points, and to engage with trends before they become ‘clear and present’. In a world characterised by volatility and uncertainty, leaders need to stay open to contextual information and continuously adapt their understanding according to the intelligence being received – rather than aiming for mastery of a static, predetermined domain.

2. Systems rangeThe complexity of interlinkages between today’s systems – for instance across our food, water, climate and energy systems – increases the likelihood both that an event in one sphere will spill over to another and that ‘solutions’ could mutate into new, unpredictable problems. Recognising the relationships, dynamics and feedback mechanisms that connect systems to systems, leaders must exert systems range – the ability both to run high-performing organisations and to enrich the systems in which they operate.

3. Collaborative competenceIn order to sustain value creation, leaders today need to work increasingly through partnerships with other corporations, governments and civil society groups. Vanguard leaders both understand the need for collaboration as well as its competitive power, and have the practical capacity to instigate, engineer and run collaborations. Collaborative competence demands that leaders are able to work with non-traditional partners to develop a strong, shared ‘why’ as well as a means to achieve it.

4. Bias for movementVanguard leaders have a bias for movement, despite the presence of considerable doubt. They recognise that the world is not just complicated but complex, and that in the face of such challenges, leaders cannot wait for absolute certainty before moving; even in the face of doubt, they need to make decisions and mobilise action, testing options, pivoting, failing and ultimately just ‘stepping off the curb’. This takes a good deal of courage, and trust in one’s own intuition.

5. Future-fit mindsetNot only do leaders need capabilities that suit the realities of the 21st century; they need an ‘operating system’ to support and amplify these capabilities, what we call a future-fit mindset. This includes a strong sense of purpose; non-linear thinking; the ability to communicate with humanity and authenticity; a tendency to question received wisdom; and curiosity and humility.

You can read the full paper – ‘What is vanguard leadership?’ on www.xynteo.com

Vanguard Leadership 04


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04 — Vanguard Leadership A core idea behind the Leadership Vanguard is this: to reinvent growth we must also reinvent leadership.

to reinvent growth we must

also reinvent leadership.

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Maurice Adriaensen HEAD OF DEPARTMENT AND GLOBAL SERVICE LINE LEADER, DNV GL

Fairoz Ahmed CO-FOUNDER, NUSANTARA DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

Sam Ahmed GROUP HEAD, MARKETING, ASIA/PACIFIC, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, MASTERCARD

Pekka Ala-Pietilä CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, HUHTAMAKI OYJ

Hans-Günther Albers BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, REGION GERMANY, DNV GL MARITIME

Professor Saleem Ali DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN MINING (CSRM), UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Farouk Al-Kasim PRESIDENT, PETROTEAM AS

Henrik Bach MANAGING DIRECTOR AND COUNTRY CHAIR, DENMARK, DNV GL MARITIME

Professor Dr Gunther Bachmann GENERAL SECRETARY, GERMAN COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Peter Bakker PRESIDENT, WORLD BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (WBCSD)

Sari Baldauf CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, FORTUM OYJ

Ajay Banga PRESIDENT AND CEO, MASTERCARD

Ken Banks FOUNDER, KIWANJA.NET, AND FOUNDER, FRONTLINESMS

Robb Barnitt FOUNDER AND CEO, DROPCOUNTR

Mike Barry DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS, MARKS & SPENCER

Barbara Bauer EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MYANMAR PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE

The Players 05


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05 — The Players

The Leadership Vanguard is built up out of a chemistry of interaction across four groups of leaders: catalysts, mentors, beacons and pathfinders.

01 Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation 02 Osvald Bjelland, Xyntéo; and Ajay Banga, MasterCard

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Einstein said that that no problem could be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. The challenges that we see in the world today demand new thinking and new approaches. Leaders need to step out of the frame of their organisations, sectors and industries to expose themselves to different, sometimes uncomfortable perspectives and forge partnerships with unlikely actors. That is why the Vanguard is designed to draw together four groups of leaders:

• Catalysts – future leaders in each company

• Mentors – leaders of global organisations

• Beacons – recognised thoughts leaders from across a range of sectors; individuals who are shaping the thinking of tomorrow

• Pathfinders – change-makers working outside of global business to effect transformation

On the next few pages are listed the 149 people we have been lucky enough to bring together in this programme.

Thanks to all for their insight and energy in year one!

Geoffrey Beattie PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY

Yasemin Bedir COUNTRY MANAGER, TURKEY, MASTERCARD

Jeremy Bentham VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Morten Berthelsen HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL SECTION, NORGES VASSDRAGS- OG ENERGIDIREKTORAT (NVE)

Ben van Beurden CEO, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Dr Osvald Bjelland CHAIRMAN AND CEO, XYNTÉO, AND FOUNDER, THE PERFORMANCE THEATRE

Gabi Blumberg MANAGER, CORPORATE STRATEGY, JUST CAPITAL

David Bodanis FUTURIST AND AUTHOR

Dr Jennifer Brauner CONSULTANT, STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Lord John Browne of Madingley CHAIRMAN, L1 ENERGY

Nicolaus Bunnemann MANAGING DIRECTOR, ATLANTIC LLOYD GMBH & CO KG

Dr Christian Busch ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, INNOVATION LAB, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

Ruth Cairni FORMER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT STRATEGY AND PLANNING, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Steve Caldwell CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, STRAP

Arne Cartridge SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS, YARA INTERNATIONAL ASA

