January 13 2026
The Swiss Academy for Leadership and Sustainability (SALS Academy), founded in Geneva, is reshaping leadership education by placing diplomacy at its centre. Anchored in global governance, multilateral dialogue, and sustainability, the Academy moves beyond management-led models to address the realities of an interconnected world.
Outlining the Academy’s vision, Sertan Ayçiçek stressed the rising demand for leaders who can work through complexity, earn trust across borders, and act with responsibility rather than rely on authority.
Drawing on decades of engagement with international institutions, Ayçiçek said leadership today extends far beyond overseeing structures. It requires managing dialogue, making sound judgments amid uncertainty, and accepting responsibility at a global level. At SALS Academy, the focus is on educating diplomacy, not management.
Located in one of the world’s leading diplomatic capitals, SALS Academy draws from Geneva’s long-standing role in international cooperation, negotiation, and peaceful governance. Its programmes are designed to prepare leaders who can operate confidently across cultures, institutions, and shifting geopolitical contexts.
The Academy prioritises the development of strategic thinking in uncertain environments, influence grounded in credibility, consensus-building within fragmented systems, and the capacity to lead transformation at both institutional and global levels. In doing so, it positions itself as more than a place of learning. It promotes a leadership mindset rooted in diplomatic intelligence, ethical responsibility, and long-term impact.
Ayçiçek also acknowledged the contribution of Natalia Czajkowska, the founding president of SALS Academy, crediting her with advancing a leadership vision where diplomacy is not an add-on, but the foundation itself.
As global challenges increasingly call for dialogue-based solutions, SALS Academy presents itself as a platform for shaping leaders who do more than manage existing systems. It seeks to prepare those capable of shaping what comes next.
