Speakers

Biography

His Excellency Ambassador Meshal Bin Hamad Al Thani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States of America, assumed his post in Washington D.C. in December 2016.

Prior to serving as the lead Qatari diplomat in the U.S., Ambassador Al Thani was the Qatari Ambassador to France from November 2013 to October 2016. For three years, dedicating his expertise and efforts to strengthening the Qatari-French bilateral relations and the EU-Qatari relations at large.

Previously, Ambassador Al-Thani served as the Permeant Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations from July 2011 to October 2013. During his time at the UN, Ambassador Al Thani spared no effort in intertwining Qatar’s 2030 National Vision with the goals of the various UN agencies.

Before joining the UN Mission in NY, H.E. Al Thani served as Ambassador of Qatar to Brussels from October 2007 to July 2011. During his time as Ambassador to Brussels, H.E. Al Thani chaired the Qatari Mission to the European Union. He previously acted as the Qatari Liaison with NATO, as member of the Qatari diplomatic mission in the Belgian capital from November 2004 to July 2007.

H.E. Meshal Al Thani is not new to the United States. He served as member of the Qatari diplomatic mission in Washington D.C. from October 2000 to October 2004. He also joined the Qatari Mission to the UN in New York from August 1998 to September 2000.

Ambassador Al Thani debuted his diplomatic career at the Department of European and American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from May 1997 to August 1998. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service since March 2009.

Ambassador Al Thani received his Master’s in international relations from the American University, Washington D.C. in 2004. He is married with three children.

Biography

Luis Almagro Lemes was elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States on March 18, 2015, with the unanimous support of 33 of 34 member states, and one abstention. Upon taking leadership of the OAS, he announced that one of the central themes of his mandate will be “more rights for more people,” and that he would work to bring the Organization closer to the new realities in the Hemisphere and contribute to ensuring more democracy, security and prosperity for all.

A career diplomat, Almagro was Foreign Minister of Uruguay from 2010 to March 1, 2015, and has extensive regional and international experience. In addition, he was elected Senator in the national elections in Uruguay in October 2014.

His time at the head of Uruguayan diplomacy was characterized by activism in defense of human and civil rights at the regional and global level, the insertion of Uruguay into non-traditional markets, the diversification of these markets, and the strengthening of the image of Uruguay as a democratic, fair, tolerant, and diverse society, with ever increasing rights for more Uruguayans.

As Foreign Minister for President José Mujíca, he defined several emblematic initiatives that put the small South American country on the global map, from receiving former prisoners from Guantanamo, to welcoming dozens of Syrian families who had been victims of the country´s conflict, to building support in the United Nations so that, beginning in 2016, Uruguay will become part of the Security Council.
Moreover, Uruguay has maintained its presence in Haiti to ensure the continuity of the process of reconstruction in the country following the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Knowledgeable about the new regional alignments, Almagro was an active participant in the consolidation of UNASUR and CELAC and as member of the special UNASUR delegation to Venezuela in 2014 he was recognized as an advocate of dialogue between the government and the opposition to stop the violence at that moment.

As a consensus builder in the region and at the same time a driver of new initiatives, during his term at the head of the country´s diplomacy, he achieved the long-desired entry of citrus products into the United States, a key market for the sector, while moving forward with bilateral cooperation programs in areas of scientific-technical innovation.

For its part, Uruguay developed specific programs of cooperation for development with Bolivia, Paraguay, and several African nations in the context of the vision of international solidarity that characterized the term of the former Foreign Minister.

The candidate for Secretary General of the OAS was also Ambassador to China for five years, after occupying senior diplomatic posts in the Foreign Ministry of his country, and in the Embassies of Uruguay in Germany and Iran.

In 2014 Foreign Policy magazine named him a Leading Global Thinker, one of ten decision-makers in the region granted this international distinction.

Almagro, a lawyer by profession, is married and has seven children. In addition to Spanish, he speaks English and French.

Biography

Dr. Susan Amat is the Executive Director of GEN Accelerates and the VP for Education at the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). GEN operates in 170 countries celebrating and connecting entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, and policy makers. GEN Accelerates offers a platform and customized intensive training programs that have supported entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders from more than 100 countries through accelerators, universities, and government programs. A serial entrepreneur, she built media businesses for over a decade, including the first CD-Rom magazine and a national television show. She is the founder of Venture Hive, an entrepreneur education company, and Flitepath, a SaaS solution that provides accountability and transparency tools and content to support innovation management and entrepreneurship programs in Fortune 500 businesses. 

 After completing her MBA, Dr. Amat developed pediatric health monitoring products and earned a Ph.D. in Strategic Entrepreneurship (coursework in industrial engineering, business, and education). While teaching at the University of Miami, she founded The Launch Pad, which was considered the top model in entrepreneurship education. Her program and platform were replicated internationally as Blackstone LaunchPads in universities including USC, UCLA, and Case Western Reserve University. 

Dr. Amat served as the founding Chair of the STEM Board for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and is a Trustee of Miami Dade College, the largest college in the United States with more than 165,000 students. She actively speaks about entrepreneurship and innovation education internationally and has worked with the US State Department, the Kauffman Foundation, and the World Bank on program development, training, and evaluation. In 2012, Dr. Amat was honored as a Champion of Change at the White House.

Biography

Mr. Alex Amparo is the Assistant Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) at the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he is responsible for delivering education, training and exercises to build a culture of preparedness in the United States.  His distinguished career in emergency management spans more than two decades at the State and Federal levels.  Mr. Amparo entered the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2011.

Mr. Amparo joined NPD in July 2018 as the Deputy Assistant Administrator. During his tenure as the Deputy he led efforts to develop a revised NPD Strategic Intent while aligning the Directorate’s budget to meet the goals set forth in FEMA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.

Prior to joining NPD, Mr. Amparo served as Acting Director of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs from February through June of 2018.  In his role as Acting Director, Mr. Amparo restructured the office’s $7.5 million budget, initiated a functional realignment of the office, reenergized a much-needed equipment modernization for the press center, and led the team’s engagement of more than 20,000 stakeholders to raise awareness of the 2018-2022 FEMA Strategic Plan.  In addition, Mr. Amparo focused on filling personnel vacancies, boosting internal collaboration and strengthening customer service to Agency components, and ensuring that Office of External Affairs was well-positioned for the 2018 Hurricane Season.

From January 2015 through February of 2018, Mr. Amparo served as the Assistant Administrator of the Recovery Directorate at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he was responsible for the timely delivery of emergency provisions to individuals and communities following presidentially declared major disasters and emergencies.

As Assistant Administrator, Mr. Amparo led the development of the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide and the Individuals and Households Program Unified Guidance. These documents combine policies for two of FEMA’s largest grant programs into comprehensive and authoritative resources. Further, he oversaw the creation of the Tribal Declarations Pilot Guidance, which reflects the sovereign status of federally recognized tribes and provides specially designed criteria for evaluating tribal requests for Stafford Act declarations that takes into account the unique conditions which affect tribal nations. Mr. Amparo oversaw the development of this policy in close coordination and consultation with tribal partners through the facilitation of 140 listening sessions nationwide.

Prior to his leadership of the Recovery Directorate, Mr. Amparo served four years as Deputy Assistant Administrator, directing federally mandated programs that disburse the largest share of federal disaster recovery funding to individuals and communities across the United States and its territories.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Amparo was instrumental in utilizing geospatial technology to deliver expedited rental assistance to survivors who were unable to access their damaged homes in New York and New Jersey. This innovative program rapidly repaired dwellings to ensure displaced residents could return home as quickly as possible. Under his leadership during Sandy, FEMA established a visible presence in affected communities to meet one-on-one with survivors to help them register for disaster assistance. Mr. Amparo also spearheaded a pilot program that allows FEMA to provide fixed-capped grants based on estimates for large infrastructure repair projects damaged as a result of disasters.

Mr. Amparo joined FEMA in 2009 as a Senior Advisor to the Office of Response and Recovery where he championed FEMA’s pre-staged commodity policy that includes emergency provisions for vulnerable populations. He supported the realignment of responsibilities among the FEMA directorates, negotiated national partnerships, integrated response and recovery activities, and improved efficiency in the delivery of disaster services.

Prior to his federal service, Mr. Amparo was the Director of Emergency Management at the Florida Commission on Community Service. He led the integration of Whole Community Partnerships during 60 state emergencies, including 22 major disasters declared by the President. Florida’s State Emergency Response Team expanded during his tenure, the result of his leadership and strong commitment to formalized agreements and creative partnerships. Mr. Amparo personally deployed to activated disasters in six states and territories through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. In 2008, Mr. Amparo received the Governor’s Award for exceptional leadership in the emergency management field, the highest honor awarded by the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference.

Mr. Amparo also served as a senior staff member in the office of the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles; and gained subject matter expertise in the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant programs while at the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Mr. Amparo holds a Bachelor of Science in Multinational Business at Florida State University and a Master’s in Business Administration at California State University.

Mr. Amparo lives in Virginia with his wife, Carmen, and their three children, Amber, Lauren, and Alex Junior.

Biography

Louis Audet is Executive Chairman of the Board of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc., having stepped into the position on September 1, 2018. 

Mr. Audet joined Cogeco in 1981 and held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. starting in 1993. Under his leadership, Cogeco has become a leading Canadian communications company, operating internationally and generating revenues of over $2.3 billion annually. As Executive Chair, Louis Audet plays an active executive role focusing on major business issues and strategies while working closely with and supporting recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, Philippe Jetté.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of CableLabs. He previously sat on the Boards of Directors of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association, Clarica,the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the Association canadienne de la radio et de la télévision de langue française, and served as Governor of the Council on Canadian Unity. He was also Chairman of the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Development Fund.

Over the years, Mr. Audet has often been recognized by both the business and philanthropic communities for his numerous achievements. Amongst his contributions, he acted as co-Chair of the 2017 campaign for Centraide of Greater Montréal and as Chair of the 2014-2020 fundraising campaign for the Old Brewery Mission Foundation, a major foundation which provides emergency and other services for homeless people in the Montreal area.

Mr. Audet holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School (Boston, MA) and has graduated from École Polytechnique (Montréal) with an Engineering Degree, Electronics and Communications. He holds a college diploma (DEC) from Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (Montréal).

Louis Audet was named Member of the Order of Canada in 2013. In 2018, he was chosen as the United Nations Association in Canada’s annual Global Citizens Laureate. That same year, he received two Honorary Doctorates from Université de Montréal and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He has also been inducted into the Club des entrepreneurs du Conseil du patronat du Québec, and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Université de Montréal Alumni Association, as well as the Merit Award of the École Polytechnique Alumni Association.

Biography

Stephen is a Managing Director in Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors LLC, based in New York. Stephen leads the team’s environmental infrastructure business, which focuses on advising the public and private sectors on adaption and mitigation infrastructure projects, through P3 and alternative delivery models, covering the renewables, water and waste management sectors.

Stephen brings 18 years of experience of projects in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.  This experience includes; bio-waste, recycling and waste to energy infrastructure; water related resiliency projects across the US; working with major corporations on the structing and procurement of utility scale renewables projects to power their operations around the world; and working with national governments on major renewable energy undertakings, such as the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy on its multi-billion dollar concentrating solar power IPP program.

Stephen holds a degree in Economics from Cambridge University and qualifications in accountancy, treasury management and municipal finance.

Biography

Ibukun Awosika is the Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria's premier and most valuable banking brand. She is also the founder and CEO of The Chair Centre Group. The companies in the group include: The Chair Centre Limited, Sokoa Chair Centre Limited, Furniture Manufacturers Mart, TCC Security Systems and Cubes and Boxes Limited. These companies are involved in manufacturing, retail and bank-way security systems services.

Ibukun chairs a number of corporate and not-for-profit boards amongst which are: GEMS Africa, House of Tara International and Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC), a facility which she promoted to help address youth employability and enterprise issues in Nigeria. She sits on the boards of Cadbury Nigeria Plc., Digital Jewel Limited, Convention on Business Integrity (CBI),  International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC), Imperial Gate School and Peniel Apartments Limited. She was Chairman, FBN Life Assurance Limited, FBN Capital Limited and Kakawa Discount House Limited. She also served on the board of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

Ibukun is a graduate of Chemistry from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria; an alumna of the Chief Executive Programme of Lagos Business School; the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Barcelona-Spain; and Global CEO Programme of Wharton, IESE and China European International Business School (CEIBS).

With high interest in social issues, including women, Ibukun is a co-founder and past chairperson of Women in Business, Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ). An ordained Pastor and founder of the Christian Missionary Fund, Ibukun, through this faith-based organization works with hundreds of missionaries spread across Nigeria to change lives  with the provision of medical, educational, and other supplies.

As a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative, Aspen Global Leadership Network, Institute of Directors and Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, Ibukun, through her projects aspires to use her opportunities in life to further the greatness of her dear country by raising entrepreneurs to create jobs for the large unemployed youthful population. She is a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), served on National Job Creation Committee (NJCC), and sits on the International Advisory Board of IESE Business School, Barcelona-Spain.

Ibukun is a multiple award-winning entrepreneur and the first Nigerian recipient of the prestigious International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award as a nominee of the US Department of State in 2008. She loves to watch investigative and legal series in her leisure time. She is happily married to Abiodun Awosika and they are blessed with three wonderful sons.

Biography

Jean-Marc Bally has served as Managing Partner of Aster since March 2006.

Previously, he has been a co-founder and an Investment Partner at Aster for 5 years where he was responsible for communications and IT industries investments across Europe and North America focusing on IT, nano & micro technologies and electronics. Prior to the creation of Aster, he spent 5 years in Corporate Finance in Schneider Electric in Austria and France. Jean-Marc holds a Masters degree in Business Management from Grenoble Graduate School of Business, an executive education from INSEAD and an additional Masters degree in Mathematics.

Jean-Marc is in charge of the overall management of Aster including compliance, reporting and investor relations. He also leads our industrial application focus and is involved in deal sourcing, leading and managing investments and exits as well as managing our global portfolio of investments.

He currently manages our investments in several companies including Agilence (USA), Easybike Group (France), Lucibel(France), Cosmo Tech (France), ekWateur (France), Finalcad (France), Eficia(France), Habiteo (France) and Karos (France).