Lynna Chandra FOUNDER AND TRUSTEE, RACHEL HOUSE

Dr Ha-Joon Chang PROFESSOR OF DEVELOPMENT, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

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03 From left-right: Tok Kian Seng, DNV GL; Shelley McIvor, Xyntéo; Christopher Slim, Unilever 04 Melody Hong, Singapore Economic Development Board 05 Tan Kong Hwee, Singapore Economic Development Board 06 Harald J Melwisch, Unilever 07 Idea pitches in Lisbon 08 Soni Prachant, DNV GL and Yasemin Bedir, MasterCard

Jeremy Heimans CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, PURPOSE

Karl Johnny Hersvik CEO, DET NORSKE OLJESELSKAP ASA

Peter Ho FORMER HEAD OF SINGAPORE’S CIVIL SERVICE, AND SENIOR ADVISOR, CENTRE FOR STRATEGIC FUTURES

Robert Holden PSYCHOLOGIST

Melody Hong DIRECTOR, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, SINGAPORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Anthony Howard FOUNDER AND CEO, THE CONFIDERE GROUP

Susan Hunt Stevens FOUNDER AND CEO, WESPIRE

Dr Bawa Jain FOUNDING SECRETARY GENERAL, WORLD COUNCIL OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Indy Johar CO-FOUNDER, IMPACT HUB WESTMINSTER

So-Young Kang CEO AND FOUNDER, AWAKEN GROUP

Richard Kelly MANAGING DIRECTOR, IDEO ASIA PACIFIC

Geoff Kendall CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, FUTURE-FIT FOUNDATION

Tok Kian Seng PRINCIPAL ENGINEER, SUBSEA, STRUCTURES AND PIPELINES, DNV GL OIL & GAS

Jessica Kleinberg PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, PROXIMITY DESIGNS

John Knight EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL STRATEGY AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, STATOIL

Sasha Kolopic HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SOLARKIOSK

Tan Kong Hwee DIRECTOR, TRANSPORT ENGINEERING, SINGAPORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Juman Kubba OIL, GAS AND MINING TEAM, GLOBAL WITNESS

Dennis Chang DIVISION PRESIDENT, CHINA, MASTERCARD

Liming Chen CHAIRMAN, GREATER CHINA GROUP, IBM

Daniel Clery COUNTRY MANAGER, MYANMAR, WOODSIDE

Suzanne Joan Coates CHIEF OF WASH, UNICEF

Ted Coiné CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, MEDDLE.IT

Matthew Colbert FOUNDER AND CEO, EYESPEND

Peter Coleman CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, WOODSIDE ENERGY

Professor Paul Collier PROFESSOR BLAVATNIK SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT, OXFORD UNIVERSITY

Geoff Colvin SENIOR, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE

Richard Cox FOUNDING PARTNER, SALT

Alex Crosby PRESIDENT, DD BUDDY APP

Patricia Curran SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, TELENOR ASIA (ROH)

Yves Daccord DIRECTOR-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC)

Scott DeCarlo SENIOR LIST EDITOR, FORTUNE MAGAZINE

Jean-Philippe Denruyter ENERGY SPECIALIST, WWF GREATER MEKONG PROGRAMME

Paul Donowitz COUNTRY HEAD FOR MYANMAR, ASIA DEVELOPMENT BANK

Bill Drayton FOUNDER, ASHOKA

Remi Eriksen GROUP PRESIDENT AND CEO, DNV GL GROUP

Tedd Evers FOUNDER, TRIPTUNER

Freddy Friberg AREA MANAGER, FINLAND, RUSSIA AND THE BALTICS, DNV GL MARITIME

David Fullbrook SENIOR CONSULTANT, STRATEGY AND POLICY, DNV GL ENERGY

John B Fullerton FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, CAPITAL INSTITUTE

Arunabha Ghosh CEO, COUNCIL ON ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Paul Gilding FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL

Blair Glencourse EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACCOUNTABILITY LAB

André Grabow KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER, DNV GL MARITIME

Shaun Gregory SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, WOODSIDE ENERGY

Morten Hansen PROFESSOR AND AUTHOR, UC BERKELEY

Dr Colin G Harrison FORMER DISTINGUISHED ENGINEER EMERITUS, IBM

Hunter Hayes FOUNDER, ZEROCYCLE

Per Heggenes CEO, IKEA FOUNDATION

The Players 05


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01 Eric Schneider, MasterCard 02 Professor Robert Thurman, Columbia University

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Prasoon Kumar FOUNDER AND CEO, BILLION BRICKS

Bart Kuppens VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING, BENELUX, UNILEVER

Lieutenant-General Sir Graeme Lamb FORMER COMMANDER OF THE FIELD ARMY AT LAND COMMAND (UK)

Andrew Last OWNER AND CEO, SALT

Professor Dr Mojib Latif HEAD RESEARCH DIVISION, OCEAN CIRCULATION AND CLIMATE DYNAMICS, GEOMAR

Peter Laybourn CEO, INTERNATIONAL SYNERGIES

Dr Jeremy Leggett FOUNDING DIRECTOR, SOLARCENTURY, AND CHAIRMAN, CARBON TRACKER

Hannah Leong PRESIDENT, ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS ASIA

Christian Liberatore COMMERCIAL ADVISOR, CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT, WOODSIDE ENERGY LTD

Penny Low PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, SOCIAL INNOVATION PARK

