Illustrative Notes—GLS: Special Edition 2021

Global Leadership Network

GLN Staff Writer

The Global Leadership Network is a community committed to learning from each other and using our influence to accomplish God’s purposes on earth. No matter where your influence is, when you commit to grow your leadership, everyone around you wins—businesses work for good, communities are transformed and churches thrive! Both global and diverse, our network includes partners in 1,400+ cities and 135+ countries. We are committed to deliver fresh, actionable and inspiring leadership content both at The Global Leadership Summit, and year-round through our digital platforms.

Jerry Lorenzo

Founder & Designer of Fashion Label

Jerry Lorenzo Manuel is an American fashion designer and founder of the label, Fear of God. Raised in Sacramento, West Palm Beach and Chicago, Lorenzo grew up with first-hand understanding of the contemporary American landscape as he followed his father’s professional baseball career cross country. Concurrently, Lorenzo developed an appreciation for heritage through visits to vintage stores nationwide with his mother. His upbringing became the precursor of his idea for a new American classic now known as Fear of God. In 2013, Lorenzo chose fashion despite plans to follow in the footsteps of his father in sport and established the now renowned label, conceived through a union of his creative vision, menswear experience and market expertise. Equipped with an MBA from Loyola University Chicago School of Business and an intrinsic understanding of the missing gap between the runway and wardrobe, Lorenzo’s honest and opinionated approach to fashion continues to push Fear of God into an icon of contemporary American luxury. Most recently, he’s been honored to partner with Adidas and join their team as global head of Adidas Basketball.

Vanessa Van Edwards

Lead Behavioral Investigator

Vanessa Van Edwards is the national best-selling author of Captivate: The Science of Succeeding With People, which has been translated into 16 languages. Over 36 million people have seen her on YouTube and in her viral TED Talk. Her behavior research lab, Science of People, has been featured in Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, Entrepreneur Magazine, and on CNN, CBS, and many more. For over a decade, Vanessa has been leading corporate trainings and workshops to audiences around the world, including SXSW, and MIT, and at companies including Google, Dove, Microsoft, and Comcast. Her latest book is Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication.

Patrick Lencioni

Founder & President

Patrick Lencioni is the author of eleven best-selling books with more than five million copies sold, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement, his leadership models serve a diverse base from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports organizations to churches.

Craig Groeschel

Founder & Senior Pastor

Globally recognized as a leader of leaders, Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church, rated the #1 place to work in 2021 for small and mid-size companies by Glassdoor. Known for their missional approach to leveraging the latest technology, Life.Church is the innovative creator of the YouVersion Bible App—downloaded more than a half a billion times worldwide. In 2020, Life.Church provided free tools to thousands of churches who quickly transitioned to a virtual church experience in the wake of the global health pandemic. Traveling the world on behalf of The Global Leadership Summit, Groeschel advocates for building leaders in every sector of society. He is also the host of the top-ranked Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast. A New York Times best-selling author, his latest book is  Lead Like It Matters

Natalia Warren

Senior Graphic Designer

Natalia Warren is a senior graphic designer at the Global Leadership Network and has been on the team since August 2017. A longtime Global Leadership Summit attendee, Natalia started developing her leadership skills as early as junior high. Natalia is someone who believes in the power of your influence, and that belief shows through in her work, which can be seen across GLN platforms–most notably in the 2018 and 2020 Summits.