Executive Education_

Mr Rajeev Peshawaria

CEO, SLI

Rejecting platitudes and theoretical models, Rajeev combines 22 years of global Fortune 100 experience with research-based insights to provide unique and practical approaches to personal leadership, ethics, governance, sustainable business growth, and stewardship. A sought-after speaker and consultant, he is the CEO of Steward Leadership Institute, Singapore, and President of Leadership Energy Consulting, Seattle, WA, USA.

Author of the Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller Open Source Leadership (McGraw Hill), Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders (Simon & Schuster), Sustainable Sustainability (Penguin Random House), co-author of Be the Change (McGraw Hill) and a regular contributor for Forbes, he constantly challenges conventional wisdom on leadership, management, stewardship, sustainability, and corporate governance.  He has pioneered unique practical concepts such as Leadership Energy and Emotional Integrity for personal growth, the Brains-Bones-Nerves model for enterprise leadership, and the Steward Leadership model for driving sustainable business growth in the 21st century.

Rajeev is a high-energy, inspirational speaker who provides coaching, consulting and advisory services to corporate and public sector clients globally. He also serves as guest faculty at leading US, Europe and Asia business schools.  He has been widely featured in international media such as CNN, Bloomberg TV & Radio, National Public Radio, Harvard Business Review, CNBC, Fast Company, Leader to Leader, American Management Association magazine, Leadership Excellence magazine, The Times of India, The Straits Times, Business Times, and many more.

Before joining SLI and starting LEC, he was the CEO of the Iclif Leadership & Governance Centre.  He was formerly the Chief Learning Officer of Coca-Cola and Morgan Stanley and has also held senior positions at American Express, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs. At Goldman, Rajeev helped found Pine Street − the firm’s acclaimed leadership academy − and headed Pine Street for Europe and Asia. In his early career, he was a banker and currency trader.

In 2014 and 2017, he was named one of the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders for Trustworthy Business by ‘Trust Across America.’  

A few of Rajeev’s videos and articles can be found on the links below:

1. CNBC Interview
2. Overview
3. Interview on CNN’s Quest Means Business
4. Forbes Article: Will G Save Us from E and S Challenges
5. TED Talk
6. TED Talk

Mr Sunil Puri

Sr. VP, Research & Engagement, SLI

Sunil leads the Research and Engagement team. He is responsible for research and thought leadership, and he designs educational programmes, events, toolkits and frameworks.

Prior to joining SLI, Sunil was a Senior Director, Research, Innovation and Product Development with Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Singapore and India, where he led the development of new products (events, programs, tools) based on research, partner with clients as a leadership subject-matter expert and develop annual research agenda with global stakeholders to execute research initiatives. Between 2014 and 2016, he was the Head of Research & Insights with Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI), where he led Pan-Asia research initiatives on “Asian leader development”, facilitate programs for senior business and HR leaders. He also worked as an Independent Consultant in India for a few years and was with CEB India (now Gartner) in India and USA for 8 years. 

Sunil graduated with a Master of Technology in Energy Studies from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He also has an Executive MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He has authored several research studies and wrote articles for Economic Times, The Business Times and Harvard Business Review.

Prof Arnoud De Meyer

Chairman, SLI

Professor De Meyer is a global academic leader with more than 35 years of experience in top academic institutions in Europe and Asia. Until December 2018, he served as President of Singapore Management University (SMU). Before joining SMU, Professor De Meyer was from 2006 until 2010 Director (Dean) of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.

Earlier on he was a faculty member at INSEAD and assumed several management positions, among others as founding dean of INSEAD’s Asia campus in Singapore. He has additionally been an Independent Director of various international companies and non-profit organisations. He is currently Independent Director of Viva Energy Pty Ltd, Banyan Tree Holdings Limited and upGrad Tech Pte Ltd.

Professor De Meyer is an internationally recognised researcher in the areas of Research & Development and Innovation Management, Manufacturing Strategy and International Management. He has published more than 100 academic articles and 12 books. His most recent books are “Ecosystem Edge: Sustaining Competitiveness in the Face of Disruption” (Stanford Business Press) and “Building Excellence in Higher Education: Singapore’s Experience” (Routledge).

