Dear friends,
After much reflection on our fast-changing world, I find myself entering a new chapter.
I have always been driven by a simple determination: to live a meaningful life and leave the world better than I found it. That determination has not changed. But in my 91st year I have asked myself how best to use the years I have left.
This week I will hold in my hands the first copy of UnSavory: African Stories of Wildlife, War and the Birth of Holistic Management. Its publication feels like a natural turning point, one that allows me to step aside from work that others and many of you can do better.
And so, at the end of this month, I will retire from the Savory Institute in all official capacities. I will step down from the Board, end my staff role, and transition from President to President Emeritus. I will no longer be involved in governance, strategy, or day-to-day operations.
Please know this: no one wants the Savory Institute and its global network to succeed more than I do, and I am not going anywhere. Until my last breath, I remain committed to the purpose for which Savory Institute was formed and will always be available as a friend and ally to help where I can.
While stepping away from formal roles, I will stay engaged as a learner and teacher deeply concerned for our world. I will continue serving as Chairman of the Dimbangombe Trust, working with our Zimbabwean partners to ensure the Dimbangombe learning site remains the exemplary Savory Institute global campus it has become. But I also intend to make room to smell the roses with my wife, Jody—something a life of service has often delayed. I hope to write a book on governance, because until people feel well-governed and secure, none truly are. And I still aspire to a fourth edition of Holistic Management, knowing that every textbook is out of date the day it is published.
This is not goodbye, nor does it call for ceremony. It is simply an announcement of a new role, and one I find deeply exhilarating.
Warmest regards,
Allan Savory
