What is the 'magic' behind
the City Leaders Program.

Dr. Paddy Pampallis is a pioneer in leadership development, holding one of the world's first doctorates in executive coaching. She is the Founder and CEO of the Integral Africa Institute and The Coaching Centre, where she developed one of the earliest integrative frameworks combining integral theory with African wisdom traditions. She serves as faculty at Meridian University, the University of Cape Town, and the Da Vinci Institute, and is Africa Partner to Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter Associates (Harvard) in Vertical Development and Maturity Assessment. She is also an Accrediting Board Member of the World Association of Business Coaches and a Senior Supervisor at the Global Team Coaching Institute.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Paddy serves as Strategic Leadership, Education Director, Program Architect, and Lead Faculty for multi-dimensional leadership development. She designs and holds the developmental architecture of the program, ensuring that inner leadership capacity evolves in coherence with the complexity of the systems city leaders are called to steward.

Her work serves GMA by anchoring a fundamental principle: the quality of our cities emerges from the maturity of the consciousness shaping them. Through her Integral+™ model and Ubuntu Coaching Foundation, she supports leaders to move beyond transactional and transitional modes of leadership into deeply transformational presence—cultivating the awareness, relational intelligence, and developmental depth required to navigate complexity and co-create truly regenerative cities.

Dr. Pavel Luksha is a foresight practitioner and institutional designer with over 25 years of experience working at national and sector scale across more than 27 countries. He is the Founder of Global Education Futures, co-founder of the University for the Earth, and co-founder of Living Cities Earth. He is the author of The Next 100 Years and the Rapid Foresight methodology, with landmark reports on future skills and educational ecosystems used by policymakers and global institutions worldwide. His work spans collaborations with UN agencies, governments, and international think tanks, shaping long-term strategies for education, economies, and civic systems.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Pavel serves as core faculty, city project developer, and lead faculty for the Positioning Your City for Global Relevance module within the program. He supports city leaders to understand the larger planetary context in which their cities operate, helping them identify how local development can align with future skills, emerging global agendas, and long-term civic transformation.

His work serves GMA by equipping leaders to navigate and shape three intersecting transformations: the rise of the AI era, the reinvention of education and institutions, and the transition towards regenerative economic models. Through frameworks such as the Atlas of Emerging Jobs and large-scale civic foresight projects, he enables city leaders to recognise their catalytic role in the next civic era—one grounded in purpose, systemic awareness, and the capacity to design for long-term flourishing.

Joseph Rathinam is a global pioneer of neighbourhood-based governance and co-founder of Living Cities Earth. He serves as Director of International Networking and Development at the Neighbourocracy Network, where for nearly 30 years he has trained communities to establish and run Neighbourhood Parliaments—now active in hundreds of thousands of neighbourhoods across countries including India, Syria, Mexico, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. For over two decades, he has also served as the elected leader of his own neighbourhood in Chennai. He is a key architect of the neighbourhood democracy movement across southern India and co-author of the Sociocratic Neighbourhood Circles (SONEC) guide in Europe.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Joseph serves as an elective topic designer and city project developer within the program. He supports city leaders to explore how governance can be activated at the neighbourhood level, designing participatory structures that enable citizens to take on meaningful roles and responsibilities in shaping their communities.

His work serves GMA by demonstrating that distributed democracy is built on trust, relational intelligence, and everyday participation. By cultivating the emotional and relational capacities of leaders alongside practical governance structures, he enables cities to evolve from top-down administration to deeply connected, bottom-up systems of stewardship. His work shows how empowered neighbourhoods—grounded in responsibility, empathy, and shared ownership—become the living infrastructure through which resilient and truly liveable cities emerge.

Lev Gordon is a principal co-founder of Living Cities Earth and co-founder of the Global Mayors Academy, with over 30 years of global experience across business, leadership development, and city transformation. He holds an Executive MBA in Strategy and Leadership from Columbia Business School and has completed executive education at Harvard Business School and London Business School. His career spans work across more than 35 countries, including extensive experience working with cities and their leaders in Russia, alongside shaping multi-billion-dollar platforms at ING. Over the past decade, he has dedicated his work to supporting leaders, teams, and organisations through executive coaching and integral development, helping align strategy, leadership, and purpose in complex environments.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Lev serves as co-founder, program architect, core faculty member, and steward of the strategic management team, holding responsibility for the visionary direction of both the Academy and Living Cities Earth. He plays a central role in shaping the program design, developing strategic partnerships, and cultivating the wider ecosystem that enables city leaders to engage meaningfully with the challenges and opportunities of their cities.

