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SustainAbility Appoints New Chair & CEO

SustainAbility Appoints New Chair & CEO

Published 12-01-00

Submitted by SustainAbility

Effective immediately, Sophia Tickell will assume the role of company Chair andMark Lee will become the Chief Executive Officer. John Elkington, SustainAbility?s Founder, will maintain his full-time role and carry the title of Chief Entrepreneur. Peter Zollinger, SustainAbility?s previous Executive Director, will remain part of the senior management team and hold accountability for a variety of key initiatives and partnerships.

The leadership changes will enhance SustainAbility's already strong capabilities to work with businesses and others to deliver sustainable solutions to the world?s most pressing economic, social and environmental issues.

Introducing the changes, John Elkington said: "After ten years as Chairman and 18 years after we founded SustainAbility, I have decided to take on a more entrepreneurial role, both within SustainAbility and with leaders in business and society. The challenges that face the world today are as great as they have ever been, and so I am delighted that Peter and I have attracted Sophia and Mark to provide the next generation of leadership on our agenda. Our ambition is to continue to be a catalyst for change - to work with our partners and clients to innovate the entrepreneurial solutions and markets of the future."

CEO: Mark Lee

Mark has been a Director with SustainAbility in the US for the last two years. Before joining SustainAbility, Mark served in Director and Vice President roles at Business for Social Responsibility and, prior to that, managed corporate responsibility programs at VanCity Savings. As he steps into the role of CEO, Mark will lead a strategic review of SustainAbility's business, intent on enhancing the quality of SustainAbility's research and consulting.

Mark Lee said: "I am excited by this opportunity to lead SustainAbility from its operational heart in London. Sustainable development and corporate responsibility are at a transition point. The challenge of embedding sustainability at the heart of business decision-making will determine whether the private sector can lead the creation of a more sustainable society. SustainAbility has the talent and will to take on this challenge. We are fortunate to have a roster of clients eager to prove they can be both profitable and sustainable."

Chair: Sophia Tickell

Sophia Tickell will work closely with Mark Lee in her role as Chair. Sophia has been a Non-Executive Director at SustainAbility since 2004. She brings an NGO policy background to SustainAbility's leadership team, having led Oxfam's private sector work before managing a groundbreaking project on long-term investment. Her career has spanned international development and corporate responsibility in sectors as diverse as pension funds, pharmaceuticals, food and coffee. Sophia will sharpen SustainAbility?s policy agenda and will focus its commitment to positive impact in all its corporate engagements.

Of her new role, Sophia said: "SustainAbility has a great base from which to increase its impact on new approaches to value creation and sustainable development. It has a strong track record of supportive, but challenging relationships with companies whose strategies and activities profoundly impact society. This places it in a unique position to explore and inspire business evolution and responsible performance. Though the challenges are great, SustainAbility's visionary thinking, intellectual rigour, and the human qualities of good listening, teamwork and respect, are a powerful combination. I am confident we can make a positive impact on how business works and am extremely excited to be part of the new leadership team."

Full interviews with John, Mark and Sophia will be published on our website www.sustainability.com.

Their perspectives on the transition will also appear in the next edition of Radar, which will be available on our website from 1 st December 2005 www.sustainability.com/radar/a>

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SustainAbility

SustainAbility

Independent think tank and strategy consultancy. Experts in corporate responsibility and sustainable development. Advisors on market risks and opportunities.

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