International Leadership Symposium on Ethics in Brussels a resounding success

Sri Lankan brand development consultant Michel Nugawela was invited to address the recently concluded International Leadership Symposium on Ethics in Business at the European Parliament. The theme of the conference which was ‘The Double Bottom Line – How Rich We Really Are’, explored sustainable business and showcased inspirational examples that could be scaled up for global impact. 

In addition, best practice case studies of initiatives that foster sustainable, long-term growth and development with individual wellbeing at the core of their business operations were also presented. The Symposium also raised the question of how we define and measure wellbeing and look into different aspects of mental health. Amid the highest levels of security and a subsequent security lockdown in Brussels following the terror attacks in Paris on 13 November, this was the only conference permitted at the European Parliament in that week.

Nugawela’s address on Leadership Archetyping presented an innovative management tool based on Jungian psychology that is able to significantly enhance and transform executive and team performance by connecting cognitive functions with the unconscious mind. The tool also enables organisations to achieve higher levels of productivity and performance by identifying and aligning fundamental human motivations and meanings within the workplace.

The International Leadership Symposium, organised by the World Forum for Ethics in Business in partnership with The World Bank, Eurochambres, and the International Association for Human Values, is an annual event which brings together prominent leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society to dialogue on the pressing need to strengthen human values and ethics in business. Over the past 11 years, Nobel laureates, political leaders and top executives from global companies such as Microsoft, Coca Cola, Infosys, ING Bank, GMR Group, Daimler, IKEA, Novartis, Unilever, Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens and Tata have participated in this important event. 

Other speakers at the 2015 International Leadership Symposium included Jigme Yoser Thinley – former Prime Minister of Bhutan, Alojz Peterle – Former Prime Minister of Slovenia, Erik Solheim – Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, Prof Grzegorz Kolodko – former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Poland and Founder/Director of TIGER, Prof Herman De Croo – Minister of State/Member of the Belgian House of Representatives, Nirj Deva – Member of European Parliament, Manjeev Singh Puri – Ambassador of India to the European Union, Vikas Chawla – Managing Director South East Europe The Coca-Cola Company, Roland Koch – Chairman Supervisory Board UBS, Dr. Eric Cornut – Chief Ethics, Compliance and Policy Officer Novartis AG, Louis Gagnon – Chief Product and Marketing Officer Audible, Jorg Himmelmann – Director Global Training Daimler AG, Aadesh Goyal – Global Head of Human Resources Tata, Milind Pendharkar – Chief Financial Officer American Express, and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – Founder World Forum for Ethics in Business, among others.

Nugawela is a senior level brand development consultant with over two decades of leadership in brand strategy, brand architecture and brand identity. He has branded and repositioned many of Sri Lanka’s most renowned and respected brands including Aitken Spence PLC, Hayleys PLC, Dipped Products PLC, Nations Trust Bank PLC, HNB Acuity, Heritance Hotels & Resorts, Lion Lager, Elephant House, and Carson Cumberbatch PLC’s regional palm oil businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and India. 

He also brings extensive experience in change strategies across organisations that result in new mindsets and behaviours by individuals and teams, including assessing organisational culture, identifying key culture drivers, and designing and implementing approaches to establish new leadership and management styles through culture shift objectives.