Radical action required for recovery, according to business executives

LONDON - May 22, 2013 - PRLog -- 73% of business executive say tough times call for a radical approach from leaders, according to a poll by London Business School.

The findings come as the School debates the future of leadership in the wake of the economic crisis with world-renowned leaders at its flagship event, the Global Leadership Summit.

Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour, London Business School, will say at the Summit: “Corporations can indeed be a force for good – both with regard to the wealth creation of their activities and the way they can leverage their innovative and scaling capabilities to address the escalating global challenges of our fragile world. Yet trust in corporations is low, they are seen as short term, overly focused on shareholder value and insular in their perspective.

“In big global challenges the leaders’ personal narrative is crucial. These narratives often come from crucible experiences – moments in the lives of the leader when they are confronted with people or experiences, which have had a profound impact on the way they think about the world.”

The Summit speakers include:
•    Dr Josef Ackermann, Chairman, Zurich Insurance Group; Vice-Chairman of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum
•    Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
•    Alessandro Profumo, Chairman, Monte dei Paschi di Siena
•    President Ólafur Grímsson, President of Iceland

The tenth Global Leadership Summit, took place on May 20th in The Brewery.

It brings together business leaders who led organisations through the 2008 financial crisis and will deal with the critical questions still being asked about the leadership, corporate governance and regulatory frameworks that allowed it to happen.

Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, Dean, London Business School, says: “This platform is enabling a deeper debate about the systemic frailties of existing structures and models of leadership.

“Combining the experience of high profile decision makers with the expertise of London Business School faculty, we are discussing models of leadership that are capable of rebuilding the political, corporate, environmental and social landscape.”

For more information please visit: http://www.london.edu/programmes/executiveeducation/eol.html