
Who
Visionary leaders join the annual World Woman Davos Agenda during the World Economic Forum week
Why
World Woman Davos Agenda’s Equality Moonshot is a bold new way to rethink our gender equality agenda for countries, communities, and companies.
when
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Agenda

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WORLD WOMAN FUTURE FORUM
SEPT 19, 2022
MICROSOFT, 11 TIMES SQ, NEW YORK





































bIG IDEAS
BOLD ACTION
In this tumultuous landscape, where leaders grapple with a relentless barrage of economic and political shocks, the peril of regression looms large for women. Millions of women and girls are currently denied access and opportunities, presenting a dire situation. Accelerating the pursuit of gender parity is not just a moral imperative; it’s a necessity for the prosperity and sustainability of our world.
REVOLUTIONARY FUTURE
World Woman Davos Agenda is a collaborative, multistakeholder initiative to reshape women’s roles. It offers a distinctive platform to redefine and reforge our understanding of the current era’s global responsibilities and the imperative for cooperation to make gender equality a reality.
World Woman Davos Agenda continues to serve as the premier platform for instigating high-level collaboration between the public and private sectors. It unites governments, prominent international organizations, the most influential corporations worldwide, relevant civil society and academic institutions, and the global media, to create a prominent global platform for women’s voices in a bold new way.

OUR EQUALITY moonshot AGENDA
Sustainability & Gender Equality
Sustainability & Gender Equality
Fair Economy
Fair Economy
Inclusive Innovation & Technology
Inclusive Innovation & Technology
Education, Job, Skills, & Parity
Education, Job, Skills, & Parity
Health Equity & Healthcare
Health Equity & Healthcare
Better Business & LeadHership
Better Business & LeadHership
Creative Economy, Web 3.0& Equal Future
Creative Economy, Web 3.0& Equal Future
Global Co-operation & Women Empowerment
Global Co-operation & Women Empowerment
Sustainability & Gender Equality
Fair Economy
Inclusive Innovation & Technology
Education, Job, Skills, & Parity
Health Equity & Healthcare
Better Business & LeadHership
Creative Economy, Web 3.0& Equal Future
Global Co-operation & Women Empowerment
AGENDA
- Rupa DashCo-Founder & CEO, World Woman Foundation
- Reshma RamachandranBoard Member & Chair of World Woman Davos Agenda
- Carrie ScottHead, ESG. Management Office, Novartis
- Sarena LinMember of The Supervisory Board, Siemens Health
- Daniella FosterExecutive Board Member, SVP & Global Head, Public Affairs, Science & Sustainability, Consumer Health, Bayer
- Kerstin HoppeSVP Marketing & Communications, Roland Berger
- Sandrine Dixson-DeclèvePresident of Club of Rome
- Asha Jadeja MotwaniInvestor, Philanthropist, Founder, Motwani Jadeja Foundation
- Nivruti RaiManaging Director and CEO, Invest India, Ministry of Commerce
- Vasundhara OswalIndian-Swiss Businesswoman and Executive Director of Pro Industries
- Samir SaranPresident, ORF
Artificial intelligence is rapidly shaping the future - including nearly every industry, job, and way of working - more than humans could have ever imagined. As we stand at the crossroads of technological evolution, this panel dives into the profound implications and limitless possibilities that the future of AI holds. This panel will explore the many paths forward for AI in 2024 and beyond, as well as the perils and our individual and collective responsibilities in shaping the future of AI. Join us as we navigate (1) the possibilities of leveraging AI for societal impact, (2) how AI can help create a more inclusive future of work, and (3) the ethical challenges and strategies for responsible AI development.
- Neeti Mehta ShuklaCo-Founder and Social Impact Officer, Automation Anywhere
- Ragnheiður Elín ÁrnadóttirDirector, OECD Development Centre
- Florence GaubDirector of Research Division, NATO Defence College
- Kristen Edgreen KaufmanPublic-Private Partnerships & Economic Development, NYC Mayor’s Office
- Arancha GonzálezDean of Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po
- Ulrika ModéerUN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, UNDP
- Christine HeenanExecutive Partner and Chief Communications, Flagship Pioneering
- Moira ForbesPresident and Publisher, ForbesWoman
- Dr. Annabella BasslerCFO, Ringier Media Group, Founder of Equal Voice Initiative
- Muna AbuSulaymanArab Media Icon
- Aleksandra KarasinskaEditor in Chief, Forbes Women Polska
- HRH Sheikha Alanoud Bint Hamad Al-ThaniDeputy Chief Executive Officer at Qatar Financial Center
- Noura SelimExecutive Director (ED), Sawiris Foundation for Social Development
- Malak Al AkielyCEO of Golden Wheat for Grain Trading
- Amy BernsteinEditor, Harvard Business Review; Vice President and Executive Editorial Director, Harvard Business Publishing
- Dr Michelle HarrisonGlobal CEO of Kantar Public
- Tripti JhaChief People Officer, Sandoz
- Helen ClarkFormer Prime Minsiter of New Zealand
TRACKS
Although women and men are intellectually similar, with little or no difference between them in areas like creativity and overall intelligence, the genders differ greatly when it comes to physiology. Women are subject to health problems that men aren’t, such as the many conditions related to reproductive systems and childbearing. Women also mature and age differently and are more susceptible than men to some problems that affect both. For example, women account for about 80% of the recorded cases of osteoporosis. And UTIs (urinary tract infections) are nearly 30 times more prevalent in women.Yet many signs indicate that women’s health needs are under-researched and under-addressed. Of the new medicines developed and approved for use in the USA over recent decades, very few are for conditions specific to women. Women also tend to be under-represented in clinical trials of medications meant for both genders, which can lead to the marketing of drugs that are sub-optimal for women, and female cardiologists have struggled to convince their male peers that women’s hearts need different care than men’s.But it’s not just a matter of shortcomings on the medical and research fronts. Other factors aggravate women’s health concerns. The global “clean cooking” movement is trying to combat the use of pollutants like wood and coal fires in less-developed regions, since dirty fuels are both bad for the environment and harmful to those preparing food — who, in most cases, are women.Then consider a common mental health problem. According to the USA’s Mayo Clinic, women are twice as likely as men to suffer from severe depression. Staff at Mayo report that this is due partly to physical causes, as with premenstrual or postpartum depression, but that “life circumstances and cultural stressors can play a role,” too. These stressors include women’s “unequal status” in society, workload fatigue among women balancing jobs with duties at home, and incidents of sexual or physical abuse.Finally, we must recognize the effects of poverty. Poor people tend to have unhealthier living conditions combined with less access to good health care. And, in many parts of the world, girls and young women from poor families get little education about subjects like sexual and reproductive health.In short, women’s health is a critical and complex issue. It’s critical because health problems degrade women’s quality of life and interfere with their ability to contribute to society. It’s complex because health is connected to many other issues, from the social and economic to the environment. An effective Health Equity Moonshot should (a) be comprehensive in scope and (b) look for points of leverage where an improvement in one area can trigger wide-ranging ripple benefits.
