LRN is its people.

Dov is the Founder and Chairman of LRN and Founder and CEO of the HOW Institute for Society. His career has focused on why HOW matters and HOW companies and their people can operate in both principled and profitable ways. That’s the inspiration behind his book, HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything, which was expanded to include a Foreword from President Bill Clinton. Today, the HOW philosophy is being used to impact how businesses operate, cities are run, soldiers are trained, school systems prepare their students and staff, and professional sports franchises use values for competitive advantage. The HOW philosophy was recognized as one of the nine rules for companies to embrace in Thomas L. Friedman’s seminal book, “The World is Flat”, and Dov’s ideas have also been featured regularly in other Friedman writings.
Dov’s proposals before the U.S. Sentencing Commission, arguing that companies must move from a check-the-box, compliance-only approach to focus on fostering ethical cultures and behaviors, were adopted and are the very standards by which companies, cultures, and programs are judged. Dov writes frequently about leadership for the New York Times and Fortune. Recently, Fortune invited Dov to share his views on the moral imperatives of modern leadership at the Vatican. Dov has also been named a “Game Changer” by Time Magazine and “One of the Top Thought Leaders of the Past Decade” by The Economic Times. Dov holds master’s degrees in moral philosophy from UCLA and Oxford as well as a law degree from Harvard. He has received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College.

Mats Lederhausen is the founder and CEO of the investment platform BE-CAUSE LLC based in Chicago. BE-CAUSE invests in companies born with a purpose bigger than their products. Find his newsletter here sharing thoughts, articles, and conversations that keep him inspired to elevate our future. Mats is a pioneer in purpose-driven investing. He is also a founding general partner of Cue Ball, a Boston-based evergreen Venture Capital firm where he primarily focuses on consumer and lifestyle brands.
Previously, after a career at the Boston Consulting Group, Mats was Managing Director of McDonald’s Ventures and owner-operator of more than 170 McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden where he oversaw ground-breaking investments in concepts including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Redbox DVD (which he co-founded), and Pret A Manger. As director, lead director and Chairman of Chipotle from 2000-2006, he was instrumental in leading what became one of the most successful restaurant IPOs in history. Mats was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 under 40” to watch in 1999 and the World Economic Forum honored him as a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” in 2000. Mats holds a master’s degree from the Stockholm School of Economics in his hometown.

Leeds partners with management teams to build innovative companies that address high stakes challenges and deliver measurable, best in class outcomes. As the first private equity firm to focus exclusively on the Knowledge Industries, Leeds is uniquely positioned to help its management team partners achieve their goals. In December of 2018, LRN Corporation announced a strategic partnership with and a significant investment from Leeds Equity Partners which remains an active participant on the LRN Board of Directors.