Focus: Economic Development
Sasha Brown
Sasha Brown is an expert in the ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI). She is Head of Ethics Foresight at Google DeepMind—Google’s world leading AI research lab—and now works to ensure that DeepMind’s research, and the applications it powers, have a positive impact on humanity. She has stewarded the ethical analysis of groundbreaking machine learning projects and led research on topics such as privacy, transparency and fairness; AI morality and values; governance and accountability; misuses and unintended consequences of AI development; and economic impact of AI. Her work—which draws on aspects of moral philosophy, political history, economics, and computer science—aims to understand how technical advances will impact society, and create and…
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Patrick Struebi
Patrick Struebi is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and founder and CEO of the Fairtrasa Group, a pioneering social enterprise that lifts marginalized small-scale farmers out of poverty. Fairtrasa is one of the largest organic and fairtrade exporters from Latin America with a vertically integrated business structure, impacting over 40,000 direct beneficiaries. He is also the co-founder of Blooom, a cutting-edge AgTech platform with the goal of lifting 1 million farmers out of poverty by 2023. For his work with Fairtrasa, Patrick has been selected an Ashoka Fellow, an Endeavor high-impact Entrepreneur, and a Gabelli Fellow. Furthermore, he has been named four times Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the…
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John Hendra
John Hendra recently established his own consulting practice – JD Hendra Strategic Consulting – after retiring from a dynamic 32-year United Nations career as a development leader in both Headquarters and the field. He played a leading role in major UN change initiatives including: in the strategic design of the UN’s support for both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); helping to establish UN Women, the UN’s newest entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights; and as UN Resident Coordinator pioneering the “Delivering as One” Initiative in Vietnam for greater UN system-wide coherence and country level impact. JD Hendra Strategic Consulting provides strategic advice…
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Darius Gudelis
Darius Gudelis served as Chairman of the Board at vip:communications, a Lithuanian public relations, lobbying, and advertisement firm specializing in integrated communications for the private and public sector. His focus was on investing in regional media and business development in Central and Eastern Europe. He also co-founded the Institute of Strategic Research, a policy research and analysis organization. He is also co-owner of the Lithuanian basketball team, BC RYTAS VILNIUS. Elected the youngest mayor in the history of Lithuania at age 26, Darius rose early to national prominence and established a track record for economic improvement and a reputation for ethical government. In 2004, Darius became manager of Valdas Adamkus’s…
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Facundo GarretĂłn
Facundo GarretĂłn is an entrepreneur working in the intersection of technology, politics and life sciences, and a former member of Congress in Argentina. As an entrepreneur he is Founder of InvertirOnline.com, one of Latin America’s largest online brokerage firms, and Founder and Director of SociaLab, the most important platform for social entrepreneur in Latin America. Before serving as a Congressman, he sat on the boards of many internet companies throughout Latin America. Facundo is a member of the Endeavor network, promoting entrepreneurship in Latin America. He also participates as judge and selector at NXTP Labs, Start-Up Chile, Wayra, BID Challenge, and MIT Technology Review. In addition, he is part of…
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Ralph Emmanuel François
Ralph Emmanuel François is a disaster risk resilience management and climate resilience specialist with over 10 years of experience working with communities in Haiti. In 2015, Ralph founded Cocread, a social enterprise and community incubator that creates self-sustainable communities using art and technology. As CEO of Cocread, Ralph was first-runner up at the singularity Global Impact Challenge for the Caribbean. During the course of his career in private, international, and government agencies, Ralph has contributed to key research studies and developed methodologies and toolkits in the DRR field, including the first evacuation guidelines, the disaster response experiences during the January 12, 2010 earthquake, and research on risk ecology. Ralph studied…
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Karina Dashko
Karina Dashko is a leading corporate governance expert representing a new generation of Russians committed to building a country based on the rule of law, market economies, and good governance. She is currently Director for Corporate Affairs at T Plus, one of Russia's largest energy asset management companies. Previously Karina worked as Director for Corporate Issues at Integrated Energy Systems, Corporate Governance Director in UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminum and alumina producer, and was formerly head of the law department and chief compliance officer for VimpelCom, one of Russia’s leading providers of wireless telecommunications services. Karina has worked with the state Duma to develop programs for disclosing corporate information…
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Chinwe Philomena Uwandu
Chinwe Philomena Uwandu retired from the service of the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2020. In the course of her career as a Government Legal Advisor, she counseled the Federal Republic of Nigeria, its Agencies, and Overseas Missions on a diverse and complex range of legal issues. She also represented Nigeria at bilateral and multi-lateral meetings at sub-regional, regional, and international levels, and participated in the negotiation and preparation of bilateral and multi-lateral treaties, and other agreements. As Lead Counsel to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, Chinwe uncovered crimes and gross human rights violations during thirty years of Military dictatorship in Nigeria. She also prosecuted criminal cases on…
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Julio Guzmán
Julio Guzman is a Peruvian politician, leader and founder of the Partido Morado (The Purple Party), a centrist-political national party. He ran for President in the 2016 Elections, climbing to second place with more than 20% of the voting intention, before he was excluded from the race because of “administrative issues” regarding the registration of his candidacy. Previously, Julio was a Partner at Deloitte Peru. He served as Vice Minister of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and as Secretary General at the Office of the Prime Minister. In that role, he was President of the Council of Vice Ministers, responsible for the coordination of multi-sectorial policies. Before joining…
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Vusi Gumede
Vusi Gumede is a professor at the University of South Africa and at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute where he teaches courses on political economy and development. He was previously an associate professor at the University of Johannesburg and has lectured public policy at the School of Government at the University of Witwatersrand. Vusi has published two books on South Africa and edited several books focusing on Africa’s political economy of development, as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters, editorials, and blogs. He is Editor-in-Chief for Africanus (Journal of Development Studies) and of Africa Insight and is a member of various academic editorial boards and committees. Vusi…
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