His work serves GMA by bringing a deeply held vision: to inspire and support leaders of positive change to co-create cities where life can truly thrive. Rooted in decades of lived experience across global business, coaching, and direct engagement with city leaders, his work in integral leadership laid the foundation for the emergence of Living Cities Earth. He supports leaders to bridge inner development with real-world action, aligning personal growth with systemic transformation, and enabling cities to evolve as coherent, resilient, and regenerative environments for all life.

Alec von Graffenried served as Mayor of Bern from 2017 to 2024, leading one of Switzerland's most politically significant cities through a period of sustained growth and transformation. He previously held roles as a member of the Swiss National Council, Regional Governor of the Canton of Bern, Director of Sustainable Development at Losinger Marazzi AG, and President of Bern Tourismus. Under his leadership, Bern achieved record levels of housing development, with 641 new homes built in 2023 alone—the highest since the 1970s—while maintaining an exceptional quality of life, with 95% of residents reporting that they enjoy living in their city. He currently serves as Head of the Directorate of Security, Environment and Energy for the City of Bern.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Alec serves as advisor, faculty member, and ambassador within the program. He brings direct, lived experience of governing a capital city, supporting city leaders to navigate complex, interconnected challenges such as climate transition, digitalisation, and urban growth through approaches that are grounded, collaborative, and responsive to real-world conditions.

His work serves GMA by demonstrating that effective city leadership is not defined by position, but by a sustained commitment to serve the evolving needs of the city. Through his leadership in Bern, he shows how responsibility and responsiveness can be held together in practice—balancing long-term vision with adaptive decision-making, and ambition with delivery. His continued service within the city administration reflects a deeper principle: leadership is an ongoing act of stewardship, grounded in service, accountability, and responsiveness to the life of the city.

Shanaaz Majiet is a seasoned board chair, non-executive director, advisory board member, and leadership expert with over three decades of experience across government, non-government, and corporate sectors. She has built a distinguished career in governance, organisational development, and strategic leadership, known for her integrity, foresight, and commitment to ethical and inclusive practices. As an Executive Master Coach and Mentor, Salzburg Global Fellow, and contributor to global leadership networks, she brings deep expertise in developing leaders and strengthening governance systems in complex environments.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Shanaaz serves as elective topic designer, ambassador for South Africa, and faculty contributor within the program. She leads the topic What are the Leadership Capacities Required for Next Generation City Leadership, supporting city leaders to explore the qualities, mindsets, and capabilities needed to lead effectively in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

Her work serves GMA by helping leaders develop the inner and relational capacities required for responsible, inclusive, and impactful leadership. Drawing on her experience in governance, coaching, and organisational transformation, she supports leaders to strengthen their integrity, self-awareness, and ability to navigate complexity with clarity and purpose. This enables city leaders to lead not only with competence, but with the depth of character and awareness required to shape cities that are equitable, resilient, and aligned with the needs of all.

Dr. Alexander Laszlo is Director of Research at the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research and a Level 1 Member of the National Research Academy of Mexico (SNI). He is the author of over a hundred publications across peer-reviewed journals, books, and encyclopedias, and serves on the editorial boards of seven internationally recognised academic journals. He has held senior academic leadership roles, including Director of the Doctoral Program in Management at EGADE Business School and Founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovation at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology. His consulting work includes organisations such as UNESCO, the Italian Electric Power Agency, and the U.S. Department of Education. Alongside his academic work, he is a Board Certified Master of Martial Arts, holding a 7th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, with over 40 years of practice.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Alexander serves as faculty member, elective topic designer, and contributor to the live learning experience within the program. He supports city leaders to see and engage with their cities as living systems—bringing scientific rigour together with experiential insight to help leaders navigate complexity with greater awareness and intention. As a co-founder of Living Cities Earth, he also contributes to the development of the broader ecosystem and its underlying frameworks.

His work serves GMA by enabling leaders to move beyond reactive problem-solving towards the conscious design of systems that support life. Through his frameworks of integral thrivability and syntony, he helps city leaders align their actions with the deeper dynamics of living systems—cultivating the capacity to shape futures that are regenerative, adaptive, and life-affirming. This allows cities to evolve not just sustainably, but in ways that actively support the flourishing of all life.