India is the headline story of the next decade, an emerging market with the highest growth rate and, more importantly, also set to become the world’s most populous nation beating China this year. It is also a place where women’s quest for a full share of that development gets tangled in the complexities of Indian society. On top of the country’s regional and religious differences, a new caste system is taking hold along economic lines. As The Economic Times noted, free-market policies since the 1980s have spurred growth but have made India “among the most unequal countries in the world, with rising poverty and an affluent elite.” And as Oxfam observed, “These widening gaps and rising inequalities affect women and children the most.”India has begun 2023 with good news….a significant decline in the maternal mortality rate from 130 deaths per one lakh live births in 2014-2016 to 97, less than 100 per one lakh live births in 2018-20. Just this one statistic is a major change for women and children in India.The big question remains, however, how do we build on indicators like these? Per Oxfam, public spending on healthcare is insufficient, with crucial gaps in both prenatal maternal care and post-natal care: “The poorest Indian states have infant mortality rates higher than those in sub-Saharan Africa.”The 2022 World Inequality Report found women’s share of labor income in India to be just 18% — “among the lowest in the world” and just slightly above the 15% share in the Middle East region.Overall, the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Index ranks India a very low 135th out of 148 countries studied. Despite India’s growing tech economy, women’s participation in professional and technical work ranks only 118th. Only 2.8% of all Indian business firms have female-majority ownership, and just 8.9% have women as top managers. Conversely, women make up nearly 89% of India’s “informal” (and typically low-paid or non-paid) labor sector.Economic statistics don’t tell the whole story. Gender inequality has long been ingrained in India’s culture, often in oddly contradictory ways. A Pew Research survey found most Indian men OK with the idea of a female prime minister, while believing that women should be subservient to men at home. Violence and harassment remain big concerns — in a World Bank survey, 56% of women in Chennai said they fear for their safety when they must ride public transport — and many Indian families still value male children much more than girls.Steps are being taken on various fronts. The esteemed Indian Institutes of Technology recently reached a goal of having women make up 20% of their incoming first-year students. But that’s far from adequate. At MIT, the U.S. school after which the IITs were modeled, women are already 48% of the entire undergraduate population.It’s time to re-imagine a New India with women as equal participants as India takes it place at the global high table, leading the G-20 presidency this year.. India needs an Equality Moonshot
With the growth of the internet and international trade, we take it for granted that we live in a “connected” world. But we also live in an increasingly collaborative world. It may seem strange to say that, given the constant flow of bad news about armed conflicts and political tensions around the globe. Yet the truth is that governments, organizations, and groups of all kinds cooperate across borders to a greater extent than ever before in human history. We are going to need even more such cooperation in the years ahead.Global cooperation is needed to address common problems such as climate change, war, and poverty. It also plays a positive role in improving everyone’s quality of life, by bringing together the ideas and resources of people everywhere. Here is a very brief overview of some forms of cooperation that are currently in place. Going forward, women of the world must build upon and leverage global networks to create a worldwide Equality Moonshot.First, consider how nations collaborate at present. The United Nations provides global arenas for cooperation that didn’t exist or were not effective previously. The UN’s World Health Organization has played a key role in eradicating smallpox and controlling other infectious diseases. UNESCO is active in education and environmental protection and supports international collaboration in scientific research. Altogether, we now have a multitude of platforms for nation-level cooperation. The World Bank and IMF provide financial help to assist economic development and recovery. Although it’s not global in scale, the European Union has become the most highly developed body of sovereign states on the planet.Independent NGOs have proliferated, too. Groups ranging from CARE and Human Rights Watch to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) work in various ways to help people in troubled regions.
Business firms also collaborate internationally more than ever — for example, in technology. Today’s complex products cannot be made by companies acting alone. Phones, computers, and electric vehicles all contain chips, batteries, and other crucial sub-systems designed and made by firms in multiple countries. Complex issues require collaboration as well. To tackle those around global healthcare, major pharmaceutical companies are now partnering with dozens of organizations in the World Economic Forum’s initiative on “Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare for creating a healthier planet.
On the other hand, the Fashion industry, which employs a significant number of women and girls, is changing the fashion path, reducing its negative environmental and social impacts, and turning fashion into a driver of implementing a sustainable world. It’s time to reimagine global cooperation in all areas of fashion to promote projects and policies that ensure that the fashion value chain contributes to a thriving economy and a sustainable world for women and girls.Our purpose is to focus on women’s roles in building momentum in global cooperation in financial inclusion, sustainability, health equality, and access to equal opportunities.Many international women’s organizations exist or have existed. The oldest, the International Council of Women, was founded in 1888 and is still active. Groups for specific purposes come and go. Now that women finally have the right to vote in most places, the suffrage movements of the past have largely done their job, while new groups keep being formed for women in fields like technology and environmental policy. Women also are gaining greater representation in organizations such as the UN, the EU, and their numerous agencies. The task is to multiply and accelerate global efforts for a sustainable planet and inclusive economic growth for women and girls worldwide.
In most cases, women’s rights within a given country depend on having an open, democratic society, and that kind of society needs freedom of the news and communication media. The three are interconnected. Therefore it is not surprising to see women’s rights being limited or imperiled in countries that are less democratic and don’t grant much media freedom. An Equality Moonshot for women must include measures to help support both political and information freedom.Iran stands out as a current example. While the protest movements in that country have varied in intensity, they show definite signs of continuing into the new year. If the protests should manage to bring about substantial change, it would be a historic event — perhaps the first time in modern history when a movement originated by women, on behalf of women, grows to liberalize an entire nation. The protests are unfolding in a society whose record on freedom of information is, at present, very weak.In the 2022 global Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, Iran ranked next to last at 178th of 179 nations studied. Only Eritrea scored worse. Recent suppressions of media freedom in Iran have included arrests of journalists covering Mahsa Amini’s funeral and the subsequent protests, as well as throttling citizens’ internet connectivity.Freedom of information can be stifled in various ways. In China, the government owns the major TV and radio outlets, newspapers, and news service, exerting strict control of what is reported and how.All media receive regularly updated censorship guidelines. Independent journalists run the risk of arrest, and imprisonment is common. Citizens’ use of online media is subject to monitoring, and access to many foreign-based websites is blocked.Elsewhere, Russia has rolled back freedom of the press considerably in recent years. State media outlets prevail and many independent outlets have been closed. Surprisingly, the United States ranks only 42nd on the Press Freedom Index, despite having an abundance of independent media and a government that doesn’t intervene in their operations. However, the flow of reliable information has been impeded by other factors.These include the under-funding of local news, the funding of biased coverage by wealthy major-media owners, and political efforts to sow distrust of certain media while limiting reporters’ access to government information. And — though it may be hard to trace a direct cause-and-effect link — women’s rights in the U.S. also have been eroded, as with last year’s Supreme Court decision that overturned a national ruling on reproductive rights.It will be challenging to mount an Equality Moonshot in this area. Situations differ greatly from one country to the next. In the places where democracy and media freedom are weakest, this is usually the result of suppression by a deeply entrenched government, which will actively fight any attempts to change things. But difficulty cannot be an excuse for inaction. The future of many may depend on our ability to marshal peaceful but effective means of change.
