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David Korngold

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David partners with corporate boards, executives, and investors to develop high-impact sustainability strategies. As part of BSR’s Transformation team, he co-leads engagement with boards of directors to promote effective board governance and leadership ambition on sustainability. 

Having previously led BSR's Financial Services team, David continues to work closely with financial companies on sustainability, ESG integration, and impact investing. David has led engagements in nearly all of BSR’s focus areas and major industry groups. This includes leading climate scenarios workshops with boards, creating net-zero road maps for investment firms, designing and operationalizing a leading impact investing fund, conducting materiality assessments, undertaking human rights impact assessments, and co-authoring research on topics like ESG for emerging public companies and responsible investment policies for private equity firms.

Before joining BSR, David worked in strategy and management consulting at Bain & Company.

David holds a BA in History from Amherst College.

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Dunstan Allison-Hope

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Dunstan leads BSR’s work at the intersection of technology and human rights.

Previously, Dunstan led BSR’s information and communications technology, heavy manufacturing, and human rights teams.

He brings significant experience working on a diverse range of engagements and issues, including human rights due diligence, privacy and freedom of expression, sustainability reporting and strategy, and stakeholder engagement.

Dunstan facilitated the multistakeholder process of developing global principles on freedom of expression and privacy, which led to the launch of the Global Network Initiative in October 2008. He also helped create the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, a collaborative initiative of more than 100 ICT companies improving conditions in their supply chains. Dunstan participated in the process of creating the Global Reporting Initiative G3 guidelines, and he is a regular commentator on issues of corporate accountability, reporting, and human rights. He also co-authored the 2010 book Big Business, Big Responsibilities.

Prior to joining BSR in 2004, Dunstan was part of British Telecommunications' corporate responsibility team.

Dunstan has an M.Prof. in Sustainable Development from Forum for the Future.

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Cecile Oger

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After nine years of working with BSR members to advance sustainability strategies, Cecile now leads BSR’s global People and Culture team. In this role, Cecile leads all processes related to building and retaining an exceptional global team of sustainable business experts. She works with the People and Culture team on attracting and hiring the best and brightest talents and making BSR a place where people grow, develop, and thrive in our international mindset and culture as well as have an impact on the world.

Cecile continues to stay close to BSR’s mission and impacts through limited and targeted projects and member engagement, mostly in the healthcare sector. 

Prior to joining BSR, Cecile served as deputy director for SGS Sustainability Services. Her work involved developing service offerings for sustainable supply chains. Before that, she was executive director of SFSTP, one of the largest associations of industrial pharmacists in Europe. She started her career in the chemicals industry, working for Clariant in the UK and Canada.

Cecile holds a MBA from Toronto Metropolitan University, a BSc in Chemistry and Business Administration from Kingston University London, and a Life Science degree from University of Angers. She speaks French and English.

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Cecilia Chiu

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Cecilia ensures the smooth running of the Hong Kong office by being its key contact for human resources, finance, and information technology, a lead on all internal functions for the office. Cecilia also supports RISE and BSR’s post-award grants administration, monitors the logistics of programs enrollment, and manages a multitude of administrative tasks necessary to keep project teams up and running. She collaborates with project managers and a multidisciplinary team on financial administrative issues, including financial reporting and coordination with the shared services team in San Francisco.

Prior to joining BSR, Cecilia worked for Kaplan Financial, where, as an assistant project leader, she implemented management and operational strategies during the company’s office and training center relocation in Hong Kong. Cecilia also has provided consulting services to students and parents on language learning and study in the UK.

Cecilia holds a Bachelor of Commerce in management and marketing from Curtin University of Technology in Australia.

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Asako Nagai

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With more than 20 years of sustainability experience, Asako advises global technology companies as well as BSR members and partners in Japan to better integrate sustainability into core business strategies.

Prior to joining BSR, Asako was Head of the CSR Management Section at Sony Corporation, and she has more than 10 years of experience leading global sustainability strategies. She has experience in sustainability reporting, stakeholder engagement, supply chain management, and responsible mineral sourcing and human rights. She also played a key role in shaping the industry framework for the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition.

Asako holds dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Science from the Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan.

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Willis Harris

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As Manager, Willis implements BSR’s internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy for the US in line with the recently launched People Plan, in collaboration with the People Council and the DEI Taskforce. He is responsible for exhibiting and maintaining a robust understanding of emerging issues related to DEI and identifying relevant trends.

Prior to joining BSR, Willis worked with a range of organizations to create DEI strategies focused on talent acquisition, employee engagement, people leadership, and relationship management. He developed and delivered course content (online and face-to-face) to organizations as large as 4000 employees. Willis is also a recognized thought leader and subject matter expert on the intersectional nature of DEI and access. He has a decade of progressive experience in higher education, local government, and the private sector.

Willis has a JD from Florida Coastal School of Law and a BS in Legal Studies from Florida Gulf Coast University.

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Chhavi Ghuliani

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Chhavi oversees BSR’s relationships with governments and foundations in North America, where he seeks to create cross-sector partnerships between the private sector and donors to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prior to joining BSR, Chhavi worked for a socially responsible investment firm, where he combined financial and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analysis to make sustainable investment recommendations. He also spent several years as an operations manager for Oracle’s Asia-Pacific and Americas regions, opening a new operation in India. He also developed a CSR strategy for a spirits company in Mexico, developed sustainability reports for companies in India and Saudi Arabia, and worked as a freelance CSR consultant for the Institute of Public Health. He speaks English, Spanish, and Hindi.

Chhavi holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and an M.A. in International Studies from the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a B.A. in English and Computer Science from Rutgers University.

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Aron Cramer

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Aron is recognized globally as a preeminent authority on just and sustainable business. In addition to leading BSR, which has grown substantially throughout his tenure as President and CEO, Aron advises senior executives at BSR’s 300+ member companies and other global businesses and partners on the full spectrum of environmental, social, and governance issues.

Aron joined BSR in 1995 as the founding director of its Business and Human Rights program. He later opened BSR's Paris office in 2002, where he worked until becoming President and CEO in 2004. Aron has served on advisory boards to CEOs at AXA, Barrick Gold, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Recruit Holdings, SAP, Shell, and he serves as a director of the We Mean Business Coalition and RISE.

Aron speaks frequently at leading business and public fora and is widely quoted in top-tier media, such as the Financial Times, Le Figaro (France), The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Axios, and Politico. He is co-author of the book Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World, which spotlights innovative sustainability strategies that enable business success.

Prior to joining BSR, Aron practiced law in San Francisco and worked as a journalist at ABC News in New York. He holds a BA from Tufts University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Blog | Wednesday August 10, 2022

Business Leadership in the Great Fragmentation: Part 2

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Editor's Note:

It is obvious that we are living through a time of profound and accelerating change. Our world has been rocked by a series of disruptions: COVID-19, war and social conflict, rollback of rights and democracy, and now high inflation and the risk of recession. These developments have jolted society, and business.

To help our 300+ member companies navigate this volatile environment, we're releasing a series of blogs over the coming weeks to build insight into how to shape business approaches that address this unique moment. Following the first piece on the role of business in combatting societal fragmentation, today we focus on how business can reorient their efforts around four main objectives.

We’ll conclude with a deeper dive look into how BSR’s 2025 strategy can help your company to navigate these turbulent times—and how you can collaborate with our global network to push us further, faster, to achieve a more equitable, just world for all.

The Business Response

The divisions caused by “The Great Fragmentation” are a barrier to achieving an economy that drives equitable and sustainable progress. This represents the great project of the 21st century: enabling all people to thrive and live in dignity on a healthy planet.

The Great Fragmentation also presents an extremely serious challenge for business. Social division, political dysfunction, and constant conflict result in complexity, costs, and structural barriers that undermine the ability to plan and operate. 

To meet the needs of our fragmented world, business can reorient their efforts around four main objectives: 

• Close the gap between ambition and delivery on ESG: Business can accelerate delivery of existing commitments. The gap between corporate ambitions and tangible impact hinders social progress and invites skepticism of the bona fides of business’ stated objectives. The gap between stated net-zero commitments, for example, and tangible delivery—let alone progress—sparks cynicism and social division. Delivering on goals is not only an end in itself—it can also heal divisions regarding economic models and establish trust in business as a credible partner.
• Take on the sources of fragmentation directly: Business activities are an important source of fragmentation. Mis- and disinformation, income inequality, and gender and racial pay gaps arise in part from business models and actions. Businesses cannot be a bystander as society fragments. It has an opportunity—and obligation—to remedy the steps it is taking that contribute to widening divisions. The failure to act is a missed opportunity and risks further erosion of trust in business and, more broadly, global market economies. 
• Modernize and strengthen the social contract: At the root of this fragmentation is the fact that our social contracts have outlived their use. Existing social contracts are largely based on the world as it was in the immediate aftermath of World War II and are no longer fit for purpose. Modernized and strengthened social contracts can provide the security and mobility people need and deserve, establish the foundation for dynamic and equitable economies, and address 21st-century questions, such as the role and application of new technologies and the energy transition. For business, a more constructive role regarding social contracts also means moving away from reflexive opposition to tax and regulation.
• Increase engagement in constructive public policy solutions: Finally, it is essential that business reorient how they use influence in the development of public policy. It is long past time that the discrepancy between business aspirations and the lobbying efforts of trade associations was erased. In many places, not least the United States, this also means that business should engage more forcefully to ensure that democratic processes are restored and sustained. Business can make fundamental changes to their approach to political contributions and be willing to withdraw support for political figures undermining democracy and rule of law, even if they may advance other policies seen to be “business-friendly.”

Conclusion

There is little doubt that many business leaders would prefer not to have this assignment. Traditional business questions are challenging enough with an economic downturn looming, the ongoing march of new technologies, and continuing disruption of business models. Diving into the fragmentation presents a risk. Turning away from this central problem, however, creates even greater risk. It is unrealistic on the part of business to assume that others will step in to turn the page. It is irresponsible for business to look away from the sources of fragmentation where they take responsibility. And it is unwise to assume that business is immune from the impacts of our deep fragmentation.

By redoubling efforts to deliver on ESG ambitions, helping to reshape the social contract, directly addressing the causes of fragmentation, and taking a more active role in positive policy engagement, business can help reorient societies away from a vicious cycle of division and restore a more favorable operating environment. This is the only sensible path forward if we are to collectively escape the descent to further fragmentation and a world that is increasingly ungovernable, inequitable, and unlivable.

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Deb Gallagher

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Deb leads BSR’s climate work in the US. She works closely with BSR’s external partnership teams to accelerate decarbonization while engendering climate justice. She works with Transform to Net Zero (TONZ) collaborative initiative members to amplify leadership behaviors that promote a just and resilient future. Deb leads efforts to create a series of TONZ Transformation Guides on issues such as climate transition action plans (CTAPs), climate policy engagement, and climate justice.

Prior to joining BSR, Deb was a professor at Duke University, where she led the Business and Environment program. Her research focused on business leadership behaviors required to advance sustainability, including stakeholder relationship management, ESG data acquisition and use, public policy engagement, and design of strategic partnerships. Over the course of 20 years at Duke, she mentored over 200 sustainability leaders. Prior to Duke, she held environmental leadership positions in manufacturing and government.

Deb holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University