Concordia is a registered

501(c)(3) nonprofit organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 501 ...

. It is best known for its Annual Summit in New York City, which is a global affairs forums that promotes partnering between governments, businesses, and nonprofits to address the world's most pressing needs.

Founding

Concordia was founded in 2011 by Matthew Swift and Nicholas Logothetis. They had been best friends since high school, where they were business partners in a successful food purveyor enterprise. Both attended university in Washington, D.C., and both had a background in journalism, media, politics, and international affairs.Coy, Peter
"A New Influencer Gabfest Is Set to Fill Clinton Global Initiative Void"
''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

''. September 22, 2016."Matthew A. Swift: Partnership Architect"
''

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sa ...

Fulton Street''. February 2017."Matthew Swift"

McCain Institute The McCain Institute for International Leadership is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank in cooperation with Arizona State University whose mission is to "advance leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity, in ...

. Retrieved July 2, 2017."Nicholas Logothetis, Executive Board Member at the Libra Group and Co-Founder and Chairman of Concordia, to Visit HCHC"

Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC) is an Orthodox Christian liberal arts college and seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts. Its mission is to educate individuals for life and service in the Orthodox Christian c ...

. February 16, 2017. Noting the effectiveness of the formats of the ''Wall Street Journal'' CEO Council and the

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

,"The Concordia Summit: A Partnership to Combat Extremism"
''

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

''. October 5, 2011. they founded Concordia as a nonprofit organization that helps develop public-private partnerships (P3s), in the belief that the most effective and sustainable way to find solutions to pressing global issues is through cooperation between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors."Concordia Edition"
''Diplomatic Call''. Issue No. 25, April 2016.Dargan, Michele
"Duo lands George W. Bush to keynote Concordia Summit Group's first conference"
''

Palm Beach Daily News The ''Palm Beach Daily News'' is a newspaper serving the town of Palm Beach in Palm Beach County in South Florida. It is also known as "The Shiny Sheet" because of its heavy, slick newsprint stock. It was founded in 1897 as the ''Lake Worth Dail ...

''. September 19, 2011."Concordia to Host Inaugural Counter-Terrorism Summit in New York City on September 20th"
''

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

''. August 30, 2011. In light of the 10th anniversary of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

, Swift and Logothetis formulated their first concept as "Building Partnerships Against Extremism", and focused the first Concordia Summit, in September 2011, on combating the root causes of extremism – failing states, poverty, and lack of education – through dialogue and partnering between businesses, governments, and NGOs. Concordia continues to convene a large annual summit each fall in New York City during the week of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, as a gathering place for world leaders, business leaders, innovators, and nonprofit personnel to discuss and foster cross-sector partnership to address the world's most pressing problems. Along with these annual summits and additional regional summits, its year-round activities include events programming in diverse areas, targeted social-impact campaigns, and research into public-private partnerships.

Activities

Events programming, campaigns, and research

Concordia engages year-round in activities including programming, research, and campaigns. Its ongoing events programming, in which it partners with members, advisors, and other organizations to achieve meaningful solutions, encompasses areas including: *diplomacy and defense *economic development and international finance *education and workforce development *environmental security and natural resource management *gender parity and inclusive diversity *global health and emergency response *good governance and democracy *human rights and civil liberties *innovative technology and sustainable infrastructure *shared value and social impact Concordia also engages in focused longterm social-impact campaigns, in areas that include ensuring

sustainable food A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of sustainable a ...

supply, and combating labor trafficking. The campaigns bring together public-sector partners, corporate partners, NGO partners, and academic partners, to raise awareness, generate research, and provide meaningful and sustainable social impact. The organization also produces and contributes to research projects related to campaigns and other endeavors. These include the Concordia Partnership Index, a series of online dashboards and research papers to equip governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations with analytical tools to effectively evaluate global partnership environments; it ranks countries based on their readiness and need to engage in public-private partnerships, and includes indicators based on need.

