Speakers

Biography

Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser served as an Advisor at the General Secretariat of the Saudi Council of Ministers and Chairman of the General Authority for Competition from 2016 to 2021.

He also served as the Minister of Economy and Planning and Governor and Board Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the Saudi Central Bank. In addition, he was a member of several ministerial councils, boards, and committees, including the Council for Economic Affairs and Development, the Supreme Council for Civil Defense, the Board of Directors of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, the Board of Directors of the Public Investment Fund, the Higher Committee for Hajj (Pilgrimage) Affairs and the Ministerial Environmental Committee, among many others.

Academic Life

Dr. Al Jasser obtained his M.A. (1981) and Ph.D. (1986) in Economics from the University of California. Earlier, he received his B.A. in Economics with honors from San Diego State University in 1979. Dr. Al Jasser gained a wide range of leadership experiences in the public and private sectors, having held senior positions in several institutions.

Alternate Governor for Saudi Arabia

He served as the Alternate Governor for Saudi Arabia at the IMF, the World Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank, as well as Vice Governor and Vice Chairman of the Board of SAMA, Deputy Minister of Finance and National Economy, IMF Executive Director, Chairman of the GCC Monetary Council, Member of the Governing Body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Chairman of the Board of the Arab Investment Company and Chairman of the Council of Islamic Financial Services Board.

Participation in G20 at all Levels

Dr. Al Jasser participated in the G20 summits and meetings at the ministerial, governors, and deputies levels. Moreover, he participated in the monthly and annual meetings of the Bank for International Settlements over the period 1997-2011.

In addition, Dr. Al Jasser took part in several local and international symposia and gave lectures on economic and monetary policy.

Medals & Awards

Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser received several medals and awards, most notably the King Abdul Aziz Medal of the First Order in 2001.

Biography

Tareq Amin currently serves as Group Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten Group, Inc. and Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

At Rakuten Mobile, Amin is leading the design and rollout of the company’s next-generation fully virtualized cloud native mobile network in Japan. Leveraging technologies across the cloud, virtualization, OpenRAN and end-to-end automation, the Rakuten Mobile network offers greater flexibility, scalability, security and resiliency, and revolutionizes the way mobile services are provided and consumed.

Full-scale commercial LTE service began in April 2020, with 5G service launch following in September of the same year. Amin is also heading the development of the Rakuten Communications Platform, a cloud-native telco platform that enables telecommunications companies and enterprises around the world to build secure and open mobile networks at speed and low cost.

Before joining Rakuten Mobile in 2018, Amin served as Senior Vice President of Technology Development and Automation for Reliance Jio. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Technology Development and Automation organization, including innovation, development and operations. His organization led software development, systems engineering, next-generation access networks, technical operations and R&D. Amin drove end-to-end network design and deployment to meet coverage, capacity, and performance needs of India’s largest green field LTE TDD network, supporting industry leading data connectivity and innovative services such as VoLTE/HD Voice and eMBMS.

Prior to this, Amin served as Vice President of Carrier Solutions for Huawei, where he led the company’s strategy for all major technologies and solution innovations, and as Senior Director of National Planning & Performance at T-Mobile, where he managed all budget allocation of capacity, performance and software development related expenditures across USA markets.

Amin holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Portland State University in Oregon.

Biography

Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 17 January 2020. In August 2021, he was reelected for a 5-year term starting on 24 November 2021.

Under Mr. Asakawa’s leadership, ADB made significant contributions to the region’s COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery planning with a $20 billion comprehensive response package and $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility. He also played a key role in rolling out a series of new and innovative financing initiatives—including an Energy Transition Mechanism—to spur the region’s low-carbon development and elevated ADB’s 2030 cumulative climate financing ambition to $100 billion as ADB continues to focus on the battle against climate change.

Prior to joining ADB, he served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Ministry of Finance with diverse professional experience that cuts across both domestic and international fronts.

In the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, Mr. Asakawa, in his capacity as Executive Assistant to Prime Minister Taro Aso, took part in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit Meeting in November 2008. He was instrumental in orchestrating a globally coordinated financial package to abate the financial crisis, including a $100 billion loan from Japan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Then in 2016, in his capacity as Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, he took on a leading role for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Sendai under the Japanese presidency, where a sustainable and inclusive development agenda was extensively discussed.

Most recently, he served as Finance Deputy for the G20 meetings under the Japanese presidency, playing a pivotal role for the success of the G20 Osaka Summit as well as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Fukuoka. Some of his outstanding achievements in Osaka include the endorsement by the G20 Leaders of the “G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment” and the “G20 Shared Understanding on the Importance of UHC Financing in Developing Countries”. Before these, he had occupied various prominent positions within the Finance Ministry, including director positions in charge of development policy issues, foreign exchange markets, and international tax policy.

Mr. Asakawa’s professional experience extends beyond the realms of the Japanese government. Most notably, he served as Chief Advisor to ADB President Kimimasa Tarumizu between 1989 and 1992, during which time he spearheaded the creation of a new office focused on strategic planning. Also, he had frequent engagement with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in such positions as Chair for Committee on Fiscal Affairs (2011–2016). Furthermore, he was a senior staff at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF (1996–2000). In the meantime, he gave lectures as Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Economic Science, Saitama University (2006–2009), and at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo (2012–2015).

Mr. Asakawa obtained his BA from University of Tokyo (Economics Faculty) in 1981, and MPA from Princeton University, USA, in 1985.

Biography

Mr. Bragshaw is a veteran in the biotechnology industry, joining FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies as Managing Director in 2011 and becoming CEO of the company in 2014, leading the organisation through two acquisitions and significant growth in the turnover. In addition, Steve has chaired the UK’s Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum since 2013 and took on a role as Co-Chair of the UK Bioeconomy Strategy Board in 2016. In this role, he co-led the publication of the UK Government’s Bioeconomy Strategy, which outlined how the country can harness the full potential of biotechnology to achieve a more sustainable future. He served on the UK Vaccine Task Force in response to COVID-19 and currently serves as the non-executive director for CPI.

Biography

Since 2016, Kathy Baig, Eng., MBA, ASC, has been President of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ), the organization that oversees and supports approximately 65,000 engineering professionals in Québec. Under her leadership, the OIQ developed and implemented the ENG2020 Plan and the ENG 20-25 Plan to become the reference for public protection within Québec’s professional system. The outstanding efforts she has made to restore confidence in the engineering profession in the aftermath of the Charbonneau Commission have not gone unnoticed.

Her accomplishments have been recognized by the École de technologie supérieure (honorary doctorate), by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Québec (Mercury Award for her leadership), by Engineers Canada (Fellow), the national organization of Canada’s 12 engineering regulators, and by the Canadian Academy of Engineering (Fellow). She also received a Canada's Top 40 under 40 Award during the 2019 edition of this prestigious national awards program.

Kathy Baig makes a significant contribution as President-Elect of Engineers Canada’s Board, and as a member of the boards of directors of Via Rail Canada, the National Optics Institute (INO), Maison Saint-Gabriel, and Fondaction.

Before being elected President of the OIQ, Kathy Baig enjoyed an engineering career of over 10 years with multinational corporations (IBM, Johnson & Johnson), an SME (Pyrogenesis) and Aéroports Montréal (ADM), the airport authority that operates and develops two international airports in the Greater Montreal Area.

Kathy Baig has a degree in chemical engineering (Polytechnique Montréal) and in business administration (HEC Montréal). She also holds a corporate governance certification from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés at Université Laval.

Biography

Kathy Bardswick has spent nearly four decades in the financial services industry, retiring in 2016 from her position as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Co-operators Group.

Under Ms. Bardswick’s leadership, The Co-operators was the first Canadian insurance company to become a signatory of the UN Principles of Sustainable Insurance. She was also a member of the UN Inquiry into a Sustainable Financial System. She has also accepted numerous recognitions on behalf of The Co-operators for its good sustainability, environmental, social, and governance practices. More recently, Ms. Bardswick served as President of the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices.

Ms. Bardswick holds a Bachelor of Science (Math) from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from McMaster University. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Guelph.

Biography

Laurence Batlle is Chairwoman of the RATP Dev Executive Board, and has sat on the RATP Group Executive Board since 1st January 2017. She joined RATP Dev in 2007 as CFO, and since then has played a major role in defining its strategy and supervising its international growth. She became a member of the Executive Board in 2011, and was in charge of its Americas-Africa and Sightseeing Business Units from 2014 to 2016. She was also an independent Board member of Elior Group from 2014 to 2017.

Laurence Batlle has a proven executive management track record: prior to joining RATP Dev, she spent 14 years driving sales growth in major consulting firms, first for PricewaterhouseCoopers and then as VP Global Finance Support at Atos Origin for two years.

She is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Institut Commercial de Nancy,  and is a Knight of the French National Order of Merit.

Biography

John M. Beck is Founder and Chairman of Aecon Group Inc. A graduate in Civil Engineering from McGill University, Mr. Beck has more than 50 years of experience in the construction industry in Canada and internationally. His background includes corporate leadership in numerous construction activities including heavy civil projects and public-private partnerships for the development of infrastructure, such as airports, toll roads and transit systems.

Mr. Beck is currently a member of the Board of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and has been Co-Chair of the Infrastructure & Urban Development Industries at the World Economic Forum. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary and also a member of the Business Council of Canada. He was previously a member of the Board of the Ontario Financing Authority, as well as Chairman of the Board of the Ontario Power Authority, a government agency with responsibility for planning and procuring all of the province’s power needs for the next 20 years. Mr. Beck received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Award in the Manufacturing and Construction category for Ontario and the 2018 Par Excellence in Business Award from the French Canada Chamber of Commerce – Ontario. He also received the LiUNA Builder’s Award at the 2018 Ontario Business Achievement Awards (OBAA) and was named P3 Champion of the Year by the Canadian Council of Public Private Partnerships in 2013. In recognition of his distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession, Mr. Beck was inducted as a Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Biography

Mr. Christian Bélanger joined Hydro-Quebec’s Research Institute in 2016. He is currently Director of Research, Strategic and Cross-Functional Projects. In this role, he is responsible for the partnerships and the corporate technology vision in relation to this Direction.

Prior to joining Hydro-Quebec, Mr. Bélanger worked in Research & Development in various organizations in the chemical, materials and automotive sectors, in Europe and Canada. He has extensive experience in innovation management in both the public and private sectors.

Mr. Bélanger received his Ph.D. from McGill University in Chemical Engineering in 1992 and his engineering degree in Physical Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1986. He owns an EMBA from Concordia University.

Biography

Ms. Beschloss is Founder and CEO of RockCreek. Previously, she was Managing Director and Partner at the Carlyle Group. She was Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the World Bank and worked at Shell International and J.P. Morgan. Ms. Beschloss has advised governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on global public policy and financial policy as well as energy policy. She led the World Bank’s energy investments and policy work on areas including sustainable investing, renewable energy, power, and infrastructure projects to reduce carbon emissions and founded its Natural Gas Group as a transitional fuel.

Ms. Beschloss is Chair of PBS Foundation, and trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study, World Resources Institute, Council on Foreign Relations, Global Alliance for Vaccines, and Georgetown University.

She was recognized by Carnegie Corporation in their Great Immigrants, Great Americans 2020 list, received the Institutional Investor Lifetime Achievement Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award, and been listed among the “Most Powerful Women in Banking” by American Banker.

Ms. Beschloss holds an MPhil (Honors) in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she taught international trade and economic development. She is the co-author of The Economics of Natural Gas and author of numerous journal articles on energy, finance, renewable energy, and impact investing.

Biography

Born in Chicoutimi on December 27, 1967, son of businessman Gaston Blackburn and Nicole Desbiens. Married to Annie Tremblay and father to four children, Pierre-Karl, Samuel, William and Zachary.

Graduate of London’s ELS International Language School (1988) with a Bachelor of Administration with a law and management concentration (1992) from l’Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). Registered student (starting in 2002) in UQAC’s organizational management master’s program (90% complete).

Assistant to the trustee and advisor at Samson Bélair, Deloitte & Touche in Québec City from 1991 to 1993, managing director and board member at Groupe G. Blackburn Inc. from 1994 to 2020.

Elected to the National Assembly as Québec Liberal Party member for the riding of Roberval in 2003. Parliamentary assistant to Québec’s Minister of Economic and Regional Development from May 21, 2003 to March 24, 2004, to Québec’s Minister of Economic and Regional Development and Research from March 24, 2004 to March 2, 2005, and to Québec’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety from March 2, 2005 to February 21, 2007.

Chief of staff for the government whip from April to June 2007. Became chief organizer for the Québec Liberal Party on June 21, 2007 and took on the responsibilities of director general and chef organizer from 2009 to 2013.

Became Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations - Canada at Resolute Forest Products from September 3, 2013 to June 2020.

Highly engaged on social fronts, he has worked for many years with Centraide of Greater Montreal. Member of the board at the Conseil du patronat which acts as the voice of Québec employers. Member of the board of Forces Avenir which supports initiatives that encourage and recognize student social engagement in urban centres as well as in Québec’s regions. Member of the board at Fondation Je marche vers mon avenir which works to support early childhood care in Québec’s Atikamekw communities.

Received a civic merit medal from Québec’s Ministry of Justice in 2002.

Biography

As Executive Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global, Mr. Blanchard is responsible for CDPQ’s three main regional operations outside of Canada: United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. As such, he is responsible for CDPQ’s international offices, with the objective of diversifying the portfolio by taking a holistic view in approaching the various markets. In addition to representing CDPQ with key stakeholders in global organizations, his mandate includes ensuring visibility as a partner of choice in targeted geographies. He sits on the Executive and Investment-Risk Committees.

Mr. Blanchard has a solid track record as a lawyer, as well as in business and international affairs. Before joining CDPQ in September 2020, he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York from 2016 to 2020. In that role, he demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting better alignment of capital with sustainable development. From 2017 to 2020, he sat on Canada’s North American Free Trade Agreement Council. Prior to that, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading law firms. In the 20 years he worked there, he also served as Managing Partner for Québec, litigator and strategic advisor for companies.

In addition to a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal, Mr. Blanchard holds an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in International Affairs, both from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He was called to the Québec Bar in 1992.

Biography

Tito Boeri is Professor of Economics at Bocconi University in Milan (where he had also been Dean for Research until autumn 2014) and Senior Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (where he was Centennial Professor). He has been Senior Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), consultant to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Commission, the International Labour Office as well as the Italian Government. From March 2015 to February 2019, he served as President of the National Social Security Institute (INPS). He is Scientific Advisor of the Rodolfo Debenedetti Foundation (www.frdb.org) of which he has been Director since its establishment in 1998. He is a fellow of the European Economic Association and the European Association of Labour Economists. He is also a research fellow of the Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research (IGIER Bocconi), the CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research), the Centre for Economic Performance in London, the IZA (Institut zur Zukunft der Arbeit) in Bonn and the Netspar (Network for the Study of Pension and Retirement) in Tillburg. He has been a columnist for Sole24ore, La Stampa and La Repubblica and has collaborated with foreign newspapers such as the Financial Times and Le Monde. He is one of the founders of the economic information website www.lavoce.info and of the federated English-language website www.voxeu.org. He is the scientific director of the Trento Festival of Economics.

Biography

Louis-Nicolas Boulanger is a partner in the Business Law Group in Montréal. Recognized for his market knowledge, his practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, project finance and general corporate and commercial transactions in the power, mining and infrastructure sectors (including in the engineering and construction industries).

Louis-Nicolas works with a broad range of clients including Canadian and international purchasers, vendors, investors, developers, and lenders in connection with energy projects (including wind, hydro and co-generation power projects), mining projects and infrastructure projects in Québec, Canada and around the world. Such clients, which range from strategic stakeholders and utilities to financial investors such as pension and investment funds, value his responsiveness, foresight, and his ability to provide comprehensive insights to mitigate risk and successfully move complex projects through their life cycles from the initial development and construction stages to monetization and divestiture.

An active member of the community, Louis-Nicolas regularly contributes to industry publications and is a member of the board of directors of AluQuébec, an organization coordinating various working groups in the Québec aluminum industry. He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Théâtre de la Banquette Arrière, a non-profit theatre company performing in Montréal and across Québec.

Louis-Nicolas graduated from Université Laval in 2004 and was called to the Québec bar in 2006.

Biography

The Honourable Scott Brison joined BMO as Vice-Chair, Investment & Corporate Banking in 2019. As an elected Member of Parliament, Scott served the constituency of Kings-Hants (Nova Scotia) who elected him to Canada’s House of Commons seven consecutive times over 21 years. During that time he served in government for seven years holding key roles, most recently as President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government from 2015 to 2019, Minister of Public Works and Government Services from 2004 to 2006, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with special emphasis on Canada-U.S. relations from 2003 to 2004.

In June 2020, Mr. Brison became Dalhousie University’s eighth chancellor.

Mr. Brison is a member of the Trilateral Commission and was named by the World Economic Forum of Davos, Switzerland, as one of its "Young Global Leaders." In August 2010, he was awarded the Order of San Carlos by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe in recognition of his contributions to the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Brison serves on the board of Universal Rail Systems, Bond Resources Inc., the Canada-China Business Council, the Dalhousie University Board of Governors, the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, CJPAC, the advisory board of the Canadian American Business Council and previously served as Chairman of SeaFort Capital Inc.

Mr. Brison earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University. He has completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century Executive Education Program at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

Biography

Marisa is a Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability at JPMorgan Chase & Co. In this role, she leads development and implementation of the firm’s enterprise-wide sustainability strategy across its financing activities and operations. She plays an integral role in JPMorgan Chase’s efforts to manage environmental and social risks, and advise clients on ESG trends and industry best practices. She has also built the firm’s knowledge and leadership on climate change and carbon disclosure, and leads the firm’s efforts on ESG reporting, and stakeholder and policy engagement. She is based in Washington, DC.

Marisa has nearly 20 years of experience working at the nexus of business and the environment. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase in 2012, Marisa was a research analyst at Bloomberg, where she focused on assessing the impacts of U.S. policy developments on the electric power and oil & gas sectors. She also developed methane reduction projects in the mining and oil & gas industries with Verdeo Group. In addition to identifying and evaluating project development opportunities, she managed activities related to the certification of carbon assets, and served as the company’s expert on U.S. and international climate and energy policy. She also developed renewable energy and methane reduction projects with Econergy International, an independent power producer with assets in Latin America and the U.S., which was acquired by GDF Suez. She began her career with the Surdna Foundation’s environmental team, providing grants to nonprofit organizations supporting sustainable forestry, smart growth, renewable energy and market-based solutions to climate change.

Marisa received a B.A. from Wellesley College and a M.P.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Biography

Nathaniel Bullard is BloombergNEF's Chief Content Officer. He writes weekly for Bloomberg Green on energy, transport, technology, climate and finance.

Biography

Norie Campbell is Group Head and General Counsel of TD Bank Group.

She is responsible for the Bank's legal, regulatory compliance, corporate citizenship, public affairs and corporate security functions. Norie leads the Bank's Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and is passionate about delivering on TD's Purpose: to enrich the lives of its colleagues, customers and communities. As a member on the Government of Canada's Sustainable Finance Action Council, she is working with public and private sector leaders to support the growth of a strong, well-functioning, sustainable finance market.

In 2000, Norie joined TD from Toronto law firm McCarthy Tétrault. She was appointed General Counsel in 2011, joined the senior executive team two years later and has since led a diversity of mandates across the Bank, including human resources and marketing.

Dedicated to making a positive impact at TD and in the community, Norie is past chair of TD's Inclusion and Diversity Leadership Council and serves on the Boards for Ryerson University and The Rideau Hall Foundation. This year she is chairing the United Way of Greater Toronto's Major Individual Giving campaign.

Norie's leadership has been recognized by Canada's "Top 40, Under 40", Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women, the WXN Hall of Fame and is a Catalyst Honours Champion.

Biography

Richard W. Caperton is the Vice President for Policy and Market Development at Arcadia.  In this role, he leads the company’s regulatory and policy functions, where his job is making sure that energy markets work well for the company’s products.  Prior to this, Richard led national policy development and ran the regulatory team covering the eastern United States for Opower, which was acquired by Oracle.  Earlier in his career, he did research and advocacy on energy finance policy at the Center for American Progress and political organizing at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.  Richard received his MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and his BA from Pomona College in Claremont, California.  He and his wife live in Washington, DC.

Biography

Mark Carney is a Vice Chair of Brookfield Asset Management and Head of ESG and Impact Fund Investing. In this role, he is focused on the development of products for investors that will combine positive social and environmental outcomes with strong risk-adjusted returns.

Mr. Carney is an economist and banker who served as the Governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, and prior to that as Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 until 2013. He was Chairman of the Financial Stability Board from 2011 to 2018. Prior to his governorships, Mr. Carney worked at Goldman Sachs as well as the Canadian Department of Finance.

He is a long-time and well-known advocate for sustainability, specifically with regard to the management and reduction of climate risks, and is currently the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.

He is also an external member of the Board of Stripe, a global technology company building economic infrastructure for the internet and a member of the Global Advisory Board of PIMCO, the Group of Thirty, the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, as well as the boards of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Hoffman Institute for Global Business and Society at INSEAD.

