Leadership Fellowship:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Creating a more inclusive and innovative culture through leadership
Issues stemming from lack of inclusion have made global headlines over the past year. In addition to those headlines relating to race, gender, and orientation, COVID-19 has exacerbated feelings of exclusion thanks to ongoing quarantines. Both inclusion and COVID have shed light on the distance between the ideals of corporate diversity and the stark reality, exposed the widening gap between leading and lagging industries, performing and non-performing companies and inspiring and mediocre leaders.
In the face of shifting contexts, the difference in performance will come down to leaders’ ability to adapt, innovate, and remain agile. Marrying inclusion and innovation can make a significant impact on the levers of success, allowing organizations to cater to diverse customers, markets, ideas and talent.
Diversity and inclusion is a commercial imperative
- Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to generate above-average returns.
- Companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.
How to curate and implement this unique and critical capability is less well-known. And that’s what we offer in our Fellowship.
Personal and professional growth
Guided by both our leadership experts and the experience of your peers, you will gain new perspectives on how leadership can create a more inclusive and innovative culture.
Dynamic Learning through immersive sessions
Through a mixture of interactive learning, group discussion and introspective exercises with world-class faculty, you will gain in-depth understanding of what you bring as a leader – your specific strengths and vulnerabilities – and how they affect your beliefs and actions related to inclusion.
A global peer network
You will experience the power of both diversity of thought and collaborative curation though a community of peers who bring their unique perspectives and experiences to discussions.
A fellowship to match your ambitions.
Your fellowship program is a personalized, people mediated and tailored to the growth of each individual participant to ensure you achieve your ambitions.
Ultimately, inclusion comes down to leadership
We know that lots of senior leaders find it uncomfortable to talk about diversity and inclusion. We will equip you with the metrics, skills and language necessary to navigate the complexities of this challenge and unlock the potential of an engaged, diverse workforce.
Divided into three phases, our virtual program is designed to expand your perspectives and provide you with a network of peers that will endure well beyond the end of the program.
Meet the faculty
Our faculty are leaders are reknown experts in the field of leadership. They combine theoretical knowledge with real-world insights from their extensive work with industry and government.
Romeo Effs
Board Special Advisor, PayCapital (HK), Ltd.
Founder & Chairman, IBRIE Foundation
He has broad experience and publications in leadership, governance, business and performance improvement. He is a serial Entrepreneur and former C-Suite Executive, and the Founder and CEO of RSPE Group of which The Boardroom Secretariat is part. TBS is a boutique consultancy, working with global companies in Corporate Governance, Company Secretarial Service, Leadership Advisory & Coaching, and Board Leadership Training & Development. He is also a regular international Speaker in a range of business, governance & leadership-related topics, and has spoken extensively across the UK, the USA, Asia, Africa and all over the Caribbean.
Steve Kelner
Leadership Networks, LLC
He has advised numerous global firms, including creating the leadership evaluation process for the two leading executive search firms
Prior to joining Ascent, Steve served as the Global Thought Leader for Assessment and Development at Spencer Stuart, driving the advancement of all Spencer Stuart’s assessment, reporting, and development methodology, developing consultant and corporate capability as well as consulting to global clients on executive assessment, CEO succession planning, transition and developmental support, board effectiveness, and organizational change.
Carol Hagh
Expert Leader, Lumorus
She was previously the head of the UK insurance practice for Spencer Stuart, a leading global executive search and leadership consulting firm. Prior to this, she had a career in digital transformation and customer centricity with major financial institutions such as Aviva and Aegon. Carol received her MBA from INSEAD and graduated from Harvard with a BA in Computer Science. She is a dual US/UK citizen and has lived in five countries.
