Futurist Sally Uren: How Volatility Unlocks Positive Change

Thanks for joining us for another season of Lead With We. I couldn’t think of a better guest to kick things off than my dear friend, futurist Sally Uren.

Sally runs a leading sustainability non-profit called Forum For The Future that works directly with big brands and business leaders to create global change. Together we discuss the future of humanity (literally), and how we’re seeing very different trajectories play out simultaneously in real-time. And what I particularly love about this conversation is that Sally points to growing movements, such as regenerative agriculture and impact investing, as proof that we can build a positive future through our actions.

Sally Uren

Sally joined Forum for the Future, then a not-for-profit based solely in the UK, in 2002. Previously Deputy CEO, Sally was appointed Chief Executive in 2013. Since then, she has spearheaded Forum’s mission to create a more sustainable future by catalyzing transformational change in key global systems. Over this period, Sally has overseen Forum’s substantial growth into new markets while honing its focus on ensuring Forum makes a positive contribution to three global challenges: the climate crisis and ensuring the sustainability of our global food system and value chains.

Sally oversees the delivery of Forum’s programmatic work through a team of more than 80 sustainability professionals across offices in London, Singapore, New York and Mumbai. As part of this, she works with leading global players, including businesses such as Unilever and Olam, foundations such as the Laudes Foundation, and membership organizations such as Sedex, both in one-to-one partnerships, and also as part of multi-stakeholder collaborations designed to address complex challenges in systems as diverse as food, energy, apparel and shipping.

In December 2017, Sally received an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for services to sustainability in business. In 2019, she was ranked number one on Assent’s list of Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders.

Simon Mainwaring

Simon Mainwaring is a brand futurist, global keynote speaker, and bestselling author. He is best known as the author of We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World and the Founder and CEO of We First, a strategic consultancy that works with brands to define their business strategy, company culture, and brand communications.

This episode of Lead With We was produced and edited by Goal17Media.com and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify.

Resources

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn

Read Forum for the Future’s latest report: “From Systems Shock to Systems Change”

For case studies and other free resources about purposeful business, go to WeFirstBranding.com

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