George Madhaven DIRECTOR, 3P SINGAPORE PUBLIC UTILITIES

Dr Henrik O Madsen BOARD MEMBER, UN GLOBAL COMPACT

Andrzej Marczewski SOLUTION DESIGNER, CAPGEMINI

Cristina Martins GLOBAL MANAGER FOOD & BEVERAGE, DNV GL BUSINESS ASSURANCE

Richard Mattison CEO TRUCOST PLC

Nicola McKenzie BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, MYBNK

Harald J Melwisch VICE PRESIDENT BRAND BUILDING, DACH, MARKETING, UNILEVER

Andrzej Moyseowicz FOUNDER, FREEMAVENS

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03 Hanneke Willenborg, Unilever 04 Cristina Martins, DNV GL 05 Christian Liberatore, Woodside Energy 06 Blake Rosenthal, MasterCard 07 Cole Paulson, Xyntéo 08 Kong Hwee Tan, Singapore Economic Development Board 09 Christopher Slim, Unilever

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Andre Almeida Santos PRINCIPAL COUNTRY ECONOMIST, MOZAMBIQUE, AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Evan Scandling MANAGING DIRECTOR, MYANMAR SUNLABOB RENEWABLE ENERGY

Professor Dr Stefan Schaltegger HEAD, CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, LEUPHANA UNIVERSITY

Eric F Schneider GROUP HEAD AND REGION LEAD, ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, MASTERCARD

Sushmita Sengupta CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Rathika Shamugham BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE, SOCIAL INNOVATION PARK

Jack Sim FOUNDER, WORLD TOILET ORGANIZATION

Christopher Slim VICE PRESIDENT OF BRAND BUILDING, NORDIC, UNILEVER

Janti Soeripto DEPUTY CEO, SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL

Andreas Sohmen-Pao CEO, BW GROUP

Dr Prashant Kumar Soni HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, SAFETY, DNV GL OIL & GAS

Ingrid Stange FOUNDER, PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE

Associate Professor Kristy Muir DIRECTOR (SOCIAL OUTCOME), AUSTRALIA’S CENTRE FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

Bejay Mulenga FOUNDER, SUPA TUCK, AND CO-FOUNDER, SUPA ACADEMY

Sascha Müller VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, DNV GL MARITIME

Sunita Narain DIRECTOR GENERAL, CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Paul Nevett GLOBAL VICE PRESIDENT, UNILEVER BRAND, UNILEVER

Professor Kevin Noone DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY

Edward Northam HEAD, INVESTMENT BANKING, GREEN INVESTMENT BANK

Eva Oberg SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR, DFID

Lord Ron Oxburgh of Liverpool FORMER CHAIRMAN, SHELL, AND FORMER CHAIR OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY SELECT COMMITTEE, HOUSE OF LORDS

Divya Patel CO-INCUBATOR LEAD, IMPACT HUB SINGAPORE

Gunter Pauli CO-FOUNDER, ZERI, AND HEAD, BLUE ECONOMY INITIATIVE

Pedro Pina GLOBAL CLIENT PARTNER, GCAS, GOOGLE

Paul Polman CEO, UNILEVER

Professor Chris Rapley CBE, PROFESSOR OF CLIMATE SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Sheila Redzepi VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL ADVOCACY AND SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY, UNILEVER

Martin Rich CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, 3D INVESTMENT FOUNDATION

Kjell Roland, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NORFUND

Mattia Romani MANAGING DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Blake Rosenthal GROUP EXECUTIVE, GLOBAL HEAD OF DEBIT AND NETWORK SOLUTIONS, MASTERCARD

Grace Sai CO-FOUNDER, IMPACT HUB SINGAPORE

Carol Sanford AUTHOR, ‘THE RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS’

The Players 05


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Images: Photos taken during the second Leadership Vanguard Exchange in Lisbon, June 2015

Pavan Sukhdev FOUNDER AND CEO, GIST ADVISORY

Dr Beh Swan Gin CHAIRMAN, SINGAPORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD

David Tan ASSISTANT CEO, JTC CORPORATION

Ted Tan DEPUTY CEO, SPRING SINGAPORE

Kevin Teo MANAGING DIRECTOR, KNOWLEDGE CENTRE, ASIAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY NETWORK

Liak Teng Lit CEO, KHOO TECK PUAT HOSPITAL

Professor Raj Thampuran MANAGING DIRECTOR, A*STAR

Robert Thurman PROFESSOR OF INDO-TIBETAN BUDDHIST STUDIES, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AND PRESIDENT, TIBET HOUSE US

De La Rey Venter EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, JOINT VENTURES, SHELL

Hans Vestberg PRESIDENT AND CEO, ERICSSON AB

Dr Angela Wilkinson STRATEGIC FORESIGHT COUNSELLOR, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)

Hanneke Willenborg GLOBAL BRAND VICE PRESIDENT SURF, SKIP AND WATER, UNILEVER

Rob Wilson DIRECTOR, ASHOKA UK

Gareth Wright BUSINESS ADVISER TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, BROWSE BUSINESS UNIT, WOODSIDE ENERGY LTD

Philip Yeo SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, AND CHAIRMAN, SPRING SINGAPORE

Yew Yuen Chow CEO, KEPPEL OFFSHORE & MARINE

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We live, and do business in, an extremely transparent, connected and constantly updated world. It used to be that leaders could hide behind the carefully crafted campaigns of corporate communications, but today the public demands immediate two-way dialogues with even the most senior executives. To be a leader, you must have followers, and for anyone to follow you, they must trust you. The best way to earn that trust is to communicate openly, authentically and honestly. The Leadership Vanguard provides a vehicle for practising this form of communication.