Tiffany West
Prior to Ascent, Tiffany spent eleven years in multiple roles at the World Economic Forum. She co-led the Program Development Team, overseeing session development and speaker selection for the Annual Meeting in Davos Switzerland, and regional summits around the world. In that role, Tiffany developed strong relationships with experts in a broad range of subjects and created compelling and relevant content for the audiences at hand. She also developed and tested the Forum’s first foray into online education, developing a year-long curriculum that educated users on the most transformative topics affecting business and society.
In addition to these roles, Tiffany led the Forum’s Agriculture, Food, and Beverage industry community, ran a multi-stakeholder project focused on sustainability, and developed new digital business models for the Forum. Before moving to non-profit, Tiffany worked in strategic planning at The Walt Disney Company and brand management at General Mills. She has a bachelor's degree (with honors) from Stanford and an MBA from UCLA.
Ziva Mann
A pragmatic idealist, Ziva’s approach begins by studying organizational context, human dynamics, and the resources and capacities of all affected, both inside and outside of a company’s walls. Her coaching philosophy pairs planned skill building with flexible, just-in-time support, and resilience.
Sonserae Toles
Before joining FM Global, Toles served for approximately three years as group vice president of global talent management at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In this position, she was responsible for many aspects of human resources including global talent strategy, diversity and inclusion, governance and execution of performance management, talent review/succession, executive recruiting and onboarding, enterprise learning, executive leadership development as well as talent acquisition.
Prior to working at T. Rowe Price, Toles held several key leadership roles in diversity and inclusion, as well as for talent management, for companies including Siemens, General Electric and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Estrus Tucker
Estrus has served national and international clients in responsive roles such as Executive Coach, Master Facilitator and Trainer, designing and leading engagements, training and retreats in support of personal, professional & organizational renewal, workforce development, transformational leadership and sustainable engagement. Estrus most recently served as the principal consultant with the City of Fort Worth’s 18 month Race and Culture Initiative, guiding and resourcing the City’s comprehensive efforts to advance Racial and Cultural Equity. The Fort Worth plan focused on Community Conversations, Assessment of Disparities, and Leadership Training. Estrus also serves as a Lead Facilitator, Faculty, Equity HUB Co-Chair and member of the National Leadership Team for the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI) 100 Million Healthier Lives Initiative.
The Lumorus–Ascent Team
A Powerful collaboration
Ascent, a US-based leadership development company, and Lumorus, a UK-based governance, leadership and corporate wellness consultancy, have joined forces to curate a unique program to help leaders build organizations where people feel they can thrive. Our 3-month program helps fellows develop an understanding of how inclusive leaders behave, a tangible awareness of personal and organizational bias and a concrete strategy for creating an inclusive environment.
Together, Lumorus and Ascent bring more than 125 years of combined experience at international search, consulting and training firms. The Lumorus-Ascent team brings a unique set of experiences and extensive expertise to our Equity & Inclusion Fellowship.
LUMORUS
Redefining leadership and governance to bring about positive, structural change.
Lumorus is a UK based consultancy with a global footprint. We are passionate about helping leaders at the board & C-suite level to grow and develop. Working with individual leaders and leadership teams, we use a mixture of diagnostic tools and developmental strategies to unlock your full leadership potential and help you build an organization that performs, inspires and creates long-term value.
We want to build a new kind of purpose-led, empowered leader who is committed to connecting, contributing and growing. The kind of leader who builds healthy environments in which their teams can perform, create & innovate.
Because great leaders, for us, are those capable of inspiring and nurturing greatness in others.
ASCENT
Developing leaders in ways that matter.
Ascent is a global leadership development company that gives leaders unique access to the people and ideas shaping the future. Through assessments, custom programs and executive fellowships, Ascent brings deep, curated analysis and insights to top leaders so they can achieve their goals for themselves and their organizations.
We believe leadership transformation occurs outside the office; we bring leaders together to learn from each other, from world-class faculty, and from powerful experiences supported by profound understanding of what great leaders look like and how to distinguish and develop them in measurable ways.
We develop leaders and organizations in ways that matter, because we know they can make a difference to the world.