Focus: Government/Politics
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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JesĂşs "Franco" Gamboa-Rocabado
JesĂşs "Franco" Gamboa-Rocabado is a professor of political science and development studies at Universidad Mayor de San AndrĂ©s, the most important public university in Bolivia. He is also the main advisor in strategic planning at the National Service for Personal Identification, the Bolivian flagship public institution that holds and render the rights for identity in Bolivia. An influential policy maker at the national level, Franco has dedicated himself to the democratization of Bolivia’s political system through positions with the Ministry of the Presidency, the mayor of La Paz, and Bolivia’s Constitutional Assembly. He also was consultant of the High Court of Electoral Affairs, and helped negotiate political agreements for Constitutional…
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Stefaan De Rynck
Stefaan De Rynck is the Representative of the European Commission in Belgium, creating a bridge between the work of the EU’s executive and Belgian politics and society. Previously, he worked as Senior Adviser to Michel Barnier, who was the European Union’s Chief Negotiator for Brexit (2016-2021). De Rynck published a book in 2023 on those historic negotiations (“Inside the Deal. How the EU got Brexit done”). His experience in EU affairs covers sustainable urban development, financial service and banking regulation, economic integration in the single market, and transport policy. He worked on various reforms of the EU Treaties and served as spokesperson and political advisor for Members of the European…
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Anuradha Das Mathur
Anuradha Das Mathur is the founding dean of The Vedica Scholars Programme for Women, an 18-month residential program in management practice for young women. She is committed to bringing more women into the workplace and ensuring their dignity through financial independence. Anuradha is also a senior advisor to the Albright Stonebridge Group, where she works at the intersection of government, business and civil society to help international organizations with their India strategies. She is a founder director at 9.9 Media, India’s fastest growing niche media company, where she leads a number of professional communities including CFOs and entrepreneurs; the research, advisory and custom services; as well as India’s first Speaker…
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Olivier Cattaneo
Olivier Cattaneo is Head of the policy analysis and strategy unit at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Development Cooperation Directorate. He previously worked as a Senior Trade Specialist at the World Bank, in Washington, D.C, managing the Global Trade and Financial Architecture project and advising developing country governments on trade policy reforms. Earlier, Olivier was responsible for trade policy at the Agence Française de DĂ©veloppement. He also worked as an adviser and speechwriter to French ministers and members of Parliament and as a trade expert in international organizations. Olivier has taught at various institutions, including Yale University, SciencesPo Paris, the University of Paris I PanthĂ©on Sorbonne, and…
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Rahimah “Ima” Abdulrahim
Rahimah "Ima" Abdulrahim is the Director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia (Established Countries) for Facebook Asia Pacific. Prior to this, she served at The Habibie Center, one of Indonesia’s leading think tanks focusing on democracy and human rights, for 19 years, serving as their executive director for 9 years (2010-2019). She has 20 years advocating for peace and democracy in Indonesia and travels extensively to speak about good governance, democratization, and the role of civil society in Southeast Asia. In 2017, Ima co-created, with World Fellows Stephen Shashoua (2015) and Abdul-Rehman Malik (2017), CERITA (Community Empowerment for Raising Inclusivity and Trust through Technology Application), a project using the art…
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Njoya Tikum
Njoya Tikum is Manager of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Office for West and Central Africa-Dakar-Senegal. Prior to this, he served as Regional Manager for East and Southern Africa at United Nations Volunteers (UNV). Njoya led the UNV's East and Southern Africa organizational transformation and established an entirely new and effective regional team and operation in 23 countries. Before this, he served with UNDP in different capacities, including as Regional Policy and Programme Advisor on Anti-Corruption and Economic Governance and as Regional Youth Programme Coordinator at UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa. Njoya served ad-interim in UNDP Liberia, in South Sudan as Country Programme Specialist in the UNDP…
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Marvin Rees
Marvin Rees was elected Mayor of Bristol in the United Kingdom in May 2016. As Mayor he sits as one of the leaders of the UK Core Cities and on the Steering Committee of the Global Parliament of Mayors. He is a popular public speaker on issues of race, class, faith, and social mobility. Marvin worked previously in public health as a BBC broadcast journalist and radio presenter and for the international development agency, Tearfund. In 2012 Marvin founded the The City Leadership Programme, a Yale World Fellows-inspired program which targets and equips high ability, high aspiration young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds for national and global leadership. He is…
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Habib Rahman
Habib Rahman is an influential policy maker and a senior researcher and analyst for Hambastagi Consultancy Group (HCG) in Afghanistan. HCG plays an active role in building a secure, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, by strengthening institutions and programs in both the public and private sectors. To achieve this goal, HCG draws on two types of organizational assets. He previously served as a senior policy advisor to Minister Mohammed Haneef Atmar in several government ministries, including Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of Education, where he played a pivotal role in developing the first National Educational Strategy for the post-Taliban education of 6.2 million boys and…
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Cornelia Quennet-Thielen
Cornelia Quennet-Thielen is State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, responsible for more than 1,000 members of staff and an annual budget exceeding €10 billion. Before becoming State Secretary, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the Federal President of Germany (2004–2008). During this period, Cornelia acted as the president’s senior advisor on domestic policy as well as on constitutional law and mercy petitions. Prior to joining the president’s staff, Cornelia was deeply invested in environmental and sustainability policy at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety. From 1999 to 2004, she served as Deputy Director-General, with primary…
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