Summits

2011–2015

Concordia held its inaugural summit in New York City in September 2011. The focus of the summit was the global fight against terrorism, and international efforts to counter the breeding of extremist thought. George W. Bush was the keynote speaker."George W. Bush To Keynote Summit On Fighting Extremism"
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. August 29, 2011. The event gathered world leaders, diplomats, and business leaders, and provided a platform for dialogue between private and public entities to create partnerships in combating the root causes of extremism."Concordia Summit: sustaining 'at risk' communities long-term"
''Homeland Security Newswire''. October 7, 2011. Afterwards, Concordia posted details of three key findings that emerged from the summit concerning combating terrorism and the role of public-private partnerships in doing so. The 2012 Concordia Summit addressed five key topics: global security, the economy, education, environmental sustainability, and health around the world.Papapostolou, Anastasios
"Concordia Summit: A Greek's Vision to Change the World Through Public-Private Partnerships"
''

Greek Reporter Greek Reporter is a news organization for Greek people around the world. It functions as a news agency and online portal consisting of a collection of internet news web sites for Greek people and people of Greek descent who live and work in and ...

''. September 26, 2012.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

was the keynote speaker of the summit, which convened former and current heads of state, business executives, and nonprofit leaders devoted to promoting public-private partnerships. The 2013 summit focused on the global issue of youth unemployment.Papapostolou, Anastasios
"2013 Concordia Summit to Attract World Leaders in New York"
''

''. August 24, 2013.Diamataris, Antonis H
"Concordia's 2013 Summit of Hope"
''

The National Herald ''The National Herald'' is an English-language weekly newspaper, based in New York City, focusing on the Greek-American community. It was founded in 1997 and added a website in 2004. Its headquarters are in the Long Island City neighborhood of t ...

''. October 3, 2013. Key participants included corporate executives, international heads of state, public-policy and business scholars, nonprofit leaders, diplomats, journalists, and members of the Obama administration. At the summit, Concordia also released its first Index Report, a composite rating tool covering 17 emerging and growing markets, with case studies into key regions, measuring the readiness and need of a country to engage in public-private partnership activities for positive social and economic impact.Papapostolou, Anastasios
"Concordia 2013 Attracts World Leaders for Public-Private Partnerships"
''

''. September 29, 2013."INDEX REPORT: September 2013"
Concordia. Retrieved July 2, 2017. The 2014 Concordia Summit, titled "Scaling Proven Solutions Through Collaboration", focused on how collaboration between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can facilitate large-scale impact by leveraging each sector's unique expertise. The summit, which convened more than 700 former and current heads of state, business executives, and nonprofit leaders, explored the role of public-private partnerships in creating positive social and economic impact in a variety of areas.Papapostolou, Anastasios.
"2014 Concordia Summit Attracts Leaders for Public-Private Partnerships"
''

''. October 3, 2014. Subjects discussed included

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

,"District Attorney Vance Announces Formation Of Human Trafficking Response Unit"
. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York County. October 1, 2014. and the partnerships the military engages in to aid communities around the world.Simeone, Nick
"Winnefeld: Military's Public-Private Partnerships Yield Benefits"

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

. September 29, 2014. Featured speakers during the summit included Senator

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minn ...

, Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

, Dr.

Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Öz (; born June 11, 1960), known professionally as Dr. Oz (), is an Turkish American former professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, television presenter, author and former political candidate. The son of Tu ...

, New York District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James A. Winnefeld Jr. Concordia's fifth annual summit, held in October 2015, convened hundreds of thought leaders, heads of state, dignitaries, business leaders, and nonprofit/

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

representatives.Papapostolou, Anastasios
"Public and Private Sector Address Global Issues at the 2015 Concordia Summit"
''

''. October 13, 2015. ''

Yahoo! Finance Yahoo! Finance is a media property that is part of the Yahoo! network. It provides financial news, data and commentary including stock quotes, press releases, financial reports, and original content. It also offers some online tools for perso ...

'' and ''

Yahoo! News Yahoo! News is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo!. The site was created by a Yahoo! software engineer named Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such as the Associate ...

'' filmed and livestreamed the conference online for the first time. The topics discussed included labor trafficking, youth unemployment, transportation infrastructure, global food security, corporate responsibility, and democracy in Latin America. Vice President Joe Biden spoke on political and social issues including corruption, sustainable development, climate change, and America's middle class,Martens, Laura Hennessey.
"UVA Darden School Institute for Business in Society and Faculty Participate in 2015 Concordia Summit"

University of Virginia Darden School of Business The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was foun ...

