Four years ago, when the previous ARCS President, Tom Lyon, passed the ARCS torch to me, I was honored and excited to accept the presidency and to help lead the organization into its next era.
Ever since my first ARCS conference in 2012, I have found the ARCS community to be exceptionally welcoming and an academic home for many of us—one that has supported our development as scholars and provided role models, inspiration, guidance, friendships, and many good times. There is no doubt that ARCS is a nurturing community that has helped corporate sustainability scholarship thrive—a promising and much-needed development given the grand societal challenges we face. Much of the strength and vibrancy of the ARCS community stems from its longstanding commitment to supporting junior scholars through flagship programs such as the ARCS/Ivey Sustainability PhD Academy, the ARCS PhD Workshop, the virtual ARCS Seminar Series, and the networking opportunities fostered at our annual conferences.
The initial goal of fostering rigorous corporate sustainability scholarship has been achieved, and in many disciplines this work has moved from the margins to the core of academic inquiry. This would not have been possible without the many academic contributions and support of senior members of the ARCS community, including past ARCS Presidents Mike Lenox, Magali Delmas, and Tom Lyon.
ARCS has established itself as a leading global scholarly community in corporate sustainability. At the same time, participation in ARCS activities remains constrained for many scholars from underrepresented regions, as well as for junior researchers without sufficient travel funding. This challenge is especially important given that corporate sustainability research is increasingly shaped by questions arising in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other emerging and developing economies, where institutional, social, environmental, and governance challenges often differ markedly from those in North America and Western Europe.
Against this backdrop, one of our first priorities during my presidency was to complete ARCS’s transition to a legally incorporated nonprofit organization and strengthen its organizational and financial foundations to support the field over the long term. Building on this foundation, we articulated two overarching goals for ARCS and for the broader field of corporate sustainability: (1) to foster a more global and multidisciplinary scholarly community, and (2) to better support and nurture emerging researchers and scholarship around the world.
Thanks to the leadership and commitment of the ARCS Board, we were able to implement a number of initiatives that advanced these objectives. Allow me to highlight a few examples:
- Expanding ARCS’s global footprint. We welcomed several new Institutional Members and significantly broadened ARCS’s international reach, including our first members from Latin America, Oceania, and additional members across Asia, Europe, and North America.
- Building a more global and multidisciplinary conference community. ARCS conferences have become increasingly international and interdisciplinary. In 2026, Nanyang Technological University hosted the first ARCS conference in Asia. The conference was a tremendous success, attracting new members and showcasing scholarship across disciplines. My sincere thanks go to conference chair and ARCS Board Member Yuxia Zou, her team, and Dean Jun Yang for their leadership and hospitality. Looking ahead, ARCS will return to the United States in 2027, before hosting its inaugural conference in Latin America in 2028.
- Creating new platforms for multidisciplinary exchange. In 2026, Singapore Management University hosted the inaugural SMU–Management Science–ARCS Sustainability Workshop. The workshop created a forum for leading scholars and journal editors to exchange perspectives with junior scholars on conducting rigorous and impactful sustainability research.
- Launching the ARCS Engagement & Inclusion Initiative. We established this initiative to strengthen ARCS as a more inclusive global research community by expanding participation among scholars from underrepresented regions—particularly emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs)—and junior researchers with limited institutional support. The initiative includes ARCS Global PhD Travel Grants, ARCS Bridge Travel Grants, and ARCS Virtual Regional Engagement Workshop Grants. In addition, it comprises a series of awards recognizing research excellence, mentorship, and contributions to advancing inclusive and rigorous sustainability scholarship globally (including the ARCS Outstanding Conference Paper on Sustainability in EMDEs, the ARCS PhD Dissertation Award, and the ARCS Global Sustainability Scholar Award).
Let me conclude by noting the obvious – my term as ARCS President is coming to an end. I would like to sincerely thank all ARCS Board Members who have served during my presidency, namely Marian Chertow (Yale University, 2022–2025), Magali Delmas (UCLA, 2024–2027), Mark DesJardine (Dartmouth College, 2023–2026), Rodolphe Durand (HEC Paris, 2022–2025), Witold J. Henisz (University of Pennsylvania, 2025–2028), Ioannis Ioannou (London Business School, 2022–2025), Sergio G. Lazzarini (Insper, 2025–2028), Michael Lenox (UV Darden, 2024–2027), Lin Lerpold (Stockholm School of Economics, 2023–2026), Hao Liang (Singapore Management University, 2025–2028), John Maxwell (Indiana University, 2022–2023), Craig Smith (INSEAD, 2022–2023), and Yuxia (Sarine) Zou (Nanyang Technological University, 2024–2027). In addition, I would like to express special thanks to ARCS Managing Directors Chandana Yelkur (2022–2025) and Katherine Ng (2025–2026), whose support has been invaluable.
Thanks to them, we were able not only to transition ARCS into a legally incorporated nonprofit organization and place it on a financially sound footing, but also to make meaningful progress toward becoming a more inclusive and globally engaged scholarly community. Building such a sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant organization is truly a collective effort. I am deeply grateful to all ARCS Board members for their leadership, dedication, and partnership throughout this journey.
And now, please join me in welcoming incoming ARCS President Mike Toffel (Harvard Business School)! I wish Mike every success in leading ARCS through its next chapter, and I look forward to seeing ARCS continue to evolve into an even more global and inclusive community that advances rigorous scholarship and contributes to addressing the most pressing sustainability challenges across countries, societies, and natural systems.