FIVE leaders from finance, film, education, charity and the arts have been named winners of the 2026 King Husein Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards, presented at the Palace of Westminster this week.
The winners are Dame Elizabeth Corley, chair of Schroders; Jian Shen, chairman and chief executive of Shinework Media and Shinework Pictures; Matt Eyring of BYU–Pathway Worldwide; Po-Wen Yen, chief executive of the Tzu Chi Foundation; and Sanjoy K. Roy of Teamwork Arts and the Jaipur Literature Festival.
According to a statement, the awards honour current and former chief executives whose work improves understanding between faiths and communities. The awards were presented during Dare to Overcome: The Economics of Kindness event held in London from October 12 to 16.
Sanjoy K Roy speaks during the eventEastern Eye
Asian Media Group, publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat newsweeklies, was the media partner to the event.
“The King Husein Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards celebrate leaders who dare to overcome differences and build bridges of peace,” said Brian J Grim of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, which announced the winners.
In a written message to participants in Dare to Overcome and a Faith@Work gathering at the Mansion House, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds MPsaid: “I am sorry that I am unable to join you at the Mansion House this evening.”
He welcomed “the continuing engagement of the Faith@Work and Dare to Overcome networks, bringing together leaders from business, investment, technology, faith communities and civil society.”
Noting that the UK will host the G20 next year, Reynolds said he welcomed the group’s support “in helping ensure that conversations about growth, innovation and new technology remain connected to human dignity, responsible leadership and human flourishing.”
Corley received the Workplace & Impact Investment Bridge Award. A former chair of the Impact Investing Institute, she was recognised for her work on responsible and sustainable investment, and on workplaces where people “of all faiths and beliefs, and none” can take full part, a statement said.
Roy received the Literature Bridge Award. The organisers said his festivals bring together writers, thinkers and artists from different cultures, religions and traditions, and “celebrate difference rather than merely tolerate it.”
Shen received the Film Bridge Award. His team has made more than 4,500 documentary programmes over more than 25 years, filming in more than 100 countries, and has brought foreign films to Chinese audiences of more than one billion people. His productions include The Composer and Kung Fu Yoga.
Dame Susan Langley, Lady Mayor of the City of London, speaks during the eventEastern Eye
Eyring received the Education to Work Bridge Award for his work at BYU–Pathway Worldwide. Its students first earn certificates that teach skills for work, and employers offer routes into jobs. Many graduates work remotely, which allows them to stay in their home countries.
Yen accepted the Bridge to Self-Reliance Award on behalf of the Tzu Chi Foundation, which works with communities regardless of religion or nationality. Beyond emergency relief, the foundation works in education, health, job training, the environment and rebuilding.
The awards were set up in 2016, alongside the Paralympic Games, as part of the UN Global Compact’s Business for Peace initiative under Ban Ki-moon, then UN secretary-general. They have since been presented in Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, Tokyo, Washington DC and New Delhi.
Dame Elizabeth Corley with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Chaplain, Canary Wharf Multifaith ChaplaincyEastern Eye
They are named after King Husein, chairman and chief executive of Span Construction & Engineering and founding patron of Dare to Overcome India, who won the prize’s advocacy category in 2021.
Past winners include Pat Gelsinger, John Tyson, Steve Killelea, Maurice Ostro, Baroness Verma, Nadir Godrej, Sangita Jindal, Steve Varley, Fouad Makhzoumi, Ingrid Vanderveldt, Judith Richter, Cai Shiyin and Alison Taylor.