Women in the Middle East face huge barriers to reaching equality. While the recent protests in Iran have drawn wide attention, the status of women remains a thorny issue throughout this region around the Persian Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean. Many countries have laws and customs that relegate women to being second-class citizens. In extreme cases (which aren’t rare), women are essentially viewed as property of their husbands and/or male relatives.There has been progress on various fronts during the past decade or so. Women in Saudi Arabia, for example, have won the legal rights to drive cars, vote in elections and hold public offices. Yet the fact that these basic rights were once denied is startling. And while some countries have opened up their societies much more than others, the region as a whole needs an Equality Moonshot.Statistics tell a grim story. The WEF’s Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) is a combined metric that measures the standing of women vis-a-vis men in a nation across four areas: economic, educational, and political participation, and health. In the GGGI table for 2022, Israel and the United Arab Emirates ranked 60th and 68th out of 146 countries surveyed — but they were the only Middle East nations ranking above the bottom quartile, and the only ones with Index scores above 0.70 (representing 70% progress toward full gender equality). The next-highest ranked was Lebanon at 119th, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others all having similar but slightly lower Index scores. Near the tail end, with a significantly lower score, Iran ranked 143rd in the global 146. Syria and Iraq weren’t listed in the 2022 Index, but they landed at 152 and 154 out of 156 countries in 2021.The roots of the issue are complex. Although many countries have modernized and grown wealthy through oil and gas revenues, modernization is a fairly new phenomenon. As a result, conservative mindsets and ideologies persist, including patriarchal traditions that say men should rule the roost in both public and private life. Violence against women remains a problem as well. It can take many forms, from domestic abuse to state-sanctioned violence, as when the protests in Iran were triggered by a young woman dying at the hands of the nation’s morality police.On the positive side: Young women are now the majority of students at many Middle East universities. More will need to move into professional positions, as women’s share of labor income across the region remains very low at around 15%. The UAE, seen as a progressive Arab nation, has high-ranking women in business and government along with increasingly female-friendly legal codes. Women also make up 61% of university STEM students in the UAE and are starting to play a larger role in technology startups.Finally, women’s rights organizations are taking root across the Middle East. Many are national in scope; others are region-wide or focused on specific issues, and there are cases of women taking charge of events informally at the grassroots level. Amid the civil war in Syria, women who normally would stick to household duties have formed groups to mediate local conflicts and protect refugees from harm. The task now is to greatly accelerate the momentum for positive change.
When it comes to winning equality for women in the workforce, we have focused much of our attention thus far on improving the numbers. We measure progress by tracking the percentage of women in STEM or executive positions. We judge the level of equality in a nation by measuring women’s rate of participation in paid labor and the size of the gender pay gap. These numbers are important. We must continue trying to improve them. But the traditional “representation” numbers no longer tell the whole story.To really address workforce equality and inclusion, we must add new dimensions to our efforts. The world of work itself is changing. Major trends in recent years include the growth of virtual remote work, the emergence of the gig economy, and a growing divide between high-paid professionals and people at the lower end of the scale. To address workforce equality and inclusion, we must add new dimensions to our efforts. We need to look at how women are treated and how they can thrive, rather than suffer, within the conditions of these new trends.Studies show that remote work tends to be a mixed blessing for women. On the positive side, working virtually from home eliminates commuting, reduces the need to dress up, and avoids unpleasant gender-based interactions at the employer’s site. In a McKinsey survey, only one in ten U.S. professional women preferred working on-site. For women with children or dependents, working from home can also help achieve a work-life balance. But here is where the negatives start to creep in. Working online while trying to manage just one small child can quickly become a huge hassle.Furthermore, 37% of the world does not use the internet. With more basic services moving online and the pandemic highlighting affordability challenges in wealthier nations, these deep digital gaps are intensifying inequality and preventing women and girls full particpation in the workforce.Lastly, the growing socioeconomic divisions between high and middle-to-low earners loom large over everything. Women are affected the most since they are disproportionately represented in the lower brackets in practically every country where statistics are kept. Women working in lower-end roles cover a wide spectrum of occupations. They range from janitors, maids, and personal care attendants to workers in assembly lines, call centers, restaurants, and markets. In less developed regions, they are subsistence farmers, water carriers, low-wage artisans, and the like.The overall picture is complex. An Equality Moonshot for women at work will have to be aimed at multiple fundamental issues, many intertwined from digital inclusion, access to internet, workforce reskilling and upskilling and redefining the future of work. This Moonshot will require innovative thinking and action if it’s to be feasible.
Moonshot to change how women are viewed and treated. We can even use that leverage to shape the future of global capitalism and the planet itself.Consider the purchasing power at our command. Women control or influence 85% of all consumer spending in the United States. Worldwide, women control over $31 trillion in spending, and our buying is not limited to traditional “female” categories such as food and cleaning products or beauty and fashion. Women also purchase most of products in male-oriented markets, from motor vehicles to consumer electronics.And yet in recent surveys, over two-thirds of women said they feel misunderstood, stereotyped or objectified in advertisements for key products and services. Certainly things have improved since TV and print ads depicted housewives as dutiful servants to their husbands. However, the U.K. consulting firm PLH Research points out that sexism is still ingrained in advertising. For example, while many ads suggest that men should buy certain products to fit with the admirable traits they have, it’s often implied that women need to change — and that certain products will make them prettier or better in some way. Notably, teenage girls are swamped with messages promising to make them more attractive. Influencer marketing has grown into a booming industry, especially in Asian countries, with legions of glamorous young women selling sexy clothes and cosmetics to their online audiences.All of this has to change. Given how much time we now spend online, both for practical needs and pleasure, women are typically exposed to thousands of ads and marketing messages daily. These messages are hard to ignore, and their impact is profound. They add up to a constant flow of stories we are told, about how life works and who we are.It’s time for women to reclaim this power of storytelling. No longer can we accept media narratives that depict us as inferior creatures or that promise fulfillment through fantasies of seduction and superpower. We must demand and create messages that speak to the real lives and true nature of women everywhere. In contrast to the old saying that “women hold up half the sky,” most of us are heroes in very down-to-earth ways. We juggle duties and demands; we hold together our families and communities; we make life on this earth possible and find joy in it. We don’t need miracle products because the everyday reality of women is a miracle in its own right. That is the story that needs to be told — in advertisements, in all media, and in our daily interactions.There are signs of progress. Although most creative directors at advertising agencies are men, women are moving into such roles increasingly. As consumers, we are starting to show that we prefer products from socially responsible companies. More than ever, we are looking at factors like sustainability and fair treatment of workers when we choose what to buy. We hold the power of change in our hearts … and the instruments of change in our wallets. A new economy is dawning. Women will light the way
Our moonshot Mission is Equality on Earth

CELEBRATE WORLD WOMAN HEROES
To recognize the important work and support extraordinary women heroes who have dedicated their lives to transforming the lives of women and children; have the courage to fight, the power to survive, and the leadership to inspire, they become the recipient of the World Woman Hero Awards. During the World Woman Davos Agenda will celebrate our heroes for their commitment to gender equality in a bold new way.