Biography

Osama Bedier is the founder and CEO of Poynt, the creator of the world’s first smart payment terminal. An Egyptian-American entrepreneur and investor with a deep passion for improving lives through technology, Osama has spent the last two decades pioneering consumer internet, e-commerce and payments services.

Prior to founding Poynt, Osama served as the Vice President of Payments at Google and head of Google Wallet. Prior to Google, Osama spent nine years running product and engineering at PayPal, building and scaling much of what made them a household name. He has also held engineering leadership roles at eBay, Gateway Computers and AT&T Wireless.

Osama actively invests and advises many fintech start-ups mainly through NYCA partners. In addition, he currently sits on the boards of QIWI(QIWI:NASDAQ), WePay and PayRange. He lives with his wife Nancy and their five children in Atherton, CA.

Biography

Ambassador Robin S. Bernstein was sworn-in as the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic by President Donald J. Trump, on July 3, 2018. She served as President and Director of Richard S. Bernstein and Associates, Inc. and Vice President and Director of Rizbur, Inc., both of West Palm Beach, Florida, until her resignation on June 29, 2018, after her confirmation as an Ambassador by the U.S. Senate. Her four decades of experience in business, government, and the non-profit community have demonstrated her dedicated and successful leadership and management. Her wide variety of contacts in the business, political and non-profit sectors have enabled her to contribute in many fields, such as education, disaster relief, and women’s empowerment.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Bernstein has developed extensive experience as an entrepreneur, business consultant, insurance broker, real estate broker and registered representative of numerous companies. She accompanied Florida Governor Jeb Bush as a member of his international trade mission to Israel in 1999. She was the Administrative Assistant to a County Commissioner of the Palm Beach County Commission, West Palm Beach, Florida and Executive Secretary to the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Ms. Bernstein has worked as a campaign manager for Federal election campaigns and as a member of a Presidential transition team. She has shown a demonstrated commitment to the non-profit sector and has served on many boards and councils. She is the Co-Founder of Palm Beach County Cares, a Florida relief effort for victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.

Ms. Bernstein earned a B.A. in Language Area Studies from the American University, School of International Service, and an M.B.A. from George Washington University. She received the Women in Leadership Award from the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches. Ms. Bernstein speaks French and intermediate Spanish.

Biography

Carolina can best be described as an established academic with an entrepreneurial mindset, who also happens to have 25+ years of experience in research, development and broad programming. After obtaining her PhD in fundamental physics from the Universidad de los Andes, she went on to become an award-winning university professor who worked closely with the
government of Venezuela to predict everything from avalanches to life-threatening diseases. After teaching computational physics and astrophysics for nearly a decade, she decided to move to Canada, which ultimately led to her rise as Stradigi AI’s Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder in 2017. Since then, she oversees all projects from both a scientific and business perspective, leads her team of 30+ research scientists, works closely with top executives to build relationships with clients and proudly offers guidance and mentoring to students.
Carolina is a member and advocate of the Montreal Artificial Intelligence Ethics group. She is passionate about ensuring that the benefits of AI are democratically available, the prevention of the weaponization and/or malicious use of AI, issues relating to privacy and the quantification and correction of bias in datasets. More recently, her focus has been on interpretability. Her
belief in simplifying the way humans can understand the processes in which an algorithm arrives to its predictions is crucial for building trust, gaining executive buy-in and the early adoption of this technology in various industries. Carolina is also actively involved with the Vector Institute which has Dr. Geoffrey Hinton as its Chief Scientific Advisor, a man described as the
“Godfather of Deep Learning”. As such, she serves on a panel for the 1000 AIMs initiative reviewing Ontario University programs
seeking Vector Institute recognition.
Having conducted extensive AI research since 2002, she is a highly sought-after public speaker and has worked alongside renowned advisors and business pioneers in the industry enabling her to continuously create, innovate and develop new solutions to help organizations with their complex business problems.

Biography

Richard Bradley is Editor-in-Chief and Chief Content Officer of The Worth Group. He is also the #1 New York Times best-selling author of American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr. A seasoned and respected editor and journalist, Bradley’s career has always combined journalism and academia. American Son generated tremendous national attention, including the cover of People magazine and a guest appearance on NBC’s Today Show. Mr. Bradley was also the subject of a Barbara Walters interview on ABC’s 20/20. American Son spent seven weeks on The New York Times non-fiction bestseller list, ultimately climbing to number one. In addition to his jobs as a magazine editor and his book writing, Richard Bradley has authored articles for numerous publications, including: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, George, The New Republic, Rolling Stone, Boston Magazine, Salon.com, The Washington Monthly, Worth, and Mother Jones. He has also written a column of media analysis for the website TomPaine.com.

Biography

Devon Bryan is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for the Federal Reserve System. As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Devon oversees information security, including incident response, for the enterprise, ensuring information security architecture, standards, policies and programs remain effective and efficient. Devon was appointed System CISO in February 2016.
Devon came to the Federal Reserve from Fortune 500 payroll and human resources provider ADP, where he served as Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Devon led ADP’s information security strategy, collaborating across the company’s geographically dispersed business operations to ensure coordination, consensus, and effective execution across global operations. Prior to joining ADP in 2011, he served as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after directing the IRS’s FISMA-compliant information security program and leading the IRS’s incident response team.
His information security career began in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a Captain and lead engineer working on systems and programs to protect the critical network and communications tools of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command.
Devon is Co-Founder & immediate past president of ICMCP (International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals), which he launched in an attempt to bridge the ‘great minority cyber divide’ by providing academic scholarships, innovative outreach, mentoring and networking programs targeting minority cyber security professionals worldwide and by promoting academic and technical excellence in our tradecraft.
Devon received a Bachelor of Science, Applied Mathematics from South Dakota Technological University and a Master of Science, Computer Science from Colorado Technological University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He holds multiple certifications: CISSP, CIPP/US, CIPP/EU, and CISA and participates in several industry forums and is a sought after speaker and writer on emerging cyber security trends and issues.
On a personal note, Devon has been married to his wife Andrea for 30 years and has two children Danielle (27 y/o) and Dominic (21 y/o). The couple resides in North Haledon, New Jersey.

Biography

Eduardo Cabrera is responsible for analyzing emerging cyber threats to develop innovative and resilient enterprise risk management strategies for Fortune 500 clients and strategic partners. Before joining Trend Micro, he was a 20-year veteran and former CISO of the United States Secret Service with experience leading information security, cyber investigative, and protective programs in support of the Secret Service integrated mission.

He started his career investigating transnational cyber criminal groups targeting the financial and retail sectors and later led cyber forensic operations in support of Secret Service large-scale data breach investigations. He then served as the Secret Service Strategic Advisor to the DHS National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC).

Twitter: @Ed_E_Cabrera

Biography

In his capacity as a partner of Ernst & Young LLP, he advises clients on capital strategy, mergers and acquisitions, public company spinoffs, IPOs and securities offerings. Bill has led some of the firm's largest client engagements, including cross-border transactions for major multinational corporations and leading private equity firms, and has deep experience in the beverage, automotive, fintech, telecom and professional services sectors.

Bill previously served as EY’s Americas TAS Deputy Managing Partner, Americas TAS Chief Operating Officer and TAS Leader for the Southeast Region.  Over the last decade, he has worked to help double the talent and revenues of Americas TAS practices, which now number more than 4,000 professionals based in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Israel, and Central and South America.

In addition to presiding over the practice’s record annual revenue of more than $2 billion, Bill has helped transform TAS from transaction compliance and due diligence providers into market-leading strategic advisors. Integral to this transformation was the US firm’s acquisition of The Parthenon Group in 2014, which significantly enhanced TAS’s front-end strategic offering.

Prior to his current role, Bill spent more than a decade with EY firms working on transactions in Latin America. In 1995, he was the first on the ground to help launch TAS services in South America, which has since grown to over 700 people. Bill was made an Ernst & Young partner in its São Paulo office, where he helped develop TAS practices in both Brazil and Mexico and worked on the largest-ever beverage deal in Latin America.

Bill serves as a member of the EY Americas Operating Executive and the EY US Executive Committee and is a Certified Public Accountant. He received his master’s degree in business administration from DePaul University and bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Illinois. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese and is a competitive triathlete.

Bill's Better Question: How can companies remain competitive in the face of constant sector and technological disruption?

Biography

Connie is a Partner in the EY Transaction Advisory Services practice with over 25 years of advisory experience working primarily with private equity and corporate clients. She has worked on infrastructure transactions over the last 15 years, including municipal airports, ports, rail, shipping, parking, energy and commodities warehousing/logistics. Connie is the Global Transaction Services Leader for several of the firm’s largest clients and has significant experience advising on large, complex, multinational transactions and coordinating the firm’s network to fully leverage our resources for the successful execution of transaction advisory.

Biography

Peter Cowhey holds the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy and dean of the School. He is an expert on the future of communications and information technology markets and policy, specializing in U.S. trade policy, foreign policy, the Internet and international corporate strategy.

His two most recent books are “Digital DNA: Disruption and the Challenges for Global Governance” and “Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets: The Political Economy of Innovation.”

Cowhey has extensive experience in government. In the Clinton Administration, he served as the chief of the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and negotiated many of the U.S. international agreements for telecommunications and satellite services. He had responsibility for antitrust decisions involving the communications and satellite industries. In 2009, he served a 12-month assignment as the senior counselor to Ambassador Ron Kirk in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, playing a key role in the strategic agenda for trade policy. Subsequently, Cowhey served on a bi-national experts group appointed by the U.S. and Chinese governments to research and advise on innovation policy.

As chair of the CONNECT Innovation Institute, he is co-leading a project on U.S. innovation policies.

Cowhey has served in many leadership positions in the nonprofit word. He served as the chief policy officer for the Aspen Institute’s International Digital Economy Accords project to update policies involving the Internet and global communications markets. Cowhey is currently the chair of the board of directors for both the California Council on Science and Technology and the Grameen Foundation USA, the U.S. foundation supporting the work of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Cowhey is a member of the Global Competitiveness Council and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Cowhey joined the UC San Diego faculty in 1976. He was director of the University of California's system-wide Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation from 1999-2006 and Associate Vice Chancellor-International Affairs from 2007-2009. He was the Interim Executive Vice Chancellor of UC San Diego in 2016-2017. Cowhey became dean of the School in July 2002.

Biography

Committed to excellence, Stefanie Crosby’s general knowledge and expertise is proven with over 15 years of working experience in Canada, in the United States and has travelled over 50 countries for her work.  She has engaged in managerial positions in several businesses across a wide spectrum of industries; energy, infrastructure, real estate, hospitality, clean-tech, entertainment, sports, media and defense technology.

As a seasoned executive, Stefanie has launched her consulting firm; Triumspear International, providing strategic leadership towards new business development activities, origination, market entry strategy, developing innovative ideas, as well as effective cross-border M&A. She develops projects and initiatives through close strategic partnerships with various constituents, including government leaders, head of States, captains of industries and executives and worldwide family offices.

On top of spearheading her firm, Stefanie was appointed a role as Professional Alliance Group to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, where she leverages a specialized group that was created to help address the distinct wealth management needs of athletes, family offices, top professionals, captain of industry and institutional clients in various sectors. Stefanie has access to customized resources and programs needed to craft creative financial strategies that account for the unique challenges and dynamics of the ultra-high net worth client.

On a personal note, Stefanie was an Olympic-level athlete and holds an executive MBA from John Molson business School in Montreal, Canada. Stefanie has done several speaking engagements including at the United Nations, Penn State, Family Offices, etc.  She was awarded the Konde prize for woman of the year in the New Jersey/New York area and has been nominated by Finance Capital International in 2015, and 2017 for best advisory group in Canada.

Key words: Professional Sport Franchise, Wealth management, Media and Entertainment, Energy, real estate, Global, Non-for-profit

Biography

Clemente del Valle is a global capital markets expert with more than 25 years of experience designing and promoting innovative financing mechanisms.
He is renowned as one of the most knowledgeable experts in capital markets in Colombia and has made invaluable contributions throughout his career to develop this market in the country. The Market Maker Program (Programa de Creadores de Mercardo), for instance, was led and promoted by Mr. del Valle, to which Colombia now owes its mature public debt market and high secondary market liquidity. Similarly, he has boosted the market’s development by strengthening the market as a funding channel for innovation projects.
In his capacity as Superintendent of Securities, he promoted the Bill that laid the foundations for the development of the capital market, leading to the growth of the Colombian Stock Exchange in the last 15 years.
As President of Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), the bank specializing in infrastructure in Colombia which has become a benchmark institution for developing countries, he led the mobilization of various national and international funding sources to allocate the necessary resources to finance the 4G Program, an unprecedented episode in the country that is transforming Colombia.
Mr. del Valle is result-oriented and possesses a global mindset and know-how as well as first-rate analysis, implementation, and risk management skills.
He worked at the World Bank promoting the integration of adequate regulatory frameworks in various countries in order to strengthen the connection of capital markets with key sectors of the economy, such as infrastructure and housing.
Mr. del Valle has vast experience in public, private, and multilateral sectors, holding prominent positions in Colombia, such as Director of Public Credit at the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, Director-General of International Trade and Deputy Minister of Economic Development at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. He also worked at the Ministry of Economic Development and the National Planning Department.
Moreover, he has sat on various Boards of public and private institutions.
Del Valle is an economist from Universidad de Los Andes, with a master's degree in economics from the same university, and a master's degree in economics with an emphasis in monetary economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Biography

Antonio Delgado Fornaguera is committed to the growth of South Florida´s technology ecosystem, and passionate about youth empowerment and local talent creation. As Dean of the School of Engineering, Technology and Design at Miami Dade College (MDC), the largest undergraduate institution in the United States, he serves as the key liaison and College spokesperson for the School and provides leadership for Emerging Technologies, Computer Sciences, Engineering, Design and Architecture through strategic planning, program development, advancement, innovation, faculty development and cross-disciplinary collaboration. In this role he has established successful academic partnerships with key industry leaders such as Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Oracle, NextEra Energy, and Cyberbit, and launched the Cybersecurity Center of the Americas.

Dean Delgado began his tenure at MDC as Technology Programs Manager and Generation IT Program Manager for The Idea Center. Since the onset of his professional career as a researcher in electronic engineering, he has accumulated over ten years of experience in technology program management and consulting across the United Kingdom, Central America and the Caribbean, and the United States, including the role of country manager at one of Latin America´s leading technology companies. He obtained a Bachelor Degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute in Havana, Cuba, and a Master of Science in Computer Networks with highest honors from the University of Westminster in London, UK.

