The Valuable 500 is the global business partnership of 500 companies working together to end disability exclusion.

London, January 2, 2024: Valuable 500 today announces several senior leadership appointments to support its mission to accelerate disability inclusion across the global business landscape.

Jeff Dodds, Chief Executive Officer of Formula E, will serve as Chair of the Valuable 500 Foundation. Dodds has been instrumental in supporting the Valuable 500 since its early days and will now guide the influential partners and companies into the next phase of its development, leveraging his 25-year executive leadership experience to bring disability to the forefront of the business leadership agenda.

Existing Valuable 500 team members Ryan Curtis-Johnson and Stephane Leblois join Katy Talikowska and Gitika Kalra to form the organisation’s new executive team.

Ryan Curtis-Johnson assumes the role of Chief Communications Officer, bringing over 15 years of expertise in integrated communications. He will spearhead messaging, content, and public relations efforts for the Valuable 500 as it continues to drive transformative system change for the 1.3 billion people living with a disability globally. Curtis-Johnson succeeds Richard Poston, who is stepping down after making substantial contributions to the organisation from its outset in 2017.
 
Stephane Leblois joins the leadership team as Chief Community and Programmes Officer. A force behind prominent inclusion initiatives for over a decade, he will lead on program development and community building, playing a pivotal role in rallying for progress and fostering accountability among the Valuable 500 member companies.

Sarah Clements also transitions into a new role as Head of Inclusive Leadership. Clements is a fierce and long-standing advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and will lead the charge in integrating disability inclusion into organisational leadership across the Valuable 500 companies. She will champion our Generation Valuable future leaders programme to put disability on the leadership agenda and foster disabled talent within the C-Suite of tomorrow.

These strategic shifts in the senior leadership and executive team come at a pivotal moment of the Valuable 500’s trajectory, marked by unprecedented growth and momentum in the past two years. As the organisation embarks on an ambitious new phase to foster more accessible and inclusive workplaces, marketplaces, and global communities, these newly appointed leaders are poised to steward the collective towards its highly anticipated 2025 Accountability Summit in Tokyo. This pivotal event will witness member companies reporting on actions undertaken across the three fundamental pillars of leadership, reporting, and representation.

I am thrilled to welcome these exceptional leaders who bring tremendous experience driving systemic change. Their guidance will help us to deliver on our three Synchronised Collective Actions and catalyse our movement to make disability inclusion integral to business decision-making worldwide.

Katy Talikowska, Valuable 500 CEO

It’s both an honour and a privilege to take up the role as Chair of the Valuable 500 Foundation. I’ve been involved with the organisation since the very start and during that time have seen it grow in influence, supporting the CEOs and Executive teams of some of the world’s biggest businesses to have confident conversations about disability in the workplace. I’m incredibly excited to see what we can achieve together during the next phase.

Jeff Dodds, Incoming Chair of the Valuable 500 Foundation

The coming together of this talented leadership team marks our exciting transition into system change delivery. They each bring an individual set of skills which, collectively, puts us in the best position for this phase of the Valuable 500.

Caroline Casey, Founder of the Valuable 500

 

Media Contacts.

For any interviews and enquiries, please contact:

Charlotte Armstrong 
Valuable 500
[email protected]

Notes to Editors.

About Valuable 500 

Launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2019, the Valuable 500 is the global business partnership of 500 companies working together to end disability exclusion.

Since its creation, the Valuable 500 has achieved its initial goal of getting 500 multinational organisations to make a public commitment to disability inclusion in their organisation, igniting a historic global movement for a new age of diversity in business. The Valuable 500 and their global impact partner The Nippon Foundation, will be working closely with the World Economic Forum and International Disability Alliance – bringing together a leading philanthropic organisation with the most prestigious global business network and the voice of the global disability community.

By engaging with the world’s most influential business leaders and brands, the network now has a market cap of over $23 trillion, combined revenues of over $8 trillion and employs a staggering 22 million people worldwide. It includes 15 iconic global CEOs and companies who will be spearheading the programmes and services to be offered under Phase 2 of the transformation programme.

The Valuable 500 is determined to create a community that supports and empowers the 500 to systematically transform their businesses via synchronised collective actions, so they include the 1.3 billion people living with disabilities worldwide, thereby unlocking their business, social and economic potential. We believe that if business takes the lead, society and government will follow. Truly inclusive businesses can build truly inclusive societies.