Mr. Carney received a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University and a master’s degree and doctorate from Oxford University.

Biography

Dr. Chantal Line Carpentier, Canadian, currently serves as Chief, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) New York Office of the Secretary-General, where she coordinates UNCTAD’s input into the Financing for Sustainable Development, Science, Technology and Innovation, and monitors progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) processes. She is particularly interested new economic models for sustainable development and partnerships to leverage micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs), entrepreneurship and gender equality in achieving resilient, inclusive and connected and sustainable economic recoveries. As Major Groups Coordinator for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Division for Sustainable Development, she facilitated the engagement of and consultation with worldwide non-State actors (NGOs, women’s groups, business and industry, etc.) in the SDGs negotiations and the United Nations Rio+20 Conference. She also supported the negotiations of the 10 Year Framework of Program on sustainable consumption and production.

Prior to joining the United Nations, she worked as Head, Environment, Economy and Trade Division of the North American Free Trade Agreement Commission for Environmental Cooperation (2000-2007).

Dr. Carpentier obtained her PhD. in Agricultural and Environmental Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, as well as both her MSc. and BSc. in Agriculture Economics from McGill University.

Biography

Graham Carr is President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University. Ranked as Canada’s top university under 50 years old by QS, Concordia has two Montreal campuses that are home to more than 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 7,000 faculty and staff.

Graham’s previous leadership positions at Concordia include Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs; Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies; and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Born in Quebec, Graham earned his PhD from the University of Maine and is a Professor in the Department of History. His research focuses on North American cultural history, in particular cultural diplomacy and the Cold War.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Centraide (United Way) of Greater Montreal and as the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) representative on the Board of U SPORTS, the national brand for university sports in Canada. Graham is also a member of the Research Committee of Universities Canada and sits on the Steering Committee of Montreal Climate Partnership (Partenariat Climat Montréal). He previously served on the Leadership Council for Digital Infrastructure, as President of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, as Chair of the Canada-US Fulbright selection committee, and for many years on the National Capital Commission’s Advisory Committee for Communications, Marketing and Programming.

Biography

Winston Chan is the Co-founder of the Young Leaders’ Circle of the International Economic Forum of the Americas. He led  Canadian young entrepreneurs trade missions in China, Australia, Turkey, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina and Japan. He owns a health clinic in Montreal. He is a member of Employment and Entrepreneurship Taskforce of B20-G20 since 2014. From 2011 to 2013, he was President of the board of Quebec Federation of young chambers of commerce. He is the laureate of Quebec University Medal, the Journal Les Affaires Top 25 under 40 award, the Claude Masson award, the UQTR Pythagore award and the Quebec Federation  of young chambers of commerce Tribute award for his contribution to youth entrepreneurship in Quebec. He has a first cycle doctorate in chiropractic from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières with honorific distinction to student life. He is senior advisor at La Base entrepreneuriale HEC Montréal. (Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Acquisition and Business Families Hub).

Biography

Bernard Charlès has been working as the CEO of Dassault Systèmes since 1995 and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2016. He started his career in the company in 1983 to develop new design technologies. In 1986, he founded a dedicated New Technologies, Research and Strategy department, and in 1988 was appointed President of Strategy, Research and Development.

Charlès has helped instill a culture of ongoing innovation to further consolidate Dassault Systèmes’ scientific capabilities and make science part of the company’s DNA. The inspiration behind digital mock-up, product lifecycle management and 3DEXPERIENCE®, he firmly believes that 3D technology is about making possible the impossible: 3D universes are the most powerful vehicle for testing concepts and creating the future, bringing dream and reality together, and stretching the limits of science and imagination to drive progress in society.

Charlès has positioned Dassault Systèmes as the preferred partner for innovation, empowering businesses with sustainable step-changes in competitive performance. The company, established in 1981 and world leader in 3D software, was recognized in 2018 as the world's most sustainable corporation by Corporate Knights and one of Forbes’ "The World’s Most Innovative Companies".

Bernard Charlès is a member of the Board of Directors of Sanofi. He is a foreign member of the US National Academy of engineering and a member of the French Academy of Technology. He holds the rank of Officer in the “Légion d’honneur” (French Legion of Honor). He is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure engineering school in Cachan and has a PhD in mechanical engineering majoring in automation engineering and information science. He also holds an agrégation — the most senior teaching qualification achievable in France (specializing in mechanical engineering).

Biography

Dominique Charron is IDRC’s Vice-President, Programs and Partnerships. Prior to being Vice-President, Dominique was the Director of IDRC’s Agriculture and Environment program. She supervised research focused on increasing agricultural productivity and food security, reducing vulnerability to climate change, and protecting the public against infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. Dominique joined the Centre in 2006 as head of the Ecosystems and Human Health program. Previously, she managed research programs at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Dominique Charron holds a PhD in epidemiology and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph.

Biography

Ms. Sabrina Chartrand holds a bachelor’s degree in social science, political science from the University of Ottawa and a law certificate from the University of Montreal. During her studies, Ms. Chartrand decided to deepen her knowledge of law. She also worked as a researcher in a law firm and contributed to the publication of the first book on the office of independent investigations (EIB). Passionate about current affairs and politics, she then worked as a political advisor in the provincial government. She carried out research on various subjects, bill, parliamentary work, study of the credits, preparation of the intervention with the public, follow-up of the news of the question period, writing speeches etc. It was then that with her desire for change, Ms. Chartrand ran as a candidate in the 2018 elections.

As Executive Director of Public Affairs at Huawei Canada, Ms. Chartrand’s work consists mainly in promoting Huawei’s involvement in Canada, in particular in the creation of R&D jobs, by attracting investments in new locations in Canada, as well as helping to connect remote regions.

Biography

Karen Choe-Fichte (pronounced “tcho-fikty”) arrived in Ottawa August 2019.  She is responsible for advising on the U.S.-Canada bilateral economic relationship in collaboration with our Consulates and economic agencies in U.S. Mission Canada.  She was Acting Director and Deputy Director in the Office of Canadian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State 2014-16.

A resident of Washington state, Karen joined the Foreign Service in 1997 and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service.  Her overseas assignments include Afghanistan, Australia, Barbados, Czech Republic, Iraq, Kuwait, and Mexico.  Her domestic assignments include the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State, the Operations Center, and the Office of Monetary Affairs.

Karen was a Una Chapman Cox Sabbatical Fellow in New York, a Fulbright Research Fellow in Tunis, and joined the Foreign Service as a first cohort Foreign Affairs Fellow (now the Pickering Fellowship).  Born in Seoul, South Korea, Karen immigrated to the United States when she was ten years old.  She is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (Master of Public Policy), Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas (Bachelor of Arts in Economics & International Studies), and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

She is married to fellow Foreign Service Officer and Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs Eric Fichte.  They are big fans of U.S. National Parks -- “America’s best idea.”

Biography

Jessica Chutter is a Vice Chair and Chair of Biotechnology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. During Ms. Chutter’s 30+ year career of building Morgan Stanley’s Biotechnology Franchise, she has been responsible for $70Bn of capital raising and $80Bn of strategic transactions. Jessica is focused on company-building, examples of which include raising $3Bn for Moderna (4 offerings), $2.4Bn for GW (6 offerings) and $2.2Bn for BeiGene (5 offerings). During the pandemic, Jessica has led 16 IPOs totaling $4.2Bn, including those for Canadian-based Repare Therapeutics and Fusion Pharmaceuticals. Strategic transactions include advising Agios in its Oncology Business sale to Servier, Galapagos in its $5.1Bn transformative partnership with Gilead and Company sales of Clementia, Cubist, Pharmasset and Elan. She has also been involved in the creation of a new asset class involving royalty-backed debt (PhaRMA) where over $23Bn has been raised.

Ms. Chutter has a BA in Commerce/Honours Economics from McGill University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Ms. Chutter is a director of Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners and the Upper Canada College Foundation and a member of McGill’s Toronto Advisory Board. She resides in Toronto with her husband, Derek Berghuis, and has three children – Andrew, Jennifer and Kevin.

Biography

Mauricio Claver-Carone is President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. He has led the Bank’s unprecedented response to COVID-19 and spearheaded the creation and implementation of “Vision 2025,” a blueprint for post-pandemic recovery and growth that prioritizes integration and nearshoring, digitalization, small businesses, gender equality, and climate change. Under his leadership, the Bank has assembled the largest private private-sector coalition in its history to help leverage financing for critical development goals. A lawyer by training, he previously served as Deputy Assistant to the U.S. President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council. In this capacity, he conceptualized a whole-of-government economic growth initiative, América Crece, which led to the creation of energy- and infrastructure-finance frameworks with nearly half of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. He also served as U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, playing an important role in lending arrangements for Argentina, Barbados and Ecuador, and as Senior Advisor for International Affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department, where he helped develop legislation to create the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. A native of Miami, he speaks English and Spanish.

Biography

Martin Coiteux has been Head of Economic Analysis and Global Strategy since April 2020. His mandate is to provide CDPQ with the leadership in economic and business intelligence required for successfully implementing the investment strategy. He also promotes to a wider public CDPQ’s internal expertise in international economics. The team he leads acts as advisors to the various investment sectors and performs world-class economic analyses that identify areas of risk and opportunity in various international markets. The team is also responsible for developing the main through lines of CDPQ’s strategies, in close collaboration with other teams and the Executive Committee. In addition to sitting on that committee, Mr. Coiteux sits on the Investment-Risk Committee.

Before joining CDPQ in January 2019 as Chief Economist, he held the positions of President of the Treasury Board of the Government of Québec, Minister of Public Security and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy. For nearly 20 years, he has been a professor of international economics and international management at HEC Montréal. He was also a Bank of Canada Senior Representative in Québec.

Mr. Coiteux holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Queen’s University and a PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

Biography

Mathias Cormann is the 6th Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

His five-year term commenced on 1 June 2021.

Working with OECD members, his priorities as Secretary-General are to:

• Help maximise the strength of the economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19;
• Drive and promote global leadership on ambitious and effective action on climate change to achieve global net-zero emissions by 2050;
• Finalise a multilateral approach to digital taxation;
• Seize the opportunities and better manage the risks in the digital economy;
• Promote market-based policies and a rules-based international order; and to
• Strengthen the engagement and outreach of the OECD into the Asia-Pacific.

Prior to his appointment to the OECD, Mathias served as the Australian Minister for Finance, the Leader of the Government in the Australian Senate and as Federal Senator representing the State of Western Australia.

In these roles, he has been a strong advocate for the positive power of open markets, free trade and the importance of a rules-based international trading system.

Mathias was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Belgium.

He migrated to Australia in 1996, attracted by the great lifestyle and opportunities on offer in Western Australia.

Before migrating to Perth, Mathias had graduated in law at the Flemish Catholic University of Louvain (Leuven), following studies at the University of Namur and, as part of the European Erasmus Student Exchange Program, at the University of East Anglia.

Between 1997 and 2003, he worked as Chief of Staff as well as Senior Adviser to various State and Federal Ministers in Australia and for the Premier of Western Australia.

Between 2003 and 2007, Mathias worked for major Western Australian health insurer HBF in a range of senior management roles.

In 2001, realising a childhood dream, Mathias obtained his private pilot’s licence.

Mathias grew up speaking German and graduated in law following studies in French, Flemish and English.

He is married to Hayley, a Perth lawyer, and they have two young daughters, Isabelle and Charlotte.

Biography

Guy Cormier has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group since April 2016. Desjardins is the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and sixth in the world, with assets of over $248 billion. It is one of the 20 largest employers in the country, supported by the skills of its 47,000 employees and the commitment of more than 5,000 elected officers. Drawing on the strength of its caisse network in Quebec and Ontario and its subsidiaries across Canada, Desjardins Group offers a full range of financial products and services to its millions of members and clients. Desjardins specializes in wealth management, life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, personal services, and business and institutional services.

Mr. Cormier has been with Desjardins since 1992, and was General Manager of several caisses in the network. He was Vice-President of Cooperative Network Finance from 2009 to 2012, before being appointed Vice-President of Cooperative Network, in 2012, and then Senior Vice-President of Cooperative Network and Personal Services in 2013.

Mr. Cormier has always encouraged audacity, agility and innovation to improve the experience of members and clients. Under his leadership, the organization's AccèsD Services earned their 11th Customer Operations Performance Center (COPC) certification, making Desjardins the only financial institution in the world to hold the certification that long. It was also under Mr. Cormier that new innovative technology-focused service centres were launched, earning several awards internationally.

In 2014, he was invited to give lectures and take part in round tables for events organized by the World Health Organization and the International Summit of Cooperative.

In 2013, the Quebec MBA Association recognized Mr. Cormier as one of 40 Quebecers with a major influence on business in the province.

Biography

Santiago Cornejo is the Director of Country Engagement in the Office of the COVAX Facility. As the Director of Country Engagement, Santiago oversees the team responsible of managing the relationship with COVAX participants, particularly those participants that are not eligible for Gavi support. Santiago also supported the development of the COVAX Facility, including leading the design of participants’ eligibility, benefits and contributions. Santiago is also the Director for Immunisation Financing and Sustainability in the Gavi Alliance to enable the sustainability of immunisation achievements in Gavi’s transitioning countries. In this role he coordinates the implementation and Alliance support to Gavi’s co-financing, eligibility and transition policies.

Santiago joined Gavi in 2008 and during his time he has led the development of Gavi’s policies, including its Co-financing, Transition and Eligibility and the Transparency and Accountability policies. Santiago also served as Senior Portfolio Manager for Latin America and Lusophone countries and as acting Director for Country Grants and Renewals overseeing GAVI’s review process for country proposals, monitoring progress and renewal of support.

Santiago has over 20 years of cumulative work experience in the field of health and immunization financing. He started his career in 1999 with the Pan-American Health Organization in Washington DC. He has successively held roles with the Vaccine Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC. Further Santiago also worked in academia at the Center for Global Health at the George Washington University.

Santiago holds a Master’s degree in international development with a specialisation on international public health policy from George Washington University.

Biography

A determined visionary and active entrepreneur in the Montreal business district, Stéphane Côté graduated in 1992 with a major in economics and a minor in administration from Université du Québec à Montréal. Obtaining a contractor’s licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Quebec, he quickly developed an interest in renovation and conversion projects. The transformation of the old Hudson’s Bay warehouse into lofts marks the debut of his real estate entrepreneurial career in Montreal.

In 1998, he incorporated DevMcGill and served his clients well by carrying out multi-phase and mixed-use projects that featured a classic and trendy design and revealed a unique creative talent that focused on a new lifestyle.

Always with the same vision in mind, building smart living environments for tomorrow, DevMcGill continues to enrich the lives of its residents, helping residential areas to grow and to thrive.

Biography

Helima is a Managing Director and the Head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research at RBC Capital Markets. She specializes in geopolitics and energy, leading a team of commodity strategists that cover energy, metals and cross-commodity investor activity. Helima is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a select group of individuals who advise, inform and make recommendations to the Secretary of Energy with respect to any matter relating to oil and natural gas. She also is a CNBC contributor, a member of the channel’s exclusive family of experts, is on the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Council, is a member of the Trilateral Commission, and is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Helima joined RBC Capital Markets from Barclays, where she was a Managing Director and Head of North American Commodities Research. Prior to that, she worked in Lehman’s Business Intelligence group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Central Intelligence Agency, where she focused on geopolitics and commodities. Helima has received many industry accolades throughout her career and received her PhD in economic history from Princeton in 2001.

Biography

Thomas B. Cueni is Director General of IFPMA, the global association of pharmaceutical research companies, based in Geneva and is Secretary of the global Biopharmaceutical CEO Roundtable (BCR). In this capacity, Thomas Cueni was instrumental in creating the AMR Action Fund.  A ground-breaking partnership, launched in 2020, that has raised nearly $1 billion to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to patients by 2030. These treatments are urgently needed to address the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant infections – also called antimicrobial resistance, or AMR.

Thomas Cueni represents the innovative biopharmaceutical industry on the ACT Accelerator, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a unique global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

Thomas Cueni is Chair of the Business at OECD Health Committee, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the City Cancer Challenge (CCan), an initiative aiming to improve cancer care in major cities in low- and middle-income countries. Cueni also serves as Industry Co-Chair of the APEC Biopharmaceutical Working Group on Ethics. Furthermore, he is Chair of the Board of the cross-sectoral AMR Industry Alliance, a group committed to tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which includes more than 100 companies and associations representing Rx pharma, generics, biotech, and diagnostics.

Prior to joining IFPMA he was Secretary General of Interpharma, the association of pharmaceutical research companies in Switzerland, and for many years was a member of the Board and Chair of a key committee of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.

Prior to his appointment with Interpharma, Thomas Cueni had a career as a journalist, inter alia as London correspondent for the “Basler Zeitung” and “Der Bund”, and he served as a Swiss career diplomat with postings in Paris (OECD) and Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO). He studied at the University of Basle, the London School of Economics, and the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies, and has Master degrees in economics (University of Basel) and politics (London School of Economics, LSE).

Biography

Wim D'Hondt is a Partner with Roland Berger in the Montreal, Canada office. He is actively involved in a wide range of strategic industry initiatives (telecom, utilities, private equity, and automotive) and in a wide range of functional topics, from procurement to digital transformation.

Prior to Roland Berger, he was a Partner at a leading IIOT consultancy and Strategy consultancy where he worked on diverse initiatives around growth strategy, technology-enabled transformations, venture-capital investing, strategic alliances, and M&A best practices.

In addition to an MBA from University of British Columbia (Vancouver), he holds an MSC in telecommunications from the University of Darmstadt (Germany) and an MSc in electronics from the University of Ghent (Belgium).

Biography

After a baccalaureate in economics and his military service at ECPAD (Establishment of Communication and Audiovisual Production of Defense), Thierry Dassault was responsible for Civil Equipment for Electronics Serge Dassault in Brazil from 1979 to 1981, general manager of  '' an alarm systems company from 1982 to 1984, associate producer and director of advertising and institutional films at Claude Delon Productions from 1985 to 1993.

From 1994 to 2006, he was Chairman of Dassault Multimedia, which acquired stakes in Infogrames, Gemplus, Infonie, BFM, CdandCo, Net2one, Emme and Welcome Real-time.  He has also personally invested in Chapitre.com.

In 2004, he was the federator of Keynectis, which became OpenTrust in September 2013 and then IDnomic in February 2016, he has chaired from the start.  IDnomic provides electronic certification and security services, used for the digital identification of people, devices or connected objects.  The company was sold to the Atos Group on 09/30/2019.

At the end of 2006, Thierry Dassault created TDH, an investment structure in emerging technologies and niche sectors, which holds stakes in Aquarelle, Bernardaud, Blablacar, Coravin, Halys, La Maison, L Capital, Qista, Scarcell, Wallix Group  and YouScribe.

He was reelected in June 2020 for one year, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rond-Point Immobilière.  He is also President of Dassault Immobilier Canada inc.

He sits on the boards of: Artcurial, CDEFQ (Cercle des Dirigeants d’Entreprise Franco-Québécois).

Champagne Taittinger, Dassault Aviation, Dassault Médias (Le Figaro), Halys, Immobilière Dassault, Particulier et Finances Editions, Royal Hotel - Winter & Gstaad Palace, SITAM Belgique, and Wallix Group.

He is a member of the YouScribe Strategic Committee.

He was President of the 58th National Session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Defense Nationale) from 2006 until 2020, Officer of the Legion of Honnor and Colonel of the Air Force under the Citizen Reserve.

Finally, he is Vice-President of the Kidney Foundation and member of the Boards of Directors of the Serge Dassault Foundation and of the Association for Research on Alzheimer's.

Biography

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2003, Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin has been President and Chief Executive Officer of CIRANO since 2016, has been leading the Baromètre CIRANO project on risk perception in Quebec, which annually collects data on Quebecers' concerns on 47 social issues since 2011, is responsible of the CIRANO Pole on the Socio-economic Impacts of Digital Intelligence and Main Researcher of the theme Innovation and Digital Transformation. Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin is Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal. She is also a Visiting Scientist at Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health and an associate researcher at the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO).

Holding a Ph.D. in Management Science (in risks and insurance management) from École normale supérieure de Cachan, her research interests focus on risk management and decision-making in different risks and uncertainty contexts as well as public policies. Her research combines economic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, survey data analysis, and more recently massive unstructured data analysis.

In 2008 she created the RISQH network to raise awareness and share experiences on risks management, and patient safety and quality of care in health care facilities.

She participated in the creation of the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of AI.

She is also co-PI of the "Monitoring and Surveys" function at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology.

She has published numerous scientific articles, several books and more than 30 reports for government and other organizations. She has given more than a hundred conferences and is regularly solicited to speak in the media.

Biography

On December 1, 2020, Patrick Decostre is appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Boralex. After spending 18 years building the business from the ground up in Europe as its very first employee, he settles in Montreal to become Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. This position offers him the opportunity to bring together his European expertise and the company’s Quebec and North American roots.

