“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more & become more, you are a leader.”
The team of professionals at LRN all share the perspective that, regardless of the industry, the size of a company, the purpose of a company or the markets in which a company does business, everything comes down to the people who are there working, sacrificing and advancing the collective efforts of their teams. Business is people, and people are business.
Executive Team
Named one of the “Top 60 Global Thinkers of the Last Decade” by The Economic Times and “the hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit” by Fortune Magazine, CEO, author and thought leader Dov Seidman has built a career, and pioneered an industry, around the idea that the most principled businesses are the most profitable and sustainable.
Sixteen years ago, Dov founded LRN with a powerful vision that the world would be a better place if more people did the right thing. From that basic notion, he has grown a successful business that has helped to shape the ways millions of employees, managers and leaders behave and interact all over the globe. LRN helps more than 500 leading companies worldwide – including Apple, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Viacom, DuPont, Rolls-Royce, 3M and The Dow Chemical Company – develop ethical corporate cultures and inspire principled performance in business.
In 2008, LRN acquired leading green strategy firm, GreenOrder. Dov maintains that in today’s connected and transparent world, people and organizations stand to gain by dedicating new thought and energy to how they do what they do. That's the inspiration behind his award-winning book, “HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything.”
Now updated and expanded, HOW includes a new Foreword from President Bill Clinton and a new Preface from Dov Seidman on why how we behave, lead, govern, operate, consume, engender trust in our relationships, and relate to others matters more than ever and in ways it never has before. Since 2007, HOW has been published in the U.S., Germany, China, Korea, Brazil, India and will soon be published in France and Israel. The HOW philosophy is prominently featured as one of the nine rules for companies to embrace in Thomas L. Friedman’s seminal book, “The World is Flat.” In Friedman’s latest work, “Hot, Flat and Crowded,” Dov explains how to lead a green revolution by adopting the HOW philosophy to outbehave and outgreen the competition. Friedman’s latest edition suggests the sustainability of our institutions, countries and world lies in HOW.
Dov was named one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America and is frequently invited to speak at leading industry events, and to senior corporate managers and boards of directors. Recent presentations include The World Economic Forum, The World Business Forum, 92nd Street Y, The National Press Club and The Aspen Ideas Festival. He has also been the keynote speaker at University of California Los Angeles’s annual commencement, and has received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College.
Dov’s views on business behavior, success and corporate culture have been quoted in hundreds of media, including an in-depth profile in FORTUNE Magazine and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, Charlie Rose and ABC’s Good Morning America. Each month, Dov shares his views on human behavior as the ultimate source of competitive advantage in a monthly column for Forbes.
Dov testified in 2004 before the U.S. Sentencing Commission arguing that corporations must move from a check-the-box, compliance-only approach to instead focus on fostering ethical cultures and behaviors. His proposals were adopted and today are the very standards by which companies, cultures and programs are judged. Led by a lifelong pursuit and passion for ethical leadership, he and his company LRN became the exclusive corporate sponsors of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics in 2008, as the institution was in its 20th year of celebrating ethical decision making among America’s youth.
Dov earned simultaneous bachelor’s and master’s degrees, summa cum laude, in philosophy from UCLA. He later earned a B.A. with honors in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. He, his wife Maria and their son and daughter live in New York City.
As Executive Vice President, Ron Charow ensures operational performance and financial discipline against LRN's operational and financial targets and objectives. Charow's deep experience across a broad range of strategic functions guides his focus as he designs and builds strategic solutions and operational efficiencies while bringing essential business rigor and insight. Charow joined LRN after being with Fujitsu Consulting, where he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer responsible for finance, administration, IT and legal affairs. Prior to Fujitsu, he held leadership positions with Westburne Inc. and Deloitte & Touche. Charow has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, having completed more than 20 such transactions over his career both in industry and while in public practice on behalf of clients. Charow began his career in public accounting with KPMG. Charow holds a Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting from McGill University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University, both in Montreal, Canada. He holds the title of Chartered Accountant and has lectured extensively in the graduate program of McGill University on topics ranging from financial reporting to financial engineering.
David Greenberg works at the C-Suite and board level on governance, culture and leadership as well as on issues and strategy on ethics and compliance, corporate social responsibility and public affairs. He also writes and speaks on behalf of LRN on how our philosophy and solutions can help companies and organizations achieve their purpose through values-based self-governance.
