Focus: Business
Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter
Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter is an impact investment leader and ecosystem builder working at the intersection of capital, climate, and community in Latin America. She is the Co-Founder and General Partner at IMPAQTO Capital, a locally rooted fund manager deploying catalytic capital across the Andean region. Currently, she is leading the design of a new impact investment fund focused on the Andean Amazon. Michelle serves as Strategic Ambassador for Andean Amazon Initiatives at the Amazon Investor Coalition, is a member of the Private Sector Task Force for IDB Invest’s Amazonia Forever program, and advises Jumpscale on resilience circles and Indigenous-led entrepreneurship in the Amazon. Previously, Michelle was Executive Director of Strategy…
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Mariam El Marakeshy
Mariam El Marakeshy is an award-winning filmmaker, multimedia storyteller, educator, researcher, and cultural specialist who works in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA. She is a former United Nations staff member. Mariam’s projects explore migration, culture, museums, environment, education, and media ethics. She has worked with National Geographic, ITN UK, USAID, the UN, and many NGOs. Her globally recognized works include films such as “Transit” and “Misafir A Guest” with unique storytelling from the Greek island of Lesvos and Istanbul, in addition to multimedia projects and impact media campaigns, which influence global discussions and solutions. Mariam has received numerous international awards, including the USA Social Impact…
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Temuri Yakobashvili
Ambassador Temuri Yakobashvili is President of TY Strategies, a boutique consulting firm advising governments, non-governmental institutions, and businesses across the U.S., Europe, and Eurasia. He also Founder and President of the New International Leadership Institute, non-for profit organization, dedicated to reforms, good governance, and anti-corruption. Temuri was previously Executive Vice President of the global strategy consultancy, PASS, LLC. Until fall of 2014, he held position of the Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the US. From early February 2011 to March 2013 he served as an Ambassador of Georgia to the United States. Prior to his posting, he was Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for Reintegration…
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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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'Tokunboh Ishmael
'Tokunboh Ishmael is an impact investor with over 20 years' experience spanning investment banking, private equity investing, technology, and new business development in Africa, Europe, and the North America. She is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Alitheia Capital, a Nigeria-based investment management and advisory firm focused on channelling private equity investments into small and medium sized businesses in West Africa. In 2015, she co-founded Alitheia Identity to scale investing in women-led SMEs across Sub-Saharan. 'Tokunboh is a CFA Charter-holder, corporate financier and M&A banker, having worked on over $5.6 billion transactions in the UK, USA, and Africa. She is now focussed on investing in and building sustainable growth businesses across…
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Bryan Eckstein
Bryan Eckstein is Vice President of Project Finance and Business Development at ForeFront Power, a San Francisco-based renewable energy company. He has over a decade of experience developing market-based clean energy solutions, including renewable energy development and finance, corporate energy management, and implementation of market-based climate change programs. Prior to this, he was part of the SunEdison project finance team. He has also consulted in energy, water, and climate change programs for clients including the World Bank, the UNFCCC Secretariat, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Environment Canada, the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development, the Australian government, and public utility regulators. He started his career…
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Mustafa Damdelen
Mustafa Damdelen is President of the Cyprus European Union Association, which works on European Union-funded projects and aims to achieve a united Cyprus within the EU. Formerly, as director of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, Mustafa was one of the leaders and spokesmen of an NGO movement of 103 organizations, having led a successful “Yes” campaign for a UN plan for the solution of the Cyprus problem. The success of the “Yes” campaign convinced the EU and UN that the Turkish Cypriot community should not be isolated, and with the free movement of people on the island, Mustafa and his colleagues in the Chamber of Commerce played an important…
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Mehmet GĂĽrcan DaimagĂĽler
Dr. Mehmet GĂĽrcan DaimagĂĽler is a German-Turkish human rights and policy adviser lawyer based in Berlin and Bonn. Mehmet is also one of the leading political and cultural activists on German-Turkish issues and was the first German of Turkish descent to be elected to the national board of a German political party, the Free Democratic Party. An outspoken advocate for human rights in Germany, he founded the first political advocacy group for Turkish immigrants in Germany in 1994. He also spearheads inter-religious dialogue in Germany, bridging, in particular, the Muslim-Jewish divide. As a co-plaintiff, he represented several relatives of victims of a neo-Nazi terrorist cell (the National Socialist Underground) at…
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Eliot Abel
Eliot Abel leads commercial sales & project development at NamastĂ© Solar, a solar energy company based in Colorado, guiding the development of solar projects ranging from 100kW to 10MW. Prior to joining NamastĂ© Solar, Eliot was Founder and Principal of Abel Clean Energy Advisors, a consulting firm that helps commercial property owners and developers utilize innovative financing, such as C-PACE, to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions that increase value, reduce operating costs, and enhance the sustainability of their properties. Earlier in his career, Eliot worked in business development roles at a UK-based thin film solar startup, GE’s global Renewable Energy business, and San Diego-based Renovate America. Eliot serves…
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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 Derviş. Her experience in government, international organizations, and the private sector give her a multifaceted vision of today’s global challenges.
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