In Europe, he launched the company’s wind energy initiative and spearheaded Boralex’s operations and development activities. Through his efforts and those of the team he built from scratch, Boralex is now the first independent onshore wind power producer in France.

Upon entering the labor market in 1996, Patrick works in France and also in the United Kingdom, then a pioneering market for the deregulation of electricity and integration of interconnected networks. He is quickly recognized for his in-depth understanding of the energy sector, his strategic vision and his expertise in development. A physicist engineer, a graduate of École Polytechnique de Bruxelles and of the Solvay Brussels School in business administration, Patrick works at EDF as engineer as well as business manager for major projects before joining Boralex in 2001.

More recently, Patrick has helped develop Boralex’s ambitious 2023 strategic plan, which focuses on growing and diversifying the company’s activities in the solar and wind sectors, attracting new clients through a custom service offering, and optimizing its existing assets and internal processes.

In addition to a successful career, Patrick can count on the support of his family. Sports lovers who enjoy the great outdoors and a change of scenery, they uprooted from Belgium to discover new horizons in Montreal, thereby allowing Patrick to take up his new role.

More than an anchor in his life, his family is actively involved in Patrick’s personal and professional decisions, making him a leader who knows how to stay connected and close to his team.

Biography

Hélène Desmarais is a prominent and influential business leader in Canada.  Since it was founded in 1996, Hélène has been Chair and CEO of the Centre d’Entreprises et d’Innovation de Montréal (CEIM), one of Canada’s most successful technology incubator in Canada.  The CEIM has catalyzed the development of hundreds of Canadian startups, some of which have become world-class enterprises.

In 2017, she played a key role in establishing SCALE AI , the Canadian artificial intelligence supercluster, and its main laboratory, IVADO Labs As Founder& Executive Chair of IVADO Labs and Founder & Co-Chair of SCALE AI ,  she steers the two organizations jointly with their management teams . As such, she works with different multinational and hospital leaders to build AI softwares in their supply chain and in the health industry to deliver real-time analysis of medical imagery for clinicians

Ms. Desmarais is also Chair of the Creative Destruction Lab (Montréal) and NextAI- Montreal, two of Canada’s major entrepreneurship incubator in AI programs, which she founded in Montréal. As such, she works with different business leaders to launch innovative start-ups.

As an entrepreneur, Ms. Desmarais chaired the Board of Directors of Gestion Bio-Capital for its first ten years. The venture fund, specializing in biotech start-ups, helped create some 20 businesses, two of them worth over $1 billion.

She is also a corporate director, serving on the board of Christian Dior SA since 2012 where she chairs the Compensation and Nomination Committee  Since 2006, she has also been a board director for Garda World Security and for which she serves on the Audit and Governance committees

In  October 2003, she was named Chair of HEC Montréal and the first women to hold that post In addition , she was the first woman across Canada and North America  to chair the board of an high ranking business school

Since 1995 , she has attended all conferences of the International Forum of the Americas , serves on its board of Governors and chairs its Conference de Montréal steering committee

Hélène Desmarais holds a Bachelor degree in Finance from HEC Montréal

AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS

Ms. Desmarais received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002 and again in 2012. In addition to her most recent honorary doctorates from Polytechnique Montréal and Mc Master University , in 2009 she was awarded honorary doctorates from St. Francis Xavier and Lumière Lyon II universities. That same year she received the Medal of Honour from the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal, along with the Order of Canada. She was declared a Great Montrealer in the economic sector and inducted into the Entrepreneurs Club of the Conseil du Patronat du Québec in 2010, and made an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec in 2013 and a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.

Biography

He joined Power in 1981 and assumed the position of Vice-President the following year. In 1984, he led the creation of Power Financial to consolidate Power’s major financial holdings, as well as Pargesa Holding SA, under a single corporate entity. Mr. Desmarais served as Vice-President of Power Financial from 1984 to 1986, as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986 to 1989, as Executive Vice-Chairman from 1989 to 1990, as Executive Chairman from 1990 to 2005 and as Chairman of the Executive Committee from 2006 to 2008. He also served as Vice-Chairman of Power Corporation from 1991 to 1996.

After Power Financial and the Frère Group of Belgium took control of Pargesa in 1990, Mr. Desmarais moved to Europe from 1991 to 1994, to develop the partnership with the Frère Group and to restructure the Pargesa group. From 1982 to 1990, he was a member of the Management Committee of Pargesa, in 1991, Executive Vice-Chairman and then Executive Chairman of the Committee; from 2003 to 2019, he was Co-Chief Executive Officer and he was named Chairman of the Board in 2013. He has been a director of Pargesa since 1992.

He also serves as Chairman of Power Financial and is a director of many Power Corporation group companies in North America, including Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments, IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie. In Europe, he is Chairman of the Board of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and a director of SGS. He was a director of LafargeHolcim until 2020 and of Total until 2017.

Mr. Desmarais is Chairman of the Board of Governors of The International Economic Forum of the Americas (Canada), a Trustee of The Brookings Institution, Co-Chair of the Brookings International Advisory Council and a member of the Brookings Executive Committee (Washington), a member of the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations (United States), a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard (United States), a member of The Business Council (United States) and of The Business Council of Canada. He is also active on a number of philanthropic advisory councils.

In 1994, he received the Insigne d’Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne of Belgium. In 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business. In 2009, he was named an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec and in 2012, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in France. He holds a number of honorary doctorates.

He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and an MBA from the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), France.

Biography

Paul Desmarais III has served as the Chairman and CEO of Sagard since 2014. He is also Chairman of Diagram and a board member of Grayhawk. Within the investment portfolio, Paul is the Chairman of Wealthsimple and Dialogue, a director of KOHO, and a board observer of Nesto. Paul is also a Senior Vice President of Power Corporation of Canada. As a part of his responsibilities at Power, he sits on the boards of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and Imerys.

Prior to Sagard, Paul worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division, Investment Strategy Group, and Special Situations Group; Imerys in supply chain management and strategy; and Great West Lifeco in risk management.

Paul holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard College and an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Biography

Cassandra Dorrington and her team lead the charge of championing business relationships and economic growth of the Canadian supply chain through the inclusion of Aboriginal and Minority suppliers. During her tenure, Cassandra has been focused on expansion of the CAMSC brand, both nationally and internationally. This has resulted in significant growth and impact in the Canadian marketplace.

Known for her involvement in both the business and community environment, Cassandra has been named one of Diversity Canada’s Influential Women in Diversity and HR. She sits on the National Advisory Council for the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) for the Government of Canada, Elevate International, and Dalhousie University Board of Governors.

With approximately 450 certified suppliers, 90 plus corporate members and more than $7 Billion in diverse spend, CAMSC is a proud member of both Supplier Diversity Alliance Canada (SDAC), the single voice for supplier in Canada and Global Supplier Diversity Alliance (GSDA) promoting supplier diversity across the globe with sister councils in Australia, China, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Biography

Pioneer in the chemical recycling of plastics, Jocelyn Doucet is a chemical engineer and an entrepreneur dedicated to the development and marketing of innovations in connection with the transition in the use of our non-renewable resources to a circular economy business model. With a team of professionals under his leadership, he developed a patented technology—the Catalytic Microwave Depolymerization— a scientific breakthrough for the local processing of mixed plastics, including polystyrene, into a raw material identical to the original feedstock, to be reused by the chemical industry in new plastics manufacturing. This innovation has an undisputable positive environmental impact, as it helps recycle materials found in soils and oceans.

Recipient of the Innovation Grand Award of l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (2018) and 1st rank at the International Industrial Chemistry Competition (2017), Mr. Doucet holds a Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal, where he has been an adjunct professor since 2011. As part of his education, he started a first company specializing in the scale-up of chemical processes and developed several innovations now released on global markets. He then focussed on resource efficiency and led a team responsible for the development of a technology using microwaves to break down molecules into their original components. In 2014, this idea led to the creation of Pyrowave, a company which developed the most advanced high-power microwave technology platform worldwide and is now at the forefront of the new revolution intended to increase resource efficiency. Pyrowave works in tandem with the largest stakeholders in the global polymer industry, including Total, INEOS Styrolution and America Styrenics, and is currently at the marketing stage in North America and Europe. Mr. Doucet is also a sought-after speaker at panels and conferences, both locally and internationally.

Biography

Nicolas Dufourcq leads Bpifrance, the French development and exim bank for midcaps, the French export credit agency and the country sovereign fund altogether. The bank has €42bn equity assets under management and ca. €42bn of outstanding loans. Bpifrance finances every year ca. €20bn of loans and €3bn of innovation soft loans. €3.6bn of equity investments in startups, small, mid and large caps have been invested in 2020, of which €1.2bn in private funds through its funds of funds division. Amongst a 1000 company portfolio, Bpifrance holds 10% of Orange, 6.2% of Stellantis, c.14% of STMicroelectronics and c.20% of Eutelsat. Bpifrance has also been the French Export Credit Agency since 2017. In 2020, €11.7bn were granted in credit insurance.

Previously, Nicolas Dufourcq was deputy CEO of Capgemini in charge of finance, delivery, lean management and IT. He contributed to the turnaround between 2003 and 2012.

Earlier Nicolas Dufourcq created Wanadoo, the internet access leader, a subsidiary of France Telecom, and listed it for €20bn. He was then deputy CEO of France Telecom.

Nicolas Dufourcq is Vice-Chairman (non-executive) of the STMicroelectronics’ Supervisory board,member of the Supervisory Committee of Doctolib, member of the Supervisory Board of Stellantis and member of the Board of Directors of Digital New Deal and En Temps Réel think tanks.

Biography

Vincent Duhamel was Fiera Capital’s Global President and Chief Operating Officer until 2020. He was a member of the Global Executive Management Committee, responsible for all corporate units such as Legal and Compliance, Risk, Technology, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, and Human Resources. As the Chair of the Strategic Development Committee, he also played a major role in strategic acquisitions while overseeing the firm’s development outside of North America. In addition, Mr. Duhamel sat on the boards of directors of Fiera Capital’s Canadian, U.S., European and Bel Air divisions. Before joining Fiera Capital, Mr Duhamel worked in Asia from 1997 to 2017, first as Chief Executive of State Street Global Advisors Asia, then as the Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Asset Management Asia, and from 2011 as Partner and CEO of Lombard Odier Asia.  During his time in Asia, Mr. Duhamel played a key role in the market intervention and disposal of assets by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority during the Asian crisis, in addition to managing a project to help the Social Security Fund of China develop its investment processes and policies. Since the early 1990s, Mr. Duhamel has sat on numerous boards and committees, including Chairman of the Board of Governors at the CFA Institute, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.

Biography

Claudia Durán is the Managing Director of Endeavor Miami, whose mission is to select, mentor and accelerate the growth of high-impact entrepreneurs in South Florida. Claudia is a visionary professional with a wealth of experience in various financial, corporate, entrepreneurial, and non-profit organizations.

Claudia began her career with SAB Miller in El Salvador, transitioning afterwards to a leading strategic role at Taca International Airlines in El Salvador and Mexico, before moving to New York City to join Deutsche Bank’s Private Wealth Management group.

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, her passion for entrepreneurship is innate, as is her desire to help founders to thrive. Claudia decided to focus her efforts on working with non-profit organizations in São Paulo, Brazil, where she accepted a leadership position at Ashoka, one of the world’s leading organizations supporting social entrepreneurs. She later joined Endeavor Miami in 2019, where her tenacity, leadership experience, and thorough understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset have led the office to new heights of success. Endeavor Miami currently supports 22 companies and 39 entrepreneurs.

Claudia holds an MBA from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and a Bachelor's degree in Finance from Penn State University. She is a multilingual and multicultural global citizen, who is part of the growing community of South Florida, making her home in metropolitan Miami.

Biography

Hervé Duteil created the first position of Chief Sustainability Officer for BNP Paribas in the Americas in 2014. In this role, he leads the Bank’s regional strategy for Sustainable Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Company Engagement, bringing in particular a strong focus on promoting client dialogue around sustainability topics and the development of tailored financing solutions or responsible investment products. In 2018, Euromoney selected him as one of the 10 “champions of global impact banking”.

Hervé has spent most of his career with BNP Paribas in New York. He specialized in trading derivatives and managing capital market activities, spanning across commodity, currency, fixed income and electronic markets. More recently, he led BNP Paribas’ efforts to close its first Social Impact Bond for the benefit of the State of Connecticut, followed by a second one with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Hervé served as a member on the CFTC’s Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee of the Market Risk Advisory Committee. He currently sits on SIFMA Sustainable Finance Task Force, WBCSD’s Sustainable Finance Policy task force as well as the Yale Initiative on Sustainable Finance Advisory Board.

Hervé holds a Master in Business Administration with distinction from the Harvard Business School, a Master of Science from the University of Cambridge, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Physics from the University of Paris. Formerly a professional concert musician, he received various certificates from the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Biography

Adel El Gammal is Secretary General of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and professor at the Free University of Brussels (U.L.B.) where he teaches Geopolitics of Energy and Energy Policy and Management. He is a recognized expert and thought leader in the fields of clean energy transition, climate change, energy policy and geopolitics of energy.

Coordinating research activities between 250 Research Organisations and Universities across 30 countries in Europe, EERA advises the European Commission on Clean Energy Transition strategies. EERA’s mission is to “Catalyse European energy research to achieve a climate neutral society by 2050”.

Adel regularly speaks and writes in national and international media and is a regular invited keynote speaker in leading international energy conferences. He authored several reference studies on the Clean Energy Transition, most recently, the EERA White Paper on the Clean Energy Transition; he also contributed to several urban strategic planning projects, notably as member of Jeremy Rifkin’s Third Industrial revolution CEO roundtable.

He is member of several strategic advisory boards (public and private sectors) as international expert on the energy transition. Adel was active since 2008 in the EU and international climate and energy field, notably as Director of Becquerel Institute, Executive Director of LowCarbonFacts (European Climate Foundation), and Secretary General of the EU Photovoltaic Industry Association (now SolarPower Europe).

Before focusing his activities on the Clean Energy Transition, Adel held various international executive positions in blue chip companies active in the field of Management Consulting and IT strategy.

Adel is civil engineer from Ecole Polytechnique of Brussels (U.L.B.), holds degrees in Business Administration from Solvay Business School (U.L.B.) and INSEAD (France) and later specialized in Environment Management (U.L.B.).

Biography

Luke Ellis is Chief Executive Officer of Man Group, a global active investment firm. Man Group has five investment engines (Man AHL, Man Numeric, Man GLG, Man FRM and Man GPM), which manage USD 108.3 billion (as at 30 June, 2020) in a range of liquid and private markets. With a central objective to deliver alpha for clients through time, Man Group provides a wide range of alternative and long-only portfolio solutions for its client base.

As CEO, Luke leads the firm’s Executive Committee, working with teams across investment, distribution, technology and infrastructure, while seeking to deliver the right outcomes for clients and positioning Man Group to adapt to opportunities as markets evolve.

He is also the Deputy Chairman of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI), and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Greenhouse Sports.

Luke joined Man Group in 2010 and was previously President of the firm, responsible for management across investment engines. Prior to this, he was Chairman of Man GLG’s Multi-Manager activities and was Managing Director of Man FRM from 1998 to 2008.

Luke was previously a Managing Director at JPMorgan in London and Global Head of the firm’s Equity Derivatives and Equity Proprietary Trading businesses.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Economics from Bristol University.

Biography

Dr Ismahane Elouafi is Chief Scientist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and part of FAO’s core leadership structure.

With nearly two decades of experience in agricultural research and development in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Dr Elouafi is known for promoting neglected crops, non-fresh water in agriculture, and women in science.

Dr Elouafi has been a member of numerous boards and research institutes. Her contributions to science have been recognized with prestigious awards and accolades, including the Excellence in Science Award from the Global Thinkers Forum.

Dr Elouafi holds a Ph.D. in Genetics.

Biography

Head of Sustainability for Rolls-Royce, Rachael is responsible for the development and delivery of sustainability strategy and policy, and is a driving force behind the broad-based power systems group’s ambition to reach net zero carbon.  A graduate of the University of St Andrews with an MA in Sustainable Development, Rachael is a member of the IEMA and sits on the corporate advisory board of the We Mean Business coalition.

Biography

Guillaume Faury was appointed Airbus Chief Executive Officer in April 2019 and leads the Company’s Executive Committee. He was previously President of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business, a role he had held since February 2018.

Prior to this, Guillaume was Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters (2013-2018), where his achievements included restructuring its manufacturing system and introducing new technologies.

Before that, he enjoyed a four-year spell in the car industry at Peugeot (2009-13), the French automotive manufacturer, rising to become the Executive Vice-President for Research and Development and a member of the company’s management board. He presided over significant advances in Peugeot’s lower-emissions hybrid-engine technology and the overhaul of the company’s product range, among other accomplishments.

Between 1998 and 2008, he held various leadership positions in engineering, programmes and flight testing in Airbus’ helicopter business, which at the time operated under the name of Eurocopter. He became Executive-Vice President for Programmes and a member of the Eurocopter Executive Committee, before being appointed as Executive Director for Research and Development.

Guillaume began his career in 1992 as a flight-test engineer for the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter in the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French government agency responsible for the development and purchase of defence systems for the French armed forces.

He graduated from the École polytechnique in Paris in 1990 and, subsequently, from the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace in Toulouse.

Guillaume’s love of flying and aviation dates back to his childhood. He is a qualified light-aircraft pilot and helicopter flight-test engineer with 1,300 hours of flying experience.

He was born in 1968 in Cherbourg, Normandy, and is married with three children.

Biography

Daniel Firth is Programme Director for Transport and Urban Planning at C40, a network of 97 of the world’s greatest cities committed to addressing climate change. 

He has 20 years’ experience of transport strategy, policy, and planning including 16 years working for city and regional government in London, UK; Stockholm, Sweden; and Vancouver, BC. As a director at TransLink he was responsible for the region's study of mobility pricing in 2006, as well as feasibility studies for major transport expansions. As chief strategy officer for transport at the City of Stockholm, he was project manager for the Urban Mobility Strategy and managed the implementation and amendment of the city's congestion pricing system. At Transport for London he worked on the implementation of the congestion charge and low emission zone.

Daniel has a degree and masters in Town Planning, having studied at the University of Newcastle, UK and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Biography

Dr. Richard Florizone is IISD’s President and CEO. Part scientist, part strategist, he comes to this organization with a strong track record of bringing the public and private sectors together to achieve complex goals. With a reputation for collaborative leadership, Richard is a firm believer in the power of partnership to build institutions and communities that are intelligent, inspiring and inclusive.

As President and Vice-Chancellor of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, from 2013 to 2018, Richard championed CAD 500 million in innovation investment to Atlantic Canada through joint initiatives such as the Ocean Frontier Institute, a transnational research hub dedicated to finding solutions for a healthy marine ecosystem, and the Ocean Supercluster, which focuses on creating a sustainable ocean economy. He also ushered in record-breaking levels of research income, student enrolment and fundraising, while measurably advancing diversity and inclusion.

Richard has held senior leadership roles at the University of Saskatchewan, Bombardier Aerospace, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at the World Bank Group, Boston Consulting Group and the Quantum Valley Ideas Lab. He currently serves as a Council Member for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and is a member of the Board of MDA. Richard holds a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a Senior Executive Fellow at the Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Energy, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Biography

Suzanne Fortier has served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University since September 2013. Prior to her appointment as Principal, Professor Fortier was President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) from 2006 to 2013, and held the position of Vice-Principal (Academic) from 2000 to 2005 and Vice-Principal (Research) from 1995 to 2000 at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where she was a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and in the School of Computing (1982-2006).

A native of St-Timothée, Québec, Professor Fortier graduated from McGill with a BSc (1972) and a PhD in Crystallography (1976). Her research work has focused in the development of mathematical and artificial intelligence methodologies for protein structure determination. She has also made contributions to the development of novel techniques in crystallographic data mining to gain new insights from the large structural databases.

Professor Fortier was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018. She is also an officer of France’s National Order of Merit, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was named a Specially Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2015). She holds honorary doctorates from Thompson Rivers University, Carleton University, and the University of Glasgow.

Professor Fortier currently serves as Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), as a member of the HEC Paris International Advisory Board, on the Boards of the McCall MacBain Scholarships at McGill and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), and is an Academic Member of the Board of Governors of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. She also serves on the Canadian Business-Higher Education Roundtable, the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board, as well as the Boards of Directors of Montreal International, and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

She has previously served as a member of several boards and councils, including the federal government's Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA), the Board of Directors of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Steering Committee of the Networks of Centres of Excellence, the Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress, Universities Canada, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, the Canadian Federal Minister of Finance’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, the Conference Board of Canada, and served as a member and Vice-Chair of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC).

Biography

Dr. John Frey developed and leads HPE’s practice for customer collaboration on sustainability and IT efficiency. He partners with HPE’s largest customers, stakeholders, and governments to develop net positive solutions to business challenges, share best practices, and drive new business opportunities. Dr. Frey was named an HPE Strategist, the highest level of technical achievement, in recognition of his sustained leadership and contributions.

