2024 Leadership Summit

Richard’s passion for sustainability started during his teenage years/summers working on oil rigs, planting trees and working on farms in Western Canada. He thought the site geoglist for the oil/drilling companies had the best job - being outside everyday and learning about the Earth with each sampling exercise. He was an architect of the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and has since been actively engaged in climate change, clean technologies and sustainability with global companies and corporate leaders. Moreover, he has led global businesses for multinationals and has been deeply engaged in the global entrepreneurship ecosystem as a founder, advisor and ecosystem architect for over 40 years. He has lived in 10 countries and worked in over 50. 

Today, Richard helps companies to employ sustainability as a source of innovation to generate new growth, which delivers enhanced social, environmental and economic outcomes. He helps leaders to find their purpose and their organizations to realize their full potential. Purpose and values drive culture and all aspects of business execution. It attracts, retains and grows the best employees, teams, customers, suppliers, partners, stakeholders and much more.

We live in a world where the pace of change is exponential. The best leaders and teams look for discontinuity in their business models and disruptions in their value chain. It can’t be planned. It is a daily pursuit. It becomes a way of life. He approaches change as an enormous opportunity by encouraging leaders and teams “to commit and then figure it out.” He is a passionate storyteller and educator who inspires others to take action on climate opportunities that build a bright and optimistic future. Richard is a recipient of five Best Professor awards in the global MBA program at the University of Toronto.

You can learn more about Richard here:

• thesustainabilityleader.com

• LinkedIn