Sir John Peace featured on Kindness in Leadership list

Midlands Engine Chairman Sir John Peace has been recognised as one of 50 leaders in both the UK and Asia Pacific driving positive change.

The list, created by the Kindness in Leadership Initiative, was announced on 13 November to mark World Kindness Day.

The valediction for Sir John’s inclusion reads:

Sir John Peace has a visionary and inclusive leadership style. He has the rare combination of being clear in his views and knowing how to make the most of the organisation or corporation yet, at the same time, being humble and willing to listen to ideas.

He respects people at all levels of the organisation and has been a strong proponent of female leadership.

Other names on the list include Jo Harris, Managing Director of Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland, Jennifer Romano, Managing Director at Accenture and Professor Murray Grant, Elizabeth Creak Chair in Food Security at the University of Warwick.

The leaders named on the list demonstrate the incredible value that kindness can add to their leadership toolkit and the resulting positive contribution to business, economy, and society.

By shining a light on kindness, the initiative, which began in the UK in 2018, has shifted the leadership conversation demonstrating a genuine and powerful connection between kind leadership and good business.

Covid-19 has changed the leadership landscape with compassion and empathy now no longer the management style of ‘nice’ people.

As the world inches closer to business as usual, this initiative further embeds the importance of kindness within organizations across different regions demonstrating the power of kindness to transcend culture and national boundaries.

Pinky Lilani CBE DL, Founder, Women of the Future (WOF) Programme said:

It is tremendously exciting to announce 50 Leading Lights, across both the UK and Asia Pacific regions. By placing a spotlight on phenomenal leaders who are harnessing the power of kindness to make a significant impact and to effect positive change, we collectively place kindness at the centre of the leadership debate.

Together, we encourage the leaders of today and tomorrow – no matter what their role or background – to lead with kindness, because when kindness is the currency, we can all be millionaires.

Together with the Said Business School and the University of Oxford, The Kindness & Leadership Leading Lights campaign has explored the characteristics associated with kind leaders.

Those who are deeply thoughtful of others and show humanity, generosity and compassion, and are dedicated to supporting the well-being of others and fostering a spirit of collaboration are the specific traits that were taken into consideration in selecting the leading lights.

The list was compiled after careful review by a distinguished panel comprising representatives from different industries across both UK & Asia Pacific regions.

UK Judging Panel

• HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan (Chair of Judging Panel)
• Emma Sergeant – President for Europe, Das Omnicom
• Gillian Charlesworth – CEO, BRE Group
• Lieutenant General Richard Wardlaw OBE – Chief of Defence Logistics & Support Strategic Command, Defence Support, Ministry of Defence
• Nik Jhangiani – Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Coca Cola Euro-pacific Partners

Asia Pacific Judging Panel

•  Vicki Treadell – British High Commissioner to Australia (Chair of Judging Panel)
• Dr Swati Piramal – Vice Chairman, Piramal Enterprises
• Hugh Andrew – Managing Director, Blackrock Real Assets
• Jo Tyndall – New Zealand High Commissioner to Singapore
• Rupen Desai – Global Chief Marketing Officer, Dole Packaged Foods
• Bo Zhou – Partner and Senior Vice President, IHS Markit

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