Dr. Frey frequently shares his expertise at international confer-ences and events, as well as in books, technical whitepapers, and certification programs. He is widely quoted in broadcast, online, and print media.

Dr. Frey is a member of the Engineering Entrepreneurship Steer-ing Council at Texas A&M University, and Sustainable Brands’ Ad-visory Board.

Biography

Kristalina Georgieva currently serves as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, a position she was selected for on September 25, 2019 and has served as since October 1, 2019.

Before joining the Fund, Ms. Georgieva was CEO of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during which time she also served as Interim President of the World Bank Group for three months.

Previously, Ms. Georgieva helped shape the agenda of the European Union while serving as European Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources. In this capacity she oversaw the EU’s €161 billion (US $175bn) budget and 33,000 staff, as well as the EU’s response to the Euro Area debt crisis and the 2015 refugee crisis. Before that, she was Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, managing one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid budgets.

Ms. Georgieva began her career in public service at the World Bank as an environmental economist in 1993. After serving for 17 years, and in many senior positions, including Director for Sustainable Development, Director for the Russian Federation, Director for Environment, and Director for Environment and Social Development for the East Asia and Pacific Region, her career culminated in her appointment as Vice President and Corporate Secretary in 2008. In this role, she served as the interlocutor between the World Bank Group’s senior management, its Board of Directors, and its shareholder countries.

Ms. Georgieva serves on many international panels including as co-Chair of the Global Commission on Adaptation, and as co-chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing. She has authored and co-authored over 100 publications on environmental and economic policy, including textbooks on macro- and microeconomics.

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1953, Ms. Georgieva holds a Ph.D in Economic Science and a M.A. in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, where she was an Associate Professor between 1977 and 1993. During her academic career, she was visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2010, she was named “European of the Year” and “Commissioner of the Year” by European Voice in recognition for her leadership in the EU’s response to humanitarian crises. In October 2020, she received the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished International Leadership Award in acknowledgement of exceptional and distinctive contributions during her career of public service.

Biography

Elie Girard joined Atos in April 2014 as deputy Group Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer in February 2015 and joined the Atos General Management Committee. He was appointed Group Deputy CEO in March 2019 and has been nominated CEO with effect from 1st November 2019.

Before joining Atos, Elie Girard, a graduate from the Ecole Centrale Paris and Harvard University, began his career as an auditor at Andersen and then joined the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry from 2002 until 2007. He joined Orange in 2007 and was appointed Chief of Staff to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In September 2010, he was promoted to Senior Executive Vice-President in charge of Strategy & Development of the Orange Group and member of the Group Executive Committee.

Biography

Ambassador Juan José Gómez Camacho was designated Ambassador of Mexico to Canada by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He is one of the most senior and experienced Mexican diplomats. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Law from Iberoamericana University in Mexico City and an LLM from Georgetown University.

He joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1988. During his 30 years of diplomatic career, he has gained vast experience and has played a key role in addressing emerging global challenges, both political and economic. Most significantly, he led negotiations on what today is known as the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, a global deal between countries, the pharmaceutical industry, laboratories and civil society to ensure greater coordination and coherence in responding to future global pandemics; and, along with the Swiss Ambassador to the UN, he led the drafting and negotiations of the UN Global Compact for a safe, orderly and regular migration adopted in December 2018.

He served as Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations from February 2016 to February 2019; Ambassador to the European Union as well as to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2013-2016); Permanent Representative of Mexico to the Office of the UN and other International Organizations based in Geneva, Switzerland (2009-2013), as well as Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and to the Union of Myanmar and the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam (2006-2009).

Additionally, Ambassador Gómez Camacho has written and co-authored a considerable number of articles on a range of issues related to Foreign Policy and International Law.

He presented his Letters of Credence to the Governor General of Canada, the Right Hon. Julie Payette, on May 28, 2019.

Note: Ambassador Gómez Camacho is visually impaired.

Biography

Peter F. Green has served as deputy laboratory director for Science and Technology and chief research officer of NREL and senior vice president of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy—the company that operates NREL for the U.S. Department of Energy—since 2016.

In his role as deputy laboratory director for Science and Technology, Green is responsible for NREL’s science and research goals, strengthening the laboratory’s core capabilities, and enhancing NREL’s research portfolio. In addition, he oversees the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, NREL-university interactions, and the postdoctoral research program.

Prior to his appointment at NREL, Green spent 20 years in academia and 11 years at Sandia National Laboratories, where his professional career began in 1985. He moved from Sandia to The University of Texas in 1996, where he became the B.F. Goodrich Endowed Professor of Materials Engineering and a professor of chemical engineering. In 2005, he was recruited to the University of Michigan to become chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He was also the Vincent T. and Gloria M. Gorguze Endowed Professor of Engineering as well as professor of chemical engineering, applied physics, and macromolecular science and technology. He served as director of a DOE Energy Frontiers Research Center: Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion.

Green’s prior leadership experience includes serving as president of the Materials Research Society (MRS). He has been a member of advisory boards for the national academies, national laboratories, and universities.

His awards include election to the position of fellow of a number of societies: MRS, American Physical Society, American Ceramics Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Other recognition includes inaugural editor in chief, MRS Communications; National Science Foundation Creativity Extension Award; divisional associate editor, Physical Review Letters; and “Outstanding Referee” for the Journals of the American Physical Society.

He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Hunter College and a master's and doctorate in materials science and engineering from Cornell University.

Biography

Riley Ray Griffin is a reporter at Bloomberg who covers the pharmaceutical industry and Covid-19. Based in New York, she reports on the business operations of some of the world’s largest drugmakers such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc., while also chronicling broader policy debates over the cost of therapeutics. Amid the pandemic, Riley has focused her attention on the rapid development of coronavirus-fighting drugs and vaccines—and the global scramble to secure their supply. Riley graduated magna cum laude from Duke University, where she studied English, international relations and policy journalism. There, she won the Sanford School of Public Policy’s Melcher Award for excellence in journalism. Riley has written for HuffPost and The Poynter Institute and served as a researcher for historians and novelists.

Biography

Renowned corporate sustainability pioneer in Brazil, with more than 30 years of experience in sustainable finances and climate risk.

Economist, Marina Grossi is President of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development – CEBDS since 2010, acting to promote sustainable business models, connect and articulate the corporate sector in Brazil with the government and civil society.

On behalf of the Brazilian Government, led the group of 77 and China in 1999 and acted as the Brazilian negotiator at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) between 1997 and 2001. Marina was also the Brazilian Climate Change Forum coordinator between 2001 and 2003 and took part in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations.

Marina Grossi led the “Vision 2050 – A new agenda for companies”, published in 2012 and featured in the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, as well as its revision, published in 2021 and articulated the development of the Green Titles Emission Guide, awarded as the “Initiative of the Year” by the Environmental Finance Green Bond Awards 2017.

Between 2018 and 2019, was member of the Steering Committee of the Carbon Price Leadership Coalition – CPLC, World Bank board focused on carbon pricing.

Board member of Norte Energia S.A, Neoenergia Institute, JBS Fund for the Amazon and the Global Reporting Initiative – GRI.

Biography

Afzal Habib is a Co-Founder & Board Member at Kidogo where he supports the organizations strategic planning, fundraising, and advocacy efforts. Kidogo aims to unlock the potential of young children living in East Africa’s informal settlements by providing high-quality, holistic, early childhood care and education. Through its innovative social-franchising program, Kidogo support's local “Mamapreneurs” to start or grow their own childcare micro-business in their own neighborhood. Afzal has been recognized for his work in social entrepreneurship as an Echoing Green Fellow, Forbes Top 30 Under 30, and as a Loran Scholar. Prior to starting Kidogo, Afzal was a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Canada advising Fortune 500 executives on major strategy & growth projects.

Biography

Cherif Habib is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dialogue (TSX : CARE), Canada’s leading virtual care company. Launched in 2016, Dialogue offers its Integrated Health Platform to millions of Canadians and provides care to more patients every day than the largest emergency rooms in the country. Dialogue has received several industry accolades, including The Globe & Mail and L’Actualité 2020 Canada’s Top Growing Companies. The company has raised over $100M of venture capital from investors such as Sun Life, CDPQ and Portag3, and recently completed a 10x oversubscribed $100M IPO.

Before launching Dialogue, Cherif was the CEO of EMcision, a medical device company acquired by Boston Scientific, and spent three years at McKinsey as a senior management consultant. He has an undergrad in Computer Science, a Master of Law and an MBA from Wharton with majors in Marketing and Operations.

Biography

Bill Harris has run or started eleven financial technology and cybersecurity companies, including as CEO of Intuit, CEO of PayPal and CEO of Personal Capital. His new venture is Nirvana Technology, a digital credit card being built by a top-flight team in Miami.

Biography

Ryan Heath is the author of Global Translations, POLITICO’s global newsletter and podcast, and previously authored POLITICO’s U.N. Playbook, Brussels Playbook, and Davos Playbook.

Ryan moderated the first presidential debate of the 2019 EU election, as part of a five year stint in the POLITICO’s European leadership team. He appears on CNN, NBC and BBC and is the author of two books on politics. Prior to POLITICO, Ryan wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia, and worked for the European Commission in Brussels as a presidential speechwriter and later as the Commission’s spokesperson for digital issues.

Biography

Amy Hepburn is the CEO of the Investor Leadership Network, a 2018 G7-born group of 14 asset managers and asset owners with over $8 trillion assets under management who are committed to sustainability and long-term growth.

Amy is a recognized impact investing expert and social entrepreneur with deep expertise on gender lens social investments and the care of children in crises. In this capacity, she has spent 20 years driving social change globally in the private,  non-profit and public sectors through the creation of unique public/private partnerships  and investing for high impact social returns.

Her partners include visionary leaders and influencers, governments, social entrepreneurs, non-profits, forward thinking companies, foundations and venture philanthropists seeking innovative solutions to persistent social issues.

Amy was a Delegate on the first G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council created by Prime Minister Trudeau, and an active member of the NationSwell Council and The Global Women’s Forum on Economy and Society.

She has Faculty appointments at Duke University and George Washington University where she teaches

on social impact, gender equality, the care of children in crises, human rights and humanitarian action.

Biography

Jonathan is co-founder and CEO of Pathway, a Montreal-based health tech company that organizes medical knowledge to help clinicians and hospitals save time and provide better care. Pathway has raised over $1.5M in funding from top VCs and seasoned healthcare/physician/AI entrepreneurs, and is used by clinicians in over 180 countries. Prior to founding Pathway, Jonathan co-founded Mile End, a software company, as well as Syme, an encrypted communications platform. He is the recipient of the Montreal Inc. 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year award, and a two-time recipient of the Montreal Inc. grant.

Biography

Focused on opportunities and results, Anne-Marie leverages internal and external knowledge, experience and the global firm to drive change. She has a passion for helping clients re-think business models to create more solid foundations for growth and long-term competitive advantage, while managing underperformance risk.

As a former member of the EY Global Advisory Council and EY Canada’s Executive Committee, Anne-Marie has a reputation for disrupting the status quo and for putting forward services and solutions in anticipation of client and market needs. In the process, she provides our people with market enablers to help them grow their networks and build both their personal and the EY brand.

She’s the Chair of the Canadian chapter of the Human Technology Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors of Montréal International, the Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute (MILA) and the Institute of Corporate Directors – Québec Chapter.

In 2004, Anne-Marie was named a Fellow of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec, which recognizes outstanding achievements in the profession. In 2015, Concordia University recognized Anne-Marie with an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. And on December 30, 2016, she was named a Member of the Order of Canada for her commitment to parity and inclusion in business and for her skill in corporate governance.

Biography

Rich has been a leading science and technology journalist for 35 years. He co-founded in 2004 a London- and Brussels-based media company, Science Business Publishing Ltd, where he is now editor-in-chief and vice chair of the board. Before that, he was managing editor of the Wall Street Journal’s European edition in Brussels; technology editor of the newspaper; and a staff reporter. In his 25 years with the Journal, he worked in Philadelphia reporting on energy, in Washington reporting on stock market and commodities regulation, and in London covering European technology and policy.

He is an hororary professor at University College London’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy.

He is co-author of a book on “fractal” analysis of financial markets with the late Yale/IBM mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot: The (mis)Behavior of Markets: A fractal view of risk, ruin & reward. (Basic Books, New York; Profile Books, London.) The book has been translated into 13 languages, won Business Book of the Year award at the 2004 Frankfurt Book Fair, and according to Die Zeit was on Angela Merkel’s nightstand during the crash of 2008.

He has also been a member or chair of various research and innovation expert groups for the European Commission, and for Euroscience Open Forum.

He is a graduate of Harvard College, a former Knight Fellow at MIT, and lives in Brussels.

Biography

Steven K. Hudson is a highly accomplished entrepreneur, senior executive, and investor with extensive experience in leading new business initiatives and achieving growth objectives with some of the world’s leading finance companies. He has a distinguished track record across several business sectors with extensive expertise in the global financial and capital markets.

Mr. Hudson is Chief Executive Officer of ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN), a leading provider of prime credit portfolios to more than 90 US financial institutions. With managed and advised assets of US$32 billion, ECN Capital originates, manages, and advises on prime credit assets offering unsecured and secured consumer portfolio solutions as well as credit card portfolios.

Previously, Mr. Hudson served for five years as the Chief Executive Officer of Element Financial Corporation. Under Mr. Hudson’s leadership, Element’s assets increased from just over $400 million to more than $24 billion, establishing it as North America’s largest independent equipment finance company and as one of the largest fleet management companies in the world.

Mr. Hudson is an active community leader and philanthropist, including serving as a significant donor to St. Michael’s Centre for Urban Health Solutions as well as being named a World Fellow by the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.

He has served as a board member on numerous organizations, including CHC Helicopter Corporation, First International Asset Management, Altamira Investment Services and AGRA.

Mr. Hudson has a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University. In recognition of his achievements, he received his Fellowship with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2000.

An entrepreneur, investor and incubator of successful businesses, Mr. Hudson has a distinguished track record across several business sectors, with deep expertise in financial and capital markets. He is the founder and principal of Cameron Capital, a private investment firm established more than 20 years ago. In 1984 Mr. Hudson founded Newcourt Credit Group. Under his leadership as CEO, Newcourt grew to become a worldwide leader in equipment and asset finance with owned and managed assets exceeding $36 billion prior to its sale to CIT Group in 1999.

Mr. Hudson has been an active director on numerous boards of both public and private corporations and an active community leader and philanthropist.

Mr. Hudson graduated from York University in 1981 with an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration degree and received his Fellowship with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2000. In 1996, Mr. Hudson received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.

Biography

Caroline Hyde co-hosts Bloomberg Television’s “The Close,” and “What’d You Miss?” from New York.

Previously Hyde co-hosted “Bloomberg Markets” from London and was the European Technology and Media correspondent for “Bloomberg Technology.” She has also served as the network’s chief European correspondent, traveling the region to report on the most important business, economic and political issues shaping global markets.

Hyde joined Bloomberg in 2008 to cover the European debt markets for Bloomberg News as a corporate finance reporter, focusing on company loans and bonds as well as sovereign debt. She covered the freeze in the European loan market following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the unraveling of the European sovereign debt crisis, as well as breaking news on the sales and performance of government bonds from Greece ahead of its bailout. Hyde has also provided in-depth reports on the London property sector, tech scene and shone a light on the European start-up community.

Prior to joining Bloomberg, Hyde worked in public relations for London’s Moorgate Group, where she was a debt market specialist, managing campaigns for clients including Standard & Poor’s and Lloyds Banking Group. She holds an MA (Oxon) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.

Biography

Marie-Paule holds a Master's in International Affairs, with a focus on international finance and economic policy, from Columbia University-SIPA, and a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal. Marie-Paule took over the leadership of the Forum after working on the adoption of research, science and innovation policies within the Quebec government. Previously, she was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company and a commercial litigation lawyer at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. Between 2016 and 2018, Marie-Paule took part in Québec’s first efforts to structure its rising AI ecosystem.

Biography

Joe Kaeser is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens Energy AG, a global powerhouse driving the transition to more sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy systems. Siemens Energy operates globally along nearly the entire energy value chain. The company has about 91,000 employees worldwide. Its products include gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, transformers, and compressors. Siemens Energy’s 67 percent stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy makes it a global market leader in renewable energies. Until February 2021, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG.

Mr. Kaeser has over 40 years of experience at Siemens, where he has held a variety of leading management positions in finance and strategy, both within and outside Germany. He began his career at Siemens in 1980 in the field of components and semiconductors, where he also worked in Malaysia and the United States. In 1999 he joined the Corporate Finance department. In 2001 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Information and Communication Mobile Group. From 2004 to 2006, he served as Siemens’ Chief Strategy Officer and from 2006 until 2013 he served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer before he took on the role of the Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Kaeser is furthermore a member of the supervisory boards of Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz AG and NXP Semiconductors N.V. He is Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA).

Biography

Lori Kerr joined FinDev Canada as its Chief Executive Officer in June 2021. A Canadian national, she is a widely experienced development specialist  with more than two decades  of  leadership in international  development,  with a specialization in sustainable  infrastructure, climate change,  and private investment  in emerging markets.

Prior to that, she was a Senior Infrastructure Finance Specialist at the Global Infrastructure Facility at the World Bank, where she was responsible for corporate strategy, knowledge, partnerships, and international engagement.

Ms. Kerr served as Senior Director at Climate Finance Advisors, developing low­ carbon, climate-resilient investment strategies and blended finance solutions to mobilize private capital in developing countries. She spent 18 years at the Inter­ American Development Bank Group serving in management roles where she spearheaded strategic initiatives to support the  expansion  and development  impact of private sector activities.

Ms. Kerr is also an Adjunct Professor of international project  finance and investment at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Biography

Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO, working to mobilize global capital for climate action.  Projects include a green bond definitions and certification scheme with $34 trillion of assets represented on its Board; working with the Chinese central bank on how to grow green bonds in China; market development programs in Brazil, Mexico, ASEAN and Africa; and market tracking services for the green bonds industry. He is a member of the European Commission's Platform on Sustainable Finance, and was a member of its predecessors, the 2017 EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He is also a member of green finance committees in China, India, Mexico and Kazakhstan. Sean is also a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London.

Biography

Soo-Jin Kim is the Head of the Urban Policies and Reviews Unit in the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. She has 20 years of experience advising cities and national governments in building stronger, cleaner and fairer cities. She spearheaded the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and co-authored numerous reports on cities, including Governing the City and Making Cities Work for All. She serves several policy networks such as the OECD Working Party on Urban Policy, the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers, and the OECD Programme on Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth. She is also supervising a diversified body of work ranging from housing affordability to transport and public procurement in cities. She graduated from Sciences Po Paris and holds a Master’s in Comparative Public Law from the Paris Sorbonne I University.

Biography

Noel Kinder is Nike’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). As the CSO, Noel leads Global Sustainability, a team committed to protecting our planet to maintain an environment where all athletes can train, live and thrive. Prior to becoming the CSO, Noel was the Vice President of Sustainable Manufacturing and Sourcing, where he was responsible for collaborating with Nike Inc.'s business units, contracted factory leadership, representatives in academia and within the NGO community on the evolution of the company's sustainable business performance policies.

Noel joined Nike in 1999 and has held a wide range of leadership positions in the footwear and apparel divisions as well as roles in strategic planning and finance. In 2013, Noel became the General Manager of Nike Vietnam LLC, one of Nike’s largest sourcing countries, and was responsible for all manufacturing operations. He has worked with a wide range of manufacturers; from textile and apparel production in Sri Lanka and Eastern Europe to footwear manufacturing in Brazil and throughout Asia.

Prior to Nike, Noel held roles that included leadership in several non-profit organizations as well small, privately-held companies in the United States. He has also served in the United States Peace Corps, spending two years in Honduras.

Noel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Oregon and a Master’s degree in Business from Portland State University. He is fluent in Spanish.

Biography

Michele Klein Solomon is Regional Director for Central and North America and the Caribbean for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), based in San Jose, Costa Rica. She assumed this position on 31 August 2020. She provides advice to governments in all regions of the world and to regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental entities on a wide range of migration policy matters.

Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Klein Solomon served as the first Director of the newly established Policy Hub in the Office of the Director General at IOM. The Policy Hub is designed to draw together, and deliver, policy knowledge across the Organization. The Hub is a catalyst to promote effective collection, analysis, and exchange of policy-relevant data and knowledge, and to facilitate strategic migration policy advice based on expertise from across IOM.

From 2016-18, she was Director, Global Compact for Migration at IOM, leading IOM’s support to States and partners in the development and implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

From 2014 to 2016, she directed the Secretariat of the state-led Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative. Ms. Klein Solomon was IOM’s representative to the United Nations in New York from 2010-2014, and previously was Director of IOM’s Migration Policy and Research Department.

Prior to joining IOM in 2000, she served for 10 years as an Attorney Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. For a majority of that time, she served as the principal refugee and migration lawyer for the Department of State.

Ms. Klein Solomon holds Juris Doctor and Master of Science in Foreign Service degrees from Georgetown University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University.

