Business Plan for Peace has ambitious long-term aims that challenge the status quo. These are based on solid evidence and recognition of both what is possible and of the urgency to change how humanity operates within our fragile world.
Vision
We envision a global shift in culture away from destructive conflict, towards a manifest commitment to build sustainable peace throughout the world.
Mission
To generate a groundswell of people from all sectors who believe that a world without destructive conflict is possible and necessary and who consequently are actively engaged, through inner growth and outer action, in hastening this change. We consider Business Plan for Peace as a catalyst for peace.
Values
Visionary
Since “the future belongs to those that can see it”, we demonstrate how a world without destructive conflict can be built and we turn vision into action, knowing the future is now. We are committed to the irrefutable reality that destructive conflict is neither necessary nor inevitable.
Effectiveness
From experience we have learned that inner work and self-knowledge are essential to make a profound contribution toward peace. Our individual and team reflective practices are where we find wisdom and nourishment for effective work.
Balance
We know that work is most effective when diversity is embraced and collaboration modelled. We work to re-balance right and left brain intelligence, in order to prevent and resolve destructive conflict.
Power & Presence
We engage consistently with the realities of political power and military might, bringing the skills of awareness to have courageous conversations when necessary. We find our power through practising being fully present with empathy, because it enables greater authenticity and constructive progress.
Light & Resourceful
We remain light and agile, mindful of our precious resources. We facilitate connection and collaboration and catalyse change. We work in partnership with people across the globe challenging traditional power structures and reimagining failing systems.
Local support, global vision
We seek opportunities to transform conflict at home as well as abroad, partnering with like-minded people and collaborators from the UK and across the globe to support a locally led, human centered model of change.
“It’s in practising being fully present that we realise our power.”
Meet The Team
Our Facilitators
Our Directors
Our Board of Advisors
Dr Scilla Elworthy, Founder
Three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee for her work with Oxford Research Group to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics. She now leads Business Plan for Peace to help prevent violent conflict and build sustainable peace throughout the world, because it is possible; based on her latest books The Business Plan for Peace: Building a World Without War (2017), The Mighty Heart: how to transform conflict (2020), and The Mighty Heart in Action (2022).
Scilla founded Peace Direct in 2002 to fund, promote and learn from local peace-builders in conflict areas, was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003 and advised Peter Gabriel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson in setting up ‘The Elders’.
Scilla gives regularly gives keynote speeches and media interviews. For enquiries, please email: contact@planforpeace.org
Michelle Arnell, Mighty Heart Course Director
Michelle has worked with BPP throughout its early years of start-up, as Operations Manager and now as Mighty Heart Course Director. She is a highly skilled project manager with a background in accounts, events and technical management.
Elizabeth Besa, Finance & Operations Manager
Elizabeth has worked in the charity sector for over 10 years, including for organisations experiencing rapid growth. She is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and is pursuing an MSc in Charity Financial Management.
Simon Hilditch, Communications Officer
Simon has several years’ experience managing communications strategies for a number of NGOs, including in the international development and human rights sectors and an academic background in conflict resolution.
Guy Nixon, Director
Guy Nixon is the founder and CEO of Native, one of the largest operators of aparthotels in the UK with current and pipeline buildings ranging from 11 to 258 apartments in most major UK cities. The highly successful brand was founded in 1998 after Guy identified ‘a new way to stay’ offering the amenities of a hotel and the comfort of home living.
Darshita Gillies, Director
Darshita is a millennial, born in Mumbai, India. After qualifying as ‘47th all-India rank’ Chartered Accountant she worked at board level of Standard Chartered Bank. She has now founded Maanch: the first and fast-growing global impact platform to facilitate funding to worthy projects using the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Tim Westwell, Director
Tim Westwell is a co-founder of Pukka Herbs where he was primarily focused on creating their purposeful commercial success. More recently, alongside his commitments to amplifying that business can be a force for good, Tim has started a regenerative small-holding converting it to organic, and now continues with his love of herbs and all things veggie by growing them.
Dr Madeleine Mosse, CEO for Plan for Peace
Madeleine has led grassroots peacebuilding projects in Kosovo and supported social cohesion organisations in the UK. She has written policy recommendations on social cohesion for local and national government. Madeleine is committed to supporting people at all levels of society to find creative and collaborative solutions to building peace.
Pelin Turgut, Communications Specialist
Pelin is a storytelling consultant and writer of Turkish/British origin. A lifelong belief in the power of stories informs her work. Founder of a popular independent film festival and a regional screenwriters lab with the Sundance Institute, she was also a long-time correspondent for publications such as TIME magazine and The Independent. She teaches storytelling at institutions such as The School of Life and Escape the City, mentors on various startup accelerator programs and works with values-led companies and founders on strategic storytelling. Pelin is also a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. Her first book, Secrets of a Vanishing Country, came out in 2018.
Courtney Kotze, Communications & Social Media Lead
With over seven years of marketing and communication experience, Courtney is passionate about using her business development skills for good. After working closely with NPOs in South Africa, she is committed to making a change in communities on a global level.
Sarah Friederich, Facilitator
Sarah is an experienced facilitator based in Switzerland, specialising in designing and facilitating spaces for dialogue and social innovation. She is passionate about bringing people from different backgrounds, sectors and organisations together in order to develop a deeper understanding of societal challenges and new approaches to solving them. She has many years of experience in NPOs and social projects in the field of social and ecological justice in Switzerland and Bolivia.