Mr Simon Wong

Co-Head Tutor, SLI

Simon is an independent advisor on governance and sustainability and currently serves as Co-Head Tutor at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). He started his professional career as a securities lawyer in London, served as Principal Administrator/Counsel at the OECD in Paris, was a partner at an activist investment firm and Head of Corporate Governance at Barclays Global Investors. He has also written for Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly, New York Times, and taught post-graduate corporate governance courses at Northwestern University School of Law and London School of Economics and Political Science.

Prof Ilian Mihov

Director, SLI

Professor Mihov is a Professor of Economics, a visiting scholar at Stanford University GSB and the former Dean of INSEAD. He is the longest serving Dean at INSEAD after stepping down in August 2023 and completing two successful five-year terms. During his ten years in the role, he has overseen a remarkable period of transformation for the school, which has included the expansion of the Singapore campus, the opening of a San Francisco outpost in 2020 and the launch of a new Master’s in Management program in 2019. INSEAD has been ranked number 1 three times by the Financial Times for its MBA programme during this decade and the school has also become the second largest provider of Executive Education courses in the world.

An advocate of the potential of business to act as a force for good, he was the founding Academic Director of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, which was launched in 2018, and was the Chair of the Board at the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a United Nations Global Compact initiative from 2020-2023. Professor Mihov has also continued the tradition of championing diversity at INSEAD. During his deanship the number of female faculty increased by 80%, the MBA programme reached a record 38% female intake in 2022 and the school recently achieved a gender balanced board as part of the commitments made when INSEAD became a HeForShe champion in 2022.

Professor Mihov is concurrently the Rausing Chaired Professor of Economic and Business Transformation. His expertise is in macroeconomics with a focus on monetary policy, fiscal policy and economic growth. He joined INSEAD in 1996 and has taught macroeconomics and econometrics in the MBA, EMBA, PhD and for many executive education programmes. He has been recognised several times with the Outstanding Teacher Award.

He holds a PhD from Princeton University and a BSc in business administration from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. In 2018, he received the UN Women (Singapore Chapter) HeForShe Leader Award for his outstanding service and contributions towards gender equality at INSEAD. Professor Mihov is on the Stewardship Asia Centre (SAC) board of directors and sits on the advisory panel of the Home Team Academy (Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore). He was also formerly a board member of the American School of Singapore and Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

Ms Annisah Smith

Sr. Research and Advocacy Mgr, SLI

Ms Annisah Smith is Research and Advocacy Manager at Steward Leadership Institute(SLI), where she helps lead and develop sustainability-related engagements and content. With a background in environmental policy and sustainable agriculture, she brings experience in conducting sustainable development research, preparing due diligence and policy analyses, and building public-private partnerships.

Before joining SLI, Ms Smith was based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a Fulbright Research Scholar. She examined the inextricable challenges linked to sustainable and equitable palm oil development in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Her research interests have further explored the nexus between environmental governance and private sector engagement and has enabled her to work and live in the US, Costa Rica, Indonesia, and now Singapore.

Ms Smith is a graduate of American University’s School of International Service, where she pursued a BA in International Relations and an MA in Global Environmental Policy.

Dr. Roland B Smith

Research Team, SLI

Dr. Smith is a member of the research team at the SAC. Prior to this role, he served as a senior executive and board member in Sri Lanka for Brandix Lanka Ltd. Dr. Smith is recognized for his experience and subject matter knowledge relative to organization and leadership development, C-Suite effectiveness, high performance teams, talent sustainability, and organizational change and transformation. He has authored and co-authored several articles, chapters and guidebooks on related subjects. His current research focus is related to the role that steward leaders can play in having a positive impact on individuals, families and communities. 

Ms Nupur Joshi

CEO, REITAS

Ms Sharon Lee

Founder, The Intrepid Coach

Mr Paul Anthony Zaman

Managing Director, Qualvin Advisory