. October 6, 2015. and Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

spoke in praise of public-private partnerships and on behalf of the State Department's Office of Global Partnerships, noting efforts on several political and material fronts including climate change, the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pe ...

, and anti-terrorism.

2016–present

At the 2016 Concordia Summit, a major topic was the global refugee and migrant crisis. The future of Europe and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

(EU) was also discussed, and

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

was a key speaker on both the EU and the refugee crisis.

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...

spoke about

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a campaign to encourage extremely wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has 236 signatories from 28 countries. Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, a ...

and his decision to give half his wealth to philanthropy. Additional discussions covered global healthcare provision, as well as women's health, maternity issues, women's empowerment, and gender equality."2016 Concordia Summit"
''

Americares Americares is a global non-profit organization focused on health and development that respond to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. The organization addresses poverty, disasters, or crises with medicine, medical supplies and h ...

''. September 2016. Cybersecurity and intellectual property were discussed, and the CEO of

Cambridge Analytica Cambridge Analytica Ltd (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a British political consulting firm that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It was started in 2013, as a subsidiary of the private intellig ...

spoke on

big data Though used sometimes loosely partly because of a lack of formal definition, the interpretation that seems to best describe Big data is the one associated with large body of information that we could not comprehend when used only in smaller am ...

, data analytics, and electoral psychographics. The

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

and Bretton Woods II introduced the Trillion Dollar Challenge: A New Business Model for Investing in Social Impact and Development, intended to help achieve the UN's 17

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

(SDGs) by 2030,"Deputy Secretary Blinken Announces Global Partnerships Week 2017 and SDG Accelerator"

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. September 19, 2016. and the

United States Council for International Business The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) is an independent business advocacy group that was founded in 1945 to promote free trade and help represent U.S. business in the then-new United Nations. One of its primary goals is expand ...

discussed the role of private businesses in achieving SDGs. A panel called "The New MBA: Business, Partnerships and Tackling Global Challenges" explored MBA programs which emphasize diversity, innovation, sustainability, internationalism, and partnerships. Additional topics included global food supply, waste disposal, human rights and democracy, forced labor and trafficking, and international trade policy. The international political relations of countries such as Cuba and Cyprus were also addressed. In addition to its annual summits in New York, Concordia introduced Regional Summits beginning in 2016. The first Concordia Americas Summit was held in May 2016 in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. The summit gathered more than 100 world leaders from public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address pressing political and economic issues affecting the Americas, including energy, trade, governance, regional security, democracy, and corruption. One key topic was the Venezuelan crisis, which was discussed by a panel which included

Luis Almagro Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes (; born June 1, 1963) is a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who currently serves as the 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs betw ...

and Lilian Tintori, and in other group discussions which included a variety of Latin American political and business leaders and other experts."Aznar preside la cumbre Concordia The Americas en Miami"
''JMAznar.es''. May 12, 2016. EFE
"La Cumbre Concordia reúne en Miami a líderes del continente americano"
'' Eldiario.es''. December 5, 2016. A second Concordia Americas Summit was held February 2017 in Bogotá, Colombia. Corruption and accountability, achieving peace, regional investment, and sustainability were among its focuses."Presidente Santos participará en Foro Concordia Américas este 21 de febrero en Bogotá"
'' HSB''. February 18, 2017."Proceso de paz, uno de los temas centrales en la Cumbre Concordia Américas"
'' Noticias RCN''. February 21, 2017. Former Colombian Presidents Álvaro Uribe and

Andrés Pastrana Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

, as well as business leaders and military leaders, critiqued the current status of the

Colombian peace process The Colombian peace process is the peace process between the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) to bring an end to the Colombian conflict, which eventually led to t ...

between the Colombian government and the

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

,Swift, Matthew; Ortagus, Morgan
"Colombia and America: A partnership for peace and the eradication of narco-trafficking"
''

''. March 6, 2017. and current president

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...

gave the summit's closing remarks. The first Concordia Europe Summit was held in June 2017 in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. Topics under discussion included the refugee crisis, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), regional security,

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

, and the future of the European Union.Papapostolou, Anastasios.
"Concordia to Hold Its First European Summit in Athens"
''

''. November 22, 2016. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke on a variety of topics, including European unity; Russian malfeasance; the refugee crisis; prosperity, security, democracy, and the transatlantic alliance; and global warming. The stability and economic recovery of Greece, and its membership in the EU and the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...

