Written by Colin McEvoy | July 17, 2024 | SHARE
Lehigh University’s Iacocca Institute introduces a new initiative featuring insights from top international business executives and thought leaders
Lehigh University’s Iacocca Institute has announced the establishment of a new network of global leaders from across the nation and around the world, who will be regularly participating in institute programs and their insights on leadership and global developments.
The Iacocca Institute Executive Fellows is a network of business professionals, higher education officials, and multidisciplinary experts whose views and expertise will help advance the Institute’s mission to prepare the next generation of leaders to thrive in a global economy.
“This esteemed group of thought leaders and senior executives from diverse industries and countries will enrich our programming with their expertise, insights, and research,” said Iacocca Institute Executive Director Scott Koerwer. “They will provide valuable content, thought pieces, corporate access, and help extend networks for our Global Village community and all Iacocca Institute programs.”
The Executive Fellows will foster a rich exchange of diverse perspectives that will enhance cultural competency and global awareness among the Iacocca Institute community, helping its learners, alumni, and extended network to develop a more nuanced understanding of national and international affairs and operate effectively in a globalized world.
By regularly providing insights into emerging trends and best practices from various industries, the network will create a dynamic forum that allows for the rapid dissemination of new knowledge and the cross-pollination of ideas that encourage innovative solutions to complex problems across different contexts.
While only a few of these distinguished Executive Fellows have been announced so far, more will be joining the network in the coming months from a variety of sectors and regions, each bringing unique insights and expertise, Koerwer said.
The Iacocca Institute has already started sharing the insights of Executive Fellows via email, social media, and other communications channels, as well as during in-person speaking engagements.
Mark Speicher, Senior Vice President of Research, Learning & Innovation at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and an Executive Fellows, delivered keynote remarks to the Mandela Washington Fellows, a group of 25 of Africa’s brightest emerging business and community leaders participating in a six-week leadership institute at Lehigh.
The Iacocca Institute also previously spotlighted a column by Joe Perfetti, Finance Professor at the University of Maryland, in which he discussed Google’s approach to managing risk and handling investments that failed.
“One popular approach in the tech industry is called ‘Failing Fast’: emphasizing rapid iteration and quick abandonment of unworkable ideas,” Perfetti wrote in the column. “Google takes a contrasting approach. It is called ‘Failing Well’. The idea is to learn and evolve, rather than just move on.”
The Iacocca Institute also shared another piece by another Executive Fellow named Larry M. Starr, PhD, a consultant with Systems Wisdom, LLC, Adjunct Professor of Strategic Leadership at Thomas Jefferson University, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Systems Science, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.
The column focuses on the recent challenges that have tarnished the once-impeccable reputation of Boeing, and why the old problem-solving approach that seems to heavily rely on linear thinking and causal relationships may not effectively address the multifaceted nature of the issues at hand.
“What is needed is a shift from viewing the organization as a ‘machine of production or profit’ to perceiving Boeing as a complex adaptive system shaped by interconnectedness and relationships,” reads the column, which Starr co-wrote with John Pourdehnad and John Bailie.
The establishment of the Executive Fellows comes as the Iacocca Institute is undertaking an ongoing period of assessment, research, and reinvention for its programs, including the Institute’s flagship Global Village.
The Institute is in the process of engaging Global Village partners, alumni, and constituents to refine the Institute’s understanding of the marketplace for global leadership programming, to help ensure the Institute and Global Village continues to maintain the successful, innovative programming that it has demonstrated for nearly 30 years.