Femke Ouendag, Facilitator
Femke is known as a bridge builder. With warmth, openness and humour, she brings harmony and lightness in the most shattered places. In her career in both media and politics, Femke has demonstrated authenticity and an unorthodox and empathic approach. She has managed teams of diverse groups of people, developing new ways to communicate and cooperate. As a HeartMath trainer and a Mighty Heart facilitator, Femke has found her soul’s calling; to build peace by creating a Mighty Heart-based world. Femke strives to empower others to also live from their hearts to create sustainable peace. “By listening and collaborating, we share our unique, authentic selves and celebrate our differences. In this way, we can take ownership of a shared agreement of peace together as one community.”
Dr Gertie Arts, Ministry of Defence, The Netherlands
Gertie has been working in the service of peace and security at the Ministry of Defence in The Netherlands for over 30 years as a manager, a diplomat and as a strategic advisor. As an active member of the Peace Leader network within the ministry, established by her colleague Christel van Mechelen, she regularly participates in shared sessions with her uniformed colleagues on trauma and healing. She sometimes facilitates workshops, with Paul Ingram (University of Cambridge), on the question of how uniformed colleagues can stay human and remain loyal to their profession as a soldier.
Bob Berg
Bob is Chair Emeritus of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a collective of 120 leading organizations working on conflict prevention in a total of over 150 nations. Previously he was a senior advisor to UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for Africa. He proposed and organized the first UN system-wide substantive initiative which led to the creation of the UN Chief Executives Board and set a pattern used in the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. He was also the founding director of evaluation at USAID and founding chair of evaluation for the OECD/DAC
Lord Des Browne, former Labour Defence Secretary
Lord Browne of Ladyton is a British Labour politician. He held ministerial posts in the Northern Ireland office, the DWP, the Home Office, the Treasury, the MOD and the Scotland Office. He served in Cabinet positions as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Secretary of State for Scotland. A member of the House of Lords since 2010, he is also vice-chair of the Washington-DC-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, an NGO that works to reduce the threats posed by nuclear and other WMD and disruption. Lord Browne also is the chair of the Executive Board of the European Leadership Network and is a trustee and board member of other charitable organisations
Mohamed El Ashry
He was founding chair/CEO of the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility, the world’s largest environmental funder, and served for nine years. He’s a senior fellow with the UN Foundation, and has also served as chief environmental adviser to the president and director of the Environment Department at the World Bank, as senior vice president of the World Resources Institute (WRI), and as director of environmental quality at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Tamar Guttmann
Tamar leads the Coalition for Impact, a unique network of social impact (investing) networks and foundations, which aims to collaborate toward an inclusive financial system in which all business and investment serves humanity and the planet, by inspiring, encouraging and enabling the mobilization of trillions of USD. She frequently hosts and moderates impact events, such as the PYM Women Wealth Matters sessions, focused on encouraging and educating women of wealth on impact investing and philanthropy. Tamar also sits on the Advisory Board to Princess Irene of the Netherlands’ non-profit organisation, Berglaas. Tamar is passionate about the intersection of arts and social impact. She founded the non-profit organisation New Amsterdam Jazz in 2020, which supports the jazz scene in the Netherlands.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Liberian politician and economist who was president of Liberia (2006–18). She was the first woman to be elected head of state of an African country. Johnson Sirleaf was one of three recipients, along with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karmān, of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Peace for their efforts to further women’s rights.
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
Helena Kennedy is a leading barrister and an expert in human rights law, civil liberties and constitutional issues. She is a member of the House of Lords and chair of Justice – the British arm of the International Commission of Jurists. She is a bencher of Gray’s Inn and President of the School of Oriental and African studies, University of London. She was the chair of Charter 88 from 1992 to 1997, the Human Genetics Commission from 1998 to 2007 and the British Council from 1998 to 2004. She also chaired the Power Inquiry, which reported on the state of British democracy and produced the Power Report in 2006.
Sir Mark Rylance
Widely regarded as one of the greatest stage actors of his generation, Sir Mark Rylance has enjoyed an esteemed career on stage and on screen, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rudolf Abel in Steven Spielberg‘s Bridge of Spies (2015). He is also the winner of 2 Olivier Awards and 3 Tony Awards, as well as a BAFTA for his role in The Government Inspector. His film appearances also include Prospero’s Books (1991), Angels and Insects (1995), Institute Benjamenta (1996), Intimacy (2001), and Spielberg’s The BFG (2016).
Ravi Venkantesan
Ravi is currently spearheading a massive initiative to create livelihood opportunities for 50 million youth in India. He is also a special expert to UNICEF on youth initiatives. Previously he was Chairman of Baroda Bank (the second largest bank in India), CEO and Chair of Microsoft India (the largest foreign operation of Microsoft), and CEO of Cummins Engine, India. He is a major champion in India for corporate philanthropy.
Ting Xu
Ting was invited by the Center for Strategic International Studies as a visiting fellow at its Pacific Forum in Honolulu. She was formerly senior fellow and senior project manager with the Bertlesmann Foundation. She is co-founder of Axios international consulting in Hong Kong, which provides geopolitical risk analysis and business strategy consulting, particularly for companies operating in China.
