Steward Leadership Institute

15/10/2026

How can steward leadership shape the sustainability space for good?

SLI CEO Rajeev Peshawaria will be attending AlterCop's Climate Week as a trainer on November 16th. In his hour-long masterclass, he will unpack how steward leadership can serve as a practical framework for business success, sustainability, and social impact work.

Participants will leave with a clearer lens for evaluating their own leadership decisions, tools to embed stewardship principles into organisational strategy, and concrete approaches for advancing impact that is genuinely inclusive, fair and sustainable.

Sign up for his masterclass here: https://www.gevme.com/18496474/registration/order/form?promo=Attendee

14/10/2026

What does it take to have the courage to act in today’s world?

On 10 October, SLI held our second annual Next Gen Steward Leaders Summit (NGSLS) for youth aged 16 to 35. This year’s theme, “Courage to Act,” brought together more than 200 students and young adults from across Singapore to explore what it means to lead with courage, purpose and impact in a rapidly changing world through dialogue, real-world scenarios and interactive activities.

Highlights from the day:

Fireside chat: Mark Lim and Dev Bahl shared their thoughts on how AI is redefining the workforce.
Panel: Venny Lewis, Faiz Bashar, Kong Yu Ning and Elijah Chao, moderated by Teng Zi Ying, discussed what it takes to keep pushing for success despite setbacks.
Human Library: Chester Matthais Tan, Angeline Levar, David Wang, Michael Huang and Sherman Ho shared their personal trials and successes in their careers through close, small-group conversations.
At the Impact Collective, attendees met our partners Ayer Ayer, UWC South East Asia, Heartware Network, Little U, Terra, Temasek Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Hwa Chong Institution and Stemie Advantages, and learned how their initiatives are making a positive difference for young people in Singapore.

Our heartfelt thanks to our speakers, attendees, partners and the team at NYC for making this event possible.

If one idea stayed with you from the summit, we’d love to hear it in the comments. And keep a lookout on our page for more youth events next year!

NGSLS was supported by the National Youth Council through the National Youth Fund.

13/10/2026

Are companies making a choice, or a sacrifice?

In CEOWORLD magazine, SLI CEO Rajeev Peshawaria argues that profit versus purpose is a false dilemma, and that this framing is a big reason many ESG efforts have stalled.

When sustainability is treated as a cost imposed from outside, companies comply reluctantly. When leaders choose to grow by solving real human problems, purpose becomes a driver of profit rather than a drain on it, which companies like Ujala Cygnus, led by Shuchin Bajaj, have demonstrated in their years of work.

The shift: stop trying to "balance" the two, and build business models where each strengthens the other.

Read the full article: https://ceoworld.biz/2026/10/08/purpose-and-profit-are-not-opposites/

In the same way that self-sacrifice in our personal lives is unsustainable, asking businesses to reduce their profitability in the name of the greater

08/10/2026

Purpose is no longer a side project. It's a business strategy.

Companies once knew far more about their operations than anyone else, and built profit off information asymmetry. That advantage is disappearing.

In his new article for The Jakarta Post, our CEO Rajeev Peshawaria describes the "Glasshouse Economy," where AI, social media, and connectivity make corporate behaviour radically transparent. In this environment, sustainability can't stay a compliance exercise. Leaders need to ask what problem they are genuinely solving, and whether solving it is central to how they make money.

Drawing on examples like Doi Tung in Thailand, the Tata Group, and Faber-Castell, Rajeev makes the case for moving from ESG to ESL, with the "L" standing for leadership.

His practical test: assess one key decision against your stated purpose as rigorously as you assess its financial return.

Purpose isn't the alternative to profit. Increasingly, it's how you create enduring profit.

📖 Read the full article: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2026/09/29/in-the-age-of-ai-purpose-is-becoming-a-business-strategy

AI, social media and universal connectivity are making corporate behavior radically more transparent.

22/09/2026

On 17 August, in collaboration with WhiteCrow, SLI was pleased to participate in the Singapore edition of Vertex — WhiteCrow's invitation-only Connected Leadership event at Temasek Shophouse.

The evening brought together a distinguished group of Business, Sustainability, HR, and Talent leaders for a substantive discussion on the issues that matter most to organizations today.

Our CEO, Rajeev Peshawaria, had the pleasure of addressing the gathering. He shared the thinking behind his recently published book "Maximum Purpose. Maximum Profit," offering a compelling perspective on how Purpose and Profit can be aligned through Steward Leadership — particularly within what he terms the "Glasshouse Economy," in which radical transparency has largely eliminated information asymmetry as a source of competitive advantage.

We extend our sincere thanks to WhiteCrow for their support in making this event possible, and to all who attended and engaged so thoughtfully with the evening's ideas.

