Being A Pioneer
The Founders of Pioneers of Change
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Many people contributed to the birth of Pioneers of Change. In particular, many pioneers have used their creative minds and talents on designing what this network should be. In addition, a unique group ranging from a magazine editor and a futurist to a CEO and an orchestra conductor have served as informal advisors.
The Initial Global Facilitators
Three committed network facilitators worked from January 1999-January 2002 full-time on nurturing Pioneers of Change to grow from an embryo of an idea to a vibrant network. They are:
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Marianne (Mille) Bojer Denmark 
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Born in Denmark, Mille has spent more than half her life abroad in Egypt, the United States, Burkina Faso, The Netherlands, Brazil, and South Africa. She is one of the founders of Pioneers of Change, and has been working with Pioneers of Change for over five years, during which she has developed extensive experience in facilitating learning communities as well as in network- and organization-building. She is currently an Associate of Pioneers of Change working primarily in process design, facilitation, writing, and curriculum development for social entrepreneurship in partnership with a variety of international and South African clients. Before joining Pioneers of Change, she worked with the Global Meeting of Generations and with AIESEC international. |
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Colleen Magner South Africa 
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As a South African, Colleen has been involved in youth development work since the late 80’s. She graduated from the University of Port Elizabeth with a dual degree in Law and Economics, where she engaged herself in various student organisations, including AIESEC, which is committed to international and cultural understanding. Colleen’s interests and passions have been in involving the private sector in social change. As national President of AIESEC South Africa, she worked with corporate partners to involve students in community issues. During her term as a Director of AIESEC International in Brussels, she was responsible for implementing the Corporate Social Responsibility program for AIESEC International, and worked in New York for PricewaterhouseCoopers to set up a national community involvement program for the firm. |
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Marianne Knuth Denmark/Zimbabwe 
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Half Zimbabwean, half Danish, born in Kenya, Marianne is a global citizen. She holds a Master's degree from the Copenhagen Business School, from which her thesis, entitled "bringing the human spirit to work", is serving as the key source document guiding the philosophy of the Pioneers of Change network. She has previously served as President of AIESEC International, as leader of a network counting 50.000 members in 83 countries. |
The Sponsoring Mentors
Two partner companies, Celemi (Malmo, Sweden) and Amana-key (Sao Paulo, Brazil) provided the crucial venture support for the start-up of the network. Their CEOs served not only as generous sponsors, but more importantly, as sincere mentors for the full-time facilitators. They are:
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Margareta Barchan Celemi 
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Margareta Barchan is president and CEO of Celemi. Since co-founding the company in 1985, she has built a global organisation that creates learning processes to support large-scale change and improve business performance. In 1997, she was named Business Woman of the Year for Sweden and, under her direction, Celemi has been named to Europe’s 500, a list of the fastest growing companies in Europe. Ms. Barchan has over 20 years of sales, marketing and management experience, and serves on several non-profit and corporate boards, including Sweden-based Brio. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Lund University (Sweden). Ms. Barchan strives to promote social and environmental responsibility and offers support through Celemi to AIESEC and Pioneers of Change. |
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Oscar Motomura Amana-Key 
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Oscar Motomura is considered by many as one of the most creative and innovative strategists in Brazil. He is founder, partner, and CEO of Amana-Key, and also serves as the main facilitator for Amana-Key’s APG Program (Advanced Management Program). He holds a BA in Business Administration, Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), and an MA in Social Psychology, Universidade de São Paulo (USP). He has worked as senior manager at multinational corporations in Brazil and in the United States, and consulted in strategy and management for corporations throughout Brazil. He taught strategy at the undergraduate program in the business university Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo. |
News from Pioneers of Change - SEPTEMBER 2007
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