Governor David Beasley and Lord Michael Hastings in Conversation
David Beasley and Lord Michael Hastings will engage in a fireside chat exploring the critical link between food security and lasting peace. They will highlight how hunger will continue to fuel instability, conflict, and displacement, while sustainable access to food will foster resilience, dignity, and hope. Beasley will draw on his leadership experience at the World Food Programme, illustrating how global cooperation will be essential in addressing urgent needs. Hastings will emphasise ethical leadership and systemic change to tackle root causes of inequality. Together, they will present food security as both a humanitarian imperative and a cornerstone for sustainable peace.
Speakers
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Lord Michael HastingsMember of the House of Lords, United KingdomLord Michael Hastings
Counsellor
Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE is an Independent Peer in the House of Lords. He is the Chairman of SOAS University, London and the recent Chancellor of Regent's University London; he is the Professor of Leadership at the Stephen R Covey Institute at the Huntsman Business School, USA; a Non-Executive Director at Saxton Bampfylde, the Executive Search firm and also a NED at Cornerstone VC Fund and Chairman of the Pathway Fund – a Dormant Assets affiliate. Lord Hastings was the Global Head of Citizenship for KPMG International from 2006 to 2019 and before that, the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs & then Head of Corporate Responsibility from 1996 to 2006. Lord Hastings was the longest serving Commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality from 1991 to 2000 and was the founding Chairman of the Black British Initiative now running a hugely successful MBA programme at SOAS University. Lord Hastings has been involved with ONE YOUNG WORLD since its inception – and is now a trustee and member of the Advisory Board. He is also a Vice President of UNICEF and President of the UKCommunity Foundations network. He was conferred with a CBE for his services to crime reduction in 2003 as the Founder and Chair of Crime Concern ( from 1988 to 2009 and subsequently the founder of Catch22 and its VP since 2009) ; an Independent Peerage from HM The Queen in 2005; The UNICEF Global Award in 2005 for his tireless work developing effective positive solutions for Africa’s children; a Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Kent, Canterbury in 2014 in recognition for his leadership at KPMG, the BBC and for his work in international development and corporate responsibility and in 2019 he was the first ever recipient of the Stephen R Covey Leadership Award for a life built on principles and values. Lord Hastings is the co-founder of a unique prisons and prisoner intervention network called MyBrothersKeeper, a cause most dear to his heart.
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David BeasleyFormer Governor of South Carolina and Former Executive Director, UN World Food ProgrammeDavid Beasley
Counsellor
Former Governor of South Carolina and Former Executive Director, UN World Food Programme
David Beasley is a distinguished leader, humanitarian, and former Governor of South Carolina (1995–1999). He most recently served as the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) from 2017 to April 2023, having been nominated by two U.S. presidential administrations from different parties and appointed by the UN Secretary-General. Under Beasley’s leadership, WFP became the largest humanitarian organization in the world, assisting over 160 million people in 2022 alone and raising over $55 billion to combat global hunger. In 2020, he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of WFP for its efforts to provide food assistance in conflict areas and prevent food from being used as a weapon of war. In his Oslo acceptance speech on December 10, 2021, he remarked: "We have learned that there is great richness in those who are seen, in the eyes of the world, as 'the poor.' And many of us who are considered 'rich' are actually poor in the things that matter most." Beasley has also been recognized for his courageous leadership beyond humanitarian work, receiving the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for taking a stand on the Confederate Flag issue in South Carolina. He majored in Microbiology at Clemson University and received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of South Carolina. Beasley was also a Fellow and lecturer at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and is now a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School. He is married to Mary Wood Payne, and they have four children and four grandchildren. Today, Beasley remains an influential advocate for global food security, humanitarian action, and international cooperation.