, were also major subjects of discussion during the summit. The 2017 Concordia Annual Summit was held in New York City in September 2017.

Additional activities

Concordia operates on other fronts in addition to its summits, events programming, campaigns, and research. It has co-partnered with the Secretary of State's Office of Global Partnerships in Global Partnerships Week each year since its inception in 2014. The forum emphasizes the critical role that public-private partnerships play in diplomacy and development work around the world. In 2014 Concordia, in conjunction with the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

Darden School of Business The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was foun ...

Institute for Business in Society, and the

Secretary's Office of Global Partnerships, established the annual P3 Impact Award to recognize and honor best examples of public-private partnerships (P3s) that are improving communities and the world in the most impactful ways.O'Brien, Andrew
"Public-Private Partnerships: Leveraging Resources to Triple Smart Results"

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

. September 30, 2015. The competition also provides thought leadership, generates a database of information, and promotes best practices relevant to public-private partnerships. The inaugural P3 Impact Award was presented at the 2014 Concordia Summit to CocoaLink, a public-private partnership between

The Hershey Company The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...

, the Ghana Cocoa Board, and the World Cocoa Foundation which uses mobile technology to improve cocoa production and the livelihoods of African cocoa farmers. The 2015 award went to the TV White Space Partnership, a partnership between the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

(USAID), Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (ECOFISH), the

Government of the Philippines The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and d ...

, and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

which utilizes unused TV frequencies to send out free internet signals to more than 200,000 individuals in isolated locations. The 2016 award was given to Project Nurture, a partnership between

TechnoServe TechnoServe is an international nonprofit that promotes business solutions to poverty in the developing world by linking people to information, capital and markets. It is a registered 501(c)(3) based in Washington, D.C., with over 1,540 employe ...

, the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, and

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups ...

which connects mango and passion-fruit farmers in Kenya and Uganda to better markets, including the local Coca-Cola supply chain. Concordia also presents the Concordia Leadership Award, which recognises global leaders within the public, private, and nonprofit sectors who inspire others through their ability to turn vision into impact."Prof Yunus gets leadership award"
'' The Daily Star''. September 23, 2016. Recipients have included

Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance ...

, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who pioneered microfinance and microcredit;

Paul Polman Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, (born 11 July 1956) is a Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British consumer goods company Unilever. Polman is also the author of ''Net Positive: How Courageous Co ...

, CEO of

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

, for his active commitment to sustainable practices; and Gloria Malone, creator of Teen Mom NYC. The 2021 Leadership Awards were given to former U.S. First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

, the LEGO Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen, and Justice for Migrant Women Founder & President Mónica Ramírez.

Leadership

Concordia was co-founded by Matthew A. Swift and Nicholas M. Logothetis. Swift is the organization's chairman and CEO, and Logothetis is its chairman of the board."2016 ANNUAL REPORT"
Concordia. Retrieved July 2, 2017."Building Partnerships For Social Impact: Our 2016 Annual Report"
''Concordia.net''. May 23, 2017. Swift and Logothetis had been friends and business partners at

Salisbury School Salisbury School is an all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1901 and located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Its school newspaper is ''The Cupola''. Its mascot is the Crimson Knight. The school's motto is '' Esse quam vid ...

, a boarding school in Connecticut, where they ran a highly successful business selling after-school snacks. Swift attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

, and Logothetis attended the

Elliott School of International Affairs The Elliott School of International Affairs (known as the Elliott School or ESIA) is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It is ...

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

. Both Swift and Logothetis spent several years working for subsidiaries of

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...

, and both have a background in journalism, media, politics, and international affairs. Concordia has a staff, a board of directors, a Leadership Council,"Leadership Council"
. ''Concordia.net''. Retrieved July 4, 2017. and a group of advisors.