Xyntéo: Given the challenges facing us today, what do we need leaders to focus on? Polman: I think that we are all a little bit too ‘programmed’ on the Western model. This has served us well, but is becoming a bit stale. Leaders need to start thinking outside of this model. We need to see more partnerships, more transparency, more purpose-driven leadership, more long-term viewpoints, more focus on the common good. And, interestingly, Asian cultures are more prone to that. So the West would actually be at a competitive disadvantage if this model evolved.

Xyntéo: Are there any particular leadership skills that would help with this? Polman: Yes, future leaders need to have a high level of awareness and engagement to address societal issues and put their business model to the service of solving these – beyond the narrow focus on building shareholder value. I think it’s a case of being able to think of new models based on longer-term purpose-driven partnerships.

Xyntéo: What’s the one thing they’re going to have to ‘unlearn’ if we’re going to succeed in reinventing growth? Polman: We need to get into a mind-set of having partnerships for the common-good, based on joint accountability and responsibility, versus fostering partnerships based on our own interests. So I think the first thing that we need to unlearn – or undo – is this singular focus on ourselves.

Xyntéo: Do you think this hunger for change is particularly prevalent among the younger generation? Polman: I see, especially in Africa, that the young want, above all, better governance, more transparency and more accountability. They might not all express it in words like ‘systems thinking’, but there is an enormous energy in young people to make this a better world for all. So I am very hopeful that it is young people who are going to change the world more than anything else, which is not so different from what has happened many times in history.

Paul Polman CEO, UnileverFrom interview with Xyntéo, October 2014

Their Words 06


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06 — Their Words

Over the course of its first year, Xyntéo has been collecting the words and thoughts of the Leadership Vanguard.

MENTORS

CATALYSTS

BEACONS

Moving from the level of middle management to the level of a CEO and senior executive is to enter a completely different playing field, and it requires a completely different mind-set. It’s not really about doing more or taking on more responsibility; it’s about really changing the lens through which you see the world and your place in it. This is a growth and development that has to take place in you, and you really have to want to do it – to really long for that whole new world, if you are going to succeed.

I personally don’t ever use the word ‘sustainability’; it’s too connected to doing something less bad. Pollute less. Use fewer resources. Exploit fewer people. To me, the important work is much more about building really good businesses, with all that is included in that.

The essence of your company is something that is there from the beginning, and must not be confused with purpose or mission statement. You don’t make it up or decide it by committee or the board. At DuPont, we went back two centuries and studied what the company had been, done and stood for since its very inception. They started their business over 200 years ago with the production of gunpowder and chemicals, and the essence for them to succeed with that had always been to manage risk. You then use that essence to guide you to lead the company, not towards doing less harm or doing good, but towards developing that essence and realising its potential.

Carol Sanford author of The Responsible BusinessFrom Vanguard session, January 2015

We are living in times of change, where every day we see clear evidence that the demands on leadership are changing from what they were only a few years ago. It is in situations like these that our leaders, both in the private and public spaces, can either step up to act, or pull back to fade away. But how can we identify the leaders who have what it takes to lead us forward? How can I know who to trust?

Having just recently stepped into a leadership role within my organisation – DNV GL – I constantly wonder what capacities I need to lead my team. The Leadership Vanguard initiative has offered me a rare opportunity to view leadership from different perspectives – giving me access to the insights of leaders from various businesses, industries and sectors, as well as my fellow catalysts, next generation leaders from the Vanguard partner organisations.

And I have benefited hugely from my conversations with my Vanguard mentor – Dr Beh Swan Gin, chairman of Singapore Economic Development Board. He has helped me develop a perspective on leadership I did not have before, urging me to identify more clearly how I myself want to be as a future leader.

The traits that, in my humble opinion, are key to succeed as a leader today are: leading by purpose, giving autonomy, turning failure into advantages and the ability to persuade.

As we move into times of ever more unpredictable change, I believe these are the traits that will make leaders succeed or fail. They are the ones I look for in the leaders I choose to follow and put my respect and trust in, and they are the ones I work hard to display and lead by every day.

Tok Kian Seng principal engineer and group leader of subsea, structures and pipelines, DNV GL Oil and Gas From blog ‘How to spot a future-fit leader’, October 2015

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Risk is the condition in which the set of possible events or outcomes, and the probability that each will occur, is known. Uncertainty is the condition in which the possible events or outcomes are known (factually or hypothetically), but the probabilities that each will occur are not known or are highly subjective estimates. Surprise is the condition in which the event or outcome is not known or expected.

The exponential population growth of humanity and its impacts on the global ecosystem have brought unprecedented risks. We know that climate change is having very serious effects on the world, including the melting of ice sheets and the depletion of the ozone layer, but we don’t know the probabilities entirely, making it an identifiable risk with a great deal of uncertainty.

Although humans have walked on the Earth for some 200,000 years, the so-called ‘Anthropocene’ of significant human influence on the ecosystem began only in the last 200 years, with industrialisation and the resulting population boom.