headliners
About Headliners
About Headliners
About Headliners
About Headliners
About Headliners
About Headliners
speakers
Helen Clark was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand first in 1999 and then twice more in 2002 and 2005.
Clark joined the Labour Party in 1971 and during the following decade held a variety of positions within the party. In parliamentary elections in 1975, she was selected as the Labour candidate for a seat that was considered safe for the conservative National Party. Although she lost that election, she was elected to Parliament from a different constituency in 1981and won ten consecutive elections there. .
As Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee and of the Disarmament and Arms Control Select Committee (1984–87), she played a major role in the country’s adoption of a nuclear-free stance which has been embraced across the political spectrum.
From 1987 to 1990, Clark was a Cabinet Minister, holding at various times the portfolios of housing, conservation, labour, and health. In 1989–90, she also served as Deputy Prime Minister and in 1990 was appointed to the Privy Council, becoming the first woman in New Zealand to hold those offices.
After the National Party returned to power in 1990, Helen Clark served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 1990-93, and then as Leader of the Opposition until the Labour Party was able to form a governing coalition following the 1999 elections. She was the first woman to lead a party to electoral victory in New Zealand.
As Prime Minister, Clark also held the portfolio of arts and culture and appointed a diverse team of ministers which included 11 women and 4 Maori. During her nine years as Prime Minister, New Zealand enjoyed strong economic growth, low unemployment, and significant investment in public services. It set clear objectives for sustainable development and climate action. It also prioritised reconciliation and the settlement of historical grievances with New Zealand’s indigenous people and the development of an inclusive multicultural and multi-faith society. It maintained New Zealand’s independent foreign policy and support for multilateralism, one consequence being its refusal to support the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Activity after Public Politics
Helen Clark became the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in April 2009 and was the first woman to lead that organisation. She was also the Chair of the UN Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and department working on development issues.
Helen Clark stepped down after eight years and two terms as Administrator in April 2017. She now engages in public advocacy across a range of the issues she has engaged in over decades in public life.
Throughout her career, Clark enjoyed a reputation as a skillful politician and a capable advocate of nuclear disarmament, public health policy, and sustainable development. For her work on peace and disarmament, she was awarded the Peace Prize from the Danish Peace Foundation in 1986. In 2009 she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand, the country’s highest honour.
Helen Clark has been a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation since November 2017. From May 2020 – October 2021, she served as the Foundation’s Vice Chair. In October 2021, Helen Clark was elected to be the GLF Chair.
Ms Clark has been involved in a GLF project in South Asia.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
- Chair of Women Political Leaders Board
- Chair of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Board
- Chair of Global Commission on Drug Policy
- Co-Chair of WHO Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness & Response
- Co-Chair of Global Future Council on Health and Healthcare
- Co-Chair of &Green Fund
- President of Chatham House
- Member of Club of Madrid
- Member of Board of Directors for Women Deliver
- Patron of Himalayan Trust
- Patron of Helen Clark Foundation
Nadja Swarovski is a Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, the world’s leading crystal manufacturer founded by her great-great-grandfather Daniel Swarovski in 1895 in Austria. As a global patron of design for the company, Nadja is committed to building ongoing relationships in the fashion, jewellery, architecture, design, film and art industries and commissioning innovative products celebrating crystal, while continually positioning Swarovski at the forefront of design and consumer trends.
Born in Germany, Nadja is an Austrian citizen educated in Europe and the US. Obtaining degrees in Art History, Foreign Languages and Latin American studies from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1992, she completed a graduate course in Fine and Decorative Arts at Sotheby’s in New York, and in Gemology at the Gemological Institute of America in New York. She is currently based in London.
Nadja’s career began with Larry Gagosian, the New York gallerist, followed by a time at Eleanor Lambert, the legendary New York fashion publicist. Nadja joined the family business in 1995, working for Swarovski in Hong Kong and travelling extensively in Asia on behalf of the company to gain an international perspective before returning to New York.
Early in her career Nadja befriended fashion icon Isabella Blow, who supported her vision of looking at Swarovski’s heritage and bringing this to the forefront of the brand’s contemporary image. Nadja also aimed to re-establish Swarovski’s legacy of collaborating with the leading couturiers of Paris. Blow introduced her to young design talents who became long-time Swarovski collaborators, such as Alexander McQueen and Phillip Treacy. Since these early years in the family business, Nadja has implemented a series of groundbreaking initiatives including The Swarovski Collective conceived in 1999 and Runway Rocks in 2003 that reinforce Swarovski’s commitment to support and celebrate both established and emerging designers in fashion and jewellery, including Hussein Chalayan, GILES, Rodarte, Erdem, Alexander Wang, Marios Schwab, Jason Wu, Mary Katrantzou, and Stephen Webster.
In 2002 Nadja developed Swarovski Crystal Palace, a visionary design project which pushes the boundaries of lighting and design through creative collaborations with designers using the medium of crystal. The result is a spectacular body of work which provides a snapshot of the most exciting and creative minds of the first decade of the 21st century and includes work by Ron Arad, Zaha Hadid, Tom Dixon, Ross Lovegrove, Tokujin Yoshioka, Tord Boontje, Arik Levy, Yves Béhar and Gaetano Pesce.
Nadja is Chairperson of Swarovski Entertainment Ltd, a division that invests in the production of movies. Swarovski Entertainment was formed to produce theatrical, story- and director-driven feature films with equal focus on entertainment, originality, style and substance. This was a natural progression as Nadja reinvigorated the collaboration between Swarovski and the movie industry, through creative partnerships with costume and set designers. Swarovski crystals have been featured in movies including The Young Victoria; Black Swan and Skyfall. The division’s first feature film, Romeo and Juliet, written by Julian Fellowes and starring Douglas Booth and Haillee Steinfeld as the star-crossed lovers, is due for release in Fall 2013. Nadja has also introduced Swarovski crystals to the music industry, adorning costumes of performers such as Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, Madonna and Lady Gaga.