Biography

On May 1, 2021, Dr. Markus Krebber became the CEO of RWE AG. Before that, he was RWE's CFO for almost five years - from October 2016 to April 2021. Krebber joined the RWE Group in 2012 as a member of the management and Chief Financial Officer of RWE Supply & Trading, the Group’s trading house. Between 2015 and 2017 he headed RWE’s supply and trading business as CEO.

From 2005 to 2012, Markus Krebber held several positions at Commerzbank AG, including Chief Operating Officer Retail Banking, Head of Group Integration (Head of Integration at Dresdner Bank) and Head of Group Finance. Prior to that, he worked for McKinsey & Company, Inc. from 2000 to 2005 as a management consultant.

Markus Krebber was born in 1973 and trained as a banker at Deutsche Bank AG. He then studied economics at the Gerhard Mercator University in Duisburg and at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2007 he received his doctorate from the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Markus Krebber is married and has five children.

Biography

Haruhiko Kuroda was appointed Governor of the Bank of Japan in March 2013 after serving for eight years as President of the Asian Development Bank. Prior to his position at the ADB, Mr. Kuroda was Special Adviser to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Koizumi, while he was Professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo from 2003 to 2005. During his career at Japan's Ministry of Finance from 1967 to 2003, Mr. Kuroda’s responsibilities encompassed fields including international finance and tax policies. From 1999 to 2003, he represented the Ministry as Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs at numerous international monetary conferences such as the G7 and G20 meetings. Mr. Kuroda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law from The University of Tokyo, and a Master of Philosophy in Economics from University of Oxford.

Biography

Mr. Paul L'Archevêque was appointed the first ever Director of Innovation at Quebec’s  Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) in April 2018, in line with the Quebec government’s Strategy for Life Sciences 2017-2027. Mr. L’Archevêque is a Master in neurophysiology from the Université de Montréal and has been a key figure in many high profile developments in Canadian life sciences. He was notably CEO of GENOME Quebec for 8 years and possesses an extensive experience in the private pharmaceutical sector. M. L’Archevêque was a senior partner at CapCOGITO, a consulting firm providing services for the integration of innovation in the public Health and Social Services sectors.

Biography

Francesco La Camera is the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He was appointed at the Ninth Assembly of IRENA, the ultimate decision-making body of the Agency. Mr. La Camera took office on 4 April 2019 and brings more than thirty years of experience in the fields of climate, sustainability, and international cooperation.

In his role, Mr. La Camera is responsible for leading the delivery of IRENA’s work programme and strategy in cooperation with the Agency’s member states. At a critical time for climate change and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Mr. La Camera is tasked with redefining the structure and operations of the Agency in response to the urgent needs of its members.

Under his leadership the Agency has forged a series of new strategic partnerships with UN organisations including UNDP, UNFCCC and Green Climate Fund among others. A key priority of his tenure is to implement a more action-oriented approach to the Agency’s work.

Previously, Mr. La Camera served as Director-General of Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, EU and International Affairs at the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land & Sea since 2014. In this capacity, he developed cooperation and partnership agreements with a wide range of countries, particularly developing countries including Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Mr. La Camera held number of roles at the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea. As the national coordinator for climate, environment, resource efficiency and circular economy, he led the Italian delegation to UNFCCC’s COP 21 to 24 and the EU Presidency at COP 20. He was responsible for the preparation and organisation of Italy’s G7 Environment Presidency in 2017. He was a leading member of the Italian delegation to the G7 Environment Ministers meetings in 2016 and 2018.

He served as co-chair of the Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development established in Rome in partnership with FAO and UNDP and co-chaired the Financial Platform for Climate and Sustainable Development in partnership with the Italian Development Bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. He has also coordinated a number of national strategies including on sustainable development, green finance and fossil fuel subsides among other things.

Mr. La Camera led the support provided by Italy to several renewable energy initiatives such as the Initiative for Renewable Island Energy (IRIE) and the Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA), coordinated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Mr. La Camera spearheaded international cooperation on issues related to climate change and the environment. He played a key role in developing initiatives between Italy and multilateral organisations such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, UNEP, UNDP and FAO, to implement the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

He chaired the meetings of the Signatories to the Aarhus Convention led by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) and chaired the advisory board for the Convention’s implementation.

Author of many publications, Mr. La Camera was a Lecturer of Sustainable Development at the University of Cosenza and of Environment & Land Economics at the University of Roma 3. He began his career as an economic analyst at the Italian Ministry of Budget and Planning.

Mr. La Camera is a national of Italy, and graduate of the University of Messina in Political Sciences (Economic Policy major).

Biography

Mr. La Salle, FCPA, FCA, has over 20 years of experience in the development and operation of mining and energy projects in West Africa. In 1995, he founded Canadian-based SEMAFO Inc., which grew from a junior explorer to a +250,000 ounce-per-year gold producer in West Africa. Mr. La Salle has been, and remains, a key stakeholder, an investor, a chairman, a board member or an executive of many public and private sector companies, primarily in the mining, energy and clean tech sectors where he has been a strong proponent of transformational change and shareholder value creation. He currently serves as President and CEO of Aya Gold & silver Inc and Windiga Energy Inc . He is the executive Chairman of SRG Mining Inc and Sama Resources Inc.

Biography

Mr. Éric Lachance joined Énergir in January 2017 as Vice President, Finance and was appointed Senior Vice President, Regulatory, IT, Logistics and Chief Financial Officer on June 1, 2018. After holding these positions in the company, he became President and Chief Executive Officer, position he is holding since January 1st, 2020. From February 2000 to December 2016, he held various positions at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the last 3 years as Regional Director – Europe within its subsidiary CDPQ Paris where he led the team responsible for ensuring the supervision and valuation of the Caisse’s European infrastructure investment portfolio. He represented Caisse as a board member for many portfolio companies such as Fluxys Belgium, Colonial Pipeline, Keolis and Heathrow Airport.

Mr. Lachance holds a degree in business, finance and economics from McGill University and has been a chartered financial analyst since 2000.

Biography

English:

Liette’s first source of inspiration and energy comes from the entrepreneurs she has had the privilege to work with over the course of her career. Looking to make a positive impact, she has been evolving in philanthropy for the past 15 years as Executive Director of Fondation Montréal inc., a non-profit that catalyses the success of young, innovative and ambitious businesses through startup grants and access to a prestigious business network.

In 2019, Liette co-founded Bonjour Startup Montréal, an organization whose mission is to help Montreal be the best place on earth to launch and grow a startup and to let the whole world know about it.

Liette is a Chartered Professional Accountant who studied law, with a focus on international business. She started her career assisting entrepreneurs in their export ventures within the Government of Canada and later went on to become CEO of World Trade Centre Montreal.

Français :

Liette a toujours eu le privilège de travailler auprès des entrepreneures, sa source d'inspiration et d'énergie. Avec la volonté d'avoir un impact positif sur sa ville, elle évolue dans le milieu philanthropique depuis plus de 15 ans comme directrice générale de Montréal inc., une fondation qui propulse vers les succès les jeunes entreprises innovantes grâce à des bourses de démarrage et un accès à un réseau d'affaires reconnu.

En 2019, Liette a cofondé Bonjour Startup Montréal, une organisation avec la mission de positionner Montréal comme la meilleure ville au monde pour démarrer et faire croître sa startup - et de s'assurer que la planète entière le sache.

Avec sa formation comme CPA et ses études en droit avec une spécialisation sur les affaires internationales, Liette a commencé sa carrière en aidant les entreprises d’ici à exporter, notamment au sein du gouvernement canadien et puis comme dirigeante du World Trade Centre Montréal.

Biography

Award-winning business journalist Amanda Lang has been covering business in North America for 20 years. Lang is the host of Bloomberg Markets for BNN Bloomberg, a global program airing daily from Toronto and New York. Previously, Lang was CBC’s senior business correspondent, reporting for its flagship nightly news program, The National, and host of The Exchange with Amanda Lang, a daily business program airing on CBC News Network. For five years before that Lang hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, with Kevin O’Leary. And prior to that the pair co-hosted SqueezePlay, on BNN, for 6 years.

Lang studied Architecture at the University of Manitoba, before becoming a journalist. Her first job in journalism was for the Globe and Mail, and subsequently Lang joined the Financial Post newspaper, where she became the paper’s New York correspondent. In New York she made the leap to television, where she first was part of the team that launched BNN and before long wound up at CNN as a reporter and anchor. Lang is also a best-selling author. “The Power of Why,” (HarperCollins, October 2012) explores the connection between curiosity and success. “The Beauty of Discomfort” (HarperCollins, April 2017) examines how difficult change can be, and set out strategies for how to achieve it.

Biography

Dr. Joanne Langley –the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-GSK Chair of Pediatric Vaccinology at Dalhousie University and Co-Chair of the Canadian Vaccine Task Force.

Dr. Langley is a pediatric infectious disease physician in the Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University and is cross-appointed in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology in the Faculty of Medicine. She is based at the IWK Health Centre and the Canadian Center for Vaccinology. She conducts studies on the prevention of infectious diseases using vaccines, from the trial to implementation phase.

Her work also focuses on vaccine policy and evidence-based decision making in immunization programs. She is a member of the COVID-19 Science Expert Panel, and of the Expert Group on Health Systems of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada, and a former member of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (Chair, 2007-2011), and serves as an advisor on several immunization decision making expert groups. She is an active investigator in the Canadian Immunization Research Network and leads its Clinical Trials Network (CTN).

Biography

Olivier Laquinte is President of Talsom, a consulting firm specializing in digital transformation whose mission is to create a positive impact through people, innovation and technology. Olivier has over 20 years of experience in the digital transformation space, either as a consultant, entrepreneur, project and program manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree from HEC Montréal and a master's degree in project management from ESG-UQAM. He is also spokesperson and co-founder of the Regroupement des Firmes de Services Professionnelles Indépendantes whose objective is to promote entrepreneurship in the knowledge economy industry.

In 2019, Olivier received the MGP Career Award of the PMI-Montreal's Élixir 2019, which rewards excellence in project management in Quebec. The MGP Career Award recognizes the professional career of a graduate of the Master's degree in Project Management at UQAM. He is also the editor in chief of the Tech Radar, an annual report for business leaders seeking to understand how to transform their organization in the digital world.

Biography

Jean Lebel was appointed president of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) on May 1, 2013. As part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts, IDRC champions and funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions to drive global change. Dr Lebel leads IDRC’s contributions to Canada’s international priorities. He is responsible for significant funding partnerships with foreign governments, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector.

Dr Lebel previously served as vice-president of the Program and Partnership Branch, overseeing all IDRC programming. Before joining IDRC, he worked in both the academic and private sectors. He holds a PhD in environmental sciences from l’Université du Québec à Montréal and an MScA in occupational health sciences from McGill University.

Dr Lebel has served on boards of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research, the Centre for Global Pluralism,‎ the International Economic Forum of the Americas, and the World Economic Forum’s Stewardship Board on Economic Progress. Dr Lebel was also a mentor with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (2016-2017).

Biography

Since 2009, Denis Leclerc is the Founding President and CEO of Écotech Québec, the cluster representing the Québec cleantech ecosystem.  He is also the Chairman of CanadaCleantech Alliance and of the International Cleantech Network, based in Copenhagen (Denmark).

Biography

Anne-Marie Lévesque is Director, Gender and Impact Management at FinDev Canada, Canada’s bilateral development finance institution (DFI), where she is responsible for the development and implementation of FinDev Canada’s Gender Equality Strategy and Development Impact Framework. Her role is to ensure that a gender lens is applied to all transactions, and that investments bring leading approaches to women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in private sector activities.

Anne-Marie is very active in the global gender lens investing community. Between August 2019 and July 2020, she served as the Chair of the 2X Challenge, an initiative of the G7 DFIs aiming to mobilize unprecedented amounts of capital to invest in women. As of 2020, 2X Challenge members had committed and mobilized a total of $4.5 billion in gender-smart investments, surpassing their initial target of $3 billion and welcoming additional members into the fold.

Prior to joining FinDev Canada, Anne-Marie was a consultant at Ergon Associates, where she advised private sector companies, development finance institutions and international organizations on their human rights, gender equality and labour practices.

Biography

Jean-Bernard Lévy was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Group on November 26th, 2014.

From December 2012 to November 2014 he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Thales, a leading electronics and systems industrial group.

From 2002 to 2012, he was at Vivendi, a global communications and digital media company, based in Paris. He was Chief Operating Officer of Vivendi from 2002 to 2005, and CEO from 2005 to 2012.

From 1998 to 2002 he was Managing Partner, Corporate Finance at Oddo & Cie.

From 1995 to 1998 he was Chairman and CEO of Matra Communication.

Jean-Bernard Lévy was General Manager, Communications satellites of Matra Espace and then Matra Marconi Space from 1988 until 1993, when he became Chief of Staff to Gérard Longuet, the French Minister for Industry, Postal Services & Telecommunications and Foreign Trade.

From 1986 to 1988, he was Advisor to Gérard Longuet, the French Minister for Postal and Telecommunications Services.

Jean-Bernard Lévy began his career in 1979 with France Telecom as an engineer in Angers. In 1982, he became responsible for the management of senior staff and budgets, and was later promoted to deputy head of Human Resources.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, 66, is married with four children. He is a graduate of the École Polytechnique (1973) and Télécom ParisTech. He is an officer of the Légion d’Honneur and of the Ordre National du Mérite.

Biography

Hugh graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1987 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Engineering Science and Industrial Management. He holds a Master of Science (Management of Technology) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America, 1998.  Hugh joined the Singapore Armed Forces in 1984, and attained the rank of Brigadier-General on 1 Jul 2005.

Prior to joining CLC, Hugh was the CEO of the Building & Construction Authority (BCA). Previously, he held the appointments of Deputy Secretary (Community, Youth and Sports) at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and the Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Law.

Biography

Biography

Jin is the inaugural President and Chair of the Board of Directors. On July 28, 2020, he was elected to serve a second term of five years, beginning on Jan. 16, 2021. Before being elected as the Bank’s first President, he served as Secretary-General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat tasked with establishing the Bank. Jin has rich experience across the private and public sectors and with MDBs. He served as Chair of China International Capital Corporation Limited (China’s first joint-venture investment bank), Chair of the Supervisory Board of China Investment Corporation and Chair of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. He previously served as Vice President and then Ranking Vice President of the Asian Development Bank and as Alternate Executive Director for China at the World Bank and at the Global Environment Facility. Jin spent nearly two decades at the Chinese Ministry of Finance, reaching the rank of Vice Minister. He holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages (now Beijing Foreign Studies University) and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in the Economics Graduate Program at Boston University from 1987 to 1988. Jin is from the People’s Republic of China.

Biography

Mr. Liu is Vice President at Huawei Technologies. He currently oversees Huawei's public and government affairs file. Thus, he has worked for Huawei for 15 years and has held various leadership positions, including technical services, marketing, public affairs, communications and regional management.

Prior to his current position, he served as Vice President of Huawei in Brazil (2014-2018). The latter also spent more than three (3) years as Vice President of  Delivery and Services for the America Movil Key Account in Mexico (2010-2013).

Mr. Liu graduated from Xidian University and holds a bachelor's degree in telecommunications engineering.

Biography

Adriana Lobo is the executive director of the World Resources Institute Mexico (WRI Mexico). Since its inauguration 15 years ago as the EMBARQ Mexico Sustainable Transportation Center, the organization has supported the implementation of technical solutions to promote more sustainable cities, although since 2016 the impact of the institute has expanded addressing issues related to energy, change climate and forests.

Under Adriana's leadership, WRI Mexico has played an important role in the development of new actions, norms and public policies of local, national and regional relevance, and has led projects that are beneficial to the environment.

Adriana Lobo's extensive professional experience has focused on the development of policies for sustainability, urban mobility projects, urban development and the environment, mainly in Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Chile.

Brazilian by birth, Adriana graduated as a Civil Engineer from the Polytechnic School of the University of Sao Paulo.

Biography

With almost 20 years as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pekka has accrued deep expertise in the telecommunications, technology, energy, machinery, and finance sectors, all of which are central to the transition into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Pekka was appointed as Nokia’s CEO on August 1, 2020. He has put in place a new operating model for the company and positioned Nokia as a trusted partner for critical networks around the world. These critical networks are advanced systems of hardware and software that run mission critical services for companies and societies. They are central to Pekka's passionately held belief that technology and connectivity can and should help industries and societies improve productivity and sustainability as well as create new opportunities.

He previously worked for Nokia between 1990 and 2000, when he helped oversee the company’s emergence as the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer and a significant player in mobile infrastructure.

Pekka started his Nokia career as an account manager, responsible for the launch of the world’s first GSM network. He led the company’s expansion into new territories and became known as a dynamic and visionary leader who knew how to adapt businesses to prepare for, and capitalize on, coming trends.

In 2000 he moved from Nokia into venture capital with Startupfactory, followed by the consumer goods company Hackman, where he first became a CEO. He then led Konecranes for 10 years, before in 2015 moving to Fortum, an international energy company.

Pekka’s broad experience, which includes working in Silicon Valley and Asia, has given him insight into technologies that will be at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These include 5G, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, private networks, the Industrial Internet of Things, and cloud computing.

Originally from Espoo, Finland, Pekka earned a master’s degree in information systems from Aalto University’s Department of Technical Physics (formerly Helsinki University of Technology). He holds advisory or oversight roles at the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, the Climate Leadership Council, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, among others.

Biography

Mr. Leslie Maasdorp is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the New Development Bank.

In this role he is responsible for the treasury, portfolio management, finance and accounting functions of the Bank. Over the past 25 years he has occupied senior leadership roles in both private and public sectors. Most recently he served as a Managing Director and President of Bank of America Merrill Lynch for Southern Africa for a period of four years. Prior to that he served in a dual role as Vice Chairman of Barclays Capital and Absa Capital. In 2002 he was the first African to be appointed as International Advisor to Goldman Sachs International.

Before his 13 years as a global investment banker, he served in several senior leadership roles in the Government of South Africa. In 1994 after the transition to democracy, he was appointed as Special Advisor to the Minister of Labour and in 1999, in his role as Deputy Director General of the Department of Public Enterprises, he lead the restructuring and privatization of state owned enterprises for the South African Government.

He is a former Chairman and CEO of Advtech, a leading provider of private education in South Africa. Leslie is a young global leader of the World Economic Forum. He holds a BA degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of the Western Cape and a Master of Science degree in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London.

Biography

Manny Maceda is the Worldwide Managing Partner of Bain & Company. He is responsible for all aspects of the firm's strategy, team and operations across Bain's global network of 50+ offices. Manny leads the firm in its mission to deliver the best client results in the management consulting industry. Additionally, Manny is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bain & Company. He originally joined Bain in 1988.

Manny’s past roles include Chairman of the Asia-Pacific region and Global Leader at various times of Bain’s Full Potential Transformation Group, Performance Improvement practice, Reengineering practice and Global Recruiting Team. He has served on the firm’s Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Global Operating Committee.

Manny specializes in working with large corporate transformations involving strategy, growth, cost reduction, performance improvement and organizational effectiveness across a range of industries with most depth in technology companies. Prior to taking on his current role, he was the lead Bain partner in support of client relationships with a global private equity fund, a global computing company, a global e-commerce player, an Asia-Pacific communications company and a global sports apparel company.

Manny holds an MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS in Chemical Engineering (magna cum laude) from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Bain, he worked with E.I. Du Pont de Nemours in the Engineering Plastics Group and with Unocal Corporation in Refinery Process Engineering.

Manny is a member of the Advisory Board of the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Biography

Founder in 2016 of Crisis24, a GardaWorld Company, Stephan brings over twenty five years’ experience in technological development, security assistance and responding to crisis incidents worldwide.

Prior to Crisis24, he served in both public and private sectors, operating in sensitive countries around the world. A former UDT/Intelligence Officer in the Army and Intelligence Services, he served as the Attaché to the Vice President of the Parliament, and since 1996 has directly participated in negotiations with foreign governments to resolve political detention and kidnap situations. He also previously worked with the Managing Director of the Kroll Crisis Management Group in the U.S.

Dual citizen (US/French), Stephan is based in New York. Stephan is an alumnus of Sciences-Po Paris, and holds a MA in History from the University La Sorbonne – Paris.

Biography

Fabien Marino is the Vice President Industrial Affairs and Site Head for Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the Canadian vaccine division of Sanofi, where he has led all industrial functions since 2018. A proven team builder and high energy leader, his vision is to strengthen industrial scale biotechnology manufacturing in Canada. Prior to his current role, Fabien led Sanofi Pasteur Canada’s manufacturing operations, overseeing the consolidation and acceleration of the industrialization of manufacturing. Among his past roles are Head of Canadian operations for Merck KGaA Crop BioScience and Head of Operations, Southern California for Merck KGaA Life Sciences. He holds three degrees from McGill University in science and engineering and professional certification in supply chain and project management.

