Future 500 Spotlight: Mark Spears
Welcome to our new Spotlight Series. Each month we will highlight members of our team and network so you can better get to know the people behind the mission.
For our first installment, we are thrilled to welcome Mark Spears as our newest board member. We sat down with Mark to get to know the person behind the role. Here are the highlighes
Q: What's your superpower?
A: Throughout my career, I have made a deliberate effort to build a diverse network of relationships. It takes a village of voices representing different experiences and perspectives–including those you don’t agree with–to accomplish the change necessary for our world.
Q: What's a song everyone should listen to?
A: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. The lyrics reinforce that anything is possible regardless of who you are or where you come from, as well as the importance of maintaining an eternal sense of optimism necessary in tackling the seemingly insurmountable challenges we all face in our personal and professional lives.
Q: How has the world of stakeholder engagement changed since you first engaged with Future 500?
“Building on a fundamental Future 500 tenet, ‘progress moves at the speed of trust’”
A: Stakeholder engagement has changed significantly in the last twenty-five years. The early days were generally marked by adversarial relationships between companies and external stakeholders. The passage of time, and a willingness to engage constructively (facilitated in part by Future 500), has redirected much of the conflict towards a more positive and beneficial series of dialogues and relationships. All parties can now play a role in the necessary journey (pun intended) to achieve positive effect.
Q: What experiences do you bring with you that inform your perspective on our work?
A: Future 500 has an established legacy of bringing together disparate viewpoints on a particular issue and achieving constructive dialogue and positive outcomes. My professional experience working both for and with a broad spectrum of communities — corporate, academic, government, non-profit — reinforces this approach.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges or opportunities you see facing our organization and/or the stakeholder landscape in the next few years?
A: Despite the current zeitgeist, people fundamentally share common values and a vision for the future (perhaps this is my eternal optimism at work?). Building on a fundamental Future 500 tenet, progress “moves at the speed of trust”. It is imperative stakeholders engage within a constructive framework where opinions and perspective can be shared in a non-judgemental forum. The current environment presents a unique moment in time for Future 500 to expand its network of stakeholders and continue to facilitate this type of vital engagement.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in the role as board member?
A: I am eager to amplify and contribute to an already strong, insightful and passionate group leading the way. I aim to expand Future 500’s visibility, reach and stakeholder community engagement, and I hope to actively contribute to conversations where my background and experience adds value and measurable impact.
