It is with both sadness and gratitude that we share that after almost two years supporting three times Nobel peace prize nominee Dr Scilla Elworthy to grow the company Business Plan for Peace and charity Plan for Peace to create a world where conflict transformation skills are understood, applied and invested in, CEO Isla Glaister has made the difficult decision to leave.

She is returning to focus her efforts to support Myanmar, a country she has devoted most of her working life to.

A Time of Growth

During Isla’s leadership, and despite the pandemic, Business Plan for Peace has grown a talented team. Thanks to funding from donors, including the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund, and generous individuals and incredible partners, programming has expanded to engage UK changemakers to take a stand on the issues they care about, foster infrastructures for cohesion across the four nations of the UK, advise businesses in developing their own Business Plan for Peace, and bring the skills of conflict transformation through the Mighty Heart to people in 18 countries, to constituents in Chile and to the military.

“I am delighted at the progress we have made in advancing our mission of creating effective infrastructures for peace at every level – from communities across the UK to lawmakers in Chile and large global businesses,” Isla says.

Although we are saddened, we are grateful for her leadership and commend her courage in following a calling to support the people of Myanmar. As our Mighty Heart course teaches, listening to our heart is a gift for the world.

Welcoming New Leadership

Building on these strong foundations, Plan for Peace is delighted to welcome Dr Madeleine Mosse, who holds a doctorate in peacebuilding and has extensive experience in grassroots peacebuilding in Kosovo and the UK, as interim CEO. She will continue to grow the work in the UK and infrastructures for peace globally.

Madeleine has already been working her magic bringing Connecting Communities, our exciting National Lottery funded project, to life as Programme Development Manager since joining Plan for Peace this year. The project engages community changemakers across six UK cities.

Mighty Heart News

We are also delighted to announce that Michelle Arnell, Mighty Heart Course Manager, will become our Mighty Heart Director. She leads Business Plan for Peace company in its work engaging businesses as a force for peace.