Biography

Damon Matthews is a Professor and Research Chair in Climate Science and Sustainability at Concordia University. Damon holds a PhD in climate science from the University of Victoria, and is a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada and a Review Editor for the upcoming Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has published more than one hundred research papers on topics ranging from quantifying the remaining carbon budget to assessing equitable approaches to allocate emission allowances to individual countries. He is internationally recognized for his work in policy-relevant climate science, as well as for initiatives such as the Climate Clock that use digital visualization and web-based technologies to motivate and accelerate climate action. Damon is the Scientific co-Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age, and directs the NSERC CREATE in Leadership in Environmental and Digital Innovation for Sustainability (LEADS) program, which aims to train graduate student researchers at the intersection of sustainability science and digital innovation.

Biography

Manuel D. Medina is a highly successful business executive and investor with more than 30 years of leadership experience in the IT infrastructure and cybersecurity industries.

Medina is the Founder and Managing Partner of Medina Capital, a private equity firm investing in the cybersecurity, data analytics and IT infrastructure markets.  Previously, Medina was the Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Terremark, a publicly traded company on NASDAQ until April of 2011, when Terremark was acquired by Verizon for an enterprise value of $2 billion. Under his leadership, Terremark built and operated the NAP of the Americas.  It also distinguished itself as the leading global provider of managed IT infrastructure services for Fortune 500 enterprises and federal government agencies.

He serves as Executive Chairman of Cyxtera Technologies, a global leader in data centers and interconnection services founded in 2017, in a $2.8 billion transaction.   He is also Executive Chairman of Appgate, a global cybersecurity company.

Medina is the founder and chairman of the board of eMerge Americas, the premier B2B technology event connecting the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Through his leadership, eMerge Americas has helped establish Miami as the hub for the technology industry in the Americas and has had a $1.36 billion cumulative economic impact on the State of Florida and supported an excess of 7,000 jobs.

Medina is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from technology trends and global business to entrepreneurship and has served as either a keynote speaker or panelist at large investor conferences and IT industry tradeshows. His leadership in the IT industry and insightful analysis of market trends have resulted in appearances on NBC News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Fox Business, as well as interviews with global media outlets. He has been recognized with accolades from many business and community organizations for his leadership and community service. Medina received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University and began his career as a certified public accountant at Price Waterhouse.

Biography

Jean-Philippe Meloche has a master degree in Economics (MSc) and holds a PhD in geography from Université de Montréal. He is currently Assistant Professor in urban planning at Université de Montréal and a researcher at the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO). He also collaborates with the Sustainable Mobility Observatory [Observatoire de la mobilité durable] and the Ivanhoe-Cambridge Observatory of urban and real estate development [Observatoire Ivanhoé-Cambridge du développement urbain et immobilier]. He teaches urban economics, local public finance, metropolitan governance and transport planning. He has worked with several municipalities, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area, and with many ministries of Quebec government (Transport, Agriculture, Finance, etc.). Previously, Jean-Philippe Meloche has worked as a consultant and professional in the field of local and regional economic development.

Biography

She is an expert in sustainable development with more than 20 years of experience in formulating public policies and executing projects. She has worked in more than 15 Latin American countries in multidisciplinary projects financed by various multilateral organizations (IDB, World Bank, CAF, European Union, UNDP), bilateral (AECID, GIZ) and National governments.

Biography

Simon R. Moore is vice president, Investor Relations, Corporate Relations and Sustainability, at Air Products. He is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with investors and analysts through an ongoing dialogue about Air Products’ corporate, business and financial objectives and growth opportunities. He has responsibility for the company’s Corporate Relations organization, including global government relations, community relations and philanthropy. He also has global leadership responsibility for Sustainability at Air Products.

Mr. Moore joined Air Products in 1990 as a Merchant Gases sales representative in Los Angeles. In 1995 he transferred to Allentown to support hydrogen onsite business development, and in 1998 he relocated to Houston, where he was named tonnage business manager of the West Gulf Coast pipeline system. Mr. Moore relocated to Taiwan in 2004 when he was named director, fab development for Electronics and then global director, Electronic Materials, in 2007. He returned to Allentown in 2010 as director, Investor Relations. He became responsible for Corporate Relations in 2016 and Sustainability in 2020.

Mr. Moore holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Mr. Moore serves as president of the Air Products Foundation and vice chairman of the Air Products Political Alliance Steering Committee. He also serves on the Tocqueville Society Cabinet of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, as well as the board of directors of the Lehigh Valley Partnership.

Biography

Claude Morency is Managing Partner of Dentons’ Montréal office (since 2007) and is a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. His practice focuses on corporate, commercial and construction litigation. Claude has extensive knowledge and experience in managing and conducting large-scale litigation before arbitral or judicial courts. In construction law, Claude has represented parties involved in litigation where tens or hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake and raising very complex technical evidence issues. In commercial matters, Claude works mainly on shareholder law matters and contractual disputes. Claude also has experience defending parties involved in investigation processes, including a public inquiry commission, as well as in statutory criminal matters.

A member of the National Management Committee, Claude plays an active role in the national management of the firm while maintaining a very active practice.

Biography

Researcher of international renown, Carlos Moreno is Scientific director of the Chair «Entrepreneurship – Territory - Innovation», Panthéon Sorbonne University – IAE Paris (France).

Carlos Moreno earned recognition as a scientist with an innovative mind, pioneer works and his unique approach on urban issues. He is also a scientific advisor of national and international figures of the highest level, including the Mayor of Paris Smart City special Envoy.

He works at the heart of issues of international significance as a result of his research, bringing an innovative perspective on urban issues and offering solutions to the issues faced by the cities, metropolises and territories during the 21st century.

Some of his concepts traveled the world: the Human Smart City, the 15mn City, the Territory of 30mn.

Carlos Moreno received the Foresight Medal by the French Academy of Architecture (2019).

Author of “Urban life and proximity at the time of Covid-19” Published by: Editions de l’Observatoire, July 2020

Author of “Droit de cite, de la ville-monde à la ville du quart d’heure” Published by: Editions de l’Observatoire, November 2020

Biography

Sébastien Mousseau joined SNC-Lavalin in 2006. He is an alumnus of the University of Sherbrooke and has a Doctorate in Civil Engineering.

Sébastien leads the Power, Grid & Industrial Solutions Business Unit which operates in the Power (Hydro, Transmission & Distribution, Renewable & Thermal Power), Intelligent Network & Cybersecurity, Pharmaceutical and Agri-Food markets. The unit has more than 1,000 employees in North America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

His previous management role at SNC-Lavalin was Vice President, Engineering Services—Clean Power, Canada.

Sébastien has held lead positions on several large hydroelectric projects including Eastmain-1-A, Lower Churchill and Site C. He is a registered engineer in British Columbia, Québec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. He is also a board member of the Association de l’industrie électrique du Québec.

Biography

Euan Munro is Newton’s new CEO. Euan is a seasoned investment management executive with a background in macro investing. He arrives from Aviva Investors where he was chief executive officer and a member of the Aviva plc group executive team for seven years. Prior to this, Euan spent nearly 20 years at Standard Life Investments (SLI) where he was head of multi-asset and fixed-interest investing and was latterly a member of that company’s board. He joined SLI as an inflation-linked portfolio manager from Scottish Provident in 1995.

Euan has a first class honours degree in Physics from the University of Edinburgh and is a Fellow of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries. He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Wharton Business School, Philadelphia.

Biography

After having served as Chief Operating Officer of Hydro-Québec and President of Hydro‑Québec Production from 2018 to 2020, and as Chief Innovation Officer of Hydro‑Québec and President of Hydro‑Québec Production from 2020 to 2021, David Murray became Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President – Generation, Health, Safety and Environment in February 2021, when Hydro‑Québec transformed its operating divisions into groups. As Chief Innovation Officer, he is tasked with developing an overall innovation vision and strategy to develop the full potential of the company’s technologies for the benefit of Québec’s energy future. He also spearheads the company’s R&D efforts and the activities of its commercial subsidiaries, including Hilo, EVLO, Dana TM4 and the Electric Circuit. As Executive Vice President – Generation, Health, Safety and Environment, he manages the operations, development and maintenance of the company’s generating facilities, whose total installed capacity exceeds 37,000 megawatts, as well as electricity sales and energy trading on wholesale markets. He also oversees occupational health and safety, as well as environmental governance and expertise.

Mr. Murray joined Hydro‑Québec in 2015 as Vice President – Information and Communications Technologies and was promoted President of Hydro‑Québec Distribution in 2016. Previously, he held a number of strategic management positions at Bombardier Aéronautique, where he contributed to the launch of Bombardier Avions d’affaires and served as Vice President and General Manager responsible for the Learjet 70/75 programs and the Learjet plant in Wichita, Kansas. He also worked for Flextronics, Nortel Networks and Rolls Royce.

David Murray holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from HEC Montréal. He is a governor of the Mouvement québécois de la qualité, co‑chair of the Canadian Red Cross Campaign – Emergency Support When You Need It currently under way in Québec and a member of the board of Centraide du Grand Montréal.

Biography

Takashi Nagao served on Medicago's Board of Directors since 2017 and as a Chairman since 2018, prior to his appointment, developed a deep understanding of the company's strategic objectives and core competencies.  Takashi is a proven leader in health innovation and the pharmaceutical space. He has led businesses through periods of accelerated growth and innovation, relying on his extensive knowledge of drug development and commercialization, business development and finance, and corporate management.

Biography

Gabriela Nicolescu is full professor and head of the Computer and Software Engineering Department at Polytechnique Montréal, Canda. Her research interests are in the field of security by design for intelligent connected systems.  She obtained her B. Eng. Degree in Electrical Engineering from UPB (Polytechnic University Bucharest) in and her PhD Degree from INPG (Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble) France. Elle est fondatrice d’une startup qui a permis la sécurité des applications et logiciels de plusieurs PMEs de Montréal. She edited 6 books, and authored more than 250 journal articles and conference papers.

Biography

Kevin Nilsen started his career in leadership as an officer in the Norwegian Army before moving to Canada in 2000. After graduating from the University of Calgary, Kevin worked 7 years for ECO Canada, most recently as Director of Professional Services. Kevin rejoined ECO Canada in September 2016 to commence the role of President & CEO of the organization.

During his absence from ECO Canada, Kevin managed large global offshore oil and gas projects for Aker owned companies. The experience in the energy sector gave him great exposure to clients and stakeholders in Europe, Asia, and USA. During this time, he was first based in Norway and subsequently in Houston, Texas. As a key highlight, Kevin led the development of a cutting-edge Riser Gas Handling tool that ensures a safer and more environmentally friendly drilling process.

At ECO Canada, Kevin was responsible for the establishment of the Canadian Centre for Environmental Education (CCEE). He was also instrumental in the launch of regional networking events across the country, the growth of EP certification, and academic partnerships.

Throughout his career, Kevin has always had an unprecedented commitment to clients. In his role as CEO, Kevin’s key focus is to ensure that ECO Canada’s products and services align well with industry, government, and academic stakeholders.

Biography

Christoph is guiding thyssenkrupp's green hydrogen business since beginning of 2020. He is convinced that industrial scale green hydrogen of multi hundreds of MW up to GW scale is the key to transform the energy and chemical industry towards carbon neutrality: "With our green hydrogen and green chemicals technology portfolio we will create a sustainable value for the industry and society". Christoph has gained 20 years’+ business experience in the chemical plant engineering industry, 5 years of which as executive director in Japan, 12 years in sales and execution of EPC projects within thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions and 5 years in R&D. He gained international business expertise working for more than 5 years in Asia and more than 15 years in Germany and other European countries.

Biography

Seán O’Neill is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office and the Industry Group Leader of the firm’s National Power Group.  Seán has significant experience in project development and in representing domestic and foreign acquirers, investors and sellers of a variety of power assets, including conventional, nuclear and renewable generation technologies, transmission and distribution, and district energy. He has assisted financial institutions and borrowers on project financings and re-financings of power projects and distribution systems across Canada and in the US. Seán regularly acts for project developers and sponsors negotiating commercial arrangements in the sector, including power purchase agreements and CFDs, service contracts, conservation and demand management agreements and joint-venturing and partnership arrangements. He is recognized as a leading lawyer in the area of energy in several leading directories and publications, including Chambers Global, Chambers Canada, Lexpert and International Who’s Who of Energy Lawyers.

Biography

After studies in digital engineering at IIM (Paris), Virgile worked for 10 years in video post-production on the emergent digital compression market, DVD and VOD mastering.

In 2010, he co-found Hubee.tv to join the fast development of the VOD market, and the company become in 5 years one of the most important player in Europe in digital distribution. In 2016, Virgile joins Free, the disruptive French telecom operator, as innovation advisor.

With this strong expertise, he decides during its eMBA at HEC Paris, to found Livescale with Laurent Boutet. Livescale is the first live video platform to reach, engage and monetize digital audiences, allowing to create for the first time real-time interactive eCommerce experience, known as LIVEShopping.

Biography

Thomas Park leads BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund as Partner. Previously, he has served as Vice-President, Operations and Strategy, at BDC Capital since 2016. Before joining BDC, Thomas was Program Officer with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to this, he served as Senior Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company. He previously worked at the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the International Criminal Court.

Thomas holds bachelor’s degrees in Civil and Common Law from McGill University, a Master in Public Policy from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Biography

Swaha Pattanaik is Global Economics Editor at Reuters Breakingviews, based in London. Previously Reuters’ EMEA Financial Markets Editor, she writes about global financial markets, macroeconomics, and policymaking. She was posted to Paris as Reuters’ senior economics correspondent and to Brussels as its European economic and monetary affairs correspondent. Before then she was the head of the Reuters FX reporting desk in London. Prior to joining Reuters, she worked for Bloomberg, Euromoney, and consulting firm IDEA. She has an MSc in Political Theory and Political Sociology from Birkbeck and a BSc (Econ) in Mathematical Economics and Econometrics from the London School of Economics.

Biography

Silvia Pavoni is the editor of Sustainable Views, a newsletter by FT Specialist, a division of the Financial Times; and the economics editor of The Banker, also part of the FT group, for which she created and writes the Better Banking column on sustainable finance. Silvia is also an advisory board member of the European Risk Management Council, a member of the London council of not-for-profit WILL, Women in Leadership in Latin America, and an honorary fellow at City University of London.

As part of her current role, Silvia regularly interviews government officials, policy makers and finance and business leaders. One of her highest-profile interviews was with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who serves as UN General-Secretary’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance.

Since joining the Financial Times in 2005, Silvia has been on assignment to over two dozen countries, reporting with both written and filmed pieces. Previously, she was in charge of Centaur Media’s specialist database on public private partnerships, which was tasked with providing data to the UK Government.

Silvia holds the equivalent of an MSc and a BSc in Economics and Finance from Ca' Foscari University of Venice and speaks Italian – her mother-tongue – and Spanish.

Biography

Silvia Pencak is President of Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada), a Canadian non-profit organization certifying women-owned businesses and opening the doors to corporate & government supply chains under supplier diversity programs across North America. Silvia has over 20 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit and business environment, leading transformational projects and teams. Her diverse international background spearheading successful initiatives gives her a wealth of experience to lead supplier diversity to its next level to support Canadian women owned businesses.

Biography

Chris is an experienced strategy and communications professional from Canada with 15 years of experience in China. Fully bilingual (written/spoken) English and Chinese, Chris has built his career upon being a constructive bridge between different people, interests, and cultures.

Chris is President and CEO of the Canadian Ecosystem Institute, an organization providing market research, communications strategy and PR support to companies across Canada. Chris is also Co-Founder of Vancouver's preeminent networking and events organization, West Coast Opportunity Accelerator (WCOA) - Inspiring positive action through local opportunities in tech and business.

Chris pursued an MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and is a passionate badminton player and chess player.

Biography

First elected as city councillor in Saint-Marie district in 2013, Projet Montréal members chose Valérie Plante to lead the party in 2016. Her contagious passion and energy has helped her rally people around her progressive vision. Deeply concerned about participatory democracy, Valérie Plante has a bold plan for Montreal centered on increased access to public transit, better urban planning and public services, the economy and the environment. Her commitment is to bridge the gap on these issues for all 19 city boroughs.

Before jumping into the political arena in 2013, Valérie Plante studied anthropology, museology, multiethnic intervention, and was actively involved with numerous community groups, such as Fondation Filles d’action.

She became Mayor of Montreal on November 5, 2017.

Biography

Brune Poirson is a graduate of both the Aix-en-Provence Institut d’Etudes Politiques (France) and the London School of Economics (UK). She also holds a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (US).

Having always been committed to sustainable development, Brune has dual experience working in the private and public sectors. She held various roles in New Delhi (India), in the Office of the Indian Prime Minister and at the French Development Agency, before becoming Director of Social Responsibility – South Asia for Véolia in 2011. In 2015, in parallel with her work within a green start-up incubator in Boston, Brune was involved in the French presidential and parliamentary election campaign.

Within the French government, she was elected to the French National Assembly for the Vaucluse département in 2017 and was subsequently appointed Secretary of State for the Environmental Transition, where she championed the anti-waste law, which among other things addressed plastic pollution. The first French person to be elected Vice President of the United Nations Environment Assembly, she is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Fondation de la Mer.

Brune joined Accor in May 2021 as Chief Sustainability Officer and is a member of the Executive Committee. With the tasks of defining, driving and monitoring the commitments, strategy and roll-out of the Group’s action plans in relation to sustainable development, Brune is also responsible for Accor Solidarity and ALL Heartists endowment funds.

Biography

Mason is a partner in the Montréal office and formerly a member of the firm’s Board of Partners and Quebec head of the litigation group. Known for his business acumen and broad experience as a corporate commercial litigator, his practice focuses primarily on corporate disputes, governance, securities, internal investigations, crisis management, insolvency, and restructuring.

Recognized for his ability to successfully manage litigation and investigations matters with a great deal at stake, Mason leverages his considerable corporate and financial industry knowledge to find practical solutions to complex disputes. Working with a range of clients including financial institutions, public and privately held corporations, and trustees, he takes a strategic approach to securities and banking class actions, financial product liabilities cases, financial frauds, corporate governance issues, plans of arrangement, liquidation, oppression remedies, complex contract disputes, and directors’ liabilities.

Biography

Appointed Senior Vice-President, Channels and Marketing, in March 2021, Julie Pottier’s mandate is at the core of how EDC serves Canadian companies as they grow their business internationally. From identifying opportunities to better meet the needs of customers to overseeing EDC’s portfolio of Canadian exporters, her responsibilities also include elevating awareness of EDC by engaging with customers, banks and partners to facilitate trade-related business opportunities. She is responsible for the sales force located across Canada, the partner channel, answering customer knowledge pain points and finding solutions to their challenges, and marketing. The Channels and Marketing team has played a vital role in supporting our customers and partners throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is committed to continuing to support while on Canada is on the journey towards economic recovery.

Since joining EDC in 1992, Ms. Pottier has held a variety of leadership positions at EDC, and has acquired a wealth of experience, including playing a key role in a major system transformation as well as leading and managing EDC’s business development team in Canada. She has also served as Regional Underwriting Director leading a team of underwriters responsible for providing insurance, bonding and financing solutions to Quebec customers and has previously led teams in credit insurance and negotiated strategic alliances.

Biography

Lena Pripp-Kovac is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Inter IKEA Group - covering the IKEA product and food range, supply, production and franchising.

In her role, she leads the global IKEA sustainability strategy which includes transforming IKEA into a circular business, becoming climate positive, creating a fair and equal society and enabling healthy and sustainable living.

She has more than 20 years’ experience of working with sustainability related topics in various businesses, industries and countries. Lena is passionate about making sustainable living inspiring and affordable to the many people.

Biography

Jonas Prising was named ManpowerGroup Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in May 2014 and Chairman in December 2015. He leads all aspects of ManpowerGroup’s $21 billion business across 75 countries and territories worldwide.  He’s been with the company for more than 20 years in roles ranging ManpowerGroup North America President and President of the Americas, while also leading the company’s operations in Southern Europe and overseeing the global Right Management and ManpowerGroup Solution businesses.

A recognized expert on the labor market and future of work, Prising regularly speaks at global events and in the media on employment trends, jobs and skills. He plays a key role in championing ManpowerGroup’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategy and is especially passionate about preparing the next generation with work-readiness skills, accelerating women into leadership, supporting refugees into meaningful work, and delivering on climate action.

Currently, Prising serves as global Board Chairman for JA Worldwide, where he helps JA achieve its mission of equipping more than 12 million young people each year with employment and entrepreneurship skills in 100 countries.

Prising is actively engaged with the World Economic Forum, including as a member of the International Business Council (IBC), the CEO Alliance for Climate Leaders, the CEO Action Group for the European Green Deal, the Global Parity Alliance, and CEO Champion for the Reskilling Revolution.

Prising also plays an active leadership role in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, business community, as a Board member and former Chairman of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He also serves on the board of directors of Kohl’s Corporation (KSS:NYSE).

Before joining ManpowerGroup, Prising worked for Electrolux, a Swedish multinational. During his tenure, he held various international positions within the consumer goods and business-to-business divisions. Prising holds an MBA (equivalent) from the Stockholm School of Economics and has participated in executive programs at Harvard, INSEAD, Stanford and Yale. He speaks five languages: English, French, German, Swedish and Italian and has lived in nine countries across Asia, Europe and North America. Prising and his family reside in the Milwaukee area.