In 2007 Nadja launched Atelier Swarovski, an innovative and highly desirable jewellery business which collaborates with high-profile and cutting-edge designers including Zaha Hadid, Christopher Kane, Giles Deacon, Viktor & Rolf, Jonathan Saunders and Karl Lagerfeld. Atelier Swarovski is sold in high end boutiques & Swarovski stores in the major fashion capitals of the world.
Since 2012 Nadja Swarovski has overseen Swarovski’s Global Corporate Responsibility efforts. Consolidating Swarovski’s long-term commitment to philanthropy, the Swarovski Foundation was introduced in 2013. Its mission is to support charitable initiatives and organizations working in three areas. Fostering Creativity and Culture supporting the arts, education, cultural institutions and innovative projects; Promoting Wellbeing and Human Rights, championing women empowerment initiatives, health and education and the advancement and development of young people and communities; and Conserving Natural Resources through environmental projects for the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment.
As the Executive Vice President of Forbes Media, Moira Forbes is responsible for driving new business initiatives across the company’s diverse media platforms, and branding Forbes events worldwide. She is also the President and Publisher of ForbesWomen, a multi-media platform dedicated to successful women in business and leadership. Apart from hosting “Success with Moira Forbes,” a video series on the Forbes Video Network featuring candid, one-on-one interviews with today’s top women leaders, Moira also writes a dedicated leadership column for Forbes.com profiling today’s most dynamic business leaders. In 2013, Moira launched the annual Forbes Women’s Summit in New York City, which brings together 250 female leaders to discuss and solve the world’s most intractable issues.
Dr. Annabella Bassler (*1977) has been CFO of Ringier AG since June 2012. She joined Ringier in 2007 and held various positions in finance. In addition, Bassler was responsible for Ringier’s activities in Romania from mid-2014 until 2021 and restructured the company into a profitable and modern media company. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Ticketcorner AG, Ringier Axel Springer Schweiz AG, Ringier Axel Springer Polska sp. z o.o. and Hallenstadion AG, among others. Annabella Bassler is driving the digital transformation of the Ringier Group. The focus is on strategy, M&A activities and financial management. In November 2019, she initiated and launched the Ringier EqualVoice initiative, which aims to make women more visible in media coverage and promote gender equality. The core of the initiative is the EqualVoice Factor: an algorithm that makes equality measurable. She completed her business studies at the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, Buenos Aires and Los Angeles, followed by a doctorate. After practical experience in consulting, Annabella Bassler worked from 2004 to 2007 in various positions in the finance departments at Hamburg Süd, the shipping company of the Oetker Group, in Hamburg.
Arancha González is the third Dean of Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po and first woman to lead the world’s third school for Politics and International Studies.
Prior to joining PSIA, Ms González served as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (2020-2021). She previously was Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (2013-2020). Between 2005 and 2013 she served as Chief of Staff to the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy. Before that she held senior positions at the European Commission in the areas of international trade and development. Ms González started her career as lawyer in the private sector.
Ms González has been a member of PSIA’s Strategic Committee since 2017.
A Spanish national, Ms González holds a degree in law from the University of Navarra and a Postgraduate Degree in European Law from the University Carlos III of Madrid.
Vasundhara Oswal is a 25-year-old Indian-Swiss businesswoman and Executive Director of Pro Industries – which holds the largest ethanol plant in East Africa. Vasundhara was born in India after which she was raised in Australia and Switzerland. Oswal did her bachelors in finance in Switzerland,graduating with honors. During her second year of university she founded PRO Industries which is part of the larger conglomerate Oswal Group Global which is led by her father Pankaj Oswal. Oswal is a strong advocate for women’s empowerment and co-founder of the Stop the B, which raises awareness about bullying and violence in gen Z. She has spoken at UNESCO’s world economic forum along side her younger sister in 2021. Oswal is a role model for young women everywhere, demonstrating that hard work, dedication, and determination can lead to success. She is a visionary leader committed to making a difference in the world and is sure to achieve great things in the years to come
Muna AbuSulayman is as an Arab Media Icon who is an advocate of systematic wholistic institutional change and inclusive development to provide equal thriving opportunities for all.
She is consistently ranked as one of the most influential Muslimas and Arabs due to over 2 decades of experience working in media, philanthropy, and sustainable and viable solutions for complex socio-economic challenges through starting up several foundations and social impact businesses or advising governments and foundations on ESG and sustainable development.
She, also recently became a Partner in Transform VC, a fund that is enabling Deep Tech founders from marginalized communities to access Silicon Valley resources, network, and capital
Editor, Harvard Business Review; Vice President and Executive Editorial Director, Harvard Business Publishing; co-host HBR’s Women at Work podcast. Began career at CBS News; held senior editorial positions on both the print and digital sides at a variety of magazines including strategy+business, Business 2.0, The Industry Standard, Brill’s Content, and U.S. News & World Report; has developed and edited stories across business, tech and management topics, contributing to several Loeb and National Magazine Award winners; Vice-President, Global Thought Leadership, ManpowerGroup, oversaw signature Employment Outlook Survey and led development of white papers on emerging trends in the world of work; also launched MyPath, the industry’s first career-management website for professionals, and led the redesign of the company’s network of websites. 2011, joined Harvard Business Review (HBR); currently, Editor; has led HBR’s circulation to grow to unprecedented heights and to win numerous editorial awards, including being cited as a finalist in 2015 for a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. Former: President, Journalism and Women Symposium; Chair, Editorial Advisory Board, San Francisco Bay Citizen. Named one of Folio’s Top Women in Media (2016).
Dr Michelle Harrison is the Global CEO of Kantar Public, working with governments, multi-lateral governmental bodies and international development organizations in all aspects of public polic political advisory and public affairs. She is recognized as an innovator in the use of evidence to inform decision making, and in approaches to program evaluation.
Michelle is an expert in applied behavioral approaches and public communications. She is the founder of the WPP Executive Education Program in Public Communications and Behavior Change at the University of Oxford and the National University of Singapore.
More recently, with Women Political Leaders, she launched The Reykjavik Index for Leadership, the first international measure of how women are perceived in terms of leadership, listed as ‘best of Davos 2019’.
Kristen Edgreen Kaufman is the Deputy Commissioner of Public Private Partnerships & Economic Development in the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs. She shares the successes of the Adams administration and city agencies on a global platform and facilitates the global exchange of best practices, enabling NYC to replicate the successes of leading global cities in thematic areas ranging from education to mental health initiatives to public safety. Kristen also leads all trade and investment initiatives with Europe, South America, North America and Latin America. Furthermore, she serves as the key relationship manager for European Consulates and Permanent Missions from the Asian continent.