Dr. Robert Fischer is President of the Living Cities Earth Association in Switzerland and a member of the strategic management team of both Living Cities Earth and the Global Mayors Academy. Trained as a psychotherapist and psychiatrist, he brings decades of experience working with the human mind and the deeper dimensions of human existence. His work explores how individuals relate to fundamental aspects of life—such as love, death, identity, and meaning—and how these inner experiences shape the way people perceive, relate, and act in the world.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Robert serves as faculty member and strategic contributor within the program. He supports city leaders to deepen their awareness of the inner experiences that influence their leadership, helping them recognise how emotional patterns, unconscious dynamics, and personal narratives shape their decisions, relationships, and responses within complex urban environments.

His work serves GMA by illuminating how the inner life of leaders directly shapes the outer reality of cities. By supporting leaders to engage more consciously with their own inner experience—including the deeper questions of meaning, responsibility, and human connection—he enables a shift towards more grounded, present, and aware leadership. This allows cities to be shaped not from reactivity or unconscious patterns, but from clarity, care, and a deeper alignment with life.

Sue Cooper is a holistic wellbeing educator, mindfulness and meditation teacher, Ayurvedic lifestyle educator, and former registered nurse with over four decades of experience in clinical care, management, and education. Her work integrates natural healing practices, indigenous wisdom, and modern scientific understanding to support a more holistic approach to health and self-care. As founder of Moments of Mass Mindfulness and Self Care World, and co-director of Feast for the Soul, she has worked globally to cultivate practices that support individual and collective wellbeing. She is also a co-founder of Living Cities Earth and an active contributor to initiatives that foster inclusive, compassionate communities.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Sue serves as elective topic designer and faculty contributor within the program. She leads the topic Nurturing environments for the thrivability of cities, supporting city leaders to explore how wellbeing, compassion, and self-care can be embedded into the fabric of their communities. Her work introduces the concept of compassionate cities—where policies, relationships, and everyday practices are grounded in care for people, communities, and life.

Her work serves GMA by helping leaders recognise that thrivability begins with how we care for ourselves and one another. She supports city leaders to cultivate environments where individuals and communities can flourish—integrating wellbeing, compassion, and connection into the foundations of civic life. This enables cities to evolve not only as functional systems, but as places where people feel supported, valued, and able to live well together.

Jerome Jacobs is a leadership coach, transformation practitioner, and co-founder of Living Cities Earth, with extensive experience in diversity management, leadership development, organisational transformation, and executive coaching. He holds a degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UNISA, an MBA from Unicaf University, and a Diploma in Practitioner Coaching from the Integral Coaching Centre. Trained in Trauma Release Exercises (TRE), Quantum Energy Coaching, and integral leadership approaches, his work integrates psychology, indigenous wisdom, Ubuntu, mindfulness, and systems thinking to support deep individual and collective transformation.

At the Global Mayors Academy, Jerome serves as Global Mayors Academy Ambassador for South Africa, faculty contributor, leadership coach. He contributes to the topic Understanding how trauma shapes decision-making, supporting city leaders to explore how unresolved experiences, unconscious patterns, and conditioned responses influence leadership behaviour, decision-making, and relationships—particularly under pressure and complexity.

His work serves GMA by helping leaders recognise that conscious city leadership begins with greater awareness of the inner dynamics shaping how they lead. Drawing on trauma-informed practice, integral development, and embodied coaching approaches, he supports leaders to move from reactive patterning towards greater clarity, resilience, and intentionality. This creates the conditions for more conscious leadership and more thoughtful decision-making in service of healthier, more regenerative cities.

Ndoni Khanyile is a storyteller, journalist, and Certified Integral Practitioner Coach based in Cape Town, South Africa. She studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town before receiving a Masters degree in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia University as a Fulbright Scholar and recipient of the William and Ceil Africa Pulitzer Fellowship. She is best known internationally as a presenter on Al Jazeera's Innovate Africa and earthrise — the network's flagship environment programme — and previously hosted ENCA's premier technology show, Tech Report. She is the founder of the Me, After You podcast and a founding member of Rite 2 Speak, a poetry performance collective that has performed across London, Switzerland, and Portugal.

At GMA, Ndoni serves as a live session facilitator, holding the reflective space within the program's live learning environment. She brings her skills as a storyteller, coach, and broadcaster to support participants in making meaning of what they are experiencing — individually and collectively.

Her work serves GMA by creating the conditions for genuine reflection during live sessions. Through her grounding in integral practice and her long experience as a narrator of complex human and environmental stories, she helps city leaders slow down, integrate what they are learning, and connect it to the deeper questions driving their work.