Class: 2008
Adi Pundak-Mintz
Adi Pundak-Mintz is Founder of Canaan Partners Israel, a venture capital fund in Israel, which is one of the world’s largest venture capital markets. An expert in seed investment and entrepreneurship, he has overseen transactions totaling over $1 billion. Adi has also helped finance socially responsible start-up businesses including Galil Software, a Nazareth-based company with over 100 employees that creates career opportunities for Israeli Arabs who might otherwise encounter difficulties finding employment in their field. Adi is also an Advisory Board Member of Tzeva, a non-profit organization providing access to quality education to all children, attempting to eliminate social gaps. He is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and mentor to startups…
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James Kondo
James Kondo is Chairman of the Board of the International House of Japan, a nonprofit funded by the Rockefeller Foundation that promotes cultural exchange and intellectual cooperation between the peoples of Japan and other countries. James is also President of Asia Pacific Initiative, Co-Chair of World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan, Co-Chair of Asia Society Japan Center, Co-Chair of Silicon Valley Japan Platform, Visiting Professor at Hitotsubashi University, Visiting Professor at Keio University, and Senior Advisor at Geodesic Capital. Previously, James was Vice President of Twitter Inc. and Chairman of Twitter Japan, Special Adviser to the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, on the faculty…
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Imtiaz Ali
Imtiaz Ali is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Global Policy – a Washington D.C.-based non-partisan think tank working exclusively on issues at the intersection of U.S. foreign policy and Muslim geopolitics. He is currently based in Washington D.C. and working as a public policy analyst and consultant focusing on political, security, development, and media-related issues related to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the wider South Asia region. Imtiaz was born in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, where he worked for several years as a journalist for local and foreign media organizations such as the Washington Post, London’s Daily Telegraph, BBC, and prominent Pakistani newspapers The News and Dawn. He…
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Oya ĂśnlĂĽ Kizil
Oya Ünlü Kizil is a top executive of Koç Holding, the largest conglomerate in Turkey and a flagship of the Turkish economy. Serving as Director of Corporate Brand, Communications, and External Affairs, she takes an entrepreneurial approach to positioning the Koç brand vis-à -vis changing local and international trends. Previously, she served as the first woman and the youngest chief of staff to the Turkish Minister of Economy, Kemal Dervi?. Her experience in government, international organizations, and the private sector give her a multifaceted vision of today’s global challenges.
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Sandra Breka
Sandra Breka is Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation Group at Open Society Foundations. Previously she was a member of the Board of Management of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, one of the major charitable foundations in Europe. There, she spearheaded the foundation’s strategic realignment. Her portfolio included the foundation’s work on Global Issues with a focus on Climate Change, Democracy, Immigration Society, Inequality, Migration, and Peace as well as Strategic Partnerships and the Robert Bosch Academy. Before joining the foundation in 2001, Sandra served as Program Director at the Aspen Institute Berlin after an assignment with the American Council on Germany in New York. After studies in…
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Jingjing Zhang
Jingjing Zhang is a prominent Chinese environmental lawyer and a lecturer in law at the University of Maryland School of Law. She is the director of the Transnational Environmental Accountability Project and the founder of the China Accountability Project. She works on cutting-edge transnational environmental and climate lawsuits in the international development arena. Her team tests various legal avenues to ensure Chinese companies under China’s Belt and Road Initiative comply with environmental laws and international human rights norms in Africa and Latin America. Through her work as the inaugural litigation director of the Beijing-based Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims between 1999 and 2008, Jingjing won several milestone environmental…
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'Dapo Oyewole
’Dapo Oyewole is Special Adviser on Development Planning & International Affairs to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He previously served as Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Finance in Nigeria, responsible for policy and international cooperation. Earlier, he served as Technical Adviser to two Ministers of National Planning (NPC) in the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The NPC is the country’s central think tank on strategic development and policy planning and serves a central advisory role to the President. At the NPC, his responsibilities spanned international cooperation, donor coordination, national development strategy, policy formulation, performance monitoring, and…
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Felix Maradiaga
Felix Maradiaga is an academic, political activist, and former presidential candidate. In June 2021 he was arrested and held in solitary confinement in Nicaragua by Ortega’s regime, sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for the alleged crime of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity." In February 2023, Felix was released from captivity and flown to the U.S., along with 221 other political prisoners from Nicaragua, where he was reunited with his family. After serving as the youngest-ever Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, Felix has dedicated himself to strengthening peace, democracy, and the rule of law in Nicaragua. A recognized international expert in civil society and leadership development, he seeks to…
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Gavin Hood
Gavin Hood is currently the Chief of Staff at Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley software company that has developed the world's most advanced data integration and analysis capabilities. Palantir's technologies are used in the government and commercial sectors world-wide. Prior to joining Palantir in 2012, Gavin accumulated more than 14 years of front-line experience as a senior legal and policy adviser. In 2009-2012, he was the first UK legal adviser to the British Embassy in Washington, DC, where he advised on international legal and policy issues, focusing on the national security sphere. He has held a number of positions in the UK Foreign Office, including as the first legal adviser…
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Nicola Harrington-Buhay
Nicola Harrington-Buhay works as an advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities, notably to increase their possibilities for decent jobs in the workplace. She also represents the International Paralympic Committee at UNESCO. Prior to this, Nicola was Deputy Executive Coordinator for the United Nations Volunteers, promoting volunteerism in peace and development. She was instrumental in introducing the United Nations’ first volunteer program for people with disabilities. She was previously Deputy Director of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which fosters peer exchange between emerging and developing economies on effective approaches to development. Earlier, Nicola spent several years working for the United Nations. She was the United Nations Resident…
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