Greenberg joined LRN from Altria Group, Inc., where his tenure of more than two decades culminated in the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, heading Altria's enterprise-wide efforts on compliance and integrity as one of only five senior vice presidents of the parent corporation. Prior to this, he held numerous senior positions at Altria, and its operating unit Philip Morris International, in the United States, Europe and globally, including responsibility for environment, social responsibility, government affairs and communications.
Greenberg also was a partner with the law firm of Arnold & Porter; served as Legislative Director and General Counsel for the Consumer Federation of America; and was a legislative representative, organizer and writer for Ralph Nader. Greenberg has testified before the U.S. Congress, the European Union, the Israeli Knesset and other governmental bodies over two dozen times and has appeared on ABC Nightline, the CBS Morning News, BBC Morning, and the PBS News Hour, and has spoken at leading events for CEOs and boards.
Greenberg received a J.D./M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Law School/Graduate School of Business. He also attended Williams College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Kal leads the global development and European expansion of LRN. Kal’s joining LRN is an important step towards LRN’s commitment to deliver on our mission globally.
Kal is recognized for his business vision and ability to translate that vision into opportunity and growth. From 2003 to 2011, Kal was a senior executive at Best Buy, driving Best Buy’s innovation and global growth, heading up strategy, emerging business, Best Buy Venture Capital Fund and ultimately serving as President of Best Buy Asia, and CEO of Five Star, Best Buy’s business in China.
Kal also has served as a trusted advisor to C-Suite Executives during his tenure as a Senior Partner at Strategos, a respected strategy consulting firm. In fact, it was his work at Strategos on a transformational journey for Best Buy that led Kal to become a senior executive there. Prior to Strategos, Kal worked at KPMG Consulting in London for eight years where he founded and led the Business Transformation Practice in collaboration with colleagues
Born in Kenya and brought up in Zambia, Kal moved to the United Kingdom when he was 14 years old. After spending the last 10 years in the United States, Kal has returned to the United Kingdom with his family. Kal holds a BEng (Hons) from Leeds University (UK), and MBA from London Business School. He is also qualified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant – CGMA.
Board of Directors
Named one of the “Top 60 Global Thinkers of the Last Decade” by The Economic Times and “the hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit” by Fortune Magazine, CEO, author and thought leader Dov Seidman has built a career, and pioneered an industry, around the idea that the most principled businesses are the most profitable and sustainable.
Sixteen years ago, Dov founded LRN with a powerful vision that the world would be a better place if more people did the right thing. From that basic notion, he has grown a successful business that has helped to shape the ways millions of employees, managers and leaders behave and interact all over the globe. LRN helps more than 500 leading companies worldwide – including Apple, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Viacom, DuPont, Rolls-Royce, 3M and The Dow Chemical Company – develop ethical corporate cultures and inspire principled performance in business.
In 2008, LRN acquired leading green strategy firm, GreenOrder. Dov maintains that in today’s connected and transparent world, people and organizations stand to gain by dedicating new thought and energy to how they do what they do. That's the inspiration behind his award-winning book, “HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything.”
Now updated and expanded, HOW includes a new Foreword from President Bill Clinton and a new Preface from Dov Seidman on why how we behave, lead, govern, operate, consume, engender trust in our relationships, and relate to others matters more than ever and in ways it never has before. Since 2007, HOW has been published in the U.S., Germany, China, Korea, Brazil, India and will soon be published in France and Israel. The HOW philosophy is prominently featured as one of the nine rules for companies to embrace in Thomas L. Friedman’s seminal book, “The World is Flat.” In Friedman’s latest work, “Hot, Flat and Crowded,” Dov explains how to lead a green revolution by adopting the HOW philosophy to outbehave and outgreen the competition. Friedman’s latest edition suggests the sustainability of our institutions, countries and world lies in HOW.
Dov was named one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America and is frequently invited to speak at leading industry events, and to senior corporate managers and boards of directors. Recent presentations include The World Economic Forum, The World Business Forum, 92nd Street Y, The National Press Club and The Aspen Ideas Festival. He has also been the keynote speaker at University of California Los Angeles’s annual commencement, and has received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College.
Dov’s views on business behavior, success and corporate culture have been quoted in hundreds of media, including an in-depth profile in FORTUNE Magazine and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, Charlie Rose and ABC’s Good Morning America. Each month, Dov shares his views on human behavior as the ultimate source of competitive advantage in a monthly column for Forbes.