Now we’re breathing air that none of our ancestors would have recognised: more CO2 and less nitrogen. And we produce an alarming amount of waste – just take, for instance, all the light we see from images taken in space. That light energy is ‘wasted’ because it has no need to reach that far.

We need to shift the emphasis from measuring economic production (GDP) to measuring well-being. This needs to include human dignity and the health of the ecosystems that contribute to it. Similarly, the metrics we need when addressing climate change need to be broader and more dynamic than CO2 emissions. Because it’s a complex problem, we need a more nuanced way of discussing cause and effect. For instance, one of our looming world problems is food security, but we don’t have an easy way of gauging and discussing it if we talk only of carbon emissions.

Professor Kevin Noone Department of applied environmental science, Stockholm UniversityFrom Vanguard session, February 2015

During my time in the Leadership Vanguard, I’ve been exposed to perspectives and thinking on topics that would never have crossed my desk.

It has been fascinating, and at times challenging, to meet so many really impressive fellow catalysts, who each have a very different method of thinking about the same problem.

A powerful lesson I’ve learned this year is that in order to be truly collaborative, you must separate yourself from your ideas. If you say, ‘Let me tell you what has worked for us, and how it could be applied at a larger scale’, you’re likely to have an interesting debate about the idea. If you say, ‘Let me tell you what I did’, it becomes much more difficult because if someone disagrees with your approach, it becomes a personal debate rather than an expansive discussion about an idea.

What separates the good from the great is the ability to let go of ideas and embrace new ones, recognising that the power of collaboration is to source ideas that are better than your own.

There is a balance that leaders need to strike between delivering short term wins but keeping an eye on the long term and paving that path. Don’t be so visionary that you lose sight of today; and don’t be so tactical that you lose sight of tomorrow.

I’ve learned this year that the leadership quality I most admire is the ability not only to see the big picture but also to break it down so everyone can understand and act on it. The best leaders are those who take the time to make sure that everyone sees what he or she sees. Those who have the patience to bring people along with them will achieve extraordinary things.

Blake Rosenthal Group executive, global head of debit and network solutions, MasterCard From blog ‘What I’ve learned’, October 2015

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To be a leader, you must have followers, and for anyone to follow you,

they must trust you.

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Xyntéo: Your organisation must put a big emphasis on your staff being comfortable with dealing with unpredictable situations and also questioning assumptions. Would you say these are key qualities for future leaders? Daccord: Yes, absolutely. My feeling is that the next three to five years will be among the most challenging ever – and the most interesting – both for the ICRC as a whole and for young leaders in general. As a leader myself, what strikes me is that ten years ago even if you were a good leader you would not be able to make that much of a difference. You might inspire people, of course. But now, with what I see ahead of us, you really can make a massive difference. There are so many questions, so many different and unpredictable scenarios. The difference you can make as a leader is much bigger now than it was ten years ago.

Xyntéo: What is your personal leadership philosophy? Daccord: What I am looking for is leadership that is flexible and adaptable. I do not want one type of leadership. For example, decentralisation is fundamental to the success of our organisation, but sometimes I will insist on the need for taking command and control, depending on the particular situation. Of course, leadership also needs to be transparent. People need to understand why leaders are making a decision. And I certainly don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach. That went out of the window long ago.

Yves Daccord director-general, International Committee of the Red CrossFrom interview with Xyntéo, October 2014

The challenge for leadership is to keep one eye on the targets for the future, and the other eye on possibilities that are emerging, and then navigate between these all the time.

This concept of sailing has a wonderful metaphor for what organisational leaders are doing today. Their organisations are like their ships, and their staff are like their crew, and they have this great inspiring vision of where they want to be. But they don’t dictate this journey alone; they also have to navigate the turbulent waters that are created by people well beyond their organisation.

You have a star that’s guiding. That’s the vision. It’s never achievable, but it points you in the right direction. You have the open ocean, which subjects you to the changing tides of the future.

If you want to create the future, you also have to have the humility to acknowledge that you don’t command it. It’s not just about having the chart; it’s about being able to adapt. You have to navigate. You have to bend and move with the tides. You can’t dictate where the journey’s going to be. You have to adjust in the present. You have to think about what’s going to happen to you, and prepare your crew for the journey ahead, not just the future you want to see.

As any good sailor knows, it’s not just about them. It’s about the crew and the vessel. You have to build a vessel that’s going to withstand all the conditions ahead. And you have to keep the crew together, because when you face getting stuck in the doldrums, or you’re going through a raging ocean, everybody has to stay in this vessel together on this journey to the future.

And that’s the metaphor of the leadership journey.

Angela Wilkinson strategic foresight counsellor, OECD From interview at Global Vanguard Exchange in Lisbon, June 2015

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Let’s consider the world we live in and the journey we have come on as a human race. There is no question that we have come far, but in a relatively short space of time, the thinking that got us here has started to show signs of weakness, generating problems faster than progress. We need a new perspective and approach, underpinned by the realisation that these challenges cannot be tackled in isolation. This starts with our leaders.

Confronting wicked problems requires leadership that recognises the increasing complexity of today’s world, adopts a systems-thinking approach, and is able to generate a more collaborative way to finding long-term solutions. This is not human nature. Our propensity to be competitive, work in silos and seek immediate solutions to problems can be seen in most business and social environments today. Our focus on efficiency and instantaneous solutions has led to short-termism, an inability to collaborate, and a lack of big-picture thinking.

