The glass closet: why coming out is good business

Wed 8 October 2014

Institute of Continuing Education

A free public lecture at Madingley Hall by Lord Browne of Madingley.

Today gay men and women in the Western world enjoy greater acceptance and legal protections than ever before. Yet an alarming number of businessmen and women choose to remain closeted at work. Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP, will discuss his book The Glass Closet, in which he explores what holds them back. Drawing on his experiences as a closeted gay man in the oil industry, and the experiences of other prominent executives from around the world, he argues that coming out is best for employees and the companies that support them.

John Browne (Lord Browne of Madingley) was CEO of BP from 1995 to 2007, where he built a reputation as a visionary leader, transforming BP into one of the world’s largest companies. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign member of the US Academy of Arts and Sciences and Chairman of the Trustees of the Tate Galleries. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Stanford Universities, was knighted in 1998, and made a life peer in 2001. He is now a Partner at Riverstone Holdings, and the author of the memoir Beyond Business and of Seven Elements That Changed the World.

This talk is part of the Madingley Lecture series of free public talks given by leading authorities in their fields. The lectures take place at Madingley Hall, home of the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE).

Cost: Free