Biography

Keith Rabois is the General Partner at Founders Fund. He has a unique background as an entrepreneurial executive and investor. Since 2000, he has been instrumental in driving five startups from their early stages to successful IPOs. He has provided seed capital to another ten companies that are currently valued at over $1 B, including Airbnb, Lyft, YouTube, Wish, Yammer.

Since March 2013, Keith Rabois has served as a senior partner at Khosla Ventures, a technology venture capital fund founded by Vinod Khosla. He specializes in funding early-stage companies with a primary focus in consumer, financial services and health care innovation. At the same time, Keith co-founded Opendoor, a startup which transforms the painful process of selling a home into delightful and immediate experience. At KV, Rabois has led investments in a broad array of startups including, DoorDash, Stripe, Thoughtspot, Affirm, Even Financial and Piazza.

Over the prior decade, he forged several of the most important new social and commerce platforms. Keith began his career in the industry as Executive Vice President of Business Development & Public Policy at PayPal [NASDAQ: PYPL, later acquired by EBAY] and subsequently served in influential roles at LinkedIn [NYSE: LNKD] and as a chief operating officer of Square [NASDAQ: SQ].

As a board member, Keith guided Yelp [NYSE: YELP] and Xoom [NASDAQ: XOOM] from inception to successful initial public offerings.

Earlier in his career, Keith Rabois served as a litigator at the pre-eminent Wall Street law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, specializing in antitrust, IP, and complex commercial matters. He joined the firm after clerking for the Honorable Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. After leaving the practice of law, Keith served as policy director for former Vice President Dan Quayle.

Keith Rabois earned a bachelor's degree Phi Beta Kappa in political science with distinction from Stanford University and a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School.

Biography

Gabriela Ramos is the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, where she oversees the contributions of the institution to build inclusive and peaceful societies. Her agenda includes the achievement of social inclusion and gender equality, advancing youth development; promotion of values through sports;  anti-racism and antidiscriminatory agenda and ethics of artificial inteligence. Her appointment at UNESCO allows her to continue supporting an agenda of inclusive growth, and the respect of human rights and human dignity.

Prior to this position, Ms. Ramos served as the Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20/G7/APEC in the OECD, contributing to the global agenda as well as leading the OECD's New Approaches to Economic Challenges, Inclusive Growth Initiative, Gender Strategy and the work on well-being and children. In 2019, she launched the Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) platform, bringing together 40 major multinational companies committed to reducing inequalities. Previously, she was Director of the OECD Office in Mexico and Latin America and a member of the Mexican foreign service.

In 2013, she was decorated with the Ordre du Merit by the President of France. Her work to promote gender equality earned her the 2017 and 2018 Forbes Excellence award as well as being included as part of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy in both 2018 and 2019. A Fulbright and Ford McArthur fellow, she is member of the board of the Paris Peace Forum, UNICEF Advisory Board, Steering Group of the International Gender Champions Paris Hub, Multi-Stakeholder Council to the Global Solutions Initiative, Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People, and Lancet Commission on COVID-19.

Biography

Lally Rementilla is Managing Partner, Intellectual Property-Backed Financing. She oversees and provides strategic guidance to a national team that helps companies accelerate their growth or the commercialization of their innovation.

Following nearly two decades of experience as a financial executive in the technology sector, Lally moved into investment, becoming Chief Financial Officer and then President & Chief Executive Officer of commercial lender Quantius. At Quantius, she structured and launched the company’s main fund and helped build a diverse portfolio of knowledge-based companies. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Finance and Administration at Nulogy Corporation, where she raised $10 million through institutional and private investors and led contract negotiations with major global accounts, contributing to 67% compound annual revenue growth for the company. She was also a Vice President at Lavalife and Lucent Technologies Canada.

Lally is an Associate Fellow at Creative Destruction Lab and a member of Grand Challenges Canada’s investment committee. She previously served on several other boards, including Pique Ventures Investments, the Information Technology Association of Canada, nextMEDIA and Canadian Women in Communications, as well as the former Canada Lead for the Billion Dollar Fund for Women.

Lally is a proud supporter of Canadian innovation and derives great satisfaction from partnering with founders and management teams to help them scale. She is an experienced gender lens investor with an eye to creating impact for women globally. A Chartered Professional Accountant, she also holds a Master of Business Administration from York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Ateneo de Manila University.

Biography

Dr. Jaana Remes is an economist and a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey & Company's business and economics research arm, based in San Francisco.

Since 2003, Jaana has led MGI's research on productivity, competitiveness, and growth, as well as health and urban economics. Her most recent research sizes the global economic and social benefits from rethinking health as an investment, not just a cost to manage. Jaana leads MGI’s Urban World research series that includes sizing the impact of smart city solutions on citizens’ quality of life, mapping of economic power of cities, identifying global consumer groups shaping global demand, and mapping of the global company landscape; as well as the patterns of urban growth across the Americas. Her long term research interests include productivity prospects in the digital age, global growth prospects in an era of demographic decline, analyses of how different policies have contributed to industry competitiveness and growth; as well as in-depth assessments of the barriers to competitiveness and growth across a range of economies, including the US, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, and South Korea. She has led MGI's research on energy, with a focus on understanding the microeconomic underpinnings of global energy demand and the opportunity to reduce energy consumption through higher energy productivity. She advises global business and government leaders on related topics and frequently contributes to policy debates through articles and conference presentations.

Jaana has a Ph.D. on applied economies from Stanford University and an MSc degree in economics and philosophy from the University of Helsinki, Finland. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Strategic Foresight Initiative of the Atlantic Council, serves on the Board of directors of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California, and is a Search and Rescue K9 handler at California Rescue Dog Association.

Biography

Odile Renaud-Basso is the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD’s Board of Governors elected Ms Renaud-Basso as the Bank’s seventh President in October 2020 during its 29th Annual Meeting.

She took up the role in November 2020, replacing Sir Suma Chakrabarti, who had stepped down in July 2020 after serving two full four-year terms. She is the first ever woman head of a multilateral development bank.

As Director General at the French Treasury, Ms Renaud-Basso oversaw the development of France’s economic policies, leading on European and international financial affairs, trade policies, financial regulation and debt management.

In this position, she also served as Vice-President of the European Economic and Financial Committee, deputy to the G7 and G20 groups and French Governor or Alternate Governor of the World Bank, EBRD and African Development Bank. She is also Chair of the Paris Club.

Prior to her current role, she was Deputy Director-General of the Caisse des Dépôts, a large French public financial institution.

Ms Renaud-Basso is a graduate of the Paris Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po), and an Ecole Nationale d’Administration alumnus. She also attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Biography

Lawyer by profession, politician by choice, and conservationist at heart, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez was elected as CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility by its governing body, the GEF Council, in June 2020.

The former Costa Rican Environment and Energy Minister was a pioneer in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives and strategies for forest restoration, ocean conservation, and de-carbonization, and is an internationally recognized expert on environmental policy, multilateral environmental negotiations, and financing for nature conservation. During his three terms as Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica doubled the size of its forests, made its electric sector 100 percent clean and renewable, and consolidated a National Park System that has positioned the Central American country as a prime ecotourism destination.

Rodriguez has held various technical and political positions over the past 30 years. In the early 1990s, he worked as Director of Costa Rica’s National Parks Service and is also founder and board member of many environmental NGOs and tropical research institutes. Since the 1992 UN Sustainable Development Summit in Rio, he has participated in all multilateral environmental negotiations, as an expert negotiator in UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD, and participated in negotiations for the creation and implementation of the GEF and the Green Climate Fund.  After his second tenure as Minister, he was Vice-President for Global Policy at Conservation International, for 12 years, working in 30 tropical countries in Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Biography

Mr. Joachim Rosenberg has a retail background and worked in the family business during his early years after which he obtained a M.Sc. degree from the School of Economics at the Gothenburg University in Sweden, majoring in Financial Economics and Business Administration respectively and a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, incorporating studies at University of California, Berkley, USA.

During 1996 to 2004, Mr. Rosenberg served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company, based in Europe and the US, and with time focused his client engagements largely to the retail, automotive, heavy-equipment and industry sectors.

After joining the Volvo Group in 2005, he spent his first ten years in various commercial functions ending up as CSO in 2015, globally responsible for sales and services across all truck brands and markets. In addition to his Executive Board responsibilities since 2012, the past five years have been largely devoted to turning around performance of a Volvo Group subsidiary, UD Trucks, and transferring ownership of the same to Isuzu Motors in early 2021.

Since the creation of Volvo Energy in February 2021, Mr. Rosenberg currently serves as its inaugural president. The overarching ambition to is to support and further accelerate the Volvo Group’s transformation leveraging digitalization and electromobility opportunities, also beyond the initial vehicle ‘first-life’ applications.

Mr. Rosenberg is married with four children and after five years in Beijing, China he is since 2012 living with his family in Tokyo, Japan.

Biography

Eric Roston has spent 20 covering climate change in all its incarnations—from science, to technology, finance, business, and government. Since joining Bloomberg News in 2011, he has overseen a sustainability news site, covered diverse climate-related topics, and helped drive award-winning graphics.

His book, The Carbon Age: How Life’s Core Element Has Become Civilization’s Greatest Threat, was published in 2009 by Bloomsbury USA, and has been translated into several languages. Roston was a senior staff analyst for the 2010-2011 U.S. National Oil Spill Commission, and worked for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, a think tank at Duke University.

Previously, Roston was a correspondent in TIME magazine’s Washington bureau, where he covered national politics, economics and energy. He joined the magazine in 2000 as a business reporter in the New York bureau, covering stories such as the collapse of Enron, China's emergence as a force in global trade, and advanced computing. An eyewitness to the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Roston was a part of the reporting team that won a National Magazine Award for best single-issue coverage.

He holds an M.A. in Russian history, and a B.A. in the history of the World Wars, from Columbia University.

Biography

Guy Ryder was elected Director-General, International Labour Organization, by the ILO’s Governing Body in 2012 and took office in October that year.

He was re-elected for a second term, which started on 1 October 2017.

Guy Ryder is committed to promoting decent work for all and to working through tripartism and social dialogue to make a positive difference in the working lives of people everywhere including and particularly in the lives of the most vulnerable.

The ILO celebrated its centenary in 2019 and Guy Ryder was instrumental in setting the Future of Work as the defining theme of the centenary to position the organization to meet the challenges of the 21^st century. Under his leadership, the Global Commission on the Future of Work was established in 2017.  Subsequently, the International Labour Conference adopted the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019. The Declaration, centred on the Organization’s founding values, drives the promotion of a present and future of work that is fair and just by actively shaping the new forces impacting on the world of work. Guy Ryder collaborates closely with the UN System to support global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In the social and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guy Ryder is engaged in working with the ILO’s Members and in partnership with the multilateral system and other relevant parties, to apply the principles of the Centenary Declaration in the response to the crisis as well as to the challenge of recovery.

Guy Ryder joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities and, from 1999, as Director of the Office of the Director-General.

In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). He was elected as first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) when it was created in 2006.

In 2010, Guy Ryder came back to the ILO as Executive Director.

Born in Liverpool (UK) in 1956, Guy Ryder studied Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool.

The ILO is a tripartite organization comprising governments and representatives of employers and workers.

Biography

Vicki Saunders is an entrepreneur, award-winning mentor, advisor to the next generation of change-makers and leading advocate for entrepreneurship as a way of creating positive transformation in the world.

Vicki is Founder of #radical generosity and SheEO, a global community of radically generous women supporting women-led Ventures working on the World’s To-Do List.

Vicki has co-founded and run ventures in Europe, Toronto and Silicon Valley and taken a company public on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Vicki was received numerous awards for her work at SheEO including; UBS Global Visionary in 2020, YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2020, Business Leader of the Year 2019 by the Toronto Regional Board of Trade, 2018 Startup Canada Entrepreneurship Promotion Award and was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2001.

Biography

Michelle Scarborough is Managing Partner, Strategic Investments and Women in Technology Venture Fund. In this position, she leads the origination and execution of strategic initiatives to fill current and future financing gaps in the Canadian ecosystem. She is also responsible for BDC’s $200M investment to bring capital to high-growth tech companies with women in the lead.

Michelle has more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor across various industries and sectors. Before joining BDC, she was Senior Vice President at Kensington Capital Partners Limited, where she was responsible for the growth and management of its fund of funds and direct investment activity in Western Canada, including venture capital, private equity, infrastructure and energy technology investments. Previously, she served as Managing Director of the Invest Ottawa Regional Innovation Centre, where she founded one of the first technology accelerators in Ontario. She also structured and launched the $250M Ontario Emerging Technology Fund and was a co-founder and Managing Partner of Fronterra Ventures, an oil and gas technology venture fund.

In addition, she served as CEO of Smart Seed Ventures Management Inc. and Scarborough Associates Management, and she was Interim CEO of Solflex. Michelle has also been a founder or co-founder of multiple private and public companies, including Roll Up Capital Corp., Rodeo Capital Corp. III, Metropolitian Energy Corp., and Bonita Capital Inc.

Michelle is a past director of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and is past chair of the National Angel Capital Organization. She is a founder of the Women’s Angel Network in Canada.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary.

Biography

Mark Schneider (55) has served as CEO of Nestlé since January 2017. He joined the company in September 2016.

Before joining Nestlé, Mark was CEO of the Fresenius Group, a position he held from 2003 to 2016. He joined Fresenius in 2001 as CFO of Fresenius Medical Care. Between 1989 and 2001, he held several senior executive positions with the Haniel Group, a privately-held, diversified German multinational company.

Mark has a graduate degree in Finance and Accounting and a doctoral degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He also holds an MBA from Harvard University.

Mark was born and raised in Germany. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003.

Biography

Monali Shah is a Strategic Business Executive for Public Sector at Google. In this role she drives the creation of ‘smart cities’ and mobility solutions that address the needs of public sector agencies. She is passionate about leveraging Google Cloud’s AI capabilities to drive both operational efficiency for agencies and better citizen experiences.

She previously served as the Director of Intelligent Transportation at HERE Technologies and led the company's work with transportation agencies in the areas of smart cities, connected and automated driving, and traffic management. At Nokia and NAVTEQ, she spearheaded product innovation in several location-based products. She started off her career as an Environmental Engineer and Six Sigma Blackbelt at Avery Dennison.

She serves as an advisor to transportation commissioners and serves on industry boards such as ITS America and DOE’s Smart Mobility Consortium. She has been quoted extensively in the media, and has served as a plenary speaker at industry events across the world. Ms. Shah has a degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Michigan and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Biography

Anuradha Shetty is a Principal at the Soros Economic Development Fund, the impact investing arm of the Open Society Foundations.  At SEDF she leads a portfolio of work focused on women’s economic empowerment and investing in the care economy.  Prior to joining SEDF, Anu worked at the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation (previously OPIC) where she helped provide debt capital to early–stage social enterprises and also managed a competitive process for impact-focused investment funds.  Prior to DFC, Anu was a key member to start up the Impact Investing initiative at the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., enabling the foundation to make impact investments across the global Aga Khan Development Network.  She has also served as a Financial Institutions Examiner at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, overseeing the safety and soundness of community and regional banks and foreign banking offices in the western United States.

Anu holds a Master's degree in International Finance and Economic Policy from Columbia University in New York and Bachelor's degree in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan.

Biography

Damien Silès has a solid educational background in international trade and has been serving as Executive Director of the Quartier de l’Innovation de Montréal since 2014. Previously, he served for six years as Executive Director of the Société de développement social de Ville-Marie, North America’s first social solidarity agent, which he founded in 2008. His accomplishments at the helm of this organization were lauded by the media and he was twice named person of the week by La Presse-Radio-Canada (February 2011 and June 2013). From 2002 to 2008, he was director of Membership and Sales for the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. This position helped him build strong relationships with Quebec’s business community.

Additionally, Mr. Silès worked for several years in South America as project manager for a Swiss/Ecuadorian foundation. His functions included setting up an innovative social trade program in collaboration with CIDA and developing national and international markets for local
craftspeople. Appointed Chair of the Franco-Ecuadorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he also represented countries in the Cartagena Agreement (Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru).

Damien Silès is also well recognized for his cultural involvement. A true music aficionado, he served as Chair of the Appassionata Chamber Orchestra’s Board of Directors from 2011 to 2013, and participated actively in its financing activities. In 2013, he was a finalist for the Conseil des arts de Montréal’s Prix Arts-Affaires, in the Personnalité category, in recognition of his great contributions. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Opéra de Montréal from 2016 to 2020, and the Space for Life Foundation from 2018 to 2020. He is currently on the Board of Arion Baroque Orchestra.

Biography

Mr. Singh is QuantumScape’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Singh joined the QuantumScape Board in May 2010. Mr. Singh co-founded QuantumScape and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since QuantumScape’s incorporation in May 2010. Prior to joining QuantumScape, he was the founder and Chief Executive Officer at Infinera Corporation (NASDAQ: INFN), a telecommunications company, from 2001 to 2009. Mr. Singh holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park, an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and a M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University.

Biography

Luc Sirois holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from McGill University and an MBA from Harvard University. Recognized in Canada and around the world for his creative approach to innovation, M. Sirois is a leader and entrepreneur in digital technology, with investments in numerous startups and non-profit organizations focused on youth, health, science and education. He co-founded the health innovation movement Hacking Health as well as its digital health accelerator and pre-seed fund. He is co-founder of Resonant Medical, now Elekta Canada, a leading manufacturer in the field of radiation oncology and image-guided treatments. He has also served as Vice President of Consumer Health at TELUS Health, Telesystem and Nightingale, and as Manager at McKinsey & Company with offices in Montreal, Toronto, Zurich and Paris.

Until recently, he was Managing Director of Prompt, a not-for-profit organization that facilitates R&D partnerships between the industry and research institutions to improve the competitiveness of companies in the ICT, artificial intelligence and other digital technology markets. Mr. Sirois is also strategic advisor to the Minister of the Economy and Innovation of the Quebec government. As such, he currently works on deploying new tech transfer models, on the culture of innovation in institutions, on issues of business creation and scientific entrepreneurship, as well as on the transfer of social innovations and their adoption in society.

In December 2020, he was appointed Chief Innovator of Quebec and Director General of the newly created Quebec Innovation Council.

Biography

Merran Smith is a fellow at the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, and the founder and executive director of Clean Energy Canada—a leading think tank advancing clean energy and climate solutions.

Merran serves as co-chair of the B.C. government’s Climate Solutions Council, a member of the independent Task Force for a Resilient Recovery, and a Canadian representative of the C3E International Ambassador Corps. Her 2018 work as co-chair of Natural Resources Canada’s Generation Energy Council helped ideas from a diverse group of stakeholders coalesce into recommendations that will shape Canada's energy future.

For most of her career, Merran has worked to unite industry, government, and civil society organizations to solve pressing social and ecological challenges. Her leadership in the landmark Great Bear Rainforest conservation agreement helped ensure the protection of thousands of kilometres of coastal ecosystem.

Merran has received numerous leadership distinctions, including being named to Vancouver Magazine's 2020 Power 50 List, winning the 2019 SFU President’s Social Media Newsmaker Award, Clean Energy BC's 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Vancouver Board of Trade's 2016 Wendy McDonald Community Catalyst award, and the Clean 16 award in 2014 for leadership in clean capitalism.

Biography

Susanne is CEO Chronicled, focusing on establishing networks powered by blockchain to automate the way companies do business together. She is one of the founders of the MediLedger Network, established for the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences industry, with solutions already available to enable prescription medicine verification, and automation of revenue management processes. She brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical, biotech, and supply chain experience. Susanne was most recently the Vice President of Supply Chain, North America, for Genentech.

Biography

As president and CEO of CPA Canada, Charles-Antoine leads one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world with more than 217,000 members. Prior to taking this role, he was appointed Chair of the Public Sector Accounting Board in 2017 and served as the Comptroller General of Canada from 2004-2007.

Throughout his career, Charles-Antoine has worked with many public sector clients in Canada and internationally, at all levels of governments. He was named a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant in Ontario and Quebec. Charles-Antoine has also received honorary designations from the U.K. Chartered Institute of Public Finance and the Accountancy Financial Management Institute for services rendered to public sector management.

Biography

Geneviève Tanguay has more than 20 years of experience in Investment and has participated in the completion of numerous transactions in several innovative sectors, particularly in Life Sciences. She was Director of Investments at the Fonds de Solidarité from 2008 to 2017, the largest Quebec network for development and venture capital investment in Quebec. In August 2018, Geneviève was appointed head of corporate development at Biron Groupe Santé and in October 2020, Geneviève became the first woman to hold the position of CEO of Anges Québec.

Her various functions have enabled him to sit on several boards of directors of private companies and to invest in the strategy and development of these companies. Very involved in her community, Geneviève has sat on several boards of directors of non-profit organizations, including that of the prestigious Institute of Directors of Companies I.A.S. Finally, she has been a Member of the Board of Directors of VIA Rail since August 2017 and, among others, a Member of the Audit Committee and of the Stakeholder Relations Committee.