Gareth Wright business adviser to the senior vice president, Browse Business Unit, WoodsideFrom blog ‘Collaboration is not human nature – but here’s why it should be’, October 2015

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the British science fiction writer, inventor and futurist, stated human thinking progresses along the following lines:

1. It isn’t a good idea and it will never work.

2. It is a solution, but it isn’t worth doing.

3. It was a good idea all along.

This is, as I explained above, exactly the spectrum of thought I travelled when faced with the choice to collaborate or go it alone. The experience convinced me that resilience will become one of the most important traits for our future leaders. To truly collaborate and work towards solutions that are mutually beneficial for all demands resilience, the ability to stay the course and implement new approaches, resisting the pressure for immediate results and the all-too-human predilection for the tried-and-tested.

There are several core principles that I have found to be useful when going from ‘doing’ to ‘leading’ in an organisation. The first is to have a very, very clear idea of exactly what your mission is. Why does this organisation exist? What is its raison d’être?

The second is to get your vision right. Where are we going? What are we trying to achieve? What would the world be like in ten to fifteen years if we’re successful? If you can get those two things right, in my experience, you’re well on the way to success.

A no-blame culture that pushes responsibility down the chain is also important – helping people that make mistakes rather than punishing them. In turn, if you see an organisational disaster or something that has gone wrong, it is likely that one or more of three things has unravelled: authority, responsibility and accountability. It is crucial that these three things are invested in individuals from the start.

Narrative is the key to connecting to an audience. Scientists are trained to convey complex, technical and scientific information to other academics in a very particular mode. However, this does not work with a non-specialist audience. The way you generate an emotional and thoughtful reaction in somebody’s mind is totally different from the way academics are trained to deliver knowledge. I think that we need to develop a narrative without the usual academic arrogance. There is a particular rhythm to a narrative, there’s a particular poetry to the words that you use. It is also important to note that science and the enlightenment are relatively recent inventions. Narratives have been around for a much longer period of time and are a much more powerful way to deliver complex knowledge.

Chris Rapley professor of climate science, University College LondonFrom Vanguard session, February 2015

Exploring what it means for a leader to communicate in the ‘age of radical visibility’, one recurring topic is a leader’s presence in social media. How do we communicate there? How much? What is expected from us? How do you know what is the right thing to say in different situations? What not to say? What is it that people want to know about me? What do they not want to know (brussel sprouts for dinner – really?). What about my brand, the company’s? What is ‘too much information’?

We recently listened to Andrzej Moyseowicz of Freemavens discuss communication in the social media age. Many times during his talk, Andrzej pulled back from ‘social media communication’ to ‘real-life communication’, asking questions like: ‘what would you say in real life?’ and ‘how would you act at a dinner party?’ Bringing back social media communication to real-life communication makes the whole thing just so much easier and more comprehensible, right?

Based on Andrzej’s points, it seems questions about what to say in social media are probably just the same as what to say in real life.

When being active in social media, I imagine that same kind of balance should be sought. Tell the truth, but don’t just lay out all facts openly, as is sometimes tempting. Your guide to that balance is listening, which is why I think social media listening skills are really important.

Hanneke Willenborg global brand VP, Surf, Skip and Water, UnileverFrom blog ‘Social media – just like real life?’, January 2015

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Technology is a good thing, but you have to understand how it fits into a social environment. There isn’t any other way to learn than by doing it; you can’t build a lab for a city – we have to use cities themselves. Technology needs to be mixed with a very strong dose of social awareness and activity at the grassroots level.

There are groups of people who would like to see the world changed entirely by grassroots activities – I don’t see that happening. There is a very famous economist at City University in New York called Paul Romer who said, “We are not going to solve the problems of getting water to several hundred million people with $40 sowing machines and microfinance.”

Nothing exists in isolation anymore. Everything is connected to everything else. You can’t suddenly create a market that doesn’t connect to anything – it needs to have suppliers and customers. You have to find what your competitor’s advantage is, in order to insert yourself into the ecosystem. Think about not only what you as a group need to do, but how that is going to relate to the environment in which it sits. How do you connect to governments? How do you connect to customers?

Colin Harrison Master inventor, IBMFrom Vanguard session, April 2015

Xyntéo: Do you feel that more businesses are thinking about acting for the common good now than in the past? Heggenes: I do. I think the younger generation certainly, in that sense, is very different from my generation. If you generalise, a big part of the younger generation doesn’t like the feeling of working for a company that doesn’t take social responsibility seriously or is doing anything it can to avoid taxes.

Xyntéo: If more young people want to see a change and be geared more towards the common good than quarterly profits, how do they become leaders in that respect and make it happen? Heggenes: The ability to be a change-maker is something that needs to be developed in young people from a very early age in society. You need to understand how to deliver change, how to be continually driving change, how to operate in teams, how to collaborate. That requires a skill set that includes empathy, good listening skills, and collaborating with different people to drive development together. That goes back to education, which is one of my interest areas. It’s about how you change education to provide the kind of skills that are needed in the 21st century – for people to actually cooperate together to ultimately create a better world. Those skills are not often taught in schools and education institutions today. We have to move from old learning towards skills-based learning.

Per Heggenes CEO, IKEA FoundationFrom interview with Xyntéo, October 2014

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Here the catalysts were divided into three groups, each challenged with exploring one systems-level theme on behalf of the wider group. They began by creating research plans to map the ‘incumbent’ and ‘deviant’ ideas within each area as well as the key beacons and pathfinders to speak to. Over the next three months, they tapped the insights of 60 thinkers and leaders, ‘following their noses’ to build a shared understanding of their themes.

