Rola Abu Manneh is the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered in the UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan. She is the first Emirati woman to head an international bank in the UAE and the wider region and has successfully managed to transform the UAE business into one of the top three markets for the Standard Chartered Group. In 2023, Rola joined as a Director on the Boards of both Standard Chartered (Pakistan) Limited and Standard Chartered Uganda. Rola is also on the Boards of Global Digital Assets Fund, MyZoi and Appro, digital ventures through the SCB subsidiary, SC Ventures. Over the years, Rola has championed women empowerment and female entrepreneurship through different initiatives and is committed to supporting the wider community.

Dr. Hanaa AlBanna is a specialist in SDGs, Corporate Social Responsibility, and sustainability. She holds the positions of lecturer and module leader at Northumbria University London and CSR Accreditation MENA Region Executive Director.

Dr. Al-Banna has earned a PhD in Marketing, Social Media, and Public Relations from Cardiff Metropolitan University. She also possesses a professional diploma in Public Relations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and a Master's degree in Marketing.

Hanaa serves as an executive committee member of the United Nations funded program, "the Alliance of NGOs and CSOs for South South Cooperation," where she plays a crucial role in empowering organisations within the Global South. With a vision to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, she fosters the exchange of knowledge, resources, skills, expertise, and innovative ideas among participating entities.

Mariam AlFoudery is Group Chief Marketing Officer at Agility, a supply chain services, infrastructure and innovation company with 54,000+ employees and operations on six continents. Mariam oversees the company’s global sustainability, marketing, and communication functions, supporting Agility’s businesses and growth strategy.

During her nearly twenty-year tenure at Agility, Mariam founded and oversees the company’s sustainability division. Today, the company is a member for FTSE4Good, and a top 3 leader in sustainability in the logistics and transport sector according to Forbes Middle East. Agility has reached more than 2 million people in need with its social impact programs and 74% of the company’s businesses by revenue have committed to net zero.

Mariam is an alumna of Stanford University, the London School of Economics and Harvard Business School.

Amir Amel-Zadeh is Associate Professor at Saïd Business School and Director of the Oxford Rethinking Performance Initiative at the University of Oxford. Amir’s research investigates how companies’ sustainability characteristics affect investors’ asset allocation decisions. Prior to joining Saïd Business School, Amir held a position as Assistant Professor at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and prior to that worked at Lehman Brothers in London. He received his PhD in Finance from the University of Cambridge. Amir held visiting positions at Harvard Business School, NYU Stern, and Columbia Business School and consults for the financial services industry globally.

Carlotta Baumann is the owner and CEO of Finetech GmbH & Co. KG, leading a global team of around 250 employees in the development of high-precision placement and assembly systems for advanced micro- and optoelectronics. She holds a degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Microsystems Technology from the Technical University of Berlin. From 2016 to 2021, Carlotta was Managing Director of MARTIN GmbH, a subsidiary of Finetech specializing in rework and dispense technologies. She is very committed to reducing Finetech’s ecological footprint and supports creative cooperatives and social projects.

Tim is the co-founder of Allbirds. He helped lead the business from Kickstarter idea to a Nasdaq IPO in 2021 with focus on design thinking, natural material innovation and sustainable product creation. Prior to co-founding Allbirds in 2016, Tim was part of the New Zealand soccer team that reached the 2010 World Cup – a generational achievement for the nation. That journey influenced Tim with unique insights around high performance teams and cultures. Before playing professional soccer, Tim earned a BS in Design from the University of Cincinnati, receiving an honorary degree from the same institution in 2024. Tim also has a Master's in Management from the London School of Economics. Tim is a part owner in Auckland FC, a New Zealand's professional football team and a venture partner actively involved with the NZ's start-up ecosystem from his home in San Francisco.

Heather Buchanan is the Chief Executive Officer of B4NZ and has extensive experience advising Government, trade bodies and civil society on the commercial relationship between banks and their customers. Since COP26, Heather has been tireless in her efforts to focus on the role of finance and banking in supporting the real economy in a just transition. She was thrilled to see this work culminate with B4NZ taking to a global stage as a core partner of the UK Pavilion at COP28. In 2024 Heather was recognised as one of the twenty Trailblazing Women in Climate (Reuters) and shortlisted as Sustainability Leader of the Year (Business Green).

Andrew Dunnett is SVP – Sustainability at e& Group, leading on ESG and Sustainability. Prior to joining e&, Andrew was Group Sustainability Director at Vodafone Group plc and Director of the Vodafone Foundation. Andrew has extensive experience of External Affairs, Sustainability, Philanthropy, has worked as a Government Advisor, sits on a number of Boards and lectures at the Judge School at Cambridge University.

Mark Gallagher has spent his career working in the international sports business of Formula 1 motor racing. This includes 15 years on the management boards of two well-known teams, Jordan Grand Prix and Red Bull Racing, and later as Managing Director of the Cosworth Formula 1 engineering company, supplying engines, electronics and data analysis software to almost half the teams on the starting grid.

