John Hecklinger leads Global Fund for Children’s work to help children and youth worldwide reach their full potential and advance their rights. John joined GFC in 2017 after more than two decades of experience in global philanthropy and the private sector. Prior to joining GFC, John served in a series of roles at GlobalGiving, driving the growth of the world’s first crowdfunding marketplace for global causes. Long ago, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, teaching at the University of Bangui, Central African Republic.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Chief Executive Officer, Novo Nordisk Foundation

In March 2021, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen was appointed as CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, one of the world’s largest foundations that supports scientific, humanitarian and social purposes to improve the lives of people and the sustainability of society.

Between 1991-2021, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen held various positions at the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, most recently as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development. He is currently a member of the board of BB Biotech AG.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen holds a DVM, a PhD and a DSc from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, where he also serves as Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology.

Website: www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en/

Kasim Kutay, Chief Executive Officer, Novo Holdings A/S

Kasim Kutay has served as CEO of Novo Holdings A/S since joining the company in 2016. Headquartered in Denmark and with offices in San Francisco, Boston, Singapore and London, Novo Holdings A/S is a world-leading life sciences investor.

Prior to joining Novo Holdings A/S, Kasim Kutay served as managing director, co-head of Europe and member of the Global Management Committee of Moelis & Co. in the UK (2009-2016).

From 1989 to 2007, Kasim Kutay held several positions at Morgan Stanley, UK, including as chair of the European Healthcare Group.

Kasim Kutay holds a BSc in Economics and a MSc in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Website: www.novoholdings.dk

Ron Gass joined the organisation’s predecessor, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation in 1958, and witnessed the transition to the OECD. He was founding director of the OECD Directorate of Social Affairs, Manpower and Education in 1974, and before that, helped launch the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. He also worked for NATO and is a former consultant to the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Francesco Vona is senior economist at the OFCE (Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques) of Sciences-Po, research associate at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and at SKEMA Business School, visiting research fellow at the Grantham Institute of the London School of Economics and adjunct visiting professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His research is at the intersection between environmental, labour and international economics.

Francesco studied Statistics and Economics at the University of Rome La Sapienza, where he also completed his Ph.D. and obtained his first academic appointment as post-doctoral research fellow. He taught courses at Sciences-Po, SKEMA Business School, University Nice Cote d’Azur and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, at the undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. level. He has consulted for the Enel Foundation, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Joint Research Center and the Social Situation Monitor of the EU commission. He also participated in several European projects and was the leader of the Sciences-Po team in the EU H2020 project Innopaths.

His recent research focuses on the evaluation of environmental and climate policies with a particular focus on the distributional and labour market impacts; measuring green jobs, skills and the green comparative advantage; assessing the effects of international trade on emissions at the firm and regional level.

David Popp is a Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs, a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Policy Research, and the Caroline Rapking Faculty Scholar in Public Administration and Policy. David is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Research Network Member in the Energy & Climate Economics Research Group of CESifo. David's research interests are in environmental policy and the economics of technological change. Much of his research focuses on the links between environmental policy and innovation, with a particular interest in how environmental and energy policies shape the development of new technologies that may be relevant for combating climate change.  His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, and has been published in a variety of economics and policy journals, including American Economic Review, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Nature Energy, and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.  His 2002 publication in the American Economic Review, “Induced Innovation and Energy Prices,” was one of two articles selected for the 2017 Association of Environmental and Resource Economists Publication of Enduring Quality Award. Professor Popp has served on the U.S. General Accounting Office Expert Panel on Climate Change Economics, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis, and the Advisory Committee of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform, and has consulted for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank. David received a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College in 1992, and Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1997.

Giovanni Marin is associate professor of applied economics at the Department of Economics, Society and Politics of University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy) since 2019 and leader of the Urbino unit at SEEDS. Previously he was assistant professor at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (2016-2019) and post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Economic Growth of the National Research Council of Italy (IRCrES-CNR, Italy, 2012-2016) and OFCE - Sciences Po (France, 2014-2015). He obtained a PhD in Economics, Markets, Institutions at the IMT Institute of Advanced Studies Lucca (2012) and a master degree in Applied economics and economic policies at the University of Ferrara (2008).  He took part of a number of national and EU research projects and he was involved in the European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production and in the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for the Green Economy of the European Environment Agency. His research, published in international journals (e.g. European Economic Review, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Energy Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics) focuses on the economic analysis of drivers and consequences of environmental innovations, on the environmental and socio-economic consequences of environmental policies, on the assessment of the skills needed for sustainable transitions and on the use of environmentally extended input output analysis for integrated assessment. At the University of Urbino, he teaches Environmental and land economics, Economics of globalisation, Economics of innovation, Regional economics and Applied econometrics.

