About

Question of Character is a podcast dedicated to asking and answering questions relating to the Ivey Leader Character Framework. This podcast has four purposes:

  1. To promote awareness and understanding of the Ivey Leader Character Framework around the world

  2. To inform and persuade people about the importance of leader character to their personal well-being and success and that of their families, social networks, institutions and society

  3. To provide a library of answers, resources and references to address commonly asked questions about Leader Character

  4. To stimulate interest in and inspiration for individuals and organizations to pursue developing and incorporating Leader Character within themselves and their organizations

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Professor Mary Crossan

Dr. Mary Crossan is a Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Strategic Leadership at the Ivey Business School, Western University. Mary’s passion for the past four decades has been to address the most pressing problems facing individuals and organizations and to uncover the “atomic particles” at their core. Leveraging the incredible synergistic insights arising from research, teaching and application, her ground-breaking research and innovative, yet practical application in education and organizations, provide the unique insights and expertise that underpin the work of Leader Character Associates. She was recognized for her life-time career achievement by the Academy of Management, receiving the 2023 Award for Distinguished Educator.

She has published over 100 articles, several books and is amongst the most highly cited researchers in her field. Her research on leadership character, organizational learning and strategic renewal, and improvisation is published in the top management journals including the Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Leadership Quarterly and Organization Science. Her article on “Developing Leadership Character in Business Programs” was awarded the Outstanding Article of the Year for 2013 in the Academy of Management Learning and Education. The book “Developing Leadership Character” is a culmination of the team’s research on leader character with the forthcoming book “The Character Compass: Transforming Leadership for the 21st Century” providing practical insight into what it takes to develop leader character and embed it in organizations.

Apart from her expertise in leader character, her decades of research into strategic renewal, organizational agility and improvisation have proven to be critical in understanding how to embed leader character in organizations. In a joint venture with The Second City, she developed a management video entitled Improvise to Innovate. Her textbook “Strategic Analysis and Action” is widely used in strategy courses. She has been identified as one of the top 40 case-writers in the world with her Starbucks business case selling over 100,000 copies to business schools worldwide. Her research, teaching, and consulting have provided her with exposure to a variety of companies and industries in North America, Europe and Asia.

To get in contact with Mary, please email mcrossan@ivey.ca

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Bill Furlong

Bill Furlong has been an Executive-in-Residence at the Ivey Business School since 2013, focusing on Leader Character within the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership. He has co-authored thought-leading essays on Leader Character that have been published by MIT Sloan Management Review, Business Law International and the Global Risk Institute. Bill is also co-author of the forthcoming book “The Character Compass: Transforming Leadership for the 21st Century” which provides practical insight into what it takes to develop leader character and embed it in organizations. Bill has presented Leader Character to numerous organizations, regulators, associations, and conferences reaching audiences around the world. In 2020 Bill founded and with Dr. Mary Crossan co-hosts the podcast “Question of Character”, a podcast dedicated to providing reliable and valuable information and insights regarding Leader Character. In 2023 Bill and Mary founded Leader Character Associates, a boutique consulting company dedicated to the implementation and embedding of Leader Character into organizations.

Since 2019 Bill has served as a director of the CAA Group of Companies and sits on the boards of their insurance subsidiaries CAA Insurance, Echelon Insurance, and Orion Insurance. He serves as Vice Chair of Echelon Insurance as well as chairing its Governance and Nominating Committee. He is Chair of the Conduct Review Committee for CAA Insurance and Echelon Insurance. He is Chair of the Investment Committee for CAA Club Group and CAA Insurance. He sits on the Audit and Risk Committee for CAA Club Group and each of its operating subsidiaries and is a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee of CAA Club Group and CAA Insurance.

Since 2022 Bill has been an Adjudicator with the newly formed Capital Markets Tribunal which is assigned the power to conduct hearings and make decisions under Ontario securities law. He was a part-time Member of the Ontario Securities Commission from 2015 to 2019, and for part of that time chaired the Commission’s Audit and Finance Committee.

From 1994 to 2012 Bill held senior global leadership roles at TD Securities including Global Head of Asset Securitization, Global Head of Middle Office (UK) and Global Head, Trading Business Management. Bill retired from TD Securities in 2012 as Vice Chair. Before that Bill served in leadership roles in Auto Manufacturing and Research and Development companies.

 To get in contact with Bill, please email bill.furlong@questionofcharacter.com