Geneviève holds a bachelor's degree in finance from HEC Montréal.

Biography

Prof Philippe A. Tanguy is the President of Polytechnique Montreal, one of the largest technological university in Canada. Between 2009 and 2017, he served in several top R&D executive positions in Berlin and Paris for the 4^th international integrated energy company Total, focusing on corporate science policy as well as open innovation in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen. Prior to this, Prof Tanguy had pursued a 25-year academic career in several universities in Canada, including 15 years as an industrial research chairholder and head of a R&D center in process engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. He is presently the Chairman of the World Council of Chemical Engineering, a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a fellow and founding member of the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technologies of Morocco, and an honorary fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. Prof Tanguy's education background includes a doctorate degree in physics, a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, and a managerial training at the MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Prof Tanguy is a registered engineer in the Province of Québec, Canada.

Biography

Since 2015, Erik Thedéen has been Director General at Finansinspektionen, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. In his capacity, he is also:

• Member of the Board of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
• Chair of the Task Force on Sustainable Finance within IOSCO
• Member of the Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation within the Financial Stability Board (FSB)
• Member of the General Board at the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB)
• Member of the Board of Supervisors and the Management Board at the

European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

• Member of the Swedish Government's Committee for Technological Innovation and Ethics (Komet).

Before joining the Swedish FSA, Erik Thedéen held several key positions within the private financial sector, following a distinguished career in public policy and financial regulation. Thedéen has held positions as CEO of the Swedish pension Company KPA Pension, State Secretary at the Swedish Ministry of Finance, President of Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm, strategist at Brummer & Partners, Deputy Director General of the Swedish National Debt Office, an analyst at JP Bank, and a trader/analyst at Sveriges Riksbank (the Swedish central bank).

Erik Thedéen holds a Master's degree in economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Biography

Ms. Theodore is Senior Vice President, Global Government and Industry Relations with Maple Leaf Foods. In this role, Ms. Theodore leads Maple Leaf Foods’ global government relations and public policy functions, collaborating across the organization in developing and implementing the company’s government and industry relations strategy.
Prior to joining Maple Leaf Foods, Nadia spent over 20 years in the Canadian federal public service where she built a reputation for forging strong partnerships with government and business leaders, managing complex, priority trade files and leading multi-disciplinary teams. She has held senior leadership roles on several international trade negotiations and directly prior to joining Maple Leaf Foods, served as Canada’s Consul General to the Southeast USA, based in Atlanta.
Ms. Theodore is a proud contributor to organizations committed to empowering people and culture. She has served as a Carleton University Alumni Mentor, as a Global Advisor with G(irls)20 and on the Carter Center Advisory Board.
Ms. Theodore holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Master of Arts in Political Science, both from Carleton University, and a Bachelor of Laws from University of London.

Biography

Laurent Therrien has worked for over ten years at the crossroads of business and communications.

He had a successful career in radio and television at Radio-Canada as a journalist, then reporter-presenter. He covered many events live, including major crises. As an economic journalist, he has written hundreds of reports and interviewed several senior Quebec executives. He collaborated live on several specials, including five election nights.

Having received an MBA from HEC Montréal, Laurent is also a communications strategist. He has a keen understanding of large enterprises and the energy sector. At Énergir, he contributed to the development of the renewable natural gas sector in Québec by mobilizing leading stakeholders and implementing public affairs and government relations strategies.

On the strength of his experience in front of the camera and in business strategy, he now supports business leaders in preventing and managing issues they may face. He develops tailored strategies and shares his expertise as a public spokesperson.

Laurent Therrien has received a Governor General’s academic medal and the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal. He heads up communications for the Association des MBA du Québec.

Biography

The Hon. Brian Tobin was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013 for his contribution to Canadian public policy as a federal and provincial politician, and for supporting economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Brian served as the Federal Minister of Industry from October 2000-January 2002, prior to which he served as the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1996-2000. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1980-1996, and as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the federal cabinet from 1993-1996.

Brian is Vice Chair, BMO Financial Group. He serves as chairman and director of New Flyer Group Inc. He previously served as Executive Chairman, President & CEO of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. He led the negotiating team that sold CLM to Cliffs Natural Resources for $4.9 billion, which was one of the biggest global mining deals in 2011.

Brian is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and a graduate of the Directors Education Program. He has been awarded honorary degrees by both St. Francis Xavier University and Brock University.

Biography

Veyis Neo Toprak is a General Manager at the Smart Infra.&City Division of LG CNS, in charge of overseas business development. He is leading activities in international markets, targeting Urban Infrastructure, Smart City and E-commerce projects. Prior to his career in LG, he was an entrepreneurial professional and a diplomat with government experience and 20 years of business development success. Veyis Neo is a multilingual communicator, columnist, media moderator and a frequent keynote speaker at global events and corporate functions, covering future strategies on smart technologies. 

EDUCATION:

Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 2001
G20 and Global Business Leaders, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Seoul, Korea, 2012
Global Management Academy, University Oberta De Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, 2009
Penn State University, Pennsylvania, USA, 1992

Biography

Michael Torrance Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO Financial Group, overseeing sustainability strategy and leading bank-wide initiatives on environmental and social risk, climate change strategy, ESG focused investor relations, sustainability related disclosure, operational sustainability and sustainable finance. Prior to joining BMO Michael was a Partner at a major international law firm where he led client advisory on environmental and social risk matters. He has served on the Steering Committee of the Equator Principles Association and Chaired the Social Risk Working Group and North America Working Group.

Biography

Jean-Pascal Tricoire is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schneider Electric. In addition to his current roles, he leads the Asia business as Chairman and Regional President of Schneider Electric Asia Pacific.

As the head of what is the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, Jean-Pascal is committed to creating a more sustainable and inclusive future for all, using technologies and digital innovation to empower all to make the most of their energy and resources.

Jean-Pascal was appointed as Chairman of the Management Board in 2006 and then Chairman and CEO since 2013, following the change of Schneider Electric’s governance. Prior to these roles, he was Schneider Electric’s Chief Operating Officer. He first joined the company’s Executive Committee in 2001, in charge of the International Division. Over his 35-year career at Schneider Electric, Jean-Pascal has held diverse positions across France, Italy, China, South Africa, and the United States. He is currently based in Hong Kong.
Jean-Pascal is a director of the worldwide board of the UN Global Compact, a UN #HeForShe Corporate IMPACT champion, and is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.

Jean-Pascal has been leading the French/China Association for 12 years and he also sits on the Global CEO Council of China’s Premier Li Keqiang, as well as on the Advisory Board of the Mayors of Beijing and Shanghai. Jean-Pascal is on the board of directors of Qualcomm.

Biography

Éliane Ubalijoro, PhD is the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Future Earth Montreal Hub. She is a Research Professor at Concordia University in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. She is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council. Eliane has been a member of the Presidential Advisory Council for Rwandan President Paul Kagame since its inception in September 2007.  Eliane is a member of the Impact Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet. She is a member of the African Development Bank’s Expert Global Community of Practice on COVID-19 Response Strategies in Africa. She is a member of the Capitals Coalition Supervisory Board. Eliane is a member of the Global Crop Diversity Trust Executive Board as well as Genome Canada’s Board of directors. She is a former member of WWF International’s Board of Trustees. Eliane has also undertaken consulting work in Haiti and in Africa related to sustainable climate resilient economic growth.

Biography

Sasha is in charge with Euronews’ overall business news coverage and is as well the channel’s representative at various international political and business events.

She presents business section in Euronews daily live shows Good Morning Europe and Euronews Now. Prior to that she presented and produced Business Line, a weekly show combining top stories of the week with wider analysis.

Sasha covers a variety of global political and business events on a regular basis, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos or the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, and many others. She regularly interviews  high profile personalities, such as former US Secretary of State John Kerry or the Nobel Prize for Economics laureate, Joseph Stiglitz.

She moderates and presents regularly a variety of high profile conferences, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the EU’s our Ocean Conference, European Business Summit, World Travel Market and others.

Sasha holds a Master’s Degree in foreign languages’ studies from Zaporizhzhya National University in Ukraine.

Biography

Frank van der Post joined Cogeco in November 2019 as President of Atlantic Broadband. Frank worked at KPN, a Dutch multi-service telecommunications operator with more than seven million customers in the residential and enterprise markets, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer and was a member of the firm’s Management Board from 2015 to 2018.

Before joining the telecom company, Mr. van der Post spent several years in the airline and hospitality industries, having held senior leadership roles for top organizations across the world including British Airways, where he was Managing Director and Executive Board Member, InterContinental Hotels Group, where he worked for over 20 years and rose to the position of Vice President Operations, Eastern US and the Caribbean, and Jumeirah Group in Dubai where he was Chief Operating Officer.

Frank holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and a Master of Science degree in Hotel Administration from the F.I.U. School of Hospitality Management in Miami Florida.

Biography

Mark is CEO of Aviva Investors and a Director of Aviva Investors Board.

Mark Versey joined Aviva Investors in 2014 and was appointed CEO in January 2021. Previously, he was Chief Investment Officer for Aviva Investors Real Assets from its formation in May 2018, during which time the business saw material growth, with assets under management increasing from £37 billion to £47 billion.

Mark sits on the Board of the Investment Association and chairs its Sustainability and Responsible Investment Committee.

Mark began his career as a consultant Actuary and then gained a diverse experience across markets with investment banking roles in fixed income, equities and capital markets. He has extensive risk management and derivatives experience.

Prior to Aviva Investors, Mark worked at Friends Life where he was Chief Investment Officer of the Group and Managing Director of their in-house asset manager, Friends Life Investments. Previously, he was the Chief Investment Officer of AXA in the UK.

Mark is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and has a Mathematics degree from Cambridge University.

Biography

As Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas in Canada, Sonja Volpe is responsible for leading the Canadian business strategy, overseeing the nearshoring operations platform and all aspects of regulatory and internal controls compliance. Sonja is a member of the Americas Executive Committee, the Americas Business Committee and the Global Banking Americas Executive Committee.

Sonja first joined BNP Paribas in 2015 as Head of Financial Institutions Coverage in Canada. In this role she was responsible for the firm’s global client relationships with the Canadian banks, insurance companies, pension plans and the government sector. She has been instrumental in building a strong client franchise across each client industry segment and establishing a high performance coverage team.

Sonja has 20 years of experience covering Canadian financial institutions and public sector clients. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, she was a Senior Banker at Citibank Canada where she covered a number of large global client relationships in the financial services sector.

Sonja has a Bachelor's Degree in Honours Modern Languages and Linguistics and an MBA from McMaster University.

Biography

Josephine Wapakabulo is an electrical engineer and business executive. She served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). She was appointed in June 2016, being the first person to serve in that position., She resigned as UNOC CEO with effect from 13 August 2019, “to focus on her family and new opportunities”.

From 2000 until 2002 Wapakabulo worked as a Leadership Trainee & Community Organizer in Coventry, United Kingdom. From 2002 until 2006, she worked as a Research Associate at LSC Group Consulting in Lichfield, United Kingdom. In 2006, she joined Rolls-Royce in Derby, United Kingdom as a Business Process & Information Engineering Specialist, serving in that capacity until 2011. From 2011 until 2014, she served as a Quality Executive and Engineering Chief of Quality and Continuous Improvement at Rolls-Royce in the Berlin Area, in Germany.

Between 2014 and 2015, she served as the Chief Operating Officer at The Walk Free Foundation in Perth, Australia. In 2015, she returned to her native Uganda and worked as a Business Consultant in Kampala, until 2016. She was named CEO by the Board of UNOC, in June 2016.

Josephine, holds a PhD and book published on the adoption of data-exchange standards and knowledge management technologies in Defence and Oil & Gas companies. Focusing on integrating life cycle data for oil and gas production facilities.

Biography

Jonathan Wareham is Professor/Catedrático of Information Systems of ESADE Business & Law Schools, Ramon Llull University. He previously served as Dean (Faculty & Research) and Vice Dean (Research). Dr Wareham's research has been published, or is forthcoming, in over 80 refereed journals and proceedings such as Organization Science, Decision Sciences, MIS Quarterly, Decision Support Systems, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, IEEE Computer, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, International Journal of Medical Informatics and numerous others.

He serves as Senior Editor of MIS Quarterly, and has held/holds editorial positions with Information Systems Research, Journal of Information Technology, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Information & Organization and Journal of Strategic Information Systems. He was the General Conference Chair of the 20th European Conference on Information Systems - ECIS 2012.

He has served as Director of the ESADE Institute for Innovation and Knowledge Management. In addition, he sits on the advisory boards for a number of academic institutions, NGOs and social entrepreneurs.

Biography

Ms. Warlick, a retired senior career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Serbia, led the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources as the Acting Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs from January – September 2017 and served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2014 to 2017. In these roles, she advised the Secretary of State on energy diplomacy initiatives to promote global energy security, energy access and governance across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. During this time, she served for three years as a U.S. representative on the IEA Governing Board and as Chair of the Standing Group on Long-Term Cooperation. Since then, she has served as team leader for the IEA’s recent in-depth peer reviews of the energy policies in the Netherlands and Canada.

During her diplomatic career, Ms. Warlick held a variety of other senior leadership positions in Washington and overseas at the Department of State, the National Security Council, and the Department of Defense. In particular, she has extensive foreign policy experience working on Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, including previous assignments as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, and Director of the State Department’s Office of Russian Affairs and the Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Affairs. She also served as Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and as U.S. Consul General in Melbourne, Australia, with earlier assignments in Germany, the Philippines, and Bangladesh.

Ms. Warlick holds a B.A. in Political Science from Valparaiso University in Indiana, and an M.A in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In addition to her prior service on the IEA Governing Board, she served previously on the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. She is a recipient of The Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award, The Secretary of State’s Award for Public Outreach, and The Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

Biography

As President and Chief Financial Officer at Salesforce, Amy Weaver is responsible for leading the company’s global finance organization and is a member of the company’s executive committee reporting directly to Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff.

Amy is an experienced public company leader with significant technology industry expertise and deep knowledge of Salesforce’s business and culture. Amy previously served as President and Chief Legal Officer, playing an integral role in building the global legal and corporate affairs organizations, as well as driving many of the company’s most important strategic and operational initiatives – from advancing Salesforce’s technology leadership and deepening customer and government relationships to executing complex financial transactions.

Prior to joining Salesforce in 2013, Amy was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Univar Solutions Inc. Previously, she was Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Expedia Inc. Amy also practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and at Perkins Coie LLP, where she focused on project finance, credit agreements, securities offerings, acquisitions, and joint ventures. Prior to entering private practice, she served as a legislative aide to a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and as a clerk on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Amy currently serves on the board of directors of BSA (The Software Alliance), the Board of Trustees of Lehigh University, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Wellesley College.

Biography

Christian Weedbrook is the Founder & CEO of Xanadu, a Canadian quantum technology company building universal, fault-tolerant, quantum computers using light. Over the last 15 years, he has been at the forefront of advancing the field of quantum technology through his research and leadership in academia, advising governments and entrepreneurship. Christian holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Queensland and held postdoc positions at MIT and the University of Toronto.

Biography

Ian Whitcomb is the President of Irving Oil. In addition to day-to-day company management and the relationship with its Board of Directors, Mr. Whitcomb is responsible for guiding the company toward a more sustainable energy future through the development and implementation of corporate strategy, the achievement of planned results across a broad spectrum of responsibilities, and the safe and reliable operation of the company’s assets in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Ian brings a deep understanding to the company through more than 30 years of working with Irving Oil in his role with Deloitte. Mr. Whitcomb has held a variety of leadership roles, including sitting on the board of Deloitte Canada. He is a graduate of Dalhousie University and became a Chartered Accountant in 1982.

Biography

Carolyn A. Wilkins served as Senior Deputy Governor from May 2014 to December 2020. In this capacity, she oversaw the Bank’s strategic planning and economic and financial research. As a member of the Bank’s Governing Council, she shared responsibility for decisions with respect to monetary policy and financial system stability. Ms. Wilkins also oversaw the Bank’s analysis of international economic developments in support of monetary policy decisions and served as a member of the Bank’s Board of Directors. 

Ms. Wilkins was the Bank of Canada’s G20 and G7 Deputy. She represented the Bank on the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Plenary and was a member of the FSB’s Standing Committee on Assessment of Vulnerabilities. She also served as a member of the International Monetary Fund’s High-Level Advisory Group on Finance and Technology and the Group of Trustees of the Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring at the Institute of International Finance. She previously represented Canada on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and co-chaired the BCBS Working Group on Liquidity. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Wilkins oversaw the development of the Bank’s market liquidity facilities and large-scale asset purchase program. As Deputy Managing Director of the Financial Markets Department in 2008, she led the development and implementation of extraordinary liquidity tools and collateral policy deployed during the financial crisis. 

Before her appointment as Senior Deputy Governor, Ms. Wilkins was Advisor to the Governor, with a focus on the Canadian economy, its interaction with the financial system, and monetary policy. As Managing Director of the Bank’s Financial Stability Department from 2011 to 2013, Ms. Wilkins led the Bank’s research and analysis of financial system issues in Canada and abroad. Prior to joining the Bank in 2001, Ms. Wilkins held senior analytical roles related to economic forecasting and fiscal policy development, at both the Department of Finance Canada and the Privy Council Office. 

Ms. Wilkins was born in Peterborough, Ontario. She holds an Honours BA in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. She was named as a winner of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award by the Women’s Executive Network in 2016 and 2018.

Biography

Asoka is CEO and Chairman of the Managing Directors of DWS KGaA, based in Frankfurt. Previously, Woehrmann served as Head of the Private Client business in Germany of the Private & Commercial Bank (PCB) of Deutsche Bank.

Before joining PCB in 2015, Asoka spent 17 years at DWS, working in various managerial functions, including serving as its global Chief Investment Officer. Before that, he held leading positions within the Fixed Income, Multi Asset, Absolute Return and Currency divisions of the asset manager’s fund platform. Asoka started his career as a portfolio manager in 1998.

Biography

Jane Wooldridge is an award-winning travel, business and arts multimedia journalist and veteran of the Miami Herald.

In 2021, Jane was named to the newly created role of Senior Director for Journalism Sustainability and Partnerships. In this community-focused role, she works with civic, arts and business organizations and foundations to create strategic partnerships supporting public service journalism amid a fast-fluctuating media landscape.

Prior to her current role, she has served as the Miami Herald’s Business Editor, responsible for business and arts coverage in print, online, multimedia and live events. Her teams have won multiple journalism awards, including Best in Business in the SABEW awards and the Esserman-Knight Award for service.

Previously she was the Miami Herald’s Travel Editor, winning top honors as both an editor and individual Journalist of the Year in the prestigious Lowell Thomas Awards.   Between personal and business travel, she has visited more than 100 countries and contributed to national magazines and books. She is the Immediate Past President of the Society of American Travel Writers.

A popular speaker, she has addressed and moderated sessions for civic organizations and Fortune 500 companies.

Biography

Murat Yülek is the Founding Rector of Ostim Technical University, working to place Ostimtech among the world’s premier higher education institutions.

An an engineer and a development economist he has taught at various universities including Georgetown University, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (Germany), Bilkent University, Istanbul Commerce University and Obuda University (Hungary).  Murat has been a visiting Scholar at Columbia University and worked as a teaching assistant at Yale and Bilkent Universities back when he was conducting his PhD studies. He was also as a research assistant in the Macromarkets book study published by Oxford University Press by Nobel laureate Prof. Robert Shiller of Yale University. He served as an intern in the European Commission in Brussels in 1989.

Murat has worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (Washington DC) and as a banker at Islamic Development Bank (Jeddah). He has also served as general manager, board member and chairman of various financial and industrial companies. He has been an international consultant at various institutions and MDBs such as the World Bank, UNCTAD, Islamic Development Bank and EBRD. He has taken responsibilities in more than 15 countries worldwide as a specialist or manager in the preparation of many feasibility studies, impact analysis, macroeconomic and sectoral reports and project documents. He has participated in international meetings and institutions as an invited speaker, moderator or guest researcher (Global Economic Symposium, COMCEC, Yale University, Duke University, Economic Cooperation Organization, Dubai Economic Council, CFO Forum-Vienna, Khazanah Megatrends Forum, China Institute for International Relations, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, Ewha Women's University, APU Ritsumeikan University, The Economist Round Tables, Wirtshaftsrat, G8 Deauville Partnership Investment Forum).

Murat has published widely, both domestically and internationally,  on macroeconomics, finance, and financial and economic development. He has been concentrating most recently on industrial policies, the effects of public procurement policies on technological development, and policies in science, industry and innovation. He has published six books on these topics with various publishers, including Springer (New York), one of the world's leading scientific publishers. He has also been asked to contribute to the policy texts prepared by UNCTAD, UNOPS, the State of Qatar and the United Nations Organization.

Murat completed his primary and secondary education at TED Ankara College, and received a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate degree from Boğaziçi University in 1988. He holds master's degrees in business from Yale and Boston Universities and a master's and doctorate in economics from Bilkent University.