We are delighted to announce that Peter Møllgaard, Dean at the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark, has taken on the role of chair of the GRLI Foundation as ratified at the Board meeting that took place on 29 June 2023.
Peter has been working on advancing the global responsibility agenda for much of his career, starting at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) where he led an initiative around climate strategies for business schools. At Maastricht University School of Business and Economics where he served as Dean until June 2022, he led a strategy process to make explicit the role of the UN SDGs for research and for education. He has since been involved in leading many sustainability initiatives including in his current remit as chair of the Danish Council on Climate Change, which advises the Danish government on climate policy. Peter was elected to the Board of the GRLI Foundation in 2021 and has been serving as chair elect since 2022.
Peter replaces our outgoing chair, Claire Maxwell, who has served in the role since 2017.
During the Board meeting, the Foundation also ratified the appointment of two partner representatives that have been elected to serve on the Board starting November 2023, and thanked outgoing Board member Dennis Hanno, who served as immediate past chair. The partner representatives that have been elected are:
- Amanda Gudmundsson, Executive Dean, Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Business and Law
- Hanna-Leena Pesonen – Dean, Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics
Reflecting on her two terms as chair of the Foundation, Claire Maxwell said:
“I have perhaps overused the words honour and privilege to describe my time as chair of the GRLI, but am struggling to replace either word with anything as meaningful. Without doubt, for the last six years it has been both an honour and a privilege to serve alongside deeply committed and distinguished people on the Board, within the group of Guardians, those acting as advisors and as contributors on the various committees and, of course, as a member of the core team; each person in their own way upholding and demonstrating through their actions, the value and importance of good governance.
“I am handing over the role of chair to Peter in the knowledge that the GRLI is in a very strong position to continue its role as a catalyst for global responsibility and that Peter more than matches that strength with his depth of knowledge, experience and commitment to the landscape in which we all serve.”
Commenting on GRLI’s direction of travel and the work that lies ahead Peter Møllgaard said:
“First of all, let me thank Claire Maxwell for her inclusive leadership of GRLI and for being an inspiration to me personally when it comes to chairing GRLI. These are big shoes to fill and I am very happy that Claire has agreed to stay on as immediate past chair to ensure continuity.
“Going forward, the GRLI will continue to encourage responsible leadership in support of a sustainable planet. We will continue to evolve as an agile organization that develops our three roles of advocacy, convening, and facilitation of globally responsible leadership in collaboration with partners and associates around the globe. We are not done until all leadership everywhere is globally responsible!”
As an entity advocating that leaders everywhere should behave in a globally responsible way, the GRLI practices appropriate transparency and accountability in its dealings with a wide range of stakeholders.
The GRLI’s work since its foundation has relied on a relational and partnership approach which is also reflected in its unique governance model which involves a Board of the Foundation and a Guardian group that upholds the ethos and ways of working. Both being engaged in setting the strategic direction and supporting the initiatives and actions of GRLI.
With these appointments, we are excited to enter this new phase in the GRLI’s development.