Mark now runs his own Formula 1 consulting business - Performance Insights - and his fourth book - ‘The Future Business Formula’ - was published last May.

Katharina Hesels is the Head of the Business Line Asset Lifecycle Development at Siemens Healthineers AG, responsible for developing circular business for medical imaging devices. With 13 years of international experience in R&D, product definition, and management, she has launched successful diagnostic imaging products and led global teams. Katharina has lived and worked in the USA, China, and Germany. She holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Aachen (RWTH).

John Knights has served as the Head of Services at GRI since 2022, where he leads the teams responsible for supporting and guiding users of the GRI Standards, including the GRI Community, GRI Report Services, and the GRI Licensing Programme. Before joining GRI, John held senior policy advisory roles in several UK government departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education. Additionally, John has extensive experience as a Chief Operating Officer and program lead within not-for-profit and grant-giving organizations.

Anita Lebiar is the Regional Head for the Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia for the United Nations Global Compact.

Along leading on private-public partnerships, Anita oversees the operationalization of UN Global Compact’s strategy to advance corporate sustainability and Agenda 2030 in the regions.

With a robust academic background, Anita is an expert in advising boards and directors on agile business solutions, change management and strategy development. She has a proven track record in leading multimillion-budget development projects in the Middle East & North Africa and Eastern Europe regions.

Monaem is a world-renowned expert in climate tech, ESG, sustainability, sustainable finance, impact investing and social investing, spearheading advanced technologies like AI and blockchain in ESG/sustainability reporting.

With 18 years’ experience, Monaem's leadership in driving strategic business growth, operational excellence and ethical practices is unparalleled. His influence spans across Middle East, Asia, and Africa. He is a guest lecturer at Leeds University Business School, American University of Dubai, École de Management de Normandie, and MIT, USA.

Monaem is Vice-Chairman, FSRA Africa Board of Trustees, Chairman of Sustainability Action Society in Dubai and Board Member, Maghreb Economic Forum and AIESEC International.

Edie Lush is an award-winning journalist, an events MC and a communication trainer. She hosts events virtually and around the world - from the World Economic Forum in Davos to the COP Climate Summits.

Edie is the Executive Editor of Hub Culture and has hosted several podcasts including Global GoalsCast, made in collaboration with the United Nations.

Éric Martel was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier in the spring of 2020. Since then, he has been a driving force behind Bombardier’s successful repositioning as a company purely focused on business aviation. Under his leadership, Bombardier is evolving its industry-leading portfolio of business jets and expanding its service footprint around the world while delivering strong financial results. He is deeply committed to the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance strategy, notably its goals of increasing diversity and the number of women in management positions and shaping a more sustainable future for business aviation. Mr. Martel is also a member of Bombardier’s Board of Directors.

Prior to his appointment, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro-Québec since July 2015. From 2002 until 2015, he held positions of increasing responsibility within Bombardier, including President of Bombardier Business Aircraft, President of Bombardier Aerospace Services, Vice-President and General Manager of the Global and Challenger platforms and he also worked at Bombardier Transportation from 2002 to 2004 as Vice President of Operations for North America. Prior to joining Bombardier, Mr. Martel worked for various other high-profile multinational companies, such as Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods.

Mr. Martel has been actively involved with Centraide of Greater Montreal for over 20 years, and co-chairs the fundraising campaign of the Fondation de l’Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal. He is also a member Board of Directors of the Corporate Angel Network.

Antoine started his career in Trade Marketing in 2006, within Danone's export division, based in Singapore and covering Southeast Asia. He returned to Europe two years later and has been professionally involved with projects linked to Sustainability ever since.

He joined EcoVadis in 2017 with the mission to support large private and public organiations launching and/or scaling their Sustainable Procurement programs. Antoine today leads Business Development for Africa and the Middle East.

Of French and British nationality, Antoine studied International Management at the University of Bath, holds an MSc. in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and studied Sustainable Finance at Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Shireen Mistree is responsible for the development and implementation of ESG strategy and initiatives across the company's global operations in her capacity as Head – ESG at VFS Global. Shireen collaborates with top management, internal staff, and stakeholders in this capacity to make sure the business takes advantage of opportunities to strategically advance its ESG mandate.

Previously, Shireen held senior roles with Tata Trusts; one of India’s leading philanthropic institutions leading their work on sustainability and policy and advocacy initiatives. Prior to that, she worked at the Consulate of The Republic of Singapore and with The Royal Bank of Scotland in India. She has also worked with private sector organizations in articulating their social purpose and developing strategies to contribute to global sustainable development goals.

Subhagata Mukherjee (Subho) is the Vice President and Global Head of Sustainability at Nokia and leads the company’s global sustainability strategy, programs, and initiatives, including its overall Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) responsibilities. In his previous roles at Nokia, Subho has led strategic initiatives across corporate strategy, technology strategy, research, partnerships, and venture capital investments, led global communications for group CEO, as well as led communications, marketing and business development across markets and business groups.

