Global Leadership Centre
University of Oxford
A physical and digital hub for leaders
A dynamic environment in which to design powerful new leadership models for the 21st century.
A stimulus for fundamental change that rewrites the rules of the game.
A starting point for addressing global challenges and building a more sustainable, just, and prosperous world for all.
An opportunity to create lasting impact and an influential legacy for generations to come.
Why now?
The need for system-level change
We are at a turning point for humanity and the planet. And business, which for over a century has been an engine of economic growth, must apply the rotational force.
The challenges facing the world from pandemics to longer-term issues such as climate change, inequality and poverty, are complex and interlinked. It requires system-level change to address them. This means that firms must work with government and civil society, with their customers and supply chains, and also with each other. It demands a fundamental shift in our understanding of what business is for and on whose behalf it works.
Some organisations are already acting – redesigning their operations to be more sustainable and adaptable. But they are working individually: collectively the world has not moved fast enough or far enough to make the step-change needed. For every responsible business there are many more that continue to fall back on the same business conventions and accept the same limitations, tinkering around the edges of real change.
What we need are courageous global leaders: systems-thinkers who influence and innovate within organisational boundaries and collaborate beyond them. Together they will transform organisations and empower the ecosystems they work within.
These are the types of leaders that today’s students aspire to be, and the types of companies they aspire to work in. But we cannot wait until they have reached the top of their organisations. We urgently need leaders now to make the necessary paradigm shift and create the environment for younger generations to grow into.
An evolution in education delivery
The Global Leadership Centre will integrate the latest and best technology to lead the way in development and delivery of hybrid (in-person and online) leadership education. And we will build in capacity to adapt and take advantage of future developments. Experts will contribute from anywhere in the world; education programmes will expand beyond the boundaries of a traditional course; broadcast facilities will amplify Oxford’s thought-leadership across the globe; academics and leaders will access ideas, experiment, and innovate as never before.
Why Oxford?
Rigorous and visionary
The oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford has been at the forefront of intellectual endeavour for 900 years. It conducts ground-breaking research in every academic discipline, from ancient languages to artificial intelligence, and attracts world-leaders, experts, and scholars from across the globe to question, challenge, explore, and imagine.
Boundary-spanning
Complex problems require interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to solving them. The Global Leadership Centre will draw on expertise from across the University of Oxford, as well as on Saïd Business School’s own outstanding research and teaching. It will build on established relationships with the University’s other interdisciplinary centres, and seek to develop new joint initiatives with academic departments and corporate and institutional partners.
Radical
Saïd Business School has never been afraid to be different. An integral part of its parent university, it is a diverse and global community in which no one nationality or culture dominates. Aiming to support business in tackling world-scale problems, it has led the way in re-establishing the importance of corporate purpose and in harnessing ideas such as sustainable finance, social entrepreneurship, and mutuality to redefine the scope and responsibilities of business and leadership today.
A centre of excellence
A PLACE TO LEARN
Cutting-edge research, interdisciplinary thinking, a diverse range of voices, and innovative teaching methods will develop new knowledge and inspire courageous action.
A PLACE TO RESET
Leaders will step out of their normal routine and ‘business as usual’, to reflect, imagine, and plan for ‘business unusual’.
A PLACE TO CONNECT
At the heart of a powerful worldwide network, the Global Leadership Centre will connect ideas, people, countries, regions, and sectors to deliver fundamental and comprehensive change.
Leadership network
The Global Leadership Centre will draw together Oxford Saïd’s research with leadership knowledge from across the University. It will harness the expertise and thought-leadership of our faculty together with leading practitioners from organisations across the globe; and form a hub for innovative and transformational leadership development that builds on our existing in-person and online executive education.
Make it happen
You can help us turn this vision into reality and transform leadership for the 21st century.
Your gift will strengthen the foundation of the Global Leadership Centre and Saïd Business School. It will intensify Oxford’s efforts to connect, develop, and engage leaders to reshape the economy for the benefit of people and planet.
It will allow you to leave your mark on Oxford, for ever, by naming a space or room in the Centre, and by enjoying University-level recognition reserved for major benefactors.
To learn more about this game-changing project, there is more information here or please contact:
Tom Childs
Associate Director of Fundraising
tom.childs@sbs.ox.ac.uk
m: +44 (0) 7711 561119
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