Before becoming Deputy Commissioner, Kristen was a consultant and coordinator who specialized in advising international organizations on development, fundraising and strategically engaging or facilitating community outreach with public and private companies based in the U.S. and abroad. Kristen also comes to the Mayor’s office with a strong foundation in finance having worked at Lazard, Merrill Lynch, and as a Managing Director at Natixis Bleichroeder. In 2009, Kristen co-founded Acrocorinth, Inc., a foundation promoting ethics in foreign policy and supporting education for underprivileged children. She sits on the board of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and previously served on the board of New York’s chapter of Teach for America. In 2014, Kristen was elected Democratic Judicial Delegate for the 75th Assembly District in New York City where she was responsible for facilitating the election of New York State Supreme Court justices. From 2016-2017 she headed the creation and launch of a development department for a foreign policy association. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek and Cities Speak. She is a member of the Leadership Now Project, Network 20/20 Foreign Policy Group, and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group.
Kristen graduated from Claremont McKenna College, cum laude, with a B.A. in international relations and went on to earn her MBA from Columbia Business School.
Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir has been the Director of OECD Development Centre since 16 August 2021. Ms. Árnadóttir served as Minister of Industry and Commerce in Iceland from 2013-2017 and was an elected Member of Parliament for the Independence Party from 2007-2016. Before being elected to Parliament, she was successively a political advisor to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. She also worked for the Trade Council of Iceland both in New York and in Reykjavík. A nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Centre, she was also a Board member of RÚV (Icelandic National Broadcasting Company) and of the American-Icelandic Chamber of Commerce. She was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Duty Free Iceland, and a member of the Board of Directors of Landsvirkjun (national power company). Ms. Árnadóttir has a Master’s Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Iceland.
As one of Silicon Valley’s most highly respected venture capitalists, Asha Jadeja has invested in over 200 well known technology startups in the Valley such as Paypal, Mimosa, AppDynamics, Meraki and Pinterest.
As founding stake holders in Google, Asha and her late husband Prof. Rajeev Motwani of Stanford University played a critical role in establishing the DNA of the company. Not only was Rajeev the author of Google’s search algyorithms, but he was critical to determining who were the first 100 employees of Google, the startup. The company now has over 70,000 employees. Asha continues to work closely with Google Ventures, Gradient (Google’s AI investment arm) and Google Foundation on various joint investments.
Asha founded the Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation in 2012 to make philanthropic investments in promoting entrepreneurship in underserved pockets in Bay Area and India. Her flagship program the RajeevCircle Fellowship now has about 150 Fellows that Asha has worked closely with. The goal in this fellowship is to accelerate the problem solving repertoire of her fellows and helping them “pay it forward”. Her fellows collaborate with TED, INK and Acumen Fellows all of which Asha has supported over the years.
Every year, Asha leads and showcases a group of her Fellows at the World Economic Forum events in Davos Switzerland.
In 2023 Asha launched the Motwani Women Entrepreneurs Fellowship in partnership with TiE Global. This new program will support 40 disruptive women entrepreneurs from India, Middle East and Africa.
Apart from venture & philanthropic investments Asha has investments in various US think tanks and universities that help strengthen US India partnership on technology, security and trade.
- IIT Kanpur
- Hoover Institute at Stanford,
- Aspen Institute
- Milken Institute
- And a network of universities in US, India & Israel.
As a well known art collector, Asha created India Soft Power Initiative in 2021 along with India Art Fair, University of California at Berkeley and Kochi Art Biennial. The goal of this program is to establish a permanent presence for Indian art at the Venice Art Biennial, the world’s oldest and most prestigious art event.
Sandrine Dixson-Decleve is Co-President of the Club of Rome and divides her time between leading the Club of Rome, advising, lecturing, and facilitating difficult conversations. She currently Chairs the European Commission, Expert Group on Economic and Societal Impact of Research & Innovation (ESIR) and sits on the European Commissions Mission on Climate Change & Adaptation. She also sits on several Non-Executives & Advisory Boards including EDP, BMW, UCB Climate KIC, Leonardo Centre, Imperial College London and is a Senior Associate and faculty member of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), an Ambassador, for the Energy Transition Commission (ETC) and the Well Being Alliance (WeAll) and a Fellow of the World Academy of Science & Art. Sandrine is a TED global speaker and recently published “Quel Monde Pour Demain” lucpire editions and Earth for All: A survival guide for humanity, New Society. She was recognised most recently by Reuters as one of 25 global female trailblazers and by GreenBiz as one of the 30 most influential women across the globe driving change in the low carbon economy and promoting green business.
Florence Gaub is director of the research division at NATO Defence College in Rome as well as special advisor to the Commissioner for Strategic Foresight Maros Sefcovic. She was previously foresight advisor at the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU as well as deputy director at the EU Institute for Security Studies. During her time at the EU, she penned the “Global Trends to 2030” report and edited multiple foresight reports. Her career has taken her from conflict and war in the Middle East and North Africa to institutional change and geopolitical shifts. In her work, she focuses on long-term trends, challenges and opportunities, and how to future proof societies for them.she holds a PhD from Humboldt University of Berlin, as well as degrees from Sciences Po Paris, the Sorbonne and the University of Munich.
Lisa Kristine, a globally celebrated photographer and activist has been pivotal in the
anti-slavery and human trafficking movement. She has photographed in over 150
countries for over three decades, capturing the emotional narratives of indigenous
populations and social issues, notably human trafficking. She
Her powerful images, endorsed by figures such as Pope Francis, The Dalai Lama, and
Amnesty International, have not only earned her a Lucie Humanitarian Award presented
at Carnegie Hall but have also shone a light on the realities of modern slavery. Lisa's
work has been described by David Clarke, former Head of Photography at the Tate
Modern, as "a testament to truth and an insightful and inspiring body of evidence which
should never and can never be denied."
A compelling speaker, Lisa has addressed audiences worldwide, including at the United
Nations, Parliament, Nobel Summits, and the Vatican. Her TED talk, "Photos That Bear
Witness to Modern Slavery," has been viewed over three million times. Sir Richard
Branson lauds her ability to unveil the "atrocities of slavery," urging business leaders to
uphold human dignity.
In 2017, Lisa founded the Human Thread Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at
eradicating human trafficking and promoting human dignity. Lisa is a partner with the
United Nations' International Labor Organization's 50 For Freedom Campaign,
contributing to the ratification of the Protocol on Forced Labor by 50 countries. Her
impactful photographs fueled the 'Make a Stand Lemonade' movement, mobilizing over
100 million people and raising more than one million dollars for the eradication of
slavery. Lisa is a founding member of the Global Sustainability Network, an organization
committed to a world without slavery and decent work for all.
In addition to the multiple notable museums that have exhibited Lisa's work, Pope
Francis personally inaugurated Lisa's exhibition at the Vatican in 2019, a monumental
acknowledgment of her efforts to shed a narrative on the hidden world of modern
slavery. CNN, National Geographic, The Atlantic, Reuters, The Daily Mail, Forbes, and
numerous other publications and media outlets have profiled Lisa's work.
Lisa is the subject of four documentaries, and her work on slavery is featured in three
films. The feature film SOLD, made by Oscar award-winning team Emma Thompson
and Jeffrey Brown, includes a character inspired by Lisa and played by Gillian
Anderson.
Neeti is a Co-Founder and Social Impact Officer at Automation Anywhere, the world’s leading PA and intelligent automation success platform, delivering solutions to transform business processes. She is one of only a few women globally who have founded billion-dollar organizations.
A visionary and avid strategist, Neeti brings over 25 years of experience in technology entrepreneurship, marketing, brand development, and SR from various industries. She is also a vocal advocate of Al ethics in a world moving decisively towards disruptive technologies. She advocates for purpose-driven organizations and recently created Automation Anywhere’s first Social Impact Office with a goal to pay it forward and touch 100 million humans through its outreach programs.
What you didn’t know: If Neeti were trapped on a desert island, she’d have to have music, chocolate, coffee, and books (the paper kind) to even consider survival.
Sheikha Alanoud Bint Hamad Al-Thani is the Deputy CEO & Chief Business Officer of QFC. Prior to joining QFC, she served as the Qatar country representative & director for Silatech, a Qatar-based social initiative that connects young people to employment opportunities across the Arab region. Out of her deep belief in the need to support Arab youth empowerment, Alanoud greatly expanded Silatech’s operations within Qatar, helping connect thousands of young people to private sector opportunities and supporting economic development across the MENA region. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, Young Arab Achiever, and the His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani Education Excellence Award. She was recently honored as a 2021 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Christine Heenan is executive partner and chief communications officer at the biotech venture company Flagship Pioneering and the founder of Clarendon Group, a communications strategy and social impact consulting firm. She has advised clients including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Whitehead Institute, the Ballmer Group, the Rockefeller Family Office, and other notable organizations, leaders, and philanthropists. She served as Senior Vice President for Global Policy and Advocacy at The Rockefeller Foundation and Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at Harvard University, and was a White House senior policy analyst and speechwriter during the Clinton administration. She has taught at Brown University and Harvard College, and served as a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. A champion of women’s empowerment and leadership, she is the co-founder of the InfluencHER editorial project, the founding creative director of the Solvable podcast, has served as an executive fellow at Harvard Business School and team teacher of the Lessons in Leadership course, is the ambassador for North America for Brussels-based Women Political Leaders, and is a member of Connected Women Leaders. She has directed or helped build award-winning podcasts and film projects, and serves on the board of the David Rockefeller Fund, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and Resilient Cities Catalyst.
Nivruti Rai joins Invest India after an illustrious 29 years at Intel as a global business and technology leader. She has been part of the leadership team in various industrial bodies and government committees, bringing a wealth of experience in working closely with industry associations, business leaders, and government leaders. Ms Rai brings her vast global business leadership experience and invaluable technological expertise across multiple industrial sectors, including semiconductors, electronics, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, and manufacturing, to Invest India.
She truly believes in the power of technology to transform lives and has been at the forefront of several key initiatives and interventions in the Indian ecosystem. She contributed significantly towards indigenous technology development, start-up ecosystem, electronics manufacturing ecosystem, and policy formulation, especially in critical and emerging technologies. Along with that, Ms Rai also initiated skilling & training programs, enabled rural connectivity initiatives, and set up Applied AI research centres in India, bringing together innovation, aspiration, and opportunities in the hinterlands of the country.
Ms Rai led Intel India as Country Head for the past seven years driving growth and investment in India. During her tenure at Intel, she worked on Microprocessors, Hard and Soft Intellectual Properties, Platform HW/SW, AI, and Sensor Hub engines. Most recently, she also led the worldwide automotive foundry business as Vice President of Intel Foundry Services, where she was building Autonomous Driving, Advanced Driver Assist Systems, Infotainment, Power delivery solution and Microcontroller Units on Intel Foundry process nodes for global automotive customers. At Intel India, she drove the establishment of a comprehensive framework for Cloud, Network, Edge computing, and Devices, also fostering research collaborations with the government and industry.
Ms Nivruti Rai is the recipient of the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar from the Hon’ble President of India for her remarkable contributions in the field of technology.
Modéer currently serves as State Secretary for International Development Cooperation and Climate and has been instrumental in reshaping Sweden’s international development cooperation to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During her tenure as State Secretary, Ms. Modéer has contributed to global policy on issues of relevance to UNDP, including on gender equality, United Nations reform, financing of the multilateral system, climate and environment, conflict prevention and the humanitarian‑development nexus. Ms. Modéer combines a strong policy background with experience from parliamentary work as well as from civil society, and has had several assignments in Latin America (Bolivia, Guatemala) and Africa (Mozambique, Southern Africa). Born in 1969, Ms. Modéer holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is married, with three children.
Dr. Khulood Almani is a prominent Saudi figure, and a globally recognized AI and technology thought leader, and a professor & expert
in digital transformation in AI systems, entrepreneurship, innovation & start-ups, with over 15 years of experience in the field. She worked for
several years as a professor at King Saud University and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh. As the founder and CEO of HKB Tech, Dr. Khulood Almani leads a company that specializes in delivering cutting-edge projects in multiple industries
including: AI, Smart cities, Fintech, Cybersecurity, BioTech, HealthTech,
EdTech, CleanTech, and ClimateTech.
Dr. Almani is the United Nations Ambassador for Peace. She is also the
first Saudi to be appointed as a senator of the World Business Angels
Investment Forum (WBAF), an affiliated partner of the G20 Global
Partnership for Financial Inclusion, representing Saudi Arabia.
She is also a Board Member of the World Smart Cities Economic
Development Commission and a Board Member of the Global Science,
Technology & Innovation Committee operating under the auspices of
the G20-WBAF.
She serves as Country Chair of the G100-WEF (Women Economic
Forum), for Female CEOs & Leadership, representing Saudi Arabia, and
is a board member of The Global Women Tech Leaders Organization.
Dr. Almani is also passionate about supporting and empowering digital
entrepreneurs and start-ups around the world. She is the Founder of
VTA, a virtual tech accelerator (UK based) connecting innovators to
resources, funding and partnerships.
Almani is also an investor in Forward Angel Investment, with a group of
investors from Saudi Arabia & the Gulf countries, providing financial
and strategic support to digital entrepreneurs & start-ups worldwide.
Throughout her career, she was honored with many accolades and
awards locally and globally:
��Ranked first in the world among the top 32 thought leaders in the
field of technology, AI, robotics & data science by the Mobile World
Congress 2023
��Featured among the top 50 global women in Tech
��Ranked first among the 50 most powerful global thought leaders in
AI in 2022
��Awarded the Global Technology Thought Leadership Medal
Dr. Almani was Featured among the top 50 Global Phenomenal Brand
Ambassadors to work with in 2023.