Dov testified in 2004 before the U.S. Sentencing Commission arguing that corporations must move from a check-the-box, compliance-only approach to instead focus on fostering ethical cultures and behaviors. His proposals were adopted and today are the very standards by which companies, cultures and programs are judged. Led by a lifelong pursuit and passion for ethical leadership, he and his company LRN became the exclusive corporate sponsors of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics in 2008, as the institution was in its 20th year of celebrating ethical decision making among America’s youth.
Dov earned simultaneous bachelor’s and master’s degrees, summa cum laude, in philosophy from UCLA. He later earned a B.A. with honors in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. He, his wife Maria and their son and daughter live in New York City.
Lee Feldman is the Managing Partner of Twin Lakes Capital, which makes private equity investments in technology, media and consumer-branded products. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of MacKenzie-Childs LLC and Chairman of the Board of Gaming VC Holdings S.A. Prior to Twin Lakes, Mr. Feldman was associated with SOFTBANK for over seven years in various roles, including as a Partner in SOFTBANK Capital Partners. He initiated and managed technology and media investments and had responsibility within the fund for transaction execution. Prior to joining SOFTBANK on the investment side, he was Vice President, Corporate Development, at SOFTBANK portfolio company Ziff-Davis. Prior to Ziff-Davis, he was a member of the senior management team of two private equity-backed leveraged roll-ups. Mr. Feldman began his career at a major New York City corporate law firm and has a B.A and J.D. from Columbia University.
Alan Silverman is a partner in Essaness Partners, a family investment firm that has wide-ranging investment interests in Internet companies, technology, biotechnology and consumer businesses, including companies that serve the rapidly growing Hispanic market in the United States. He is or has been a director of numerous corporations both public and private, including: Teletech Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ), Bodega Latina and LRN. He is on the board of the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation and is a member of the International Leadership Council at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (the Middle College Graduate School). He also is or has been active in charitable organizations including the Lymphoma Research Foundation, The American Cancer Society and The Children's Welfare Society. He holds a B.S. in business management from the University of Southern California.
After a long career both as a Joint Venture Partner and as a senior executive of McDonald’s Corporation, Mats Lederhausen formed his own company in early 2007. The company is focused on building businesses with a "purpose bigger than their products®" This philosophy is based on both ancient philosophy as well observations and experience from companies that were propelled by a strong purpose. Brands that have a strong conviction around why they exist and who they exist to serve will end up attracting better employees and more loyal customers and therefore ultimately be more successful.
BE-CAUSE will also do selective projects for companies in the areas of CSR, Corporate Reputation, Innovation and Strategy. But the primary focus is on providing intellectual and financial capital to companies that want to scale an already proven business model.
Prior to forming BE-CAUSE, Mats served as Managing Director of McDonald’s Ventures. McDonald’s Ventures managed the investments McDonald’s held in future oriented growth initiatives including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Boston Market, RedBox DVD and Pret A Manger. As a director, Chairman and finally lead director of Chipotle from 2000-2006 Mats helped shape the strategy that ultimately led to one of the most successful restaurant IPOs of all times. Mats was on the founding team of RedBox and served on its board until Coinstar acquired McDonald's stake in RedBox in the spring of 2009.
Mats joined McDonald’s Corporation in 1999 as head of global strategy. During the next 4 years he had the responsibility for global strategy and business development. As President of Business Development Mats later assumed responsibility for worldwide menu, worldwide real estate and restaurant R&D. During these years Mats played a key role in shaping the agenda that later has helped McDonald’s complete one of the most successful corporate turnarounds in recent history.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Mats began his career with McDonald's in 1979 as a part time crew member in Sweden. In 1983, he participated in the McDonald's Management Development Program and worked as a store manager from 1984 to 1985. Lederhausen worked for The Boston Consulting Group in London from 1988 to 1990. In 1990, he returned to McDonald's and in 1993 became the Managing Director and Joint Venture Partner for McDonald's Sweden. Under his leadership, the company grew from 40 restaurants to nearly 170 restaurants.
Mats was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 under 40” to watch in 1999 and the World Economic Forum honored him as a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” in 2000. Mats is currently a special partner to Sterling Partners as well as CUE BALL. Mats serves as Chairman of the board of ROTI Mediterranean Grill and Educate Inc (Sylvan Learning). Mats also serves on the board of Itrim and Cue Ball. Mats serves as Chairman of the board for the not-for-profit Business for Social Responsibility and serves on the board of trustees of Ronald McDonald House Charities. Mats received a Master’s degree from Stockholm School of Economics in 1988. Mats lives in Chicago with his wife, Dr. Jessica Lederhausen and their 4 children.
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