What does global leadership look like in a fractured, uncertain world?

The Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize was created to recognize leaders from any discipline, any country, who are working to make the world better. Leadership that is global in perspective, innovative and persistent, and grounded in universal values.

This episode is a recording of a special webinar celebrating the 2025 Prize laureates: Rhett Ayers Butler, founder of Mongabay; Bryan Doerries, founder of Theater of War Productions; and David Gruber, founder of Project CETI.

Moderated by Helena Nilsson, Prize jury member and Deputy CEO of the MiL Institute, the wide-ranging conversation explores how journalism, art, and science can reshape how we understand truth, trauma, and our relationship with the natural world.

Listen as they reflect on their work, their motivations, and what leadership requires at this moment in history. Then NOMINATE someone for the 2026 version of the Prize.

Watch the full conversation with the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winners here:

You can also find the New Thinking for a New World on your preferred platform, including Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. 

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ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Rhett Ayers Butler is a journalist, conservationist, and the founder of Mongabay, a leading global environmental news platform producing original reporting in multiple languages. His work bridges investigative journalism, conservation science, and storytelling, amplifying the voices of communities on the frontlines of environmental change. His reporting and leadership have been recognized with awards from organizations such as the Heinz Family Foundation and the Parker-Gentry Award for Conservation. Born in the United States, Rhett studied economics and biology at UC San Diego before working across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Bryan Doerries is a writer, director, and translator serving as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions. Using dramatic readings of seminal plays and community conversations, he helps individuals and communities heal from trauma and loss by exploring the relevance of ancient stories to contemporary issues. His books include The Theater of War and The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan, and among his honors he has received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kenyon College and was named Public Artist in Residence for the City of New York.

David Gruber is a marine biologist, explorer, and innovator whose work bridges biology, robotics, and artificial intelligence to reveal the hidden lives of ocean creatures. He is the Founder and President of Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative), an effort to decode the communication of sperm whales using machine learning and robotics, and a Distinguished Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences at the City University of New York. A National Geographic Explorer and TED Audacious grantee, his discoveries include the first biofluorescent sea turtle and over 200 new fluorescent and bioluminescent marine species, and he is the author of Aglow in the Dark: The Revolutionary Science of Biofluorescence.

Helena Nilsson is an experienced People & Culture leader passionate about developing business and people together, working with a Gestalt and systemic approach at the core. She is currently Deputy CEO of the MiL Institute. Before that she headed up HR, Communication and Continuous Improvement at Electrolux, BA Europe, and prior to that was head of People & Culture at Inter IKEA Group, where she owned the IKEA People Strategy, driving a continued strong people focus across the organization after 19 years at IKEA. She holds a BSc in Business, Marketing and Management from Växjö University and an MSc in Gestalt in Organisations from the University of Derby and Gestalt Academy in Scandinavia.