Biography

Arnold Donald is President & Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Corporation & PLC, the largest travel and leisure company in the world.  Their portfolio of ten cruise brands -- Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises UK, P&O Cruises Australia and Fathom are based throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Together these brands maintain a fleet of over 100 ships and serve more than 11 million guests annually.  Carnival Corporation & PLC also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon with 10 hotels plus rail and bus services connecting guests with the northern interior.  Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & PLC is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

Mr. Donald has been President & CEO of Carnival Corporation since 2013; prior to that he served on the board for 12 years.  In January 2017 he was appointed Chair of Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA).  He currently serves on the board of Bank of America Corporation and Crown Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Donald spent more than twenty years at Monsanto Company as Corporate Senior Vice-President, and President of the Consumer and Nutrition sector and President of the Agricultural sector.  After leaving Monsanto, Mr. Donald was Chairman of Merisant Company whose products included the leading global sweetener brands Equal and Canderel.

Immediately prior to Carnival, Mr. Donald was a founder and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Leadership Council, a professional network and leadership forum for African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the largest charitable funder of diabetes research in the world.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Donald received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College, a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St Louis, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Donald has a strong commitment to higher education and serves on the boards of two of his alma maters, Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and Washington University in St. Louis, in Missouri.  He is also on the boards of the Greater New Orleans Foundation and St. Louis based BJC Healthcare among others.

Biography

André founded and leads McKinsey’s higher-education work. He is also the convener of McKinsey’s roundtable of higher-education board of trustees and developed McKinsey’s higher-education “Fingerprint,” a granular performance assessment of more than 800 universities in the United States.

André has served more than 20 public- and private-university systems and campuses around the world, including research, comprehensive, and community colleges. This work has spanned a range of issues, such as strategy, research preeminence, administrative excellence, enrollment and financial aid, capital productivity, college completion, health-sciences strategy, performance improvement, academic medical-center culture, and university board governance.

Previously, André founded and led McKinsey’s state and local government work. He has worked with dozens of state and local governments on citizen experience, economic and workforce development, infrastructure strategy and capital budgeting, disaster recovery and resilience, healthcare strategy and innovation, and administrative operations. He developed McKinsey’s proprietary Leading States Index, which evaluates state performance on numerous dimensions of critical importance to citizens.

In addition, André was the founder and chair of McKinsey Academy—the firm’s vehicle for transforming the performance of leading institutions by unlocking the potential of people. Academy designs and delivers large-scale capability-building programs in support of institutional performance transformations.

He previously led McKinsey’s regulatory strategy work, cofounded the McKinsey Asia Center, and was a partner in McKinsey’s High Tech, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Practices for more than a decade.

André is currently a member of the McKinsey Global Institute council, which advises on MGI’s research on global economic, business, and technology trends. In addition, he serves on the boards of the Citizens’ Budget Commission, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and on the advisory council for the Oxford University initiative on AI and the law.

André is a co-author of the 1997 book, Sustaining the Asia–Pacific Miracle: Environmental Protection and Economic Integration, for which he received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. In 2003, the World Economic Forum named him one of 100 “global leaders for tomorrow.”

Prior to joining McKinsey, André was a research fellow at Yale Law School.

Biography

Johannes Evenblij was named President of PepsiCo CASA (Central America and South America Foods) in July 2018. In this position Johannes will lead the foods business strategy for 32 countries including Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, Chile, Dominican Republic, Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador, to name a few.
As Chief Commercial Officer for LatAm during the last few years, Johannes has been the architect behind the creation of the sector commercial team as a results-driven service organization that has built or evolved more than ten capabilities (e.g., Revenue Management, Digital Marketing, and Demand Accelerator), with strong impact and results. Under his leadership, several commercial SLAM teams delivered substantial financial results in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico. In partnership with customers, bottlers and operating units – leads the LATAM commercial agenda including:
Revenue Management, Sales Strategy and Capabilities, Marketing Services, Key Account Management and Trade Marketing and Foodservice.
Johannes is an accomplished leader who has had an outstanding 19-year career with wellknown global companies, such as Procter & Gamble, the Boston Consulting Group and General Electric. Johannes joined the PepsiCo family in 2005 and since then has held numerous positions within the company. Initially, Johannes served as marketing director for snacks in Latin America followed by senior marketing director for snacks in Mexico and
senior director for the Wholesale Channel in Mexico. He also performed as the head of the Quaker Business Unit and later as General Manager of the Foods Business Unit at PepsiCo Mexico Foods.
Johannes has been credited as a key leader of innovation and strategic transformation. He launched Twistos in Latin America and Paketaxo in Mexico, two of the most successful innovations in recent years. During his tenure at Quaker, he increased market share not only by broadening Quaker’s portfolio of products, but also by developing other food categories with high nutritional benefits.
Most recently, as CCO PepsiCo LatAm, he has been the architect of the sector’s commercial team as a results-driven service organization that has built or evolved several capabilities, with strong impact and results.

Biography

Francis R. Fannon serves as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) at the U.S Department of State. He oversees U.S. foreign policy in the critical intersection of energy and national security and promotes U.S. interests to ensure energy resources are used to increase economic opportunity, stability, and prosperity around the world. Assistant Secretary Fannon advises the Secretary on strategies to promote universal access to affordable and reliable energy resources and to strengthen energy security through policies that advance diverse, transparent, and secure global markets for all energy types.

Prior to this role, Mr. Fannon was the managing director of BHP’s Washington, DC Corporate Affairs office, where he developed a comprehensive U.S. strategy for the world’s largest diversified resources company. Before BHP, Mr. Fannon was a senior director at Murphy Oil Corporation in Washington, DC.

Mr. Fannon previously served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. In that capacity, he drafted, negotiated, and helped pass into law key provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. He also served as counsel to Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and Pete V. Domenici (R-NM).

Mr. Fannon earned a J.D. from the University of Denver (DU) Sturm College of Law, a M.A. in International Affairs (Economics & Trade) from DU’s Korbel School of International Studies, and a B.A. from Radford University.

Biography

The Honorable Romauld Ferreira was born in New Providence to May and Joseph Ferreira, on 3rd September 1969; his passion for the environment began at the age of 13 after an encounter with a pod of dolphins in South Andros.
Minister Ferreira began his education at St. Matthew Parish School graduating from Queens College high-school in 1982. After completing an Associate’s Degree in Chemistry and Biology from the College of The Bahamas, he later obtained an honors degree in Ecology with Chemistry from the University of the West Indies and an honors law degree from the University of London. In 2000, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales at Lincolns Inn and the Bahamas Bar Association.
Minister Ferreira’s professional career thus far has encompassed 4 displines ecology, law, television broadcasting and now politics.
In 1990 he joined the Department of Fisheries as a Fisheries Officer responsible for aquaculture, marine mammals, wetland and coral reef conservation. He joined the Bahamas Electricity Corporation in 1994 as an Environmental Officer responsible for environmental management, environment impact assessments, brownfields and emissions management.
After serving 10 years in the public sector, Minister Ferreira embarked on a successful private practice as an attorney and environmental consultant. Minister Ferreira has extensive professional expertise encompassing energy, water & sanitation, EIA’s, public administrative law, conveyancing, legal drafting, litigation and environmental policy development.
In 2001, he began his career in television broadcasting, as the first host of the national morning television show, Bahamas at Sunrise. His skill and ability both in front of and off camera helped to make the show the longest-running live television show in Bahamian history. After 15 years Mr Ferreira retired from the show to enter politics in 2016.
On 10th May 2017 he was elected to the House of Assembly as the Member of Parliament for Marathon and appointed Minister of the Environment and Housing on 15th May 2017.
Minister Ferreira is married with 5 children and is an enthusiactic supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Biography

Justin Fier is one of the US’s leading cyber intelligence experts, and his insights have been widely reported in leading media outlets, including Wall Street Journal, CNN, the Washington Post, and VICELAND. With over 10 years of experience in cyber defense, Justin has supported various elements in the US intelligence community, holding mission-critical security roles with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems and Abraxas. Justin is also a highly-skilled technical specialist, and works with Darktrace’s strategic global customers on threat analysis, defensive cyber operations, protecting IoT, and machine learning.

Biography

Richard Florida is one of the world’s leading urbanists.

He is founder of the Miami Future Initiative and a distinguished Fellow at Florida International University. He is a University Professor at University of Toronto’s School of Cities and Rotman School of Management and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU.

He is author the award-winning book, The Rise of the Creative Class and most recently, The New Urban Crisis. He serves as senior editor for The Atlantic, where he founded CityLab, the leading news site on urban development

He is an entrepreneur, as founder of the Creative Class Group which works closely with leading companies and governments around the world.

Biography

Becky Frankiewicz joined ManpowerGroup in July 2017 as the President of ManpowerGroup North America.

Before joining ManpowerGroup, Becky led one of PepsiCo's largest subsidiaries, Quaker Foods North America. She brings a depth of consumer knowledge to her commitment to building a work ready talent supply to meet the increasing job demand across America. It's her firm belief that helping people find meaningful and sustainable work benefits individuals, families and communities.

Becky is passionate about advancing women in leadership, developing skills to advance our workforce and advocating for conscious inclusion.  She believes enabling all people to participate in the workplace and achieve their potential is not just an ethical imperative, it's good-for business.

She has delivered this message at high-profile stages across the U.S. including MIT, appearing on Squawk Box and speaking at the CES Social Innovation Summit.

Her determination, candor and passion for work are characteristics that define the way she leads. She is a marathon runner, a mom to three daughters and the wife of her college sweetheart.  She is a literal farmer’s daughter and attributes her success to an early work ethic that came from growing up on a working farm in Texas.

Long-Form Update Bio

Becky Frankiewicz joined ManpowerGroup in July 2017 as the President of ManpowerGroup North America, bringing passion and compassion coupled with strong P&L experience from experience at large and complex global businesses.

Becky is committed to building a rightly-skilled talent supply to meet the increasing job demand across America. It's her firm belief that helping people find meaningful and sustainable work benefits individuals, families and communities. She is passionate about advancing women in leadership, developing skills to advance our workforce and advocating for conscious inclusion.  She believes enabling all people to participate in the workplace and achieve their potential is not just an ethical imperative, it's good-for business.

She has delivered this message at high-profile stages across the U.S. including MIT, appearing on Squawk Box and speaking at the CES Social Innovation Summit.

Before joining ManpowerGroup, Becky led one of PepsiCo’s largest subsidiaries, Quaker Foods North America where she was responsible for the $2.6B business. Under her leadership, Quaker Foods delivered impressive growth as she led the transformation of that brand to be known as America’s ‘best start to everyday’. She was also named by Fast Company as one of the most creative people in the industry, anticipating and adapting to fast changing consumer demands.

Prior to her success leading Quaker Foods, Becky held a variety of senior leadership roles at PepsiCo across the portfolio of brands. Her experience in these roles, which included leading Innovation, Finance, Strategy, Sales and Marketing across the PepsiCo portfolio, positions her well to lead ManpowerGroup’s strong and connected brands -- Manpower, Experis, Right Management and ManpowerGroup Solutions.  Prior to joining PepsiCo, Becky worked in strategic consulting with Deloitte and Andersen Consulting.

Her determination, candor and passion for work are characteristics that define the way she leads. She is a marathon runner, a mom to three daughters and the wife of her college sweetheart.  She is a literal farmer’s daughter and attributes her success to an early work ethic that came from growing up on a working farm in Texas.

Becky has an MBA in finance, and a BA in Marketing from the University of Texas.

Biography

Jason Gaschel is the Manager for Federal, National and State Accounts for Florida Power and Light. He is the former Electric Vehicle Program Manager for the company. In his former role, he promoted market growth through the adoption of electric vehicles through initiatives that include maintaining positive customer relationships with major stakeholders in the EV space, promotion of EV friendly legislative through advocacy on the state and national level, educational outreach activites, and fleet transformation to electrification. Prior to joining FPL, Jason developed an alternative energy program at Seminole State College of Florida that featured electric transportation. He is a former chairman of Clean Cities Central Florida and holds a master’s degree in technical education from the University of Central Florida.

Biography

Juergen Gerke serves as CEO and chairman of the board of management at Allianz Capital Partners since 2015. Juergen oversees the Renewables investment business, Legal and Compliance as well as Communications.

Prior to becoming CEO he was CFO at Allianz Worldwide Partners from 2013 to 2014, and CFO of Allianz France from 2007 to 2013. Juergen has among others held roles in Dresdner Bank, Euler Hermes and the European Commission.

Juergen holds a degree in law from the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and participated in executive programs at INSEAD, Harvard and IMD.

Biography

Emilio T. González, Ph.D., is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. He oversees operations at Miami International Airport (MIA) and four general aviation (GA) airports in the Miami area, which together generate $33.7 billion in business revenue and support more than 280,000 direct and indirect jobs. MIA leads the way, handling more than 44 million passengers and more than two million tons of cargo annually, placing it among America’s busiest international passenger and cargo airports.
Under González’s leadership, MIA is aggressively expanding its extensive route network into untapped world markets, while leveraging technology to improve the customer experience at the airport. Dr. González has overseen the completion of one of the largest airport expansion programs in the U.S., a $6.5-billion capital improvement program that has added new terminals, roadways and other infrastructure to MIA and the County’s GA airports. He is now leading the planning process for another major infrastructure expansion at MIA. In addition, Dr. González personally directs the Department’s government affairs functions at the local, state, federal and international levels.
Dr. González has spent most of his career involved in leader development, strategic planning, foreign affairs and international policy. He completed a distinguished 26-year career in the U.S. Army and retired with the rank of Colonel. He has served as Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House and was later appointed – and subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate – as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an Under Secretary position within the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. González has also held several executive-level positions in the private sector, including Senior Managing Director for Global and Government Affairs at a major Miami law firm, CEO of his own international and governmental affairs consulting firm, and President & CEO of Indra USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Spain’s Indra Sistemas, S.A., a leading multinational IT company.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. González earned a B.A. in International Studies from the University of South Florida; an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University; an M.A. in Strategic Studies and National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College; and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Miami. He has also served as a member of various boards in the banking, technology and social services industries. A recognized civic leader, Dr. González has been awarded the Boy Scouts of America 2014 Hispanic Heritage Award, Latin Builders Association 2014 Public Administrator of the Year Award, Friends of the American Latino Museum American Latino Influencer Award, and the 2015 Greater Miami Aviation Association Juan Trippe Award.