At the end of February, they gathered at the first Global Vanguard Exchange in Singapore to report their interim findings and transition to the next phase, which would focus on ideation.

The three themes

1. Redefining value

As China’s GDP has soared over the past several decades, its international clout skyrocketed and its burgeoning middle class has enjoyed the benefits. But this lightning-speed growth has also brought painful side effects: the country now boasts 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world and, while the income of the richest quintile of society has increased by nearly 20 per cent, the income of the poorest quintile has fallen by one-fourth.

New campaigns to redefine national wellness are gaining traction, but for private sector companies there is no widely used metric to measure value beyond financial gains, even as the risks of short-term, near-sighted ways of doing business become clearer. Some companies are discovering that closer alignment with social needs can also make good business sense. By taking the lead in redefining how to measure their own value, such businesses are actively shaping consumer preferences rather than reacting to them.

2. Communication in an age of radical visibility

Throughout history, technology has affected how we communicate. One hundred and fifty years ago, electricity and the telegraph suddenly enabled us to communicate instantly across thousands of miles, even oceans. Both people and companies could spread their messages wider and further more quickly, expanding the imagination far beyond previous constraints.

Today, we are in the midst of a similar transition, with modern technologies revolutionising the way we interact with each other and the world around us. Right now, there are more mobile phones than toothbrushes on the planet, more computers than toilets; our connectivity is never-ending.

This can be both a blessing and a curse. For a leader to be impactful in this environment, and convince people to follow her, she needs to communicate openly, honestly and authentically, and to build trust at every opportunity, whether it is a blog post or an email, a one-on-one conversation or a speech to a packed auditorium.

3. Systems thinking, collaboration and resilience

Resource scarcity. Inequality. Climate change. Violent extremism. Viral disease. We live in a world of “wicked problems” – inherently impossible to solve, but so serious and pressing that we have no choice but to confront them. To realign our thinking to tackle these challenges, we need to change along three, related fronts: first, we must see across the system to see ‘new combinations’ between parts instead of just the parts themselves. Second, we must aim for resilience, building strategies and systems ready for multiple futures and not just one. Third, we must collaborate.

When individuals and companies extend their perspective to consider the shared networks in which they operate, their arena of action grows exponentially. But examples of successful collaborations are rare in the business landscape, and the reason is they are notoriously difficult. It can be a daunting task to manage clear communication, motivate all partners, ensure trust and simply have the patience to get it right.

Phase 1 — Explore


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Phase 1 — explore The value of getting lost

We all met for the first time in London in November 2014. After taking part in the Global Projects Exchange (at which the Leadership Vanguard was launched with a knock-out speech by Paul Polman), the catalysts gathered at the Tate Britain to begin phase one.

Lt Gen Sir Graeme Lamb and Professor Bob Thurman share a laugh at the Leadership Vanguard’s launch in London.

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Google’s Pedro Pina shares stories of moonshot thinking in Singapore

Vanguard kick-off at the Tate, London Remi Eriksen opens the programme at the Tate, London

We landed on six, one of which was subsequently cut. By the time we met in Lisbon for the second Global Vanguard Exchange, we had five Big Ideas. The catalysts pitched these to a cross-sectoral panel and received enthusiastic but tough feedback and challenges.

The filter

When we met in Berlin, we evaluated the ideas against the Vanguard Filter. The Vanguard ideas must:

• aim for systems change – solving a big, intractable human problem that is obstructing future-fit growth

• demonstrate Vanguard Leadership – demanding we practise a qualitatively different breed of leadership

• leverage collaborative capability – cross-sectoral and collaborative, drawing on the unique capabilities of the vanguard companies.

The ideas presented in LisbonLifescores

The problem: A fundamental flaw in our growth model is that we as individuals often value the wrong things. We need to drive a psychological shift from wanting to be rich to wanting to be relevant.

The idea: We will create a digital platform that uses the psychological principles of gamification to measure and reward all purchasing and usage decisions, calculating them into points, Lifescores, to help consumers make better choices for themselves, their communities and the planet – and, in the process, become more relevant.

Breaking the resource curse

The problem: For too many developing nations, natural resource wealth does not transform into shared prosperity, but instead seems to support increased corruption and inequality.

The idea: We aim to drive collaboration between future-fit businesses, civil society and government to unlock the development potential of natural resources in Myanmar, chosen because several Vanguard partners already have a presence there. We will co-create a hub to share knowledge about how other countries have avoided the resource curse, while fostering dialogue and opportunities for collaborations among businesses, NGOs, local start-ups and government.

Phase 2 — Ideate


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Phase 2 — ideate From insights to big ideas

After presenting their phase 1 findings at the first Global Vanguard Exchange in Singapore, the catalysts began to generate ideas for collaborative projects. They brainstormed over 130 raw ideas, which we then ‘chunked up’ to 82. At an intense, part face-to-face/part remote session in Berlin in April, we used the Vanguard Filter to dissect, merge, select and de-select which ideas to take forward to concept development.

