Global Leaders Headline ILA Conference in Brussels

SILVER SPRING, Md. and BRUSSELS, July 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Herman Van Rompuy, Former Prime Minister of Belgium (2008-2009) and the first fulltime President of the European Council (2009-2014), and General (Retired) David H. Petraeus, former director of the CIA (2011-2012), have joined the list of headliners at the upcoming global conference Leadership in Turbulent Times, hosted by the International Leadership Association (ILA)12-15 October 2017 at the SQUARE Brussels Meeting Centre. Van Rompuy is currently the President of the European Policy Center, an independent think tank dedicated to "fostering European integration." Petraeus, who has been widely recognized for his leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan, is one of the most prominent U.S. military figures of the post-9/11 era.

Is turbulence the new normal? A critical, underlying human assumption about leading is that we are traversing or mobilizing from some current state toward a new state. Often this new state will be characterized as stable or predictable. But, what if the mindset of leading from turbulence to stability is antiquated? What if stable never comes? Leadership in Turbulent Times will consider what turbulence means, and what it demands for effectively leading in a humane world of resilient communities and thriving organizations.

Leaders need to challenge existing assumptions and design integrated solutions that can positively impact complex local and global environments. Being able to lead effectively in turbulence to create resilient communities and thriving organizations is a necessity. Based on their experiences of leading in extremely volatile environments, Van Rompuy and Petraeus will speak to the challenges facing leaders today in an environment rife with rising intolerance, tribalism and isolationism, and wicked problems such as climate change, global migrations, and refugees.

The ILA's unique cross-sector, cross-cultural, cross-generational conferences bring together professionals working at the intersections of leadership theory, practice, and education — leadership coaches and consultants, educators and students, scholars and researchers, public leaders and business executives. Rounding out the list of keynote speakers are Jeroen van der Veer, a noted business leader and former Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc (2004-2009), and renowned thinker, speaker, and author Margaret Heffernan, whose acclaimed book, Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, contains valuable insights for Leadership in Turbulent Times.

The conference will also feature Robert Lord and Stella Nkomo who will each be honored with the ILA's Lifetime Achievement Award for their respective accomplishments in advancing the field of leadership. Lord is Professor of Leadership at Durham University in the UK and a trailblazer in the study of leadership at the intersections of cognitive science and neuro-cognitive science. Nkomo is a noted scholar and consultant based at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and is the President of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM). Though her work in AFAM, she has, quite literally, put African leadership and management practices on the map.

The conference opens Thursday 12 October with a selection of deep-dive pre-conference workshops and concludes Sunday afternoon 15 October with a closing plenary session. In between a diverse array of networking opportunities, international speakers at 200+ panels, presentations and workshops, and special events promises to inform, inspire, and invigorate attendees.

Conference registration is now open. To register or learn more about the International Leadership Association's 19th global conference, Leadership in Turbulent Times, please explore our conference website at http://www.ila-net.org/conferences. To request media credentials, please contact Debra DeRuyver at [email protected].

Contact:
Debra DeRuyver, Communications Director
[email protected] | 1.202.470.4818 x 102

SOURCE International Leadership Association