Biography

Brendan Greeley is the U.S. Editor for FT Alphaville. Most recently he was at Bloomberg, where he served as economics correspondent for Bloomberg Television, and co-host of Surveillance, the network's morning markets program.
Before that, he was a staff writer for Bloomberg Businessweek, covering economics and technology.
In 2012, he received a New York Press Club award for special events reporting for a Bloomberg Businessweek cover story, “Why Bin Laden Lost.” He has written cover features on the Pentagon’s response to the Ebola epidemic, how to sell soccer cleats, the reinsurance industry since Sept. 11 and Paul Krugman’s Twitter fight with the President of Estonia.
Previously, Greeley was technology and policy correspondent at The Economist.
His freelance print work has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal Europe. Brendan lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife, four children and two dogs.

Biography

Chris has more than 25 years of experience working with companies to help set strategy and improve processes and systems. Chris leverages her business acumen to create, implement and measure environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs that connect to strategy and drive innovation, business value and global impact.
Chris leads EYUS’ Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice in the Southeast and is the practice lead for the consumer products sector with a focus on food and beverage.
Chris has worked with large private companies and Fortune 500 companies on issues ranging from strategy and goal setting to risk assessment and stakeholder engagement.
Chris’ recent work has centered on ESG issues that are most prevalent today including climate change, circular economy and impact measurement. Her approach is to first determine expected outcomes and impacts then align practical solutions to achieving those outcomes.
Chris received a BBA from the University of Toledo and holds a master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Chris is active in her community and participates in several sustainability groups. She participated in developing the SASB standards and helped to develop the FSA certification.  She is on the advisory board of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech.

Biography

Ahmed Helal joined the Qatar-America Institute from the Qatari Ministry of Finance, where he was an Economic Analyst and served as Office Director (Chief of Staff) to the Deputy Undersecretary for Financial Affairs. In that role, he managed the relationship between the government and credit rating agencies and oversaw policy coordination between the core functions of the ministry. In 2015, Ahmed led the establishment of an Economic and Investment Dialogue (EID) between the United States and Qatar, which has strengthened bilateral ties and paved the way for important agreements to cooperate on key economic priorities. The EID has since been elevated into an annual Strategic Dialogue between Qatar and the U.S.

Ahmed came to the Ministry of Finance after completing graduate studies at Columbia University. While at Columbia, Ahmed was a member of the speechwriting team of the United Nations President of the General Assembly (PGA), where he also assisted the PGA’s office on communication between UN member states. Prior to graduate school, Ahmed spent two years as a policy analyst on a national food security task force led by the Qatari Heir Apparent, managing in-depth research into the policy gaps facing Qatar’s food and water governance frameworks.

Ahmed holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and is a 2009 graduate of Georgetown University. He is fluent in Arabic.

Biography

Frank Holder leads BRG's Global Investigations & Strategic Intelligence (“Global.i”) practice as well as the Latin American region. With over 25 years of experience, he has directed corporate investigations and security consulting assignments across the globe. The investigative matters include large-scale internal fraud and public corruption investigations, product protection, litigation support, due diligence, and hostile takeovers. As a security expert, he has designed the security for international airports, seaports, and complex multijurisdictional distribution networks.
As a strategic consulting industry leader, Frank draws on decades of client service experience to provide cutting edge strategies and integrates investigative skills with technology and financial expertise to address and resolve critical problems. Frank has assembled and experienced international management team strategically located in financial centers around the world to work with BRG’s clients to mitigate risks and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
Before joining BRG, Mr. Holder was the chief executive officer of Holder International, which was acquired by FTI in 2007. Before founding Holder International, he was the president of Kroll Inc.’s Consulting Services Group, responsible for operations in more than 35 countries. Prior to that, he was the head of Kroll’s Latin America and Caribbean region. Before joining Kroll, he was the president of Holder Associates in Buenos Aires, a risk mitigation and business intelligence firm.
Mr. Holder began his career with the U.S. Air Force as a political-military analyst for the U.S. embassy in Argentina and as a special agent for the Office of Special Investigations at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, with responsibilities in areas including counterintelligence and force protection.
Mr. Holder is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He is an accomplished public speaker with numerous presentations throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Brazil on a broad range of topics such as money laundering, risk management, homeland security, and operational risk. He has written articles on similar topics for U.S. and Latin American newspapers and professional journals. He has taught courses in political science and law on the Inter-American system at the Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires.

Biography

Paul Hutchinson is the Co-Founder and Owner of Bridge Investment Group with over $13.5 Billion in total assets under management and over 1200 employees. Paul’s investment funds have been ranked as the top performing real estate funds of their kind in the U.S. and his team was named as one of the top ten emerging managers in the world.

Mr. Hutchinson’s is well known around the world for his philanthropic and charity contributions. He has dedicated countless hours and donations to making a difference in the world with a specific focus on changing the lives of children throughout the world. Not only does he raise and personally donate millions of dollars to child related charities, he actually risks his life for the rescue of the children in slavery. Paul is active in donating time to civic organizations, charities, political groups and universities. His influence and success is highly respected by top political and business leaders everywhere.

Biography

Mrs. Daniella Jacques was born on 12 May  in Port au Prince, Haiti. Daniella is an entrepreneur and co-founder of the Haiti Women’s Chamber of Commerce, which she also serves as President. The Chamber developes two big projects : SIFNUH - International Summit of Women in Tech (April) and FEFHA - Haitian Women Economic Forum which will be held on (October).

Mrs Jacques shares her passion between entrepreneurship and politics. With a degree in Political sciences at Notre-Dame University of Haiti, she has both specialization (equivalent of masters degree) on Conflict management, and a masters degree in Electoral Policy and Administration.

Daniella is co-founder and COO of PoliticoTech, a political firm that assists in campaign management, accompaniment of representatives, local governments, ministers and so on.

Last year she created the first digital media platform dedicated to women www.dofen.news

Women’s Dofen News is a tool of Women Empowerment.

Biography

With a long and innovative involvement in commerce and entrepreneurial activities, Mark has honed his business skills across a broad spectrum of grass roots start up’s to Boardroom debates in larger corporations.

For several years Mark was a prominent global adventurer which allowed him to promote philanthropic programs while at the same time attempting to set Guinness World records.

He successfully led a world record breaking paramotor expedition in Australia before attempting to fly a paraglider from the summit of Mount Kilimnajaro, the tallest free standing mountain in the world.

Mark is also more than familiar with the rigours of global transportation and the inability to often guarantee an arrival at your destination. PAL-V is a partial solution to that problem.

In the past four years he turned his attention to flying cars and became pivotal in rolling out the PAL-V in to a brand new transportation market in The Americas.

Mark has a clear focus and understanding of what separates innovation from invention.

Biography

Bill Johnson became President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc. on March 2, 2015 following a 35-year career with Miami-Dade County government. Governor Scott appointed Bill to lead the agency that is the state’s principal economic development organization serving as a public private partnership between Florida’s business and government leaders. The position also serves as Florida’s Secretary of Commerce.

Enterprise Florida's mission is to facilitate job growth for the state through business recruitment and expansion; to assist small and minority businesses through capital programs; and to assist Florida businesses in export and international trade. During his tenure with Miami-Dade, Bill served in a number of executive positions including eight years as Director of Port Miami; and, as an Assistant County Manager, he had oversight of Miami International Airport. Bill also served as Director of the MiamiDade Water & Sewer Department and has had management responsibility for a number of the County’s large infrastructure projects including construction of the American Airlines Arena and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

As a government administrator, Bill earned a reputation as a key trouble-shooter, problem solver and proponent of economic development. At Port Miami, Bill launched one of the most ambitious capital development programs in the port’s history, including public-private partnerships such as the Port Miami tunnel and the deepening of the port’s channel to accommodate the super-sized cargo vessels that will begin passing through an expanded Panama Canal in 2016. On the cruise side of the business, Bill presided over the largest expansion ever of new cruise brands and new cruise vessels solidifying Port Miami as the “Cruise Capital of the World.”

In 2014, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez asked Bill to take over leadership of the Water and Sewer Department, where he launched an ambitious capital program to upgrade and expand the Miami-Dade’s critical water and sewer system. These improvements will enable future growth and economic viability, along with environmental sustainability, throughout Miami’s urban core and adjacent areas.

A native of Akron, Ohio, Bill holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee and has served in a number of leadership roles in business, maritime and economic development organizations at the national and international levels including: Vice President, International Association of Ports and Harbors; Chairman, Florida Ports Council; Chairman, World Trade Center Miami Board of Directors; Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors Board of Directors; US Chamber Let’s Rebuild America Leadership Council and International Policy Committee; Federal Reserve Bank Trade and Transportation Advisory Council; Florida District Export Council; Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Governors; Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Circle; and Past Chair, Miami Beach Latin Chamber of Commerce.

Biography

Sara Johnson is Executive Director, Global Economics with IHS Markit.  In this role, she helps clients assess worldwide business opportunities and risks.  IHS Markit provides economic forecasts of over 200 countries. Ms. Johnson co-authors the Global Executive Summary, manages the Executive Strategy Council, and presents the economic outlook to international conferences. She was previously North American Research Director with Standard & Poor’s DRI and Managing Director of Global Macroeconomics with Global Insight, predecessors of IHS Markit Economics.

Ms. Johnson holds a B.A. degree in economics and mathematics from Wellesley College and an M.A. in economics from Harvard University with concentrations in finance and macroeconomic theory. She earned the Certified Business Economist (CBE) designation from the National Association for Business Economists (NABE).

Ms. Johnson is president of The Boston Economic Club, vice chair of Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ Board of Economic Advisors, and a member of the American Economic Association. She is a former director of NABE and the NABE Foundation, and was named a NABE Fellow in 2014.

Biography

Christina (CJ) Juhasz is the Chief Investment Officer of WWB Asset Management (WAM,) a subsidiary of Women’s World Banking, responsible for raising and investing the $50M private equity impact investment fund, WWB Capital Partners, LP – which provides growth capital, and technical assistance, to women-focused inclusive finance institutions.  The fund seeks to increase access to financial services for women through its portfolio companies.  It also works to increase the recruitment and promotion of women as staff and leadership of them.  The fund is invested in ten portfolio companies covering Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia.  Prior to establishing WAM, CJ was the director of Women’s World Banking’s capital markets group.

Prior to joining Women's World Banking, CJ served in increasing positions of responsibility in Deutsche Bank’s fixed income group in New York and London and Merrill Lynch’s capital markets group in New York.  CJ began her career as a military police platoon leader in the United States Army, serving in Germany and the US.

CJ holds a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Stanford University.  She is a 2013 Eisenhower Fellow.

Biography

Paul K. Kearns has served as Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory since 2017. Kearns manages a growing multidisciplinary science and engineering research center with an $831 million diversified research portfolio and more than 3,200 employees, 8,300 facility users, and 1,600 visiting researchers. Kearns served as Argonne Chief Operations Officer from 2010 to 2017.

Kearns is a biologist and accomplished steward of diverse scientific resources to achieve ambitious goals in energy, environment, and national security. For over 30 years, Kearns has managed complex research and development enterprises by prioritizing science and technology leadership, operations excellence, and world-class talent.

Kearns’ resume includes five years as an executive with Battelle Global Laboratory Operations and accomplished tenures with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Kearns is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves on the Executive Committee of the DOE National Laboratory Directors’ Council and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness’ National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers.

Kearns has a doctorate and a master’s degree in bionucleonics and bachelor’s degree in natural resources and environmental sciences, all from Purdue University. He and his wife, Lynn Kearns, have three children and four grandchildren.

Biography

Joe Keefe is President and CEO of Pax World Funds (“Pax”) and President of its investment adviser, Impax Asset Management LLC, formerly Pax World Management LLC, as well as CEO of its majority-owned subsidiary, Pax Ellevate Management LLC.

Under Joe’s leadership, Pax has become one of the leading innovators in the rapidly growing field of sustainable investing. Prior to joining Pax, Joe was President of NewCircle Communications, a strategic consulting and communications firm specializing in corporate social responsibility and public policy-oriented communications. He served as Senior Adviser for Strategic Social Policy at Calvert Group from 2003-2005 and as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Citizens Advisers from 1997-2000. He is a former member of the Board of Directors (2000-2006) of US SIF, the trade association representing asset managers and investors engaged in sustainable investing throughout the United States.

Joe is a leading advocate for investing in women and the critical role that gender diversity plays in business success. He was one of the founders of the Thirty Percent Coalition and the first chair of its institutional investor committee, whose work has led to women joining over 100 previously non-diverse boards. He is Co-Chair of the Leadership Group for the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a joint program of the United Nations Global Compact and UN Women, and in 2014 was honored at the United Nations as one of five recipients of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Award. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Women Thrive Alliance, a global network of over 300 member organizations working to achieve gender equality.

Joe has been named by Ethisphere magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” five times, was recognized in 2012 by Women’s eNews as one of “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” (where he was the sole male honoree,) and in 2015, Financial Times named him one of its 10 “top feminist men” for his work helping women succeed in business and beyond. In 2016, Joe was named the University of New Hampshire’s “Social Innovator of the Year” and received the Global Leadership Award from the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire. He also serves on the board of New Hampshire Public Radio.

He is a former Democratic Nominee for United States Congress in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District and a former Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and member of the Democratic National Committee. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to entering the investment management industry, he was in private law practice for 16 years.

Biography

Ryan oversees global marketing and communications for Virgin Hyperloop One and supports the commercialization of hyperloop technology through strategic global campaigns.
Ryan gained knowledge and expertise in digital strategy and marketing from years spent consulting with hundreds of brands at companies large and small.
Ryan worked at The New York Times on one of the first integrated advertising teams, as well as WPP, one of the first advertising networks, and was the Digital Director at Media-Corps, managing a 6 billion impression per month network. Pivoting to the agency realm, as a partner at GWNewYork, he oversaw digital strategy, buying, and planning for B/S/H appliance brands and various others. Other clients included Salesforce, Oracle, Lufthansa, American Express, and Bose.
Ryan also teaches marketing strategy to Fortune 1000 companies through General Assembly and was named a 40 under 40 leader for Los Angeles county. He holds a BA in Advertising and BS in Marketing from Syracuse University.

