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PROGRAM CHAIR-ELECT

CHRIS LASZLO from Case Western Reserve University

Chris Laszlo

I am writing in support of my candidature to be the 2018-19 PDW Chair and to join the

MSR leadership team for the next five years. My current research is centered on the

exploration of spirituality and religion as a force for positive organizational behavior and

world benefit. After spending nearly two decades helping to develop the business case for

sustainable business, I came to the conclusion that a new theory of change is needed.

Analytic-cognitive approaches to sustainability and the social purpose of business have

failed to produce the desired results by almost any measure. Values-based approaches such

as teaching business ethics have also produced limited results. What is needed for business

to regain a meaningful role in society is to engage leaders at all levels of organizational life,with greater emphasis on the direct-intuitive experience of our essential oneness. MSR has the opportunity to lead the effort in theory building and empirical research in this and related domains to enable all of us to contribute to a world in which people and organizations thrive within flourishing systems. My goal in leading MSR would be to develop the work of others in the domain of spirituality and religion in service of prosperity and flourishing, defined by constructs such as wholeness, inner awareness, connectedness, and wellbeing at all levels of organizational life. MSR can have a growing influence on management scholarship and practice through its work to help (re)define what it means to be human in today's world. Our work can transcend the positivist ontologies of the last three hundred years that have sought at times to deny the role of spirituality and religion, or to attenuate their influence, through a misplaced dualism and materialism whose unintended consequences are becoming only too clear for engaged practitioner scholars of contemporary management.

ANIL K. MAHESHWARI from Maharishi University of Management

Anil K. Maheshwar

Anil Maheshwari: I am currently a professor at the Maharishi University of Management, in Iowa, a unique institution devoted to the development of Consciousness and living

according to natural law. I bring an eastern spiritual upbringing and western management

education and experience, which will bring nice diversity into the MSR leadership team.

My book on Moksha (Amazon.com/dp/B01E88QUB2) humbly describes my own spiritual

liberation experience. I was associated with AoM for a few years in the 1990s, after my

PhD from Case Western Reserve University. After 15 years in industry including leadership positions at IBM¸ I rejoined the Academy a few years ago upon returning to academia. I led the organizing of blissful ethnic celebrations at my university for many years, for which I was honored with the coveted 'Maharishi Award'. My bestselling books on Data Analytics, and Big Data, have been published by McGraw-Hill. I have also published on smart cities, natural law, and Vedic leadership. Life is and should be blissful for everyone. As Dr. Mintzberg said so eloquently at the AoM, 2017, grand challenges facing the world are like falling sick at the intersection of specialties; one gets kicked around, without any relief.  Besides humanism, transcendence is perhaps the best way to bring everyone and everything together, for a holistic force aligned with natural law. Transcendence is the proposition that underlying diverse, surface realities is a unified, unmanifest Consciousness, which is the source of everything. My PDW proposal on 'Transcendence as a Technique to Solve Grand Management Challenges' was accepted for AOM 2018. We can help chart a course such that by 2050 the world can be peaceful, healthy, and blissful. We can lift up the work and contributions of every member of the AoM MSR community and, through this community and collaboration with others inside and outside AoM , we can help the Academy solve the grand management and social challenges of our era. We can all come together in an ego-free manner and become the great unified force!

RICHARD JACKSON MAJOR from Institut De Gestion Sociale

Richard Jackson Major

I was raised with two cultures, lived on four continents and worked 20 years in matrixed

and global environments. My dedication to spirituality has pervaded throughout my life in

the study of different Christian, Buddhist and Hindu traditions and practices. This

dedication was re-asserted at age 50 when I decided to leave Silicon Valley and go to

Thailand, India and Nepal to practice yoga and vipassana meditation for a year and a half.