Geraldina es Lic. en Contaduría Pública con Posgrado en Alta dirección, Desarrollo Humano, y un curso de Formación Social, con un gran amor por temas humanos y sociales, estudió Psicoterapia Gestalt, Musicoterapia y Psicoterapia Transpersonal; conjuntamente ha estudiado Diseño en Joyería y un postgrado en Branding, Moda y Diseño en Barcelona y un sinnúmero de talleres y cursos relacionados con el tema. Pertenece a una empresa familiar, lo que habla de sus convicciones: permanencia, compromiso y sobre todo amor. Los valores que se tienen en empresa y en familia se ven reflejados en su hacer cotidiano y sus marcas son 100% hechas en México. Siempre ha tratado de equilibrar lo más importante de su vida, su familia, donde se encuentra su fuente de inspiración. Ha tomado las riendas de la Dirección Creativa de la empresa desarrollando con esmero las marcas Mackech y Cuzán, donde consigue materializar sus sueños, entregando el corazón en todos sus proyectos Ha sido consejera de negocios en el periódico mural de Grupo Reforma, consejera de USEM, presidenta de GWTC joyeros, Conductora de radio del programa “Revelaciones del Alma” donde tuvo la fortuna de entrevistar importantes personajes con temas de introspección y diversas terapias. Recientemente aceptó incorporarse a la política, sumándose al Poder Legislativo Federal con propuestas a favor de la economía, la productividad, la creación de empleos y el fomento de la ciencia, el desarrollo tecnológico e innovación. Es Diputada Federal por Movimiento Ciudadano representando el Distrito 10 de Zapopan, Jalisco.

Lamia Kamal-Chaoui is the Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE). She supports the Secretary-General in achieving the OECD’s mission to advance economic growth and social progress as well as contributing to other global agendas such as the G20, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the implementation of the SDGs. Ms Kamal-Chaoui has held several senior positions at the OECD since 1998 and was appointed Director of the CFE in 2016. She holds a Master’s Degree in Macroeconomics from the University of Paris Dauphine and a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and History from the University of Paris Diderot. /// Dr. Peter Wostner is an expert on economic and territorial development, competitiveness as well as EU budget and policies. For over 15 years he has been directly involved in the EU budgetary and cohesion policy regulatory negotiations as well as setting up of the programming framework and implementation arrangements, including design of (RTDI, competitiveness, entrepreneurship and HR) policy instruments on the national level. Between 2014 and 2019 he headed the design and policy delivery of Slovenian Smart Specialisation Strategy, the S4. In this process he has also been the driver of setting up of Slovenian clusters, the Strategic Research and Innovation Partnerships. Since 2019 he works as senior analyst dealing with productivity, digital and structural transformation as well as territorial dimension at the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development. He is a lecturer, moderator and also author of number of articles, especially on innovation, territorial development, EU budget and Cohesion policy. Dr. Wostner has been closely involved in the OECD’s territorial activities since 2010, in 2012 he became the Vice-Chair of the Regional Development Policy Committee and in 2016 the chairman of the OECD’s Working Party on Rural Policy.

Eduardo Bismarck is a Brazilian lawyer and Member of Parliament for the State of Ceará, since 2018. He was a member of the Committee on Constitution, Justice and Citizenship in 2019 and currently stands as the Deputy Leader of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). He is also part of the Board of the Chamber of Deputies and President of the Mixed Parliamentary Front on Artificial Intelligence (which comprises both houses). Besides the development of AI in Brazil, Bismarck’s work in the Parliament also focus on education, technology and the promotion of tourism in the country.