Biography

As Head of Latin America, Canada and Caribbean World Wide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jeffrey Kratz is the executive responsible for government, education & non-profit business in these key regions. His experience building & managing complex international teams has accelerated the regional customer engagement, specifically in social media, Internet-of-Things, big data, workflow, security, storage/archiving & web hosting arenas. Given a strong sales, licensing, international development & cloud services background, Jeff has been frequently asked to speak on international technology trends, start-up channel sales dynamics & public sector growth strategies.

Prior to joining Amazon, Jeff had a long career at Microsoft since 1992 holding a variety of executive positions both within the Microsoft field sales & marketing organization as well as at the corporate headquarters. His last role at Microsoft was leading the world-wide Public Sector partner channel, driving channel migration efforts to cloud services. He came to Microsoft from Data Trek, Inc., a software start-up firm specializing in automation & information retrieval systems for corporate & public libraries.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science & Mathematics from Prinicipia College, located outside of St. Louis, Missouri with graduate work at the Pepperdine University Graziado School of Business & Management. A former elected official for the Seattle Queen Anne Community Council, Jeff represented his borough in the city’s community efforts. He is an active member of the Aircraft Owner’s & Pilot’s Association, as well as Seaplane Pilot’s Association. When not in an airplane exploring the Pacific Northwest backcountry as a FAA commercial pilot, Jeff can probably be found kayaking within the waters of the greater Seattle Washington area.

Biography

Mr. Kuryla began his career with Miami-Dade County in the Parks and Recreation Department in 1987. He moved to the County’s Finance Department in 1993 as an administrative officer, where he managed a grants program funded by tourist tax dollars. After approximately a year and a half in the Finance Department, Mr. Kuryla took the position of Section Head at the County’s Public Works Department’s Road, Bridge and Canal Maintenance Division.

In 1996, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to work in the County Manager’s Office as an Assistant Administrator. He was promoted again in May 1998 to the Port of Miami as Assistant to the Port Director, where he oversaw the Department’s local, state and federal legislative agenda.  From February 2001 through February 2007 Mr. Kuryla held the positions of Assistant Port Director for Intergovernmental Affairs and Assistant Port Director for Intergovernmental Affairs and Promotions.

In 2007, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to Assistant Port Director for Maritime Services. In this capacity, he served as co-lead negotiator for the Port on all long term agreements executed with cruise and cargo customers as well as oversaw Port operations, facilities management, berthing, and property management, in addition to the customer service, business development, public information and media relations.  In 2009, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to Deputy Port Director. In this capacity, he was responsible for directly overseeing the Port’s five assistant port directors.

On April 1, 2014, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez appointed Mr. Kuryla to the position of PortMiami Director and CEO, where he oversees operations and capital development for the cruise capital of the world and cargo global gateway.

Mr. Kuryla holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from Florida International University. In 2010, Mr. Kuryla obtained his Professional Port Manager PPM^® degree from the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

Biography

Andrew joined UBS Global Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office in July 2012 and currently serves as Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, supporting clients with investment advice, strategy and thought leadership in these areas. Prior to this, he was Deputy Global Head of the CIO Ultra High Net Worth / Alternatives / Sustainable and Impact Investing group, with specific responsibility for the Impact Investing and Private Markets teams. Andrew is a Managing Director based in New York.
Prior to joining CIO WM, Andrew was Managing Director overseeing investments for a private New York based single family office. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing asset allocation, theme development, due diligence and execution of all direct and indirect investments for the family investment vehicles. Previously, Andrew was part of a long/short equity hedge fund team at Deutsche Asset Management. Before this, he worked at Lazard in the banking (M&A) and real estate private equity groups. Andrew has a MBA from the Wharton School and an AB from Harvard College.

Biography

Enrico Letta is the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po in Paris and also the President of the Jacques Delors Institute.

He was the Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014. Before he served as Minister for EU Affairs (1998-1999), as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Crafts (January-April 2000, during the second D’Alema Government), as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Crafts and Foreign Trade (2000-2001, during the second Amato Government) and as Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister of the centre-left government led by Romano Prodi from 2006 to 2008.

Between 2001 and 2015 he was Member of the Italian Parliament, excluding between 2004 and 2006 when he was Member of the European Parliament. He also served as deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) from 2009 to 2013.

From 1993 to May 2013 he managed an independent think tank, Arel, founded by the late Beniamino Andreatta. He was also Vice Chairman of Aspen Institute Italia, President of the Italy-Spain Dialogue Forum, and a member of the Trilateral Commission.

He was born in Pisa (Tuscany) in 1966 and he spent the first years of his life in Strasbourg. He graduated in International Law at the University of Pisa and obtained a PhD in European Union Law at the School for Advanced Studies “Sant’Anna” of Pisa.

Biography

Anne-Marie Lévesque joined FinDev Canada in August 2018 as the Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment Advisor, where she will develop and lead the implementation of FinDev Canada’s gender strategy. Her role will be to ensure that operations and investments bring leading approaches to the inclusion of women in private sector activities and investment decisions.
Prior to joining FinDev Canada, Anne-Marie worked as a consultant in London and New York at Ergon Associates, a consultancy firm with a focus on human rights, gender equality and development. While at Ergon, Anne-Marie provided strategic and technical support to development finance institutions and their private sector clients on understanding the barriers women face in accessing employment, finance and basic services, especially in developing countries. She also helped companies to implement gender action plans and policies to improve the gender-inclusiveness of their employment practices. Anne-Marie previously worked at the Québec Labour Standards Commission and the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies in Montreal.
Development Finance Institute Canada (DFIC) Inc., operating under the FinDev Canada brand, is a Canadian institution dedicated to providing financial services to the private sector in developing countries with the aim of combating poverty through economic growth by focusing on three main themes: economic development through job creation, women’s economic empowerment, and climate change mitigation. Development Finance Institute Canada (DFIC) Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Export Development Canada (EDC).

Biography

NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis is widely considered to be one of the most dominant defensive players in the history of the NFL. Lewis led the Baltimore Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV (where he was named Super Bowl MVP) and again in Super Bowl XLVII, in what would be the final game of his career. Lewis is only the second player in NFL history to win both the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same year (2000).

The Ravens’ all-time career leader in tackles and fumble recoveries, Lewis is also the only player in NFL history with at least 40 career sacks and over 30 interceptions. Lewis’s 13 Pro Bowl selections are tied for the fifth-most in the NFL by any player, and is the most by a linebacker. He was named AP All-Pro ten times and NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice (2000 and 2003). Lewis played in 228 games, including 11 playoff games. Lewis’s historic comeback to play in 2012 following a torn triceps injury secured him the record of the most tackles by one defender in any NFL postseason (51).

Lewis is also one of only six players to earn the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award multiple times (2000 and 2003). Named to the 2000s All-Decade Team, Lewis was the second draft pick in Ravens history—the No. 26 pick overall in the 1996 NFL Draft. Lewis is also a 2018 Hall of Fame inductee.

Ray spent his high school career playing for Kathleen High School in Florida. At Kathleen, Lewis was a standout wrestler and football player. During his four years at the school he led his squads to a bevy of city and state titles in football and wrestling. Lewis later went on to play for the University of Miami Hurricanes. At the end of his junior year, Lewis was named runner-up for the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker.

Ray was the featured athlete on the cover of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 2005, and he was profiled in the NFL Network’s documentary series A Football Life. Lewis has also appeared in television spots for Madden NFL 13, Under Armour, Old Spice, Visa, and other products. Lewis joined ESPN as an NFL studio analyst in 2013 and regularly appeared on Monday Night Countdown, Sunday Night Countdown, and SportsCenter, in addition to contributing to ESPN’s annual Super Bowl coverage through 2016. He transitioned as a guest analyst on Fox Sports in 2016 and also on Showtime’s Inside the NFL in 2017.

Lewis, who earned his undergraduate degree in Arts and Science in 2004 from the University of Maryland University College, is involved in charitable activities, motivational speaking, and mentoring. In May 2010, a portion of Baltimore’s North Avenue was renamed “Ray Lewis Way” in honor of his charitable work. Similar honors include a 2006 JB Award (named for CBS broadcaster James Brown) and an “Act of Kindness” Award for his community work.

Today, Lewis is a New York Times best-selling author for his breakout memoir I Feel Like Going On, a regular member of Showtime’s Inside the NFL, a frequent guest on Fox Sports shows Undisputed and The Herd, as well as an in-demand motivational speaker. He devotes his time to being a father, speaker, businessman and community activist. In 2015, Lewis partnered with Rob Wallace to found Power52, a community solar solution. Power52 provides affordable renewable energy to inner city communities. Lewis also launched the Tackling Life podcast in 2016 with Dr. Christian Conte. In addition, he helped launch Ferguson 1000, Baltimore 1000, LA 1000 and Global 1000 in 2016 with Dr. E. Lance McCarthy and Dr. Dave Spence. This global initiative seeks to be a primary engine for economic development in urban cities in America and globally. The objective is to leverage the available assets within the city to drive growth, create jobs, and improve quality of life through corporate relationships and minority business development. The initiative is responsible for filling over 2000 jobs to-date. Lewis is also an official partner with Under Armour, seeking to bring help and hope through community impact programs.

Biography

John Lipsky is the Peter G. Peterson Distinguished Scholar at the newly-created Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs of Johns Hopkins University’s
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. He also is a Senior Fellow of SAIS’s Foreign Policy Institute. Prior to joining SAIS in January 2012, Mr. Lipsky had served a five-year term as the International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director. During May-July 2011, Mr. Lipsky was the IMF’s Acting Managing Director. Prior to joining the IMF as First Deputy in September 2006, Mr. Lipsky had been Vice-Chairman of the JPMorgan Investment Bank. Previously, he had been JPMorgan’s Chief Economist, after having served as Chief Economist and Director of Research for Chase Manhattan Bank. Before joining Chase in January 1997, Mr. Lipsky spent thirteen years at Salomon Brothers – the last five as Chief Economist – following a decade at the IMF.

Mr. Lipsky currently serves as Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute’s Program on the World Economy, as Board Vice Chair of both the National Bureau of Economic Research and of the Center for Global Development. He also is a member of the Advisory Board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and of the Advisory Council of the United Nations Environment Program's Inquiry on the Design of a Sustainable Financial System. Mr. Lipsky is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

Biography

Diane Magnum is an award winning broadcast journalist who has spent the past 35 years bringing the news to the people of south Florida. WPLG, the ABC affiliate station in Miami, welcomed Diane to its team in 1983. After two years as midday anchor, Diane moved to weekends before settling in as
Channel 10's Monday through Friday main evening news anchor.
Diane also conceived of and spearheaded the Local 10 community service initiative called "Magnum's Force" in which she used the power of television to put together those in need with those who have the means to help. In the seven years that Magnum's Force was on the air, more than six and a half million dollars in goods and services were given away to thousands of deserving families in south Florida.
In 2017, Diane joined the news department at WFOR, the CBS owned and operated station in MIami, as a contributing anchor for the station’s evening newscasts.
She continues her broadcast work there, while also partnering with corporate clients on commercial and in-house video projects, as well as acting as emcee for corporate and non-profit events.
Diane's body of work has been recognized with three UPI awards, two Emmy Awards, a Silver Circle Award, a Green Eyeshade Award for Investigative Journalism, and the first ever Williams S. Paley award given to a local
television station.
Diane grew up in Miami. She attended Killian High School and Florida State University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Communications.

Biography

José Luis Manzano is an Argentine businessman with a deep understanding of Latin American public policy and global emerging markets. He possesses significant experience in the investment, media, energy and distress industries. He speaks frequently across the world on these issues.

Dr. Manzano founded the international firm Integra Capital, a private equity and merchant banking firm. Integra also provides services such as mergers and acquisitions, financial structuring, IPOs, due diligence procedures, debt and company restructuring, among others.

Dr. Manzano and his family are relevant shareholders of Phoenix Global Resources, a company engaged in the exploration and production of oil with activity in Argentina. PGR is listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM Market, and the Stock Exchange of Buenos Aires, produces 10.000 barrels of oil per day and has more than 60 million barrels of proven reserves and 300 million barrels of unconventional resources. Dr Manzano is also a relevant investor in Interoil, an exploration and production company listed in Oslo stock exchange that produces 1600bopd in Colombia.

Dr. Manzano is the major shareholder of Integra Oil & Gas, an oil production company that produces 4000 bopd in Venezuela. He is also a major shareholder in Integra Gas Distribution in partnership with Mercuria Energy Trading. Integra Gas Distribution is a significant shareholder of Metrogas, the gas distribution company of Buenos Aires serving more than 10 million people. He is also a relevant shareholder of Edemsa, the distribution electricity company of the province of Mendoza, HIDROELECTRICA AMEGHINO, a hidroplant producing 60 megas and Altus, a winery producer of premium wines in Argentina.

In relation to the media industry, Dr. Manzano is a major shareholder of Grupo America, the second by size argentine media group he co-founded in 1996. The group owns TV stations, news channels, radios and newspapers, including America Tv, the national leader on live television, La Capital, the oldest newspaper of the country and El Cronista Comercial, the more prestigious business and finance newspaper of Argentina.

Prior to his business career, Mr. Manzano was active in the Peronist party where he was Secretary General. He served as majority leader in the lower house of Argentina’s National Congress from 1983 to 1991 and was appointed as Homeland Security Minister under President Carlos Menem.

Dr. Manzano is a relevant donor to several educational organizations and charities. Dr. Manzano is the President of Universidad de Congreso, where he is actively involved in academics and research activities. He has developed activities with the climate change organization of Novel Awards Al Gore and the Clinton Global Initiative. He is also active with the UK Argentinean Chamber of Commerce and the Cámara de Comercio Argentino Norteamericana. He is a sponsor of the Chinese House of Culture in Buenos Aires and was a member of the B20, the business group in support of the G20 Argentine presidency. Dr Manzano is a regular participant of the activities of the Council of The Americas and the Americas Society and is a member of the Energy Steering Committee of the Institute of The Americas.

Mr. Manzano received his Medical Doctorate and his Post Degree specialization in Occupational Health from the National University of Cuyo. He has been a Visiting Scholar at both Georgetown University and the University of California at San Diego. He has received an International Business Certificate and an International Finance Certificate from Georgetown University. He has received a diploma in leadership from Oxford University and lectured at prestigious universities in Argentina, Japan, Europe and the United States.

