Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
“Hope is like a path. At first there is no path, but as more people walk back and forth, a path appears.” – Lu Xun Vision: To galvanize everyone to use their talents and insights to improve the world as part of their daily lives. Action: Coauthored the book A Path Appears, showing that ordinary people can […]
Malala Yousafzai, Education activist and Nobel laureate
“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” Vision: An education for all girls regardless of their culture, religion or gender. Action: Yousafzai turned an attack on her life into an opportunity. Since her near-death incident, there has been an international outpouring of support for Yousafzai and her cause, to the point […]
Michael van Patten, Founder, Mission Markets
“Consume your life in your vision, make it your obsession and do not think about plan B, but also be flexible as the road is not straight.” Vision: To use the power of the capital markets as a catalyst for positive change. Action: Threw his life into his vision with a single-minded purpose, pushing forward […]
Gareth Ackerman, Chairman, Pick n Pay
“Make a difference. Invest in communities and leverage our networks to make things better for all.” Vision: A fairer world where we would work towards both growing the cake and sharing it more equitably. Action: Dedicates his business to values that have been in place for 50 years: Doing good is good business; consumer sovereignty; business […]
Stedman Graham, CEO, S. Graham & Associates
“You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities.” Vision: To help people understand their potential, develop an identity, and recognize the value of knowledge and how it applies to their lives each day. Action: Graham teaches identity development and leadership to people all over the world – from youth to executives. He has written 11 […]
Gabbrielle Giffords, CoFounder, Americans For Responsible Solutions
“Dangerous people with guns are a danger to women – for moms, for families, for me and you.” Vision: A society that prevents gun violence. Action: A string of public shootings over the last few years has spurred Giffords to find solutions that prevent more violence, including background checks. Herself a victim, she fights entrenched […]
Laura Roberts, CEO, Pantheon Enterprises
“Building a substantial business is the best way to make a significant difference.” Vision: To transform the industrial chemical industry and remove toxic chemicals from the environment. Action: Worked for years in a predominantly male industry to replace harmful chemicals with non-toxic ones. Proved that alternative products without toxins can do the job equally well. […]
Linda Rottenberg, CEO, Endeavor
“If people aren’t calling you crazy, you aren’t thinking big enough.” Vision: To lead the high-impact entrepreneurship movement around the world. Action: Created the first global organization focusing on the “scale- up” phase of entrepreneurship. Endeavor identifies, mentors and co- invests in high-impact entrepreneurs — business innovators demonstrating the greatest potential for growth. But don’t bet the […]
Rebecca Masisak, CEO, TechSoup Global
“Managing technology is managing change. Leadership can come from any place.” Vision: A world where technology is a powerful enabler for social change. Action: Leading a worldwide network of individuals and organizations that share a conviction to work together to develop and exchange new solutions to our most urgent social challenges. Masisak believes NGOs and nonprofits […]
Google Values the Power of Speed
In a world undergoing constant changes life is a constant learning journey. What we know and understand today may not hold true tomorrow; policies may shift, structures could have collapsed, theories may be disproven, competitors might be on the rise. No matter how many accomplishments are entailed in our bio, therefore, we still have more […]