My last corporate role in California was Vice President, Human Resources for a

60,000-employee high-tech multinational corporation. On our return in 2009, I redirected

my career to academic research on workplace spirituality and managerial exemplarity,

while teaching Strategy, International Human Resources and Transformation at IGS

Business School in Paris. I also consult and coach executive teams. My passion is to help

people and organizations develop and create inclusive cultures that engage employees to

be their full and best selves. I was elected twice as MSR officer since 2012, when our

founders were still on the executive committee. I've been in in charge of co-designing and

co-facilitating the MSR Research Consortium and facilitating Strategic dialogue in the

executive committee on the meaning, purpose and vision of MSR. This year I oversaw the

MSR membership survey and 5-year review that will be published shortly. These actions

account for my commitment to bring MSR to its legitimacy within AOM, while

contributing to our societal transformation integrating spirituality into the workplace. I hold a degree in Computing science, three post graduate degrees in HR Management,

Organizational Development and Management Science Research from IAE Aix Graduate

School of Business in France, where I received my Ph.D. in 2015. I've co-published in the

Journal of Business ethics, the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion and have

written chapters for books on Workplace Spirituality and Personal transformation.

Treasurer (Two candidates) Eleftheria Egel, Denise M. Breaux-Soignet

TREASURER

ELEFTHERIA EGEL from Independent Scholar/Consultant

Eleftheria Egel

Eleftheria Egel, Phd is an independent scholar & management consultant. Her research

interests center on workplace spirituality; in particular, on how spirituality can create the

foundation for global leadership, sustainability and enhance harmony in multicultural

organizational environments that include Muslim employees. She has held positions as

adjunct professor at the International University of Monaco (www.monaco.edu) and the

University of People (www.uopeople.edu). She is a Fellow of OPEN

(https://oneplanetbusiness.org/open-fellows/) and serves as a Board member of the

Management, Spirituality & Religion (MSR) Interest Group of the Academy of

Management (https://msr.aom.org/). She currently serves as the MSR Treasurer and Chair

of the Fund-raising Committee. She is a leadership mentor for the New York Academy of

Sciences "1000Girls, 1000 Futures Initiative" (https://www.nyas.org/programs/global-stem-alliance/1000-girls-1000-futures/) and for SOLA, School of Leadership in Afghanistan (http://www.sola-afghanistan.org/). She works as management consultant with the International Institute for Spiritual Leadership (http://iispiritualleadership.com/). Their goal is to assist organizations to maximize their triple bottom line through the implementation of a specific model of spiritual leadership, the Spiritual Leadership Model (SLM). Eleftheria aspires to contribute to the unfolding leadership trend that supports inclusive and sustainable development for businesses and their communities through spirituality.

DENISE M. BREAUX-SOIGNET from University of Arkansas

Denise M. Breaux-Soigne

Denise Breaux Soignet : I am a clinical assistant professor of management in the Sam M.

Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. I hold a Ph.D. in Organizational

Behavior and Human Resource Management from Florida State University, and B.S. and

M.B.A. degrees from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA. I'm also a Certified

Professional for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP) and I have

published research in journals such as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision

Processes and the Journal of Management. I currently work in the Tyson Center for Faith

& Spirituality at the Walton College of Business. I am interested in serving the MSR

Community as Treasurer and am committed to giving my all to this position, the MSR

Executive Committee and the MSR membership. In the summer of 2017 I developed a

course called Faith, Spirituality, and the Workplace and have been teaching it during the

2017/2018 academic year. Consistent with the Tyson Center's strategic initiative of

developing curriculum and educational resources on faith and spirituality in the workplace,

the class challenges students to develop an understanding of multiple faith and spiritual

perspectives while examining the roles those perspectives play in organizational culture

and workplace productivity. Students learn about the world's major faith traditions, read

the latest academic research on faith & spirituality at work, and interact with leaders in the

academic, professional, and religions/spiritual arenas as part of the course. I believe that

together we can strengthen the MSR Interest Group and set high goals that will help its

members both grow and act together to encourage transformational change in AoM,

business schools, organizations and society.

Representative-at-Large: Community Building (Three Candidates):

Joan F. Marques, Sophon Shadraconis, Agata Stanusch

REPRESENTATIVE-AT-LARGE (COMMUNITY BUILDING)

JOAN F. MARQUES from Woodbury University

Joan F. Marques

My interest in and passion for MSR is a long-standing and deeply ingrained one. Since I

started publishing actively, the bulk of my work has been focused on topics related to

spirituality, management, and/or religion. Both my doctoral theses, in 2004 and in 2011,

pertained to workplace spirituality. At least five of my books, and a much larger number

of published journal articles, directly involve workplace spirituality. I am currently

coordinating the Routledge Companion on Management and Workplace Spirituality: a

mega-project bringing together minds from all over the world on this topic. In my daily

profession I serve as dean and professor of management in the School of Business at