Biography

Valarie J. McCall is the Chief of Communications, Government & International Affairs for the City of Cleveland and Mayor Frank G. Jackson. McCall serves as the Jackson administration’s primary liaison to local and state government, federal agencies and international organizations. She also oversees the administration’s appointments to internal and external boards and commissions, and helps implement the Mayor’s policies to promote regional growth and cooperation. McCall also oversees the City of Cleveland’s communications strategy, media relations and brand identity.

McCall is the Mayor’s primary representative to several national organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities and the National Black Caucus of Local and Elected Officials. She is also past chair of the American Public Transit Association’s Executive Committee (board member emeritus).

McCall serves on the board of several Cleveland-based organizations including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Destination Cleveland, The Downtown Cleveland Improvement District, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Global Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and was the City lead for the 2016 Republican National Convention Host Committee. She is also on the board of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and served as the first African American female president –with a second term as chair in 2019. She was also a member of the 2014 Gay Games Cleveland host committee.

McCall serves as the Jackson administration’s representative to the Ohio Municipal League, Cuyahoga County Mayor’s & Managers Association and the Northeast Ohio Mayors & Managers Association. She is also a member of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Visiting Committee, a former member of the Cleveland State University Center for Nonprofit Policy & Practice advisory board and is a current member of the Cleveland State University (CSU) Center for Population Dynamics

In addition to her domestic responsibilities, McCall represents the Jackson administration and the City of Cleveland overseas, including many of Cleveland’s sister cities. She is as a former panel member at the United Nations International Development Organization’s Conference on Urban Agglomerations and a former member of the Rouen Business School International Panel. McCall has traveled to Europe, meeting with leaders in the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Belgium, and Italy. She has also represented Cleveland in China and Japan. She is an American Council of Young Political Leaders Fellow and an American Marshall Fellow.

Prior to her roles in the Jackson administration, McCall served as Cleveland City Council’s youngest City Clerk and Clerk of Council. As its chief administrative officer, she streamlined the legislation process, installed a strong management team and increased the efficiency of office operations.

McCall is also the City’s former Director of the Empowerment Zone, overseeing a more than $200 million budget. She successfully supervised the distribution of funds for job training and placement programs, as well as direct lending programs to assist neighborhood businesses.

McCall is a recipient of numerous accolades including the prestigious Cleveland State University  Alumni Emerging Leadership Award, Ebony Magazine Young Leader of the Future award, Crain's Cleveland Business 40 under 40 award, Kaleidoscope Magazines 40/40 Club, Rotary Club of Cleveland International Service award, Lifetime Achievement award from the Liberia Economic Development Initiative, U.S. Secret Service Appreciation award,  Cleveland State University Young Public Administrator of the Year award, Smart Business Magazine  Progressive Woman award, the Sales & Marketing Executives Distinguished Marketing and Sales award, and the Conference of Minority Transportation ‘Women Who Move the Nation’ award.  She is also a member of the ‘Best Leadership Cleveland Class Ever’ and is the Woman of Color Foundation’s “STAR” Professional Woman of the Year.

McCall is the former host of “Government Affairs: A Closer Look” a public affairs television show about local community issues. She served as chairwoman of Mayor Jackson’s 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 inaugural committees, overseeing all planning aspects of the inaugural activities and ceremonies.

McCall held several jobs early in her career which helped prepare her for future positions.  Her first was at McDonald’s where she learned the value of customer service, leadership, punctuality and preparedness.

McCall is a native Clevelander and a graduate of Martin Luther King Law & Public Services Magnet High School. She holds a bachelor's degree in social work and a master's degree in public administration from Cleveland State University. The university awarded her with an honorary doctor of public service degree honoris causa (with all rights, privileges and honors).

McCall resides in the beautiful city of Cleveland, Ohio, USA with her dogs Kapono and Barack.

Biography

Described by Forbes as the company’s “savvy CEO”, Diane Scott brings over 20 years of global experience in the C-suite of enterprises in global emerging industries to her role of Chair and Group CEO of JMCC.

JMCC is the premier provider of medicinal cannabis from Jamaica to the world and boasts an international team of executives, scientists, agronomists, quality and other professionals from a variety of highly regulated industries.

Recently named as one of North America’s 2019 “Top Female CEOs to Watch” in the industry by MJ Business, Diane helms a rapidly growing business with contracted revenues from customers in Canada, Germany, Australia and Brazil, and its continuing international expansion. Under her leadership, JMCC has experienced exceptional growth and is currently on-plan to deliver one million square feet of medical cannabis cultivation in 2019 – of which the already contracted yield take-up is more than 80% of full production.

Diane is a regular speaker on the international stage, having recently participated in the prestigious World Strategic Forum, Australia’s Food and Drug Regulatory Symposium, International Economic Forum of the Americas and Bloomberg’s elite Players Technology Summit, and most recently Cambridge University’s Old Divinity School CannTalks series among many others.  Diane was also recently appointed as an Advisor to the Center of Medicinal Cannabis in the United Kingdom, a group working to help shape the U.K.’s new medicinal cannabis regime.

In addition to her JMCC role, Diane is also the co-founder of Sx2 Ventures, an international venture capital firm business based in London, which focuses on innovation and value creation in the human care sector, investing in life sciences, longevity, specialized care and emerging market healthcare solutions. Sx2’s founders share the belief that business and capital must always benefit humanity: hence, every investment by Sx2 has a strong social “give-back” component.

Biography

Dr. Shehadeh joined Miami Dade College in August 2017, as the Dean of Global Business, Trade & Transportation, which includes the School of Global Business, the School of Aviation and the Schools of Culinary & Hospitality.

Dr. Shehadeh spent over 20 years working in the industry sector, in Global Companies such as PepsiCo, Georgia-Pacific and AT Kearney; as well as smaller privately held companies such as The Schwan's Food Company, a $5 Billion frozen food company and Sartori Foods, a family owned Artesian Cheese Company in Wisconsin.

Prior to joining MDC, Dr. Shehadeh worked was the Vice President of Research & Development at PepsiCo for LATAM, responsible for R&D strategy and operations in over 19 counties leading 250 employees.   She served on the Executive Leadership Committee for PepsiCo South American and later for PepsiCo LATAM, which included Mexico, representing $8 Billion in net sales.

Her career spans a diverse set of industries such as Management Consulting, Paper & Building Products, and Food Companies in various categories from Snacks, to Dairy products, to breakfast & Oatmeal, to Frozen Food, to artesian cheese.  During her diverse career, Dr. Shehadeh led multiple teams responsible for R&D Strategy Development, New Products, Innovation, Marketing Research, Technology Scouting, Change Management, and Strategic Sourcing & Procurement.   Throughout her career, she lived and worked in various cities throughout the Midwest and the East Coast, and most recently in Sao Paulo, Brazil before moving to Miami in 2015.

Dr. Shehadeh has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Physical Chemistry and an MBA from Emory University.

Biography

Recognized as a results-driven figure, the Honourable Christian Paradis was Member of the Parliament of Canada for the Mégantic-L’Érable from 2006 to 2015, and Cabinet Minister between 2007 and 2015, of Public Works and Government Services, Natural Resources, Industry and International Development and  La Francophonie. During his years in office, he led very important files in Canada and at the global stage, he played a leadership role with his involvement in developing and pushing on blended finance for international development.

The Honourable Christian Paradis did not seek a fourth mandate and he joined GardaWorld in January 2016 as Senior Vice President, Strategic Development, Protective Services. His mission is primarily to promote the benefits of public-private partnerships of security services in Canada. When implemented with rigor and common sense, outsourcing is equally capable of making a significant contribution to public services. Over the last years, the Honourable Christian Paradis could indeed see and appreciate the importance of the protection services of the population, both in Canada and around the world.

Mr. Paradis graduated from the University of Sherbrooke in civil law and holds a graduate degree in corporate law from Université Laval. He has been member of Quebec Bar since 1997.

The Honourable Christian Paradis is member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada since 2007. He is recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).

He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Canada, Canada World Youth and Canadian Wildlife Foundation. He also co-founded Global Development Solutions (GDS) Canada inc., an organisation facilitating social impact investments in frontier and emerging markets.

Biography

Councillor Michael Thompson is Chair of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. Now in his fifth term as Councillor, Michael has earned a reputation as one of Toronto’s hardest working and most effective political leaders.

In 2006, as Chair of the Scarborough Community Council, he led the campaign to create the first ever TTC transit strategy for Scarborough, a strategy designed to significantly expand and enhance public transit services for all Scarborough residents. Throughout his years on Council, Michael’s unrelenting drive for public safety in the face of increased gun violence ultimately led to the development of a city-wide Community Safety Plan, a GTA-wide police task force on guns and gangs, an increase in the numbers of police officers in the street, and a new young offender program designed to divert young people into jobs instead of jail.

Under the banner of “getting things done,” Michael is known to his constituents as a community builder committed to bring people together in a spirit of collaboration. He has led and assisted in the formation of local community associations, youth leadership initiatives and Business Improvement Areas, and holds regular public meetings to engage residents throughout his ward.

In addition to a strong focus on resolving local issues and serving his constituents, Michael’s commitment to developing Toronto’s city-wide economy is longstanding. In his first term in office, he spearheaded the creation of the Wexford Heights Business Improvement Area and established a Job Fair that annually brought thousands of job seekers together with dozens of employers.

He maintains a widespread network of business relationships that has helped the City to enhance business retention, promote growth and increase private sector employment. His active engagement with business has helped speed the launch of new business ventures, resolved business/residential conflicts and gained business participation in a wide range of community-building initiatives. In recent years, the international connections he has developed and nurtured have played a significant role in attracting billions of dollars in new investment to the City, contributing to a more robust economy and substantial job creation.

Recently, Michael was a key member of a Toronto project team that successfully lobbied executives of Collision, one of the world’s leading high technology conferences, to choose Toronto as the conference’s home for 2019 – 2021, bringing 25,000 technology executives and investors to the City and injecting tens of millions of dollars into Toronto’s economy.

Michael is a firm believer in the critical value of culture as a builder of strong communities. When he first took office, he co-founded the Taste of Lawrence Avenue East Festival, which brings together tens of thousands of people each year to experience local performing arts and cuisine. In 2013, he led the City’s efforts to create a new arts and culture plan that provided a bold, new roadmap for cultural vitality, strengthened arts spending and launched a new era of collaboration among arts and culture groups across the City. Michael was also the first Chair of Toronto’s Music Advisory Committee, and played a key role in efforts to attract international film and television productions and studio investments to Toronto.

Michael received his public school education in Scarborough, and his BA from Concordia University in Montreal. Prior to entering politics, he earned his business credentials as an entrepreneur in the business and financial services sector. In 2017, he successfully completed the ICD Directors Education Program offered by the Rotman School of Management and Institute of Corporate Directors.

He is the recipient of the African Achievement Award for Excellence in Politics, the York University International Award, the Jain Society of Toronto Community Award, the Bob Marley Award and the Bob Marley Lifetime Achievement Award.

He continues to work with a number of charitable organizations including participation in the LIUNA Local 506 scholarship fund.

Biography

Alexander R. Rossi has over 29 years of Private Equity and Investment Banking experience in the U.S. and Latin America, where he has successfully completed over 50 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of U.S. $3.5 billion. Mr. Rossi is co-founder and Managing Partner of LIV Capital, a leading Mexican private equity fund manager. Previously, Mr. Rossi was Managing Director and head of Latin America for Communications Equity Associates, LLC (CEA), a merchant and investment bank specialized in the media, communications and technology sectors. Mr. Rossi has also been Vice President at Bancomer Securities International, a Mexican investment bank, where Mr. Rossi focused on Mexican Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Finance transactions. Prior to that, Mr. Rossi was an Associate with the Latin American Group at Smith Barney, Inc. Additionally, Mr. Rossi spent two years in Argentina with the boutique investment banking firm, Prefinex S.A. He was trained as an Analyst in Corporate Finance at Paine Webber Incorporated.

Currently Mr. Rossi sits on the boards of various Mexican companies and is member of the LAVCA VC Council and EMPEA Latin American Council. Mr. Rossi received an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BA in Economics and Art History from Williams College. He is fluent in Spanish and English.

Biography

Antonio H. Pinheiro Silveira is Corporate Vice President of Infrastructure of CAF. He has a PhD in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He was the Deputy Chief of Economic Advice of the Ministry of Planning, Secretary of Economic Monitoring of the Ministry of Finance and Minister of the Secretariat of Ports of the Government of Brazil. He participated in Directories of public and private companies, which include Caixa Económica Federal, Vale S.A. (Fiscal Council) and Banco do Nordeste. He worked as Executive Director for Brazil at the World Bank and the IDB.

Biography

Uffe Ostergaard has worked in the container shipping industry during the past 25 years. He spent the first 20 years with Maersk Line, predominantly in the head office but also in various management positions in Europe, Africa and Asia.

In 2013, Uffe joined UASC as a member of Executive Management in Dubai, with responsibility for all global commercial activities. As of April 1, 2018, he took over the position of President of Hapag-Lloyd (America) LLC. in the USA.

Uffe Ostergaard is married with two children.

Biography

Nick Sargen is the Chief Economist and Senior Investment Advisor for Fort Washington. In his former role, Sargen served as Chief Investment Officer and was responsible for overseeing the investment activity for all assets under management for Fort Washington and its division and subsidiaries.

Prior to joining Fort Washington in June 2003, Sargen’s experience encompassed many years as an international economist and global money manager. He previously served as Managing Director for JP Morgan Chase in New York, where he was Chief Investment Strategist for JP Morgan Private Bank. He has also served as Managing Director for Prudential Insurance Company, where he was Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income Advisors. Previously, he was Director, Bond Market Research, for Salomon Brothers. His experience includes positions with Morgan Guaranty Trust, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Education

Sargen earned a Ph.D. and a M.A. in economics from Stanford University; he received an undergraduate degree in economics at the University of California - Berkeley. He has taught courses at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and Xavier University, where he also chairs the advisory board for the Finance department.  Sargen frequently contributes research articles on global investing to various publications and appears regularly on television business programs. He had been a regular panelist with Louis Rukeyser from 2001 through 2004.

