PYXERA Global Recognizes IBM, Peace Corps, FSG, and John Lynch through the Purposeful Global Engagement Pioneer Award
Awardees Recognized at 25th Anniversary Gala Celebration Dinner
Washington, D.C., November 12, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Celebrating 25 years of re-inventing the way the private, public and social sectors collaborate to create a better world, PYXERA Global will present the inaugural Purposeful Global Engagement Pioneer Awards on November 12, 2015. Among those being recognized are IBM, the Peace Corps, FSG (The Shared Value Initiative), and John Lynch, Co-Founder and CEO of Lynka. These organizations and individuals are being recognized for their work pioneering new global engagement practices that inclusively and sustainably improve lives and livelihoods worldwide. Awardees will be recognized during PYXERA Global’s 25th Anniversary Gala Celebration Dinner on November 12, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
IBM: For over 100 years, IBM has reinvented business—with technology, solutions, and services—and contributed significantly to society. Perhaps none more profoundly than by pioneering a thoughtful, comprehensive approach to corporate citizenship which aligns with the company’s values and maximizes the impact of a global enterprise. IBM not only serves the world through its own efforts, but also with its generous sharing of the model and example which has inspired so many other organizations to take on similar approaches.
“IBM’s work is not about philanthropy per se,” said PYXERA Global CEO, Deirdre White. “It’s strategic leadership development, business development, and community development—and it’s done in an exemplary way through close collaboration with highly qualified partners who are deeply committed to the same outcome, “It is no wonder that many corporations seeks to emulate IBM’s approach.”
Integrating corporate citizenship and social responsibility into every aspect of the company, it has pioneered new ways to apply not only technology, but expertise and time, of their most important resources: its employees. The Corporate Service Corps, the P-TECH Educational Model, and the Smarter Cities Challenge are just three of these innovative approaches.
- The IBM Corporate Service Corps was launched in 2008 to help communities around the world solve critical problems while providing IBM employees unique leadership development opportunities. By sending TEAMS of high performing, highly skilled IBM employees from different countries for community-based assignments in underserved markets, the program has helped 32 million people since its inception. The program has dispatched approximately 2,800 IBM employees originating from approximately 60 countries on more than 1,000 projects in 38 countries over the last eight years.
- IBM’s innovative partnership approach to address critical skill gaps in the knowledge-based economy: P-TECH has, over just four years, expanded to a network of 40 schools in the US, preparing the diverse and skilled talent needed to fill 21st century jobs, and providing yet another model for leaders to replicate and scale. P-TECH was also recently launched in Australia.
- The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a competitive grant program that sends senior IBM experts to cities and regional governments. By mid-2016, IBM will have made Smarter Cities Challenge grants valued at $66 million to more than 130 cities worldwide over four years, with nearly 800 of IBM top experts working to make cities more effective.
Peace Corps: As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps has paved the way, providing a model in which individuals volunteer for two years, work in underserved communities across the globe to address profound needs. It is the original triple win: individuals work at the grassroots level toward sustainable change that lives on long after their service, and cultivate the knowledge, insights and competencies required to become global leaders and citizens, all while serving their country, becoming the best examples of citizen diplomacy. Since 1961, nearly 220,000 individuals have served in 140 countries around the world through the Peace Corps, addressing issues in education, health, environment, agriculture, and economic development.
“In appreciation not only for the critical service this platform has provided, but also for the model which has inspired other countries and organizations to engage with purpose and impact, we are proud to present the Peace Corps with the Purposeful Global Engagement Pioneer Award,” said White.
FSG and the Shared Value Initiative: Created and supported by FSG in 2012, the Shared Value Initiative (SVI) is a global community of leaders who find business opportunities in meeting environmental and societal challenges, profoundly changing the frame of reference for the private sector. The learning community provides a platform through which new and experienced shared value practitioners can learn, connect and evolve shared value practices.
“The Shared Value Initiative has brought legitimacy to companies who want to co-create and appropriately share value—earning a profit, while delivering social value,” noted White. “SVI’s thought leadership in this space has the potential to unleash resources and reach scale previously beyond imagination.”
Today, 35 cross-sector organizations comprise the leadership group for the initiatives. With 25 innovative partners from leading Fortune 500 companies and 70 certified practitioners in 30 countries, the platform and curation of community resources have provided a go-to source for more than 8,000 individuals who want to strategize, implement, and sustain a shared value initiative at their organization.
John Lynch, Co-Founder and CEO of Lynka: “We look at John’s story and contributions, and we are reminded of the power of immersive service learning to spark the kind of insight, innovation, and leadership which changes the world,” said White.
Shortly after the fall of communism, in 1991 John Lynch put his corporate career on hold and became a volunteer in the MBA Enterprise Corps. Built on the Peace Corps model, MBAEC (later combined with MBAs Without Borders), placed skilled business professionals on assignment to help build—or re-build—the institutions required of the new free economies in Eastern Europe. Lynch provided consultation to Polish entrepreneurs to start companies, raise capital and create jobs, all essential to post-communist transformation. In 1992, he went on to become one of Poland’s foremost entrepreneurs, co-founding Lynka, one of the first companies launched by an American in post-communist Poland. Now a leading European Union supplier of corporate apparel, Lynka employs hundreds of employees and has thousands of clients in 22 countries. In 2010, Lynch was named one of the 10 American Pioneers who made the most profound contributions to the successful transformation of Poland to a democracy and free market economy.
About PYXERA Global
(@PYXERAGlobal)
For more than 25 years, PYXERA Global has leveraged the unique strengths of corporations, governments, social sector organizations, educational institutions, and individuals to enhance the abilities of people and communities to solve complex problems and attain mutually beneficial goals.
The PYXERA Global team is passionate and dedicated to navigating challenges and pinpointing purposeful global engagement opportunities for its clients and partners. Initiatives include a wide range of services from local content development to global pro bono programs and integrated community development efforts that transform lives and livelihoods.
Contact: Katie Levey
Director of Media Relations
917.593.1989
klevey@pyxeraglobal.org
