Program Team
Conference Chair
Professor Danica Purg is the Founder and Dean of IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia, and President of CEEMAN, which brings together 200 management schools from 50 countries. As professor of Leadership at IEDC, her innovative approach draws inspiration from the arts and other professions. She authored and co-authored several books and numerous articles on leadership issues, and is a frequent guest speaker at universities around the world and at international conferences. Professor Purg has received numerous awards for her work in international management education, she has earned two honorary professorships and several titles of Doctor Honoris Causa, most recently from the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Program Co-Chairs
Dr. Richard Bolden is Professor of Leadership and Management and Director of Bristol Leadership and Change Centre at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England. His teaching and research explore the interface between individual and collective approaches to leadership and leadership development. He has published widely on topics including distributed, shared and systems leadership; leadership paradoxes and complexity; cross-cultural leadership; and leadership and change in healthcare and higher education. He is Associate Editor of the journal Leadership, Fellow of the International Leadership Association, Visiting Professor at the University of Pretoria and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His latest book Exploring Leadership: Individual, organizational and societal perspectives, 2nd edition was published by Oxford University Press in March 2023.
Joshua Hayden has been writing and teaching in the field of leadership studies for over a decade with a special interest in leadership ethics, the psychology of adversity and the study of historical leaders and follower to inform leadership theory. His doctorate is in higher education leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and he is a graduate of the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies. He is passionate about cross-cultural leadership and community development and has spent significant time working with community and educational leaders in India, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Brazil and Haiti. Dr. Hayden has served in administration leadership roles and has been elected Faculty Senate President at two different institutions. He has consulted and trained managers in business, government, and non-profit sectors and has built executive leadership programs. He has worked in the Czech Republic for over five years where his research is focused on Vaclav Havel, the ethics of hope, and case studies such as the Charter 77 human rights movement. Dr. Hayden teaches leadership ethics, psychology of human cooperation, decision making, conflict resolution, leadership and the self, and an experiential leadership course focused on six Czech leaders and dissidents.
Connecting Place & Creating Space Committee
Dr. Andreas Antonopoulos is an education executive, entrepreneur, and investor with 30+ years of experience in academia, corporate leadership, and venture capital. He has held senior roles in higher education, mentored startups, and contributed to innovative ventures worldwide.
Melissa Durda is Senior Director, Bridging Leadership at Synergos, a global nonprofit organization that brings people together to help solve complex issues around the world by advancing bridging leadership, which builds trust and collective action. She is a leadership coach for non-profit and social impact leaders and has nearly 20-years program design and facilitation experience. Melissa leads Synergos’ Shifting Food Systems Collaborative Community, where Synergos’ Global Network members convene for learning and collective action, supported by the Bridging Leadership framework and skills training. She hosts the Synergos Cultivate the Soul: Stories of Purpose-driven Philanthropy, where leaders in philanthropy discuss how they are connecting inner work to outer action and the impact this creates for change. Prior to this, Melissa created and managed a Philanthropy Program at Vaclav Havel’s Forum 2000 Foundation. In this role she worked with private philanthropists promoting human rights, civil society, and democracy. Melissa’s nonprofit project management experience is in a variety of fields (education, children, nutrition, advocacy, emergency response, water, media) on projects in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the United States. Melissa has a MSc. in European Political Economy: Transition from the London School of Economics and a BA in International Relations from the University of Virginia.
Marcela Kostihova serves as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, of the School of Education and Leadership, and of the School of Business at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, USA. A Professor of English in her pre-administrative life, she has researched cultural appropriations of Shakespeare in postcommunist, postcolonial, and contemporary Western contexts. Since stepping into leadership roles, she has developed keen interest in leadership development, faculty mentoring, strategic planning, embedding high-impact practices across curriculum to catalyze student success, and –most recently– harnessing the powers of AI to advance higher education. Her latest book, Strategic Shakespeare: Transformative leadership for the future of higher education, co-edited with A. Balizet and N. Eschenbaum, is forthcoming from Routledge press in May 2025.
Volunteer Coordination & Recruitment Committee:
Günther Sturms, Representative of CEUC, Delft University (Netherlands)
Marketing & Communications Committee
Nicola Kleyn, Associate Professor, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria
Jeffrey Beeson is a pioneer in Network Leadership, helping top business leaders harness networks to navigate complexity, drive innovation, and achieve transformative results. He holds an MBA in Finance from Wharton and an MA in International Business from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. A former strategy consultant at Bain & Co. and McKinsey, Jeffrey shifted focus to leadership development and cultural transformation, founding Ensemble Enabler to unlock organizations’ hidden potential through network science. His work has helped transform fragmented enterprises into high-performing networks. With a deep curiosity spanning history to science, Jeffrey blends network theory and quantum physics to offer groundbreaking leadership insights. His engaging talks challenge conventional thinking, equipping leaders with practical strategies to turn complexity into opportunity. Whether integrating European factories or guiding multinationals through crises, his expertise redefines how organizations collaborate and lead.
Sponsorship Committee
Shenjiang Mo is a professor in School of Management, Zhejiang University. He is also the Vice Dean of Zhejiang University International Business School. He works in the research fields such as business ethics, leadership, organizational behavior. He is very interested in exploring these topics under the digitalization context.
Irina Sennikova, Acting Rector, Member of the Board, Vice Rector for Academic and International Affairs, Lead Researcher