Biography

An American by choice, Eduardo Padrón arrived in the United States as a teenage refugee in 1961. Since 1995, he has served as President of Miami Dade College (MDC), the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 165,000 students. He is credited with elevating MDC into a position of national prominence among the best and most recognized U.S. colleges and universities. An economist by training, Dr. Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. In 2018, he was elected a Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of America's oldest and most prestigious organizations. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., for being a prominent national voice for access and inclusion in higher education. In 2009, TIME magazine included him on the list of “The 10 Best College Presidents.” In 2010, Florida Trend magazine placed him on the cover of its inaugural “Floridian of the Year” issue. In 2011, The Washington Post named him one of the eight most influential college presidents in the U.S. Also in 2011, he was awarded the prestigious 2011 Carnegie Corporation Centennial Academic Leadership Award. In 2012, he received the Citizen Service Award from Voices for National Service, the coveted TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, and the Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship. In 2015, he was inducted into the U.S. News & World Report STEM Hall of Fame. Dr. Padrón’s energetic leadership extends to many of the nation’s leading organizations. He is the past chair of the board of directors of the American Council on Education (ACE) and is a past chair of the board of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and former chair of the Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF). During his career, he has been selected to serve on posts of national prominence by five American presidents. Internationally, President Padrón’s accomplishments have been recognized by numerous nations and organizations including the Republic of France, which named him Commandeur in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques; the Republic of Argentina, which awarded him the Order of San Martin; Spain’s King Juan Carlos II, who bestowed upon him the Order of Queen Isabella; Spain’s Prince and Princess of Asturias, Felipe and Letizia, who presented him with the Juan Ponce de Leon 500th Anniversary award; and Morocco's King Mohammed VI, who appointed him Honorary Consul in Florida of the Kingdom of Morocco in 2016. Dr. Padrón’s pace-setting work at Miami Dade College has been hailed as a model of innovation in higher education. He is credited with engineering a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention, graduation, and overall achievement. MDC enrolls and graduates more minorities than any other institution in the United States, including the largest numbers of Hispanics and African-Americans. Under Dr. Padrón’s leadership, Miami Dade College has received national recognition for its longstanding involvement with its urban community, its catalytic effect for social and economic change, and the marked difference the College has made in student access and success through pace-setting initiatives. He currently serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Urban Institute; RC 2020; the International Association of University Presidents; and Achieving the Dream. In past years he has held leadership positions on the boards of the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta, Miami Branch (past Chair); the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (Chair); the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the White House Commission on Educational Excellence; Campus Compact; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute; The College Board; and the White House/Congressional Commission of the National Museum of the American Latino. He is the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and prestigious awards.

Biography

Dr. Shawn Xiaohua Qu founded Canadian Solar Inc. in October 2001 and has been its Chief Executive Officer and President since October 2001. Prior to founding Canadian Solar, Inc., Dr. Qu worked at Automation Tooling Systems Inc (ATS), Cambridge, Ontario Canada from 1998 to 2001, where he performed various responsibilities at ATS and at its subsidiaries in the solar power business, Matrix and Photowatt International S.A. including Director for Silicon Procurement, Director for Strategic Planning and Business Development and Technical Vice President (Asia Pacific) of Photowatt International S.A. From 1996 to 1998, Dr. Qu served as a Research Scientist at Ontario Hydro (currently Ontario Power Generation), where he worked as a process leader in the development of Spheral Solar technology, a proprietary solar technology which Ontario Hydro acquired from Texas Instruments.

Business Achievements

Under Dr. Qu’s leadership, Canadian Solar Inc. became a publicly listed company on NASDAQ in 2006 and has grown into one of the largest photovoltaic solar product manufacturers and solar power project developers in the world. As of December 31^st, 2016, Canadian Solar Inc. has delivered accumulatively more than 20GW of solar modules to thousands of customers in more than 100 countries. The Company and its subsidiaries have also connected accumulatively more than 3GW of solar power plants to the grid. These solar power plants are located in Canada, the United States of America, Japan, China and the United Kingdom. The company has also developed and constructed solar power plants in Mexico, Brazil, India and Namibia.

For 2017, Canadian Solar expects to ship 6 to 6.5GW solar modules, achieve approximately $4B of revenue and connect approximately 1GW of new solar power plants around the world. The Company runs manufacturing facilities in six countries including Canada, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil. The Company employs more than 10,000 people around the world.

In 2015, Canadian Solar Inc. acquired Recurrent Energy of California from Sharp, with approximately $265M, thus became one of the largest utility-scale solar power plant developers in USA. Canadian Solar has invested $940M into US as of today, including capital investment, parent and intercompany loans to its US subsidiaries, parent guaranteed loans and other financial facilities.

Academic publications / Technology achievements

Dr. Qu was the principal researcher on various topics in condensed matter physics and semiconductor materials science during his M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies. He has published scientific research papers in academic journals such as IEEE Quantum Electronics, Applied Physics Letter and Physical Review.

Under his strategic leadership, the Canadian Solar research team has pioneered the commercialization of MCCE (Metal Catalyzed Chemical Etch) black Si texturing technology from 2012 to 2016, improved the efficiency of solar cell, at the same time enabled the low cost diamond wire-saw mc-Si wafer technology to become the new mainstream technology.  He also has led the company creating a module production portfolio that accelerated the PV technology advancement for the whole PV industry, such as ELPS (MWT technology), double glass modules and high voltage modules.  Through developing new PV technology,  Dr. Qu and his team have accelerated solar grid parity, thus enabled solar industry in many countries to approach the same cost level of fossil fuel energy.

Education

Dr. Qu received a Ph.D. Degree in Material Science from University of Toronto in 1995, a M.Sc. Degree in Physics from University of Manitoba in 1990 and a B.Sc. in Applied Physics from Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) in 1986.

From 1995-1996, Shawn was a Post Doctorate Research Fellow at University of Toronto focusing on semiconductor optical devices.

Honorary titles and Recognitions

In 2010, Dr. Shawn Qu was selected as one of the first group of 25 people out of the Chinese government’s 1000 overseas talent program and later was awarded the title by the state council as China’s  Distinguished Expert for Dr. Qu’s significant contribution in starting and developing the solar industry in China.

From 2011 to 2013, Shawn was an honorary professor at Tsinghua University, the top university in China, for the development of the renewable energy research program.

Shawn has been actively involved in various solar industry associations and holds key positions. Among them are member of Photovoltaic Special Committee of China Renewable Energy Association, Vice Chairman of Chinese Photovoltaic Industry Association, and Executive Vice Chairman of Jiangsu Province Photovoltaic Industry Association.

Public speaking

Dr. Shawn Qu is viewed as the global solar industry leader. In the past few years, Dr. Qu has been an invited speaker at the IFC Climate Change Conference, the International Economic Forum Americas, the Wall Street Journal Economics Forum, Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance Forum, International Energy Forum, Solar Power International, TEDx Talks, and many other prestigious forums, special interviews at China’s most viewed TV programs  “Dialogue”,  “Brainstorming” and “Bosstown”.

Biography

Lester Sola is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. He oversees operations at Miami International Airport (MIA) and four general aviation (GA) airports in the Miami area, which together generate $33.7 billion in business revenue and support more than 280,000 direct and indirect jobs. MIA leads the way, handling more than 44 million passengers and more than two million tons of cargo annually, placing it among America’s busiest international passenger and cargo airports.
Mr. Sola has served Miami-Dade County for more than 26 years, most recently as Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. As Director of the largest utility in the southeastern United States, Mr. Sola was responsible for: providing high-quality drinking water and wastewater disposal services to more than 2.3 million residents, businesses and visitors daily; managing more than 2,700 employees and an annual operating budget of $796 million; and leading the largest capital improvement program in Miami-Dade County’s history. During Mr. Sola’s tenure at the department from 2015 to 2017, nearly 1,000 projects worth more than $1.1 billion were completed.
During the next 15-20 years, the multi-billion-dollar program to upgrade the County’s entire water and sewer infrastructure will include certification of 63 pump stations out of moratorium, allowing for community growth and economic development. The Department has approximately 900 additional projects in varying stages of progress.
Prior to his appointment to the Water and Sewer Department, Mr. Sola had been the Director of the Internal Services Department (ISD) since October of 2011. ISD is responsible for Miami-Dade County’s procurement of goods and services, small business development, architectural and engineering selection services, capital improvement programs, design and construction services, facilities and fleet management, risk management, parking operations, printing and graphics services, surplus asset disposal and capital inventory oversight. Mr. Sola managed an operating budget of $370 million, capital projects totaling over $400 million, and over 850 employees.
Mr. Sola began his career with Miami-Dade County government in 1992 as a member of the County Manager Management Training Program. He has held several high-level positions including: Contract Coordination Officer in the County Executive Manager's Office; Architectural and Engineering Consultant Coordinator for the County Executive Manager's Office; Assistant to the County Manager; Associate Director for the Aviation Department; Deputy Director for the Department of Business Development; Supervisor of Elections; and Director of the Internal Services Department.
During his more than two decades of public service, Mr. Sola has been responsible for: the reorganization of several County departments; coordination and refocusing of the capital program at Miami International Airport; the establishment of small and minority-based programs for the procurement of goods and services; establishment of centralized systems for the tracking of County capital expansion programs and professional services; and the provision of management direction to County departments, management agreements and agencies such as Aviation, Seaport, Beacon Council, Performing Arts Center and the American Airlines Arena.
Mr. Sola has a master's degree and bachelor's degree in public administration, with a minor in organizational psychology from Florida International University.

Biography

Jeremy Rasmussen is Chief Technology Officer of Abacode, a Tampa-based company that provides managed cybersecurity services to growing businesses across all industries. Abacode employs global thought leaders and industry experts in ethical hacking, corporate governance, and incident response to provide its clients with a holistic view of cybersecurity.  He is also an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and founder of the USF Whitehatters Computer Security Club (WCSC). Since 2000, he has taught USF courses in cryptography and network security, ethical hacking, digital forensics & investigations, and mobile & wireless security.  He has more than 25 years of experience in performing R&D and developing cybersecurity solutions for government and commercial customers.  Jeremy is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and Project Management Professional (PMP). He was named the 2017 Tampa Bay Technology Leader of the Year.

Biography

Eric Sain, a sales associate and district sales manager with Illustrated Properties in Palm Beach, is the 2018 president-elect of Florida Realtors®, the state’s largest professional association with 180,000 members. “Our state’s real estate market will continue its strong performance in the coming year,” says Sain, who is active in residential sales. “Demand remains high for residential and commercial properties from buyers seeking a better life in Florida.”

A leader in regional, state and national real estate organizations, Sain has served as chairman of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches and was its “Realtor of the Year” in 2010. He has been a director and district vice president of Florida Realtors, and served on many of its boards, forums and committees. He is also a director of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and is the 2018 liaison to NAR’s Realtor Party Disbursement Committee.

Sain says there have been many magical moments in his real estate career. “I recently helped a young couple find their first home and get approved for financing,” he says. “The closing was delayed a few days by Hurricane Irma, but when they finally got their keys, they were so happy to become owners. To celebrate, their whole family joined together to paint and personalize the house.”

In the community, Sain was appointed to a governor’s task force for housing remediation in 2009 and is vice chair the West Palm Beach Flood Plain Management Committee. He also belongs to numerous other business and civic organizations.

As vice president of the state association, Sain will focus on enhancing Florida Realtors’ services, support and advocacy programs for real estate professionals. “Our industry continues to evolve, and real estate professionals can never stop learning,” he says. “In addition, advocacy is one of our most important services, and Florida Realtors will continue to serve as an effective voice for homeowners and local communities throughout the state.”

Biography

William Talbert III, CDME, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) for the past sixteen years, and Chief Operating Officer for the previous nine. Major accomplishments include: assisting with the passage of the Travel Promotion Act of 2010; negotiating interlocal government funding agreements; and preparing four successful Super Bowl bids and three Pow Wow bids.

Under Mr. Talbert’s leadership, the GMCVB was awarded a prestigious accreditation from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program in November 2007. Mr. Talbert is a current member of the following bodies: the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board; the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) Board; the Advisory Board, Brand USA; the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of VISIT FLORIDA (of which he is also Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair. He is also past Chair of several prestigious marketing organizations.

Mr. Talbert holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. In 2006, he earned the Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) designation - the highest educational achievement in the destination marketing industry.

Biography

Doug Turnbull is Vice Chairman and Country Head, Canada at DBRS. In this role, Mr. Turnbull is responsible for overseeing all of DBRS’s day-to-day operations in Canada. As part of the executive team, Mr. Turnbull also focuses on the strategic development of DBRS’s global rating business and senior outreach activities for the company.
Mr. Turnbull has more than 35 years of experience in the investment banking industry and is the retired Deputy Chairman of TD Securities Inc. Mr. Turnbull has worked in Toronto, Tokyo and New York, where he advised government, corporate, infrastructure and public-sector clients on numerous public and private market transactions.
Mr. Turnbull is Chairman of the board of directors of The Canadian Ditchley Foundation. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation and sits on the Advisory Board of Avana Canada Inc. In addition, Mr. Turnbull has held a number of board positions with public-sector and not-for-profit organizations, including Metrolinx, the Ontario Financing Authority, George Brown College Foundation, the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, the Advisory Panel of the Canadian Electricity Association and ORBIS Canada. In 2014, Mr. Turnbull was appointed by the Government of Canada as one of two Co-Chairs of the Assembly of First Nations, Joint Working Group on Resource Development.

Biography

Núria Vilanova is graduated in Information Sciences and she holds the prestigious General Management Program (PADE) by IESE Business School.

She is the founder and chairwoman of ATREVIA, the largest Global Communications and Strategic Positioning Company in Spain, with a team of more than 350 people and offices in 16 European and American countries.

She is the president of Consejo Empresarial Alianza por Iberoamérica (CEAPI). She also serves as an advisor at Azkoyen management board.

She is deeply committed with knowledge development, entrepreneurship platforms and social responsibility.

Núria Vilanova has actively promoted important research platforms, being the founder of the Foro de Buen Gobierno (Good Governance and Shareholders Forum), founded in collaboration with IESE Business School-IRCO, and the Internal Communication and Corporate Identity Observatory, in collaboration with the IE Business School.

She is the promoter of the annual study "Mujeres en los Consejos". She has written the books “La esencia de la empresa familiar. Valores y comunicación” and “Generación Z. Todo lo que necesita saber sobre los jóvenes que han dejado viejos a los millennials”. She is also the autor of “Actúa contra la crisis” and “Micropoderes, comunicación interna para empresas con futuro”.