George Logothetis George Michael Logothetis (born 18 January 1975) is a British and American businessman. He is from a Greek shipping family, grew up in London and has British citizenship,Musafer, Shanaz"Family values help Greek shipping business go global" ''BBC ...

, chairman and CEO of the

Libra Group The Libra Group, aka Libra Holdings, is a privately held international conglomerate operating in a variety of industries. As of 2017, it has 30 subsidiaries across six continents, in six sectors: aviation leasing, renewable energy, hotels an ...

, is chairman of Concordia's Leadership Council. As of 2021, Concordia's Leadership Council consists of: *

, secretary general of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 Apri ...

* Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal, chairman of GSP Group *

William Antholis William J. Antholis (born 1965) is a Greek-American political scientist. He is director and CEO of the Miller Center of Public Affairs, a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public po ...

, director and CEO of the Miller Center *Teri Ardleigh, co-founder of Xcovery Vision * José María Aznar Lopez, former prime minister of Spain * Manuel Barroso, former prime minister of Portugal and president of the European Commission *

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair, (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Tony Blair. Early life and education Boot ...

, founder and chair of Omnia Strategy LLP, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women *

Irina Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...

, director-general of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Ian Bremmer Ian Arthur Bremmer (born November 12, 1969) is an American political scientist and author with a focus on global political risk. He is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm with principal offi ...

, founder and president of

Eurasia Group Eurasia Group is a political risk consultancy founded in 1998 by Ian Bremmer. History Eurasia Group reports on emerging markets including frontier and developed economies, in addition to establishing practices focused on geo-technology and ener ...

; Foreign Affairs Columnist and Editor-at-Large at ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' *

Nancy Brinker Nancy Goodman Brinker (born December 6, 1946) is the founder of The Promise Fund and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization named after her only sister, who died from breast cancer. Brinker was also United States Ambassador to Hungary fro ...

, former US Ambassador to Hungary, founder of Susan G Komen *

Felipe Calderón Hinojosa Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy p ...

, former president of Mexico *

Carmen Castillo Monte Carmelo Castillo (June 8, 1958 – November 15, 2015) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins. Castillo died of heart problems on November 15, 2015. Baseball career In 631 games ...

, president and CEO of SDI International *

Laura Chinchilla Laura Chinchilla Miranda (; born 28 March 1959) is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was ...

, former president of Costa Rica *

Paula Dobriansky Paula Jon Dobriansky (born September 14, 1955) is an American diplomat, public official, and foreign policy expert who served as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs (2001-2009) and the President's Envoy to Northern Ireland (2007-2009). A sp ...

, former

Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs The Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs is a former position within the United States Department of State that, according to the Department website, "coordinates U.S. foreign relations on a variety of global issues, including democracy ...

; former

United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland The United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (officially the Special Envoy of the President and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) is the top U.S. diplomat supporting the Northern Ireland peace process. The position is held ...

Mikuláš Dzurinda Mikuláš Dzurinda (; born 4 February 1956) is a Slovak politician who was the prime minister of Slovakia from 30 October 1998 to 4 July 2006. He is the founder and leader of the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) and then the Slovak Democratic a ...

, former prime minister of

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

* Jacob A. Frenkel, chairman of JPMorgan Chase International *

Monica Geingos Monica Geingos (née Kalondo; born 15 November 1976) is a Namibian entrepreneur, lawyer and First Lady of Namibia since 2015. She has been a board member and director within many of the country's large companies. She had also chaired the Presid ...

, former First Lady of the Republic of Namibia *

Jane Harman Jane Margaret Lakes Harman (born June 28, 1945) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011; she is a member of the Democratic Party. Harman was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committ ...

, director, president, and CEO of the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...

* Dr Michael Hastings, chancellor of Regent's University London *

Kerry Healey Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is a former American politician who served as the 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor Mitt Romney. She is currently the inaugural president of the Milken Institut ...

, president of Milken Institute's Center for Advancing the American Dream *

Jeh Johnson Jeh Charles Johnson ( "Jay"; born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official. He was United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2012, Johnson was the general counsel of the Departm ...

, former

United States Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of th ...