Subho’s focus areas include climate, circularity, bridging digital divide, industrial decarbonization, responsible supply chain, human rights, responsible use of technology and new incubations in climate and nature related technologies.

Subho holds MBA from Asian Institute of Management, Philippines and from Nanyang Business School, Singapore. He is trained as a chemical engineer from Jadavpur University, India and has attended Strategic Leadership of Technology & Innovation from Harvard Business School Executive Education program, and Sustainability Leadership course from MIT Sloan school of management.

Martin Neureiter is the Chief Executive Office of CSR Company International.

Since 2004, he has been the founder and CEO of “The CSR Company International”, a consultancy specialized on sustainability, with offices in 40+ countries, reaching from Mexico to Korea. He is also Chair of the Implementation Task Group within ISO writing the ISO 26 000 standard.

He is scientific head of the postgraduate education at University of Vienna for Sustainability. He also lectures at the St. Gallen Management Institute (Switzerland).

Martin is the author of several books on CSR, some translated into 7 languages.

He supports several Fortune 1000 companies in navigating sustainability challenges, such as Marks & Spencer, Rockwool, AssaAbloy and Nordea.

Professor Randa Rizk is an academic professor and a researcher and author of many books and thesis in the fields of literature, education, culture and in the field of universities social responsibility.

Rizk contributed through her humanitarian activity in participating in the program of empowering poor communities through social development, building literacy campaigns to advocate for education for all issues.

Anoushka Sinha, a social entrepreneur, human rights activist, and public speaker has been advocating for gender and education equality since the age of 10, collectively reaching 1 million people through her advocacy, radio program, and grassroots initiatives addressing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Starting with local NGO campaigns, she became India's youngest radio jockey at 12 and later served as a regional ambassador for UNEP. An elected member of the Young People Action Team at Generation Unlimited and a UNESCO SDG4 YSN Network advocate, Anoushka collaborates with international charities like the ONE campaign and Plan International to empower women and girls globally. A recipient of the Diana Award, recognized by UN Women, and honored by organizations like GirlUp UN Foundation and KidsRights Changemakers, Ashoka and more. Anoushka's advocacy efforts have garnered global acclaim. She remains dedicated to bridging gender gaps and empowering youth worldwide, recently taking on the role of young justice leader with Pathfinders and NYU CIC.

Anton Stepanenko is a Partner and Associate Director in the BCG Dubai Office and global lead of skilling practice. His key focus lies in the Public sector projects in labor and education. He has extensive consulting experience of over 15 years working on education and skilling projects with governments, Universities, top training organizations, EdTech players etc.

Anton has developed BCG's flagship tool - Future Skills Architect - an innovative and "human-centric" approach to transform talent management at the national level that can be adapted to individual countries and clients.

Outside BCG, Anton is a member of Supervisory Board at Charity Aid Foundation (CAF) in the United Kingdom. Also, Anton is a founder of charity projects ToDoGood - national Skilling and Employment platform for the underprivileged; and Ican.Pro – a skilling academy for women, minorities and underprivileged established in a partnership with Google.Org.

Joji Tagawa is Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at Nissan, where he drives sustainability initiatives for the company aimed at creating long-term value for all stakeholders and addressing environmental and social challenges. He also oversees external affairs and crisis management for the company.

Tagawa is also a board member and member of the audit, risks and compliance committee at Renault SA, as well as an outside director and member of the compensation committee at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

Tagawa joined Nissan in 1983, where he has held leadership roles across various functions, mainly in finance and investor relations. He was appointed CSO in 2019, having developed valuable and trusted insights on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues through his years of work with investor relations.

Ben Thompson is a journalist and presenter for BBC News, based in London. He presents Breakfast, the BBC’s flagship morning news programme and anchors the BBC's domestic and global news channels, BBC News and BBC World News. With a specialism in international business and finance, Ben has travelled extensively and reported for the BBC from around the world. Before returning to the studio, Ben was based in New York and Washington as the BBC's North America Business Correspondent. Prior to that, Ben spent three years as the BBC's Middle East Business Correspondent. He reported from Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, covering breaking news and developing stories. Ben studied International Business and French at the University of Wales in Cardiff followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism. In 2003, he was awarded a BBC Scholarship.

Professor Dr. Wayne Visser is a globally recognized ‘pracademic’ on responsible and sustainable business. He has been listed as one of the world’s Top 10 ESG speakers, a top 100 influencer on CSR and sustainable business, a top 100 thought-leader in trustworthy business, and recipient of the Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Award.

Professor Dr. Visser is the Founder of CSR International, Director of Kaleidoscope Futures Lab, Fellow at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and former Director of Sustainability Services at KPMG. He is the author of 44 books, including the bestseller Thriving, and his work has taken him to 82 countries.

Wissam Yassine is a leader in Bain & Company’s Sustainability and Public Sector practices.

He has more than 15 years of experience working closely with government and private sector entities across the GCC on a range of topics including sustainability policies and strategies, net zero transition, green technologies and investments and corporate sustainability adoption and disclosures.

Wissam holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA, an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, and a Bachelor in Engineering from the American University of Beirut.