Regarding values and Social Responsibility field, she is a member of the board of FIES Foundation (Spanish Institutional Foundation), Pelayo Foundation, Ship2B Foundation, aiming to develop social economy, and FOAL Foundation (ONCE Foundation for Latin America).

In 2017, she received the Individual Outstanding Achievement Award at the EMEA Sabre Awards ceremony, given by the prestigious The Holmes Report. She has been awarded with the Cruz de Oficial de Isabel la Católica in 2016 and with other important awards as Master de Oro by the Fórum de Alta Dirección in 2014, IWEC Award (International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge) in 2009, Fidem Award as Female Entrepreneur in 2008, FEDEPE Award as Businesswomen in 2007, ESIC Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002 and Young Businesswoman Award in 2001, given by AJE Actualidad Económica.

Núria Vilanova is among the TOP 100 Women in Spain, first 20 Entrepreneurial Women Leaders according to Yo Dona magazine and 10 Most Influential CEO in Social Media in Spain.

Biography

Alexandra (Alex) Villoch is East Region Publisher for McClatchy, a national news media company.  She oversees operations at the Miami Herald Media Company – which includes the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald newspapers – as well as the Bradenton Herald in Florida; The (Macon) Telegraph and the (Columbus) Ledger-Enquirer in Georgia; the (Biloxi) SunHerald in Mississippi; the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky; and the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pennsylvania.

Villoch previously served as President and Publisher of the Miami Herald Media Company since March 2014. Under her leadership, the Miami Herald was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes.

Villoch is a past-Chair of The Beacon Council; Chair Emeritus of the One Community, One Goal Initiative of The Beacon Council; and on the Executive Committee  of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.  She is also on the Executive Committee of the United Way of Miami Dade and is serving as Co-Chair of the Annual Campaign.

She holds a B.A. in Political Science and an MBA from the University of Miami, and resides with her husband in the city of Coral Gables.

Biography

Mark joined Ardian Infrastructure in the United States in August 2018. Previously, Mark was a Partner in Ares EIF within the Ares Private Equity Group where he was responsible for appraising investment opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies. Prior to joining Ares in 2015, he was a Partner at Energy Investors Funds (EIF).

Biography

Doctor Cao Wenlian is Director-general of Silk Road Industry and Finance Alliance（SIFIA）, President of Development Council of the International Cooperation Center of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC-ICC) People’s Republic of China, Academic Committee Member of China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE).

Dr. Cao, on A long-term base, being involved in research and formulation of the state major macro economic regulatory policies, the "belt and road initiative" construction as well as plans of medium and long-term development and key reforms, has supervised or participated in hundreds of important research projects and planning for central government, state ministries and local governments. He also lead edited or coauthored nearly 20 academic works, published more than 300 academic literatures and internal research and analysis reports.

Biography

Candace Worley is Vice President and Chief Technical Strategist for McAfee. She manages a worldwide team of Technical Strategists responsible for driving thought leadership and advancing technical innovation in McAfee security solutions.

Prior to this role, Candace served as Vice President for Enterprise Solutions for the Intel Security Group at Intel Corporation. She had worldwide responsibility for all facets of product and vertical marketing for the complete corporate products solutions set.

Worley joined McAfee in 2000 and has held a number of technology leadership positions in her McAfee career including, five and a half years as the SVP and General Manager of the Enterprise Endpoint Security business.  Prior to joining McAfee in 2000, she spent seven years with Mentor Graphics, where she led a team of product managers responsible for electronic design automation and electronic component software.

Worley holds a bachelor's degree in management from Oregon State University and an MBA degree from Marylhurst University.

Biography

Alan Yang is Chief Investment Officer of GLP and chairs the Company’s global investment committee which oversees all investment activity across GLP.

Prior to joining GLP, Alan was a principal in Blackstone’s real estate private equity group where he worked on over US$70 billion of real estate transactions. Alan was also a founding member of Blackstone’s Los Angeles office and its real estate operations in Asia. Prior to his time at Blackstone, Alan worked in real estate investment banking at Merrill Lynch.

Alan has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from Georgetown University. Alan is based in Los Angeles.

Biography

Stavros N. Yiannouka is the CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), a major initiative of the Qatar Foundation. WISE is a multi-sectoral, multidisciplinary platform dedicated to building the future of education through innovation. WISE flagship programs include an annual summit dubbed the ‘Davos’ of education and the WISE Prize for Education, the first global prize of its kind to recognize an individual or team for making a major contribution to education. To find out more about WISE please visit www.wise-qatar.org.

Prior to joining WISE in August 2012, Stavros was the Executive Vice-Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) at the National University of Singapore. He joined the LKY School in June 2005 to spearhead the implementation of an ambitious growth strategy, which he had helped develop as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. Today, the LKY School is widely recognized as the leading global policy school in Asia. Together with Kishore Mahbubani et al. Stavros is the co-author of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: Building a Global Policy School in Asia, World Scientific (2012). To find out more about the LKY School please visit www.lkyspp.nus.edu.sg.

Before joining the LKY School, Stavros spent five years with McKinsey & Company from 2000-2005 serving private and public sector clients in Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Canada, predominantly in finance, healthcare and education. Prior to joining McKinsey, Stavros practiced corporate law in the City of London from 1995-1998 with the firms Gouldens and Mayer, Brown & Platt. Stavros holds an MBA (with Distinction) from the London Business School and an LLB (with Honours) from the University of Bristol. He is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and an Adjunct Professor and Advisor at the LKY School.

Biography

Daphna E. Ziman, the President of Cinémoi, a network on Verizon FIOS devoted to film, fashion, and lifestyle, is also the founder of a music label, a movie writer and director, an author and a philanthropist, known internationally and in the Halls of Power in Washington, D.C. for her work on behalf of at-risk and foster children.
Cinémoi is an elegant channel tailored for discerning viewers and recognized for its high-quality eclectic array of classic and contemporary curated movies and documentaries and its glamorous coverage of top worldwide film festivals and Fashion Weeks.
In 2011, Ms. Ziman's first novel, The Gray Zone, inspired by her own experience adopting a daughter she rescued from a homeless shelter, was a New York Times Bestseller, and it will soon be turned into a major motion picture.
Formerly, Ziman was President of Edwards Entertainment International, an independent film and television production company, and wrote and directed the movie, Footsteps, which stars Maria Conchita Alonso and debuted on Showtime. Ms. Ziman also was President of the U.S. Film Distribution Company of British & Continental and was an in house Producer at CBS.
Away from the office, her passion is helping at-risk and foster youth. She is the founder and emeritus chairperson of Children Uniting Nations, a charity that provides foster children with devoted non-paid mentors, and successfully lobbied to amend the Family Preservation Act, ensuring the safety of children returning home after foster care.
Ms. Ziman also serves on the Board of Trustees of Children’s Institute International, is a
Chairperson of ABC LOVE (Adoption Brings Children Love), and has been the recipient of many honors, including: The Jacqueline Kennedy Award by JFK University; the Women of Achievement Award by the North American Council for Adoptable Children; the Uniting Children of the World Award by the Child Welfare League of America; the 2011 Community Hero Award by the Dreamland Foundation; the 2010 Soromundi (Sisters of the World Award) by the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles; the 2007 Blue Skies Award by Penny Lane Center; the 2006 Spirit of Life Award by LA's City of Hope; the 2002 Spirit of Compassion Award, presented by Aviva Family and Children Services; and the 1999 Peace & Tolerance Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Advocacy.

Biography

Born in Hull (Gatineau) on November 25, 1944, son of Carmel Rémillard and Jeannine Desjardins, Gil Rémillard is married to Marie DuPont. They have one son, Nicholas-Philippe, and two grandchildren, Matthieu-Gil and William, whose mother is Élizabeth Côté. Gil has two brothers, Jean and Martin and a sister, Sylvie.

Gil Rémillard holds degrees in Philosophy (1965), Political Science and Economics (1968), was called to the Québec Bar (1969), and has a PhD in Law (1973). He has worked in the fields of university teaching, private law and politics.

Career

From 1965 to 1969, when he was studying at the University of Ottawa, Gil Rémillard worked as a freelance journalist for Radio-Canada on Parliament Hill.

Professor and lawyer (1973 – 1985)

Upon returning from Europe in 1973, where he completed his PhD, Mr. Rémillard began teaching constitutional and administrative law in the Faculty of Law at Laval University in Québec City; he also taught in several other universities. During this time, he also practiced law at the Chouinard, Rémillard, Bussière & Robinson law firm and acted as advisor to the Québec and Ottawa governments on reforming administrative bodies and on certain constitutional issues, among them cable distribution. In 1983, he became a special constitutional advisor to Brian Mulroney, then Prime Minister of Canada, and an advisor to the United Nations Canadian delegation in New York. He has appeared before all levels of the Canadian court system, including the Supreme Court of Canada. From 1981 to 1985, he organized and chaired the Québec Constitutional Conferences at Laval University, which included a number of high-profile speakers, among them Prime Ministers Trudeau and Mulroney, as well as Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (former Secretary-General of the United Nations), Mother Teresa and Marguerite Yourcenar.

Politician (1985 – 1994)

On December 2, 1985, Mr. Rémillard was elected as the MNA for the Québec City riding of Jean-Talon; 10 days later, he was sworn in as a member of Premier Robert Bourassa’s Liberal government. Within that government he held several positions, being successively Minister for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister of International Relations, Minister of Public Security, and Minister of Justice. As Québec’s Minister of Justice for nearly six years, Mr. Rémillard was responsible for implementing the new Civil Code of Québec, which came into effect January 1, 1994. In 1990, he presided over the creation of the Human Rights Tribunal of Québec and, on June 4, 1990, convened a major Justice Summit and created the Prix de la justice Award. Each year, the award recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals who have worked to ensure and promote the quality, universality and accessibility of justice.

As Minister of Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Rémillard headed the negotiations which led to the Meech Lake (1987) and Charlottetown (1992) Accords. While not officially part of the Canadian Constitution, these two agreements had a considerable impact on Canadian federalism, primarily because the Parliament of Canada recognized the “Québec nation.” In addition, the distinct nature of Québec and the principles of cooperative federalism that were central to the Meech Lake Accord are now recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada as points of reference for interpreting the Canadian Constitution.

As Minister of International Relations for the Bourassa government, Mr. Rémillard negotiated the agreement that would lead to the creation of the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF). As the Minister responsible for International Relations and La Francophonie, in 1987, he hosted the organization’s second summit in Québec.

Professor and Lawyer (1994 – the present)

In January 1994, Mr. Rémillard left the political arena. From February 1, 1994 until March 1, 2016, he taught at the École Nationale d’Administration Publique (ÉNAP), where he lectured on administrative and international law and gave a course on the principles and issues involved in public administration. He also served as counsel to the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain, now Dentons Canada LLP.

In 1995, along with his wife Marie DuPont and his son Nicholas Rémillard, he founded the International Economic Forum of the Americas, which annually presents the following events: the World Strategic Forum in April in Miami; the Conference of Montreal in June; the Toronto Global Forum in September; and the Conference of Paris in November. The primary goal of these forums is to promote understanding of the major issues involved in economic globalization.

From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Rémillard acted as an advisor to the governments of the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria concerning the reform of their Civil Codes, as part of the preparation for their entry into the European Union.

From 2008 to 2011, he served as Chair of the Board of Governors for the Université de Sherbrooke. From 2009 to 2012, he acted as a negotiator for the Québec Government and Secretary General of the Québec-France Mutual Recognition Agreement that establishes equivalency of professional qualifications for many trades and professions on both sides of the Atlantic. From 2010 to 2013 he sat on the roundtable of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); in December 2015, the Government of Canada appointed him Chair of the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. As Founding Chairman of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, in partnership with HEC Montreal, Sciences Po Paris, the University of Seoul, the University of California in San Diego, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2017 he created the International Institute of Economic Diplomacy.

Publications

Mr. Rémillard is the President and publisher of the economic magazine FORCES and IEFA Magazine, the official magazine of the International Economic Forum of the Americas. He is also the author of several books and articles, among them: Le fédéralisme canadien, et Le fédéralisme canadien, Éléments constitutionnels de formation et d’évolution, Volumes I and II. He has edited a number of collections, including Global Economy: The Foundation for the Next Era of Growth, which was published in 2014.

Honours

In 1992, he was made Doctor Honoris Causa by the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Aix-Marseille University, France. In 1994, he was awarded the Mérite du Barreau by the Québec Bar for his assistance in creating the new Civil Code of Québec. In 2001, he was appointed to the Order of Canada and, in 2002, was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2004, he received the Ordre national du Québec and, that same year, was made a Knight of France’s Légion d’honneur by then-President Jacques Chirac; in 2017, he was made an Officer of that same organization by then-Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

In May 2007, he was granted the honorary title of Advocatus Emeritus by the Québec Bar. In 2013, he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the France-Canada Institute’s Samuel de Champlain prize. That same year, Ottawa’s Saint Paul University named him Alumnus of the Year and established a fund in his name to help children with learning disabilities. On June 11, 2017, he was awarded the 50^th Anniversary Medal by the Québec Ministry for International Relations and La Francophonie (MRIF), in recognition of his years of service as Minister.

Social Involvement

A dyslexic himself, Mr. Rémillard devotes his efforts to supporting organizations that help children with learning disabilities. He serves on a number of Boards of Directors, one of which is the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, co-chaired by former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul, that helps welcome new citizens and integrate them into Canadian life.

Biography

Nicholas Rémillard, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA), is responsible for the direction and strategy of the IEFA’s four major economic events: the Conference of Montreal, the Toronto Global Forum, the World Strategic Forum and the Conference of Paris.
Since the organization’s inception over 20 years ago, Nicholas Rémillard has held a variety of management roles, ultimately serving as President and CEO from 2010. His contribution led to the rapid expansion of the organization where he launched the Toronto Global Forum and the Palm Beach Strategic Forum in 2007 and 2011, respectively. The latter event is now held in Miami under its new appellation: the World Strategic Forum. In addition to these North American conferences, the IEFA has also shifted towards Europe and will be hosting its fourth edition of the Conference of Paris in November 2020.
Beyond his role at the IEFA, Nicholas Rémillard also serves as Honorary Consul General of Iceland in Montreal and President of RDÉE Canada’s working group, the Economic Corridor of La Francophonie.
Nicholas Rémillard holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa.