Focus: Philanthropy
Laura-Kristine Krause
Laura-Kristine Krause is Founding Director of More in Common Germany, an organization devoted to understanding the forces that are driving our democracies apart and to countering “us vs. them”-narratives. She also serves on the organization’s international executive team, alongside her colleagues from France, Poland, the UK, and the US. Laura is a leading expert on polarization and social cohesion and an advisor to key civil society organizations, initiatives, and political institutions. She also applies this lens to her role on the oversight board of Germany’s largest public broadcaster ZDF and her board roles in German philanthropy and public administration. She was a negotiator for the coalition treaty of the German…
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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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Muna AbuSulayman
Muna AbuSulayman is an international development expert with over 25 years in cross sectorial work focusing on women empowerment, media, philanthropy, poverty alleviation, and community development. She is Partner with 3S Consulting focusing on improving philanthropy in the Middle East, and working to increase female empowerment and employment in MENA. She is also a well-known television personality and co-host of the top-rated MBC show, Kalam Nawaem. The show focuses on cultural, social, and gender issues and has a worldwide viewing audience. Muna was the founding Secretary General of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation, where she focused on women’s empowerment, East-West cross-civilizational programs, and strengthening educational institutions in the Middle East….
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Marcelo Furtado
Marcelo Furtado has over 30 years of experience working in the sustainability field, committed to advancing environmental and social justice through advocacy and philanthropy. Most recently, he became a Principal at Finance for Biodiversity leading the food transition initiative and co-leading the secretariat of the Task Force on Nature Markets. He was a founding partner at the start-up ZCO2/BlockC, a traceability platform for environmental assets using blockchain technology. He was the CEO of Alana Foundation and ArapyaĂş Institute, family foundations that promote sustainability, social justice and education. Marcelo is a co-founder and was the facilitator of the Brazilian Coalition on Climate Forest and Agriculture, a multi-stakeholder forum with representatives from academia, business and civil society to implement a…
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DU Yang
DU Yang is the co-founder of China Philanthropist Magazine and CiMedia Group, a pioneering joint venture and an influential media source for the philanthropy industry in China. His work focuses on building partnerships and networks with global philanthropists and China’s growing philanthropy sector. As a culture “ambassador” in the philanthropy industry, he has been involved in the process of launching a platform of China’s top philanthropists and an east-west cultural program. DU is also on the advisory board of Mediadesign Hochschule – MD.H Berlin. Â
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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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Saleh Barakat
Saleh Barakat is an expert in contemporary Arab art and founded the Agial Art Gallery in 1991 and Saleh Barakat Gallery in 2016, both in Beirut. As the executive manager of the two galleries, he has participated in building major collections of modern and contemporary Arab art. With a strong business background with decades of experience in the art sector, Saleh is deeply engaged in developing a healthy market environment for creative expression in the Arab world. He has curated several pan-Arab exhibitions including the IXth Francophone Summit in Beirut, the 2003 World Bank Summit in Dubai, and "The Road to Peace: Painting in Times of War 1975-1991" at the…
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Chetna Gala Sinha
Chetna Gala Sinha is an activist, farmer, and banker. In the early 1980s, while still a student in Mumbai, she joined the Jayaprakash Narayan movement and travelled through the country championing land rights and other social issues. In 1996, Chetna founded the Mann Deshi Foundation in Mhaswad, a drought-stricken area of Maharashtra, with the aim of economically and socially empowering rural women. In 1997, she set up the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank – India’s first bank for and by rural women. Today, the Mann Deshi Bank has over 100,000 account holders, has loaned over $50 million, and regularly creates new financial products to support the needs of female micro-entrepreneurs….
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WANG Xingzui
WANG Xingzui has over two decades of experience in rural development and serves as Vice President of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, one of the oldest and largest NGOs in China and one of the few working outside the country. Under his leadership, the Foundation grew from a small, largely unknown organization to one that is well recognized and respected for its pioneering work and professionalism by governments, corporations, beneficiaries, and peer NGOs both at home and abroad. Xingzui oversees the Foundation's strategies and microfinance and is working to expand the Foundation's operations to other countries and to transform the Foundation into an international NGO. Xingzui is committed to…
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Vicente Santiago PĂ©rez
Vicente “Vince” Santiago PĂ©rez is an avid environmental advocate and renewable energy investor currently serving as chairman of Alternergy group, a wind, solar and mini-hydro power developer. His philanthropy is dedicated to the environment and conservation. Vince has long been involved with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) starting with arranging debt-for-nature swaps. He was a founding trustee of WWF-Philippines in 1996. PĂ©rez was elected to the International Board of WWF, the governing body of the global WWF network, and currently a member of the boards of WWF-China and WWF-US. He is also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Bhutan Foundation, New Zealand Trade Enterprise, Geneva-based Pictet Clean…
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