Boston Philharmonic conductor is Park Leadership speaker, Nov. 28

Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, is guest speaker for the Johnson Graduate School of Management's Park Leadership Speaker series, Wednesday, Nov. 28. Zander's talk, "Music as Metaphor for Understanding Leadership," will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. in Sage Chapel on Cornell's campus and will include a musical component. It is free and open to the public.

Zander has been conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since its formation 23 years ago. An accomplished and inspirational public speaker, he employs music to convey ideas about transformation and change in the world of business. He has been a keynote speaker for Fortune 500 companies, NASA, the U.S. Army and the State of the World Forum in San Francisco. In 1999 he received the Crystal Award for his contributions to global understanding and peace.

Zander is the subject of a full-length BBC documentary and was featured on a segment of "60 Minutes" last year. His book, The Art of Possibility, co-authored with his wife, psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, was published by Harvard Business School in 2000.

Zander has been a faculty member of New England Conservatory of Music since 1966, where he is well known as the conductor of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, which he has led on 11 international tours. A documentary of the group's trip to Argentina and Chile in 1995 was nominated for an Emmy Award. Zander also has been a guest conductor in venues around the world and frequently conducts the London Philharmonic. Born and educated in England, Zander began composing at age 9 and studied with composer Benjamin Britten.

Zander's Park Leadership talk was originally to take place in March 2001 and was rescheduled. The Park speaker series brings leaders to Cornell to deliver public lectures on topics of national importance. The series is part of the Johnson School's Park Leadership Fellows Program, established in 1997 through the support of the Park Foundation and the estate of the late media entrepreneur Roy H. Park.