She was Honored to receive His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin
Mishaal bin Saud Al Saud – Governor of Qassim Region- the Digital
Content Industry Award in 2023
Sarena Lin is a global C-level executive and a non-executive board member at Siemens Healthineers, a leading medical device company. With over 20 years of experience in the life sciences and technology sector, she has a proven track record of driving transformational growth across global markets, leading successful commercial, organizational, and people transformation programs.
She is a strategic and visionary leader, with a passion for innovation, transformation, and growth – both in business and in people. She has led large-scale, people-centric global transformation initiatives at Bayer and Elanco, and has been responsible for multi-billion P&L management and strategy execution at Cargill and Elanco. She is also a sought-after speaker and advisor on topics such as transformation, leadership, DE&I, and future of talent.
Daniella Foster is the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability for Bayer’s Consumer Health Division and is a member of the division’s Executive Board. In this role, she is responsible for global public affairs and policy, and for embedding sustainability into the fabric of the divisional business model, including strategy and ambition development, stakeholder engagement, proactive issues management, implementation and impact stewardship. She is the steward of the division’s sustainability commitments to expand access to everyday health for 100 million people in underserved communities by 2030 and to invest €100 million in sustainable solutions.
An integrity-driven leader, Foster has worked with billion-dollar brands and across private and public sectors, from Hilton and Mars to the United States White House, State Department and United Nations. She has a proven track record in driving strategy, change management, business integration and transformation across consumer goods, health, hospitality and government industries. In her nearly 20 years of experience, she’s led corporate and government affairs, business turnarounds, ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) and strategic partnerships.
Additional Leadership Roles:
- Co-founder: Emergent Leaders Network, a non-profit that provides scholarships and mentoring to community college students.
- Board member: United Nations Global Compact Network USA, Chair of the nominations and governance committee
- Board advisor: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
- Angel investor, working with Pipeline Angels, which aims to invest in and create capital for female entrepreneurs.
Education: M.A. in Social and Public Policy from Georgetown University; B.A. in Intercultural Communications and Business from Pepperdine University.
arrie Scott leads the Novartis Sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Office since November 2020. Her team defines the strategic roadmap for ESG leadership and works to embed ESG factors into Novartis operations and decision-making. She leads the Novartis ESG Leaders Forum and is part of the ESG Committee, the executive subcommittee chaired by the CEO. Carrie joined Novartis in 2007, and had various roles in corporate reporting, reputation and brand management, and global health communications. Previously she worked for an international communications consultancy, in Belgium, Germany and the USA. Carrie serves on the executive council of the Conference Board’s European Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Council. She is an elected Board Member of the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Carrie graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA. She lives in Basel, Switzerland.
Malak Al Akiley is Founder and Managing Director of Golden Wheat for Grain Trading, Ltd., represent international Grain Trading companies in Jordan. She is the sole young female owner of such company in the MENA region with over ten years of experience in agricultural commodities trading with focus on food security.she has become the official liaison for worldwide grain international companies
Malak is co-Partner in Golden Kayan for Marketing Consulting Co. for Oil, Energy & Renewable Energy.
Adviser and MENA development Manager for Swiss Co. Cerealia Co. Blockchain platform for Agri-commodities Trading and Financing.
Have been selected as one of the top ten young persons of the world by Junior Chamber International (JCI) in August 2019
Founding Member in FutureTalks, Norway and went to the Arctic Expedition with 100 brilliant people from all sectors and all continents, exploring the Arctic and engaging in the most important discussions of our time which made her the first Jordanian women to cross 80 degrees’ north pole.
Founding Member of Jordan Economic Forum, a forum consist of prominent economic figures & parliament members to foster economic growth and moving towards the objectives of sustainable development.
Partner and Business Development consultant on Oil and Aviation investment projects in East Africa.
Have been selected by U.S. Deparment of States, United States of America to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program, “Entrepreneurship as the Engine of Prosperity and Stability: Women Fostering Economic Security.
She was also the youngest member of both the Public Financial Policies Committee, Economic Committee for Jordan’s Vision 2021 in his Excellency Dr.Talal Abu Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum.
Malak is the Manager and Director of “Women BeeBuzzers” project in Jordan, Women BeeBuzzers, is a project that aims to introduce beekeeping as a secondary and main source of income for women in rural areas in Jordan.
Since 2015, Noura Selim is the Executive Director (ED) of the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, one of the largest grant-making foundations in Egypt. In her role as ED, she is responsible for developing the strategic plans for the foundation; Managing the foundation’s financials and endowment; Leading the foundation to implement the strategic goals including overseeing the planning, implementation and monitoring of activities across three core areas of work (economic empowerment, social empowerment and education & scholarships); Overseeing the assessment of funding proposals; Planning and managing human resources; Setting up effective partnerships with civil society, government agencies and the private sector to maximize the foundations’ impact; and representing the foundation externally.
Prior to that, Noura worked as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in New York, Dubai and Cairo for 5 years, joining as an Analyst in 2007. At McKinsey, Noura served public and private sector clients, particularly in health care and education. Her healthcare work spanned the pharmaceutical sector as well as public payers and providers in the US, Europe and the Middle East, while her education work spanned K-12 and technical and vocational education. During her time at McKinsey, Noura was involved in leading the implementation of a large-scale transformation in technical education and training, as well as leading a health care reform program aimed at increasing access and quality of care.
Prior to McKinsey, Noura worked as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Pennsylvania’s Engineering school.
Noura holds a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Masters in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Magna cum laude.
Noura serves as an Advisory Board Member on the Harvard Business School MENA Advisory board, Advisory Board Member of Alternative Policy Solutions at the American University in Cairo, Board Member of the Egyptian National Investment Charity Fund for Education (NICE), Board Member of Manara Boarding School, and Investment Committee member at Mezzan.
Noura previously served as Chairwoman of the Board of Arab Foundations Forum 2017-2020, and as Treasurer of the Board of the Harvard Arab Alumni Association 2014-2016.
OPENING REMARKS & KEYNOTE
HEALTH EQUALITY MOONSHOT
BREAK
FIRESIDE CONVERSATION How can women move from being short-changed to being in charge?
GLOBAL CO-OPERATION & EQUALITY MOONSHOT
BREAK
INDIA'S EQUALITY MOONSHOT
BREAK
NEW ERA DEMOCRACY, MEDIA FREEDOM & EQUALITY MOONSHOT
BREAK
MIDDLE EAST & EQUALITY MOONSHOT
BREAK
POWER OF INCLUSION & EQUALITY MOONSHOT
BREAK
INCLUSION INNOVATION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & EQUALITY MOