The Volans Fellowship

We are delighted to announce Dr Daniel Christian Wahl as the first Volans Fellow. The Fellowship has a two-year timespan and comes with a monetary grant.   

The Volans Fellowship is intended first and foremost as a gesture of recognition and support of individuals who are pioneering important work that needs doing now and in the near future.

Over the past two decades, Daniel has contributed significantly to the cultural uptake of regeneration and its application in a wide diversity of contexts – from business to education, design, governance, ecosystems restoration, bioregional regeneration and regenerative economics. His work continues to be at the forefront of an essential field.  

Volans CEO Louise Kjellerup Roper said: “I am thrilled to be able to give Daniel this fellowship, to support his work and deepen our collaboration, strengthening our team’s regenerative practice, internally and with our clients.”  

Louise first meet Daniel in the Spring of 2019 at a gathering on regenerative economics. Ever since, Daniel has been a source of inspiration, helping us feel our way forward as we seek to bring regenerative thinking and practice into the business world. With our clients looking beyond sustainability, we are continuing to illuminate the horizon, building transformational capacity in businesses wanting to create the conditions for flourishing into a regenerative future.  

During the period of the Fellowship, Volans will create various opportunities for peer-to-peer dialogue, collective reflection and focussed learning communities that will bring together our fellows with our staff. The Fellowship is intended to create space for radical honesty, deeper questioning and co-creation. A place for thought leaders to challenge their thinking, in the acknowledgement that mutual learning is accelerated by embracing diverse perspectives, practices, and worldviews. 

Volans Founder John Elkington said: “We aim to support the ongoing work of our Volans Fellows and look forward to building an evolving learning community with them over time.” 

Dr Daniel C Wahl commented: “I am delighted about this fellowship for a number of reasons, including my profound respect for John Elkington’s work over the past decades, my friendship with Louise Kjellerup Roper, and the way it enables me to focus on my local community and new creative projects. I feel grateful to have my work recognized and supported in such a generous way and look forward to getting to know the Volans family even better over the coming years.” 

Dr Daniel Christian Wahl originally trained as a biologist, and holds degrees in Biology, Holistic Science and Natural Design. In 2021 Daniel was awarded the RSA Bicentenary Medal for “an outstanding and demonstrable contribution, through … design practice, towards an equitable and regenerative world.”
Daniel lives in Mallorca and works locally and internationally as a consultant, educator and activist.
He has contributed significantly to education on sustainability and regeneration, through Gaia Education and Schumacher College and is on several advisory boards.
His 2016 book ‘Designing Regenerative Cultures’ has gained international acclaim and his writings reach a wide audience across the world. (see his session with the Green Swans Bookclub here).

Founded in 2008, Volans is a think tank and advisory firm operating globally to help business leaders make sense of the emerging future and address global challenges. We work with a select group of clients to unlock the potential of their organisation, create opportunities for market evolution, and design solutions ready to scale.

We are professional and objective, but we are not a neutral advisor. We challenge and question, leaning into – and helping our clients lean into – the future we see through our research work and inquiries.  Our work always centres around strategic conversations to catalyse action. The process is bespoke to each engagement. Our client relationships are collaborative, and we choose to work with leadership teams with whom there is a mutual chemistry and a shared ambition.

Volans became the first British company to certify as a B Corporation in 2013 and ranks top 20 in the 2021 FT Management Consultant Ratings for sustainability.