Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and Sustainability Expert Andrew Winston Join ExecOnline and Thinkers50 to Help Businesses Thrive by Positively Impacting the World

Partnership includes on-demand programs where leaders learn to put “Net Positive” principles into action, driving business value by fixing the world's problems


New York, Oct. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ExecOnline, in partnership with Thinkers50, announced a collaboration with Paul Polman and Andrew Winston, the world's foremost leaders in corporate sustainability. Last year, ExecOnline and Thinkers50 formed a unique partnership to expand access to the world’s best business and management ideas through ExecOnline’s leadership development platform.

Starting October 23, business, government, and nonprofit leaders will have access to Polman and Winston’s proven concepts and frameworks through two on-demand programs based on their disruptive book, “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.” 

"In their book, Paul and Andrew provide compelling evidence that companies deliver better results when they adopt the ‘Net Positive’ principles, and unlike any other business book out there, they show how to do it,” said Stephen Bailey, co-founder and CEO of ExecOnline. ”We believe these new programs will help organizations bridge the sustainability gap and unlock potential for growth and profit while positively impacting people and the planet."

Polman and Winston, both ranked among the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, define "Net Positive" as a company improving the well-being of everyone it touches through its operations, products, and services, including the planet, and thriving as a result. The two learning programs are designed to help leaders courageously lead teams and their organizations at a time when climate change and global inequality pose existential threats to humanity. The stakes have never been higher for businesses to take meaningful action, and immense opportunities await those who do.

"Too often, corporate sustainability goals fall to the wayside–victims of a false choice between pursuing profits and 'doing good,’” added Polman, the former CEO of Unilever who increased shareholder returns by 290% while ensuring the company ranked #1 in the world for sustainability for 11 consecutive years. 

Winston, a globally-recognized and sought-after expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world, knows first hand that leaders equipped with the right tools to champion a better way of doing business and expand their sphere of influence are best positioned to help drive their entire organization toward sustainable success.

Winston will join Bailey on October 18 for a fireside chat, Building a Net Positive Pipeline: The Role of HR, Talent, and L&D in a Sustainable Future. In addition to discussing the need to move from Corporate Social Responsibility to a “Net Positive” approach to sustainability, Winston will share real-world examples of how corporations have adopted Net Positive practices. The two will also explore the unique role HR, talent, and L&D teams play to equip leaders with the skills they need to drive action toward sustainability goals.

Through its platform, ExecOnline curates transformative learning and coaching experiences that help leaders and businesses achieve their goals, creating momentum for continued learning and development. By providing access to world-renowned experts like Polman, Winston, other Thinkers50 honorees, and top business school faculty, alongside individual and group coaching, ExecOnline’s leadership development programs have an exponential impact on leaders’ abilities to guide teams today and prepare for the future.

Creator of the first-ever global ranking of management thinkers, Thinkers50 remains the premier ranking organization of its kind. Its mission to provide innovative access to powerful business and management ideas to make the world a better place is in complete alignment with ExecOnline’s mission – to connect all leaders to their future potential.

For more information on Polman and Winston’s two on-demand learning programs, Unlocking Growth with Net Positive Purpose and Driving Net Positive Transformation, visit execonline.com/program/net-positive/.

About ExecOnline

As the pioneer of online leadership development for enterprises, ExecOnline connects all leaders to their future potential. Since 2012, ExecOnline has delivered career-enhancing opportunities to more than 100,000 leaders in over 100 countries through its integrated learning and coaching solutions that empower organizations to build, scale, and measure the impact of world-class leadership development. In partnership with the world’s top business schools, such as Berkeley Haas, Chicago Booth, Columbia, UVA Darden School of Business, Tuck at Dartmouth, Duke CE, IMD, Ivey, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, Wharton and Yale, ExecOnline designs high-impact programs for busy leaders using its Learn by Doing with Impact methodology of applied learning. Through individual and group coaching, its global network of certified coaches helps accelerate the development of critical leadership capabilities.

Named by Forbes as a “Technology Company to Watch” and “America’s Best Startup Employer,” ExecOnline is a member of the World Economic Forum New Champions Community. ExecOnline Co-founder and CEO Stephen Bailey was recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year New York 2022 Award Winner. 

Follow ExecOnline on LinkedIn. Visit execonline.com to learn more.

About Thinkers50

Thinkers50 is the world’s most reliable resource for identifying, ranking, and sharing the leading management and business ideas of our age. Founded in 2001, Thinkers50 provides access to ideas with the power to make a positive difference in the world. The Thinkers50 definitive ranking of management thinkers is published every two years. The Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards recognize the very best in management and business thinking and practice and have been described by the Financial Times as the “Oscars of management thinking.”

The Thinkers50 Hall of Fame honors the contribution of management and business experts who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the world of management; while the Thinkers50 Radar List, published every January, identifies 30 up-and-coming management thinkers who will shape the future.  

The Thinkers50 brand, built on the core values of independence, integrity, and accessibility, is admired globally for objective market intelligence, confirming its position as the leading authority in management ideas. Developing new ways to share the best of management thinking is at the heart of what Thinkers50 does.Follow Thinkers50 on LinkedIn and X. Visit www.thinkers50.com to learn more.

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Paul Polman & Andrew Winston

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