Hans Wahl, TVW Memeber & INSEAD’s Social Impact Initiative since 2007
It is with deep sadness that we are sharing the passing of our dear The Value Web member Hans Wahl. We are sending our sincere condolences to his loved ones and family.
Hans was a kindred soul with a deep care for social justice. His gentle way and soothing voice was a gift as he navigated some of the most complex challenges of our time working on criminal justice reform initiatives and social entrepreneurship for over 40 years.
In The Value Web, we worked together on many initiatives from gathering key leaders in the field of social entrepreneurship to eliminating poverty and achieving human development. He will be missed dearly and leaves a void. May he rest in peace and may his loving kindness be an inspiration to us all.
In lieu of flowers, Hans donated yearly to the following organizations. Donations in his memory are welcome to these or others to which you feel connected.
Amnesty International | MSF | Oxfam | Unicef | WNYC
Hans H. Wahl was an educator, trainer, and human rights activist based in Paris. He had over 40 years of experience in education, management, and economic and political development. Mr. Wahl was retired from heading the Social Impact Initiative at INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau, France, one of the most highly respected programmes in the field, housed at one of the world’s leading business schools. He was also a founding director of the Governance and Justice Group. This multi-disciplinary group carries out research and advises on access to justice, the rule of law, and human rights issues. He was a member of The Value Web, an international network of specialists focused on transformational projects for a more sustainable, equitable world, and consults widely on training and educational design, programme development, and impact assessment.
Mr. Wahl had worked on criminal justice reform initiatives in more than 25 countries in all parts of the world. He designed and led a training and capacity building programme for paralegals working in post-conflict settings in Africa, a high-impact staff development programme for the Prison Department in Sudan, and conducted a training needs assessment in Bangladesh. He led UNESCO’s Poverty and Human Rights Programme and brought the agency’s multi-disciplinary resources to bear on the task of poverty eradication. Previously, he directed an international penal and criminal justice reform training programme for Penal Reform International and held senior staff positions at Amnesty International and regional community development organisations.
He worked as a consultant on strategic planning and organisational change with clients ranging from Siemens, AT&T, Corning to numerous small and mid-sized organisations in the US and internationally. Mr. Wahl had founded several organisations and businesses and was co-founder and owner of a community-based tourism enterprise in the High Caucuses. He has studied, written, and worked on civil society development, human rights, and capacity building in over 50 countries worldwide. He was an Austrian-American and had a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University in New York.