Selin Sayek Böke graduated from the Economics Department of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University in 1993. She got her M.A. and Ph.D from Duke University in 1996 and 1999, respectively. After working as an economist at IMF, she held faculty positions at Bentley College between 1999-2001 as assistant professor, at Georgetown in 2003 as adjunct professor, at Bilkent University between 2003-2014 as associate professor. She chaired the department of Economics at Bilkent University from 2011 until she left academia to stand for parliamentary elections in 2015. She was elected to the Party Assembly of the CHP in 2014 and has been re-elected up to date and is currently the Secretary General of CHP. She served as the Deputy Chair responsible for Economic Policy from 2014 through 2017, served as the Party Spokesperson from 2016 through 2017 of CHP. She has been elected as Member of Parliament, representing İzmir in both 2015 and 2018 parliamentary elections and is currently a Member of the Turkish Parliament. She is currently a member of the national delegation of Turkey at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

A renowned leader in development and gender equality, Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen has worked for over 25 years in international development, human rights, change management and diplomacy and has been listed as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Gender Equality by Apolitical. Ms. Albrectsen has been CEO of Plan International since September 2015. Prior to this she was United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director for Management at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Ms. Albrectsen is also Chairperson of the International Civil Society Centre and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and a member of the United Nations Every Woman Every Child High Level Steering Group and the Generation Unlimited Global Board. Ms. Albrectsen has previously held senior leadership positions in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNFPA and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She served with the UNDP from 1997 to 2004, in Indonesia and later as Director of the Administrator’s Office at UNDP Headquarters. She led country operations for UNFPA in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan from 2004-2006. From 2007-2009, she led the Danish government’s humanitarian and civil society affairs work as the director of the relevant division in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms Albrectsen is Danish and holds a law degree from the University of Copenhagen.

Amadou leads an integrated organization focused on external policy environment dynamics, innovation and patient access, working with key stakeholders including policymakers, patient support organizations, health care professionals and industry associations.

Amadou joined BMS in 1991 holding positions of increasing responsibility. From 1999 to 2002 he led Secure the Future (landmark philanthropic program) before becoming General Manager in Indonesia (2002), Turkey (2005), Ireland & Nordics (2008), VP-Access Europe and then VP-General Manager-UK & Ireland (2010) with responsibilities including European Works Council Chair, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Board Member, also being Health Technology Assessment Task Force and Reputation Strategy Group Chair.

Amadou holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy, University of Tours (France), a MBA from École Supérieure de Commerce de Tours and completed the General Management Program (INSEAD).

Amadou represents Bristol Myers Squibb as an American Associate of the Science & Technology in Society Forum (STSF), Member and former 4 years-term Chair of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) International Section Executive Committee (ISEC), Council Chair of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) where he also chaired the Value & Access Committee. At Bristol Myers Squibb Amadou is a member of the Global Leadership Team as well as the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council and Sustainability Council. He is also Executive Sponsor for the Corporate Affairs Diversity & Inclusion Working Group.

Jacopo is completing his Master's Degree at Wageningen University & Research majoring in Environmental Policy. Besides his studies, he is currently an intern at the United Nations, where he supports the development of partnerships between the private sector and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Prior to that, he worked in the organization of an online event that empowered youth worldwide to develop solutions to reform the food system. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations from the University of Trieste that he completed with a thesis on climate migration and an internship at the European Bureau for Conservation and Development.

Jan Thesleff is a Swedish Diplomat, having served in the Middle East and North Africa for the past thirty years. Most recently as Ambassador to Egypt, the UAE, Tunisia, Libya and Saudi Arabia. In 2021 he was appointed as Commissioner General for Sweden’s participation at Expo 2020 in Dubai. He is since 2020 vice-chair of the OECD-MENA Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum and an active gender champion.//Jan Thesleff est un diplomate suédois ayant exercé au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord au cours des trente dernières années, et plus récemment en tant qu'ambassadeur en Égypte, aux Émirats arabes unis, en Tunisie, en Libye et en Arabie saoudite. En 2021, il a été nommé commissaire général pour la participation de la Suède à l'Expo 2020 à Dubaï. Il est depuis 2020 vice-président du Forum OCDE-MENA sur l'autonomisation économique des femmes et un défenseur actif de l'égalité des genres.

Philip Jordan is the Vice-President of BW Research Partnership, leading the firms’ Massachusetts offices. His work focuses on the impact of talent on economic prosperity and sustainable communities, and his personal passion is developing solutions that provide expanded opportunities for the most underserved to serve populations. Mr. Jordan is a Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he focuses on talent development in the age of globalization and automation.