21/09/2026

SLI is proud to share our CEO Rajeev Peshawaria's recent conversation on CPA Australia's INTHEBLACK podcast.

In this episode, "Stewardship: Balancing Profit and Purpose," Rajeev joins host Patrick Viljoen, ESG Lead at CPA Australia, to discuss why steward leadership is becoming a defining leadership mindset for organisations navigating short-term pressures and long-term responsibility.

In this conversation, Rajeev explores why profit and purpose aren't actually in conflict, what separates values that are truly lived from ones that are merely stated, and why radical transparency has made trust the ultimate competitive advantage. He also shares the five core values that define a steward leader — and why the next generation of professionals gives him real optimism about the future of leadership.

This conversation reflects SLI's continued mission: helping leaders and organisations build lasting value through responsible, purpose-led leadership.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here:

Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/intheblack/id1665053716?i=1000787094788
YouTube https://youtu.be/YQ7CRXgwG74?si=-5Js1fuwjVosa1dn
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Iobx4lJY9fJ7wPEchDeGa?si=Iyya2covRbWLQfoU6w9m6Q
CPA Australia website https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/tools-and-resources/podcasts/career-skills/stewardship-balancing-profit-and-purpose

Learn how stewardship can shape ethical leadership, stronger cultures and better business decisions while creating value for people and the planet.

16/09/2026

What does it take to build a small dairy farm in tropical Malaysia into one of the region's most recognized homegrown brands?

On the 4th of September, SLI and National Youth Council hosted an evening of Steward Leadership with Farm Fresh for 56 participants.

We were privileged to have Farm Fresh Founder and CEO Mr Loi Tuan Ee as the featured speaker of the night. In an engaging fireside chat with SLI COO Joanna Soh, Mr Loi shared his journey into agriculture, how his venture grew from 60 to over 100,000 cows, the trials and tribulations he faced along the way, and how he still remembers his first cows' names by heart.

After a round of questions from our curious audience members, Mr Loi and Ms Soh then announced the 12 lucky recipients of SLI CEO Rajeev Peshawaria's latest book, Maximum Purpose Maximum Profit, to end off the night.

We sincerely thank Mr Loi for attending the event and inspiring the next generation of leaders to be brave and pursue their passions.

If you are interested in participating in SLI's youth events, click the link below to register for the NextGen Steward Leaders Summit, where you'll be able to engage with professionals who dared to pursue their passions in these turbulent times.

Click the link to register: https://go.gov.sg/ngsls2026



Click the link to register: https://www.gevme.com/nextgen-steward-leaders-summit-43869413

15/09/2026

We know that physical well-being is important, but how important is mental well-being when it comes to shaping our futures?

We are excited to welcome Sherman Ho, Co-Founder of The Happiness Initiative, to the NextGen Steward Leaders Summit (NGSLS) as part of the human library rotation.

Sherman and his team design interactive programmes and innovative tools that make psychological research easy to understand and apply. His work includes Well-Being Circles, one of the largest evidence-based community well-being programmes in Singapore. His work has reached more than 70,000 individuals and over 200 organisations, empowering people and communities to take charge of their well-being and move forward with courage and assurance.

As a participant of NGSLS, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how mental health plays an important role in finding your life path and supporting yourself through it.

NGSLS is organised by the Steward Leadership Institute and supported by the National Youth Council Singapore through the National Youth Fund.

Click the link below to register today!
https://www.gevme.com/nextgen-steward-leaders-summit-43869413

14/09/2026

What do burgers have to do with Steward Leadership?

Steward Leadership isn't just a theory or something applied in corporate offices - it's a mindset that can be practised daily, whether you're a hungry customer or the owner of the latest burger joint that just opened.

At this year's NextGen Steward Leaders Summit, you will get the chance to be among the first to play SLI's brand new game, The Burger Hustle, and put your Steward Leadership skills to the test through a series of scenarios.

Space is filling up fast for October 10th. Click the link below to register now! 🍔

🔗 https://www.gevme.com/nextgen-steward-leaders-summit-43869413

11/09/2026

How important is a business's narrative when it comes to stakeholder trust?

Trust is the biggest driver of enterprise value today. Yet many businesses fail to take it into account when trying to appeal to their stakeholders, let alone align their communications strategy to reflect it.

In this 35 minute interactive session with Sharon Lim, Founder of The Intrepid Coach and Sunil Puri, Senior Vice President of Engagement and Research, you'll
explore why storytelling and strategic narratives have become critical to unlocking enterprise value, and how boards and C-suite leaders can move from simply reporting numbers to truly narrating value.

Interested in finding out more? Join us on the 16th of September at 11:00AM.

Click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9hbE6tuySs2xgrvzvlwwUw #/registration