Woodbury University in Burbank, California. The main focus of my work is to help

redefine business education. Our mantra, since I took over the reins, is therefore,

"Business with a Conscience". My professional history is equally shared between

business and academic performance on two continents: North and South America. This

richness of exposure has groomed me to become a grey-haired revolutionary: one who

understands the importance and need to repeatedly reinvent herself as circumstances

change. The combination of activities I have been involved in over the past decades –

from media production and presentations to real estate, and from starting and leading

non-profit entities to engaging in academic leadership – has prepared me well to serve

in a fast-paced and surprising environment. The overarching focus of all my activities is

to increase awareness among members of the global workforce toward greater gratification, understanding, and acceptance. I feel that life is too short and beautiful to make it unpleasant. If elected into a position within the MSR interest group, I will present myself as a strong advocate for greater tolerance, acceptance, and mutual respect amongst all living beings.

SOPHON SHADRACONIS from Claremont Graduate University/Drucker

Sophon Shadraconis

I have worked across multiple industries including: Education; Government; Finance; and

Military. My experience encompasses helping to build high performing organizations

through collaboration, continuous improvement, effective management, and mentorship.

Currently, I manage diversity, inclusion, alternative dispute resolution, compliance,

operations, and policy programs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the Department

of Homeland Security. My responsibilities also include developing strategic direction and

planning agency-wide diversity and inclusion programs. I am also a member of the

Executive Board of the Diversity and Inclusion Group Southern California, which is an

inter-agency council that fosters relationships and builds community across local, state,

and federal levels to encourage the sharing of best practices and resources. I have

developed and taught graduate level courses which focused on the interconnection of

security with business development, profitability, and sustainability. I have also spoken

and led training (topics include: addressing unconscious bias, fostering inclusion,

managing a diverse workforce) at a variety of large conferences and diverse affinity

groups including Federal Asian Pacific American Council and Blacks in Government.

My interest in the intersectionality of management, spirituality, and religion has led me

to be a member of MSR for the past four years; three of which I have assisted with the

planning of the MSR retreat. I am especially interested in the practical application of

MSR-related topics (e.g., mindfulness, meditation, reflection) in the workplace to improve

employee engagement, health, and performance. My experience across diverse workplaces

and industries has reinforced my view of the importance of the work of MSR and deepened

my commitment to the field. I believe that building community is vital to the advancement

and further scholarship within MSR. Ultimately, my goal is to improve the organizations,

and the lives of individuals in the organizations, in which we influence.

AGATA STANUSCH from Silesian University of Technology

Agata Stanusch

Agata Stachowicz-Stanusch, Full Professor of Management, Silesian University of

Technology (Poland) has been active in the AOM for 17 years, serving twice as an AOM

MSR Associate Editor for its scholarly program. She co-organized and presented in more

than 10 PDWs sponsored by MSR, MED and ITC and has served as ITC Chair and chair

of the AOM's Carolyn Dexter Award Committee (for quality international research). She

is the recipient of MED's Best PDW and Outstanding Reviewer awards. Her research

reflects her interest in integrity in management and management education and is active

in the United Nations PRME initiative to make management education an effective vehicle

for the delivery of the values and practices of integrity and social responsibility in business. Agata has more than 80 research papers in high-impact journals, including the Journal of Business Ethics, Management Decision, the Journal of Business Economics and

Management and Crime, Law, and Social Change. She also has 16 books, published by

leading houses such as Greenleaf, Emerald, Palgrave Macmillan, Information Age

Publishing and Business Expert Press. In the UN Global Compact/PRME initiative, she

has managed an international research team as part of the project "Sensitizing Future

Business Leaders: Developing Anti-Corruption Guidelines for Curriculum Change."

Agata edits a book series for Information Age Publishing and is a member of many journal

editorial boards. She is a pro bono World Engagement Institute International Fellow,

member of the Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative (ACAD) and member of the

Committee on Organizational and Management Sciences (Polish Academy of Sciences).

She is also a co–founder, chair of the scientific council and vice editor-in-chief of the

Organizational and Management Journal published by the Silesian University of

Technology. She has served as a track chair for EURAM conferences and as President

of the Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association.