01 Ajay Banga with António Mexia 02 Angela Wilkinson on the difference between strategy and vision

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Water for life

The problem: Water is fundamental to all life. But still one-third of the world’s population lives in water-stressed areas, and nearly a billion people still live without access to safe drinking water

The idea: We aim to initiate and lead a systems-sized collaboration, leveraging the size and scale of the vanguard businesses. Our first point of intervention will aim to connect and scale-up locally appropriate solutions to water scarcity and pollution in a select region along the Ganges River in India.

Energy democracy

The problem: Nearly 30 per cent of the world’s seven billion people don’t have the uninterrupted access to electricity that is enjoyed in the developed world.

The idea: We aim to support the basic developmental energy needs of rural Myanmar by implementing a locally appropriate solution that can help unlock ‘systems wins’. We will use electricity as a means of fostering education and entrepreneurship.

Future-fit 500

The problem: To reinvent growth, we have to reinvent how we measure growth. Corporate rankings today are focused on the principles of the old growth model. We need rankings that tell us which companies will shape the future.

The idea: We aim to build a holistic, future-appropriate valuation framework to help companies, investors and other stakeholders make better decisions. This new ranking and reporting – the ‘Future-fit 500’ – will draw on existing measures of natural and financial capital, but add a new capital, ‘Future capital’, based on positive externalities.

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Project ideas being filtered in Berlin

Phase 3 — Incubate


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Phase 3 — incubate Collaborating across sectors

The catalysts left Lisbon with feedback with which to strengthen the ‘minimum viable product’ (MVP) of their ideas – effectively the smallest version of their plans, including the fundamental pass/fail metrics for overall project viability. The catalysts adjusted their MVPs, in some cases quite radically, and piloted them with possible implementation partners.

01 Visiting a village in Myanmar 02 Catalysts in Lisbon with Angela Wilkinson (right) 03 Saya Kitasei, Xyntéo

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The incubation phase has been intense, full of hard work and many highlights. The catalysts working on the Myanmar ideas visited the country to map stakeholder needs. The LifeScores idea was pitched to prospective technology partners at the White House Start-Up Demo Day at the US Department of Commerce. And the ‘Future-Fit 500’ idea was accepted for presentation at the WBSCD conference of Sustainable Accounting in Geneva. At the Vanguard workshop in New York, the first year catalysts will also be introduced to the second year catalysts, who will be at the very beginning of their own Vanguard journey.

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CollaborationIn a world of systems-sized challenges, leaders need to be able to instigate, engineer and run collaboration, not just within their organisations and industries, but across quite different sectors and value chains. That’s why we see ‘collaborative competence’ as a core leadership capability for the 21st century.

The Vanguard programme is designed to force collaboration right from the beginning, but the core test comes in phase three, when the catalysts have to put the partnership into play as they pilot their project ideas. This is where the challenges of collaboration become apparent – different cultures, different KPIs, different worldviews creating friction.

But what makes a successful collaboration? What are the opportunities and pitfalls? How can leaders rally disparate actors around a common purpose and empower them to act?

Here are some of the core points from Xyntéo’s recent report: ‘Collaboration for new growth: learning from leaders’.

A strong foundation is key • Always start with establishing a common purpose. It is

important that all participants understand not only why there are there, but also what they are expected to bring to the table and what they can expect to take away. This may sound obvious in the abstract, but it is ignored surprisingly often in the concrete.

• Identify partners who are strategically fit, and also make sure you listen to the ‘weaker voices’; those who don’t seem obvious but may be critical later on.

• Create an appropriate framework: for example, have an anchor partner whose purpose is to just keep the others banded together.

Develop deep alignment throughout the project• Develop a thorough understanding of the context, because

people may see one issue in very different ways. Turning the collection of data into a common exercise can help all partners get alignment on the context.

• Spend time creating a shared narrative. Make sure people are using the same words and with the same meaning. This will help everyone get on the same page about what it is you’re trying to achieve. This can be a long process but it’s hugely useful and will pay off in the longer run.

Pay attention when moving into action• Taking the collaborative project from the drawing board into

real life, and then from pilot to scale, opens up a whole different set of challenges. Pay attention to all the parties, and listen to their concerns.

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04 Rick Wheatley and Veronica Lie, Xyntéo 05 André Grabow, DNV GL Maritime

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Alumni 07


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The Leadership Vanguard alumni – to New York and beyond

One of the core aims of the Leadership Vanguard is to create a powerful, lasting network of active leaders, so the Year 1 catalysts’ journey does not end in New York. Their experience, connections, ideas and abilities are invaluable to the Year 2 catalysts and to the programme overall. Their journey is only beginning.

Beneath the photo – taken at the second Leadership Vanguard Exchange in Lisbon in June 2015 – are details of some of the ways we encourage future participation, collaboration and networking.

Stay connected As alumni, we invite you to join a Global Vanguard Exchange each year, to participate in listen-in calls, vanguard sessions with beacons, and to engage in discussions on Yammer. You will also receive the Vanguard newsletter with updates and information.

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Peer coaching We encourage you to act as a sparring partner for a new catalyst as they navigate the early stages of the programme. Make sure to network at the buddy lunch in New York City, and connect with a new catalyst within or outside your company. Let us know if you are interested in this.

Continue to collaborate From time to time we’ll invite you to share your experience and expertise, helping new catalysts develop themes, ideas, and projects.

Do you have other ideas how to contribute? Please share them with us!

Xyntéo alone is responsible for this document and any errors it contains

Xyntéo © November 2015

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A celebration of Year One of The Leadership Vanguard

Reinventing leadership. Reinventing growth.

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