Mr. Jordan has extensive experience studying the innovation economy, in particular, energy and ICT. He has authored dozens of reports including The United States Energy and Employment Report (USEER), The Solar Foundation's annual Solar Jobs Census, the Natural Resource  Defense Council's American Wind Farms Report, solar and wind labor Market analyses for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, statewide energy studies for nineteen states, and numerous local reports for workforce boards, community colleges, and municipalities.  He recently published a book with El Sevier on the global solar industry. Phil has worked in private industry, academia, and government, including the California Community Colleges, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the United States Senate. He lives and works in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

Javier is a world-class and award-winning (fully deserved) international marketer on a mission to get marketing better represented in the boardroom. He is a self-confessed vessel of charisma who believes that marketers need to stop moaning, ditch the jargon and become more business-minded if they want to get the recognition they crave from the almighty board. Fluent in three European languages, he’s studied and worked in various countries around the world. This makes him a master of cultural nuance, a great travel guide, worldly beyond his youthful looks but a nightmare for his accountant. His truly global approach was recognised by Inter-National-Ist Magazine when he was named an ‘Internationalist of the Year’ in 2007. During his two decades in marketing, he’s specialised in helping businesses thrive in times of change, whether they’re growing rapidly, repositioning themselves or going through M&As. And while his work has sometimes given him a few grey hairs, helping to achieve big transformations always puts a huge smile on his face. Holding a PhD in Microbial Biochemistry (that’s genetics to you and me), Javier brings a keenly scientific approach to everything that he does. He’s regularly called on by the marketing press to share his views on how to tame data overwhelm and the role of AI in marketing. He’s also a valued speaker at the International Advertising Association, the CMO Network and the Global Digital Marketing Summit as well as at the IESE Business School in London. Today, Javier is Vice President, Corporate Marketing for Ricoh Europe where he leads a large internal team and a wide range of global agencies covering branding, sponsorship, digital and PR. Before that, he was International Brand Director for Genworth Financial, a $110 billion leading insurance holding company in the United States and formerly a division of General Electric. As a die-hard sailor, Javier tries not to think too much about the beautiful warm winds of his native Spain while he slowly freezes each weekend off the coast of Southampton.

Luigi Cabrini is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council since 2014.

Mr Cabrini led several initiatives on sustainable tourism at global level, focusing his activities on tourism and climate change, tourism and biodiversity, observatories for sustainable tourism, the green economy, tourism and heritage and global partnerships. He was the Director of the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) Sustainable Tourism Programme, Director for Europe and Secretary of the General Assembly and Executive Council. From 2014 to 2018 he was an Advisor to the Secretary-General of the UNWTO.

Before joining the UNWTO he has been engaged during 20 years in United Nations programmes for development and for  protection of refugees, in Guatemala, Mexico, Somalia and Pakistan. He was UNHCR Representative in Poland and Spain. 

Luigi Cabrini is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish and has basic knowledge of Russian and Polish. He is the author of various articles and papers.

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is an international partnership with the aim of fostering increased knowledge and understanding of sustainable tourism practices, promoting the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles and building demand for sustainable travel. At the heart of its work are the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria for the Industry ( Hotels and Tour Operators) and for Destinations.

Randy Durband is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), a UN-created NGO that establishes and manages global standards for sustainability in travel and tourism. The GSTC Criteria include guidelines for minimizing negative environmental, cultural, and social impacts while maximizing travel and tourism as a force for good.

He brings a unique blend of skills and experience based on two career paths he has taken in travel and tourism – nearly 30 years in the private sector, mostly in senior leadership positions with major tour operators including President of Travcoa, INTRAV and Clipper Cruise Lines, (brands within TUI Group), and Executive Vice President of Tauck World Discovery. His second career, now in its 2^nd decade, began with economic development projects through tourism in developing countries in Southeast Asia and South America relating to emerging destinations including CBT and rural tourism, with UNESCO and ILO. He became CEO of GSTC February 2014.

Mr. Durband is a frequent speaker on sustainable tourism and has served on many tourism boards in Europe, North America, and Asia; and sustainable tourism awards judging panels including the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, UN Environment Inspire Awards, and the PATA Gold Awards.

R. Durband's LinkedIn profile.  

Pablo Antolín is Principal Economist, Head of the Private Pensions Unit and Deputy Head of the OECD Insurance, Private Pension and Financial Markets Division. He manages the research and policy programme of the Working Party on Private Pensions (http://www.oecd.org/daf/fin/private-pensions/), a body that brings together policymakers, regulators and the private sector of almost 40 countries around the world. His work covers issues related to the operation and regulation of funded retirement income systems. In the past, Mr. Antolín has worked on the impact of ageing populations on the economy and on public finances. He has produced several studies examining options available to reform pension systems in several OECD countries, including public pensions. Previously, he worked at the IMF and at the OECD Economic Department. He has published journal articles on ageing issues as well as labour market issues. Mr. Antolín has a PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Alicante (Spain).