Muhtar Kent Ahmet Muhtar Kent (born December 1, 1952) is a Turkish-American business executive. He was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Coca-Cola Company. He became CEO in 2008, and chairman in 2009. In December 2016, Coca-Cola announce ...

, chairman and former CEO of

John S. Koudounis John S. Koudounis is an American business executive who currently serves as president and chief executive officer for Calamos Investments. Previously he was the president and chief executive officer for Mizuho Securities USA Inc., a subsidiary ...

, CEO of Calamos Investments *

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Pol ...

, former president of Poland *

Luis Alberto Lacalle Luis Alberto Lacalle de Herrera, GCMG (; ''Lacalle'' locally or ; born 13 July 1941), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer who served as President of Uruguay from 1990 to 1995. Background His mother, María Hortensia de Herrera de Lacalle, ...

, former president of Uruguay *

Suwat Liptapanlop Suwat Liptapanlop ( th, สุวัจน์ ลิปตพัลลภ, , ; born 9 February 1955 in Ratchaburi Province) is a Thai entrepreneur, politician and sports official based in Nakhon Ratchasima. He has held different cabinet posts i ...

, former deputy prime minister of Thailand *

Andrew N. Liveris Andrew N. Liveris (born 5 May 1954) is an Australian former CEO and chairman of The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Michigan. Liveris has been a member of Dow's board of directors since February 2004, CEO since November 2004 and was elected as ...

, president, chairman, and CEO of

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

*Constantine M. Logothetis, executive vice chairman of

, chairman and CEO of the

*Jabulane Mabuza, chairman of Telkom SA SOC Limited *Anita B. McBride, former assistant to President George W. Bush, chief of staff to First Lady

* Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from ...

, former United States

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

* Nate Morris, founder and CEO Rubicon Technologies *

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

, chairman and president of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation * John Negroponte, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and U.S.

Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Co ...

Petra Nemcova Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Jab ...

, co-founder of All Hands and Hearts *Michael J. Nyenhuis, president and CEO of UNICEF USA *

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...

, former president of Nigeria * Eduardo J. Padrón, president of

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College S ...

Andrés Pastrana Arango Andrés Pastrana Arango (born 17 August 1954) is a Colombian politician who was the 30th President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, following in the footsteps of his father, Misael Pastrana Borrero, who was president from 1970 to 1974. Early ...

, former president of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

, former director of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, former president of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

* Jorge Fernando Quiroga, former president of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of polit ...

, former secretary-general of NATO *

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

, former prime minister of Australia *

Toyin Saraki Toyin Ojora-Saraki LLB, LLM, BL, (born 6 September 1964) is a global health advocate, healthcare philanthropist and the Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa. Early life and education Toyin Saraki was born into the Ojora and Adele roy ...

, founder-president of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa * Janti Soeripto, president and chief executive officer of Save the Children * Petar Stoyanov, former president of Bulgaria *

Gillian Tett Gillian Tett (born 10 July 1967) is a British author and journalist at the '' Financial Times'', where she is chair of the editorial board and editor-at-large, US. She has written about the financial instruments that were part of the cause of th ...

, US editor-at-large of the ''Financial Times'' *

Frances Townsend Frances M. "Fran" Fragos Townsend (born December 28, 1961) is an American lawyer and business executive who served as Homeland Security Advisor to United States President George W. Bush from 2004 to 2007, and was formerly the executive vice pre ...

, former

Homeland Security Advisor The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, commonly referred to as the Homeland Security Advisor and formerly the Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, is a senior aide in the ...

to the president of the United States; Senior National Security Analyst at

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...

Danilo Türk Danilo Türk (; born 19 February 1952) is a Slovenian diplomat, professor of international law, human rights expert, and political figure who served as President of Slovenia from 2007 to 2012. He was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Na ...

, former president of the Republic of Slovenia * Álvaro Uribe Velez, former president of Colombia * Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, goodwill ambassador for UNESCO *

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (born 1 December 1937) is a Latvian politician who served as the sixth President of Latvia from 1999 to 2007. She is the first woman to hold the post. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected for the seco ...

, former president of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

References

{{Public-private Partnership Charities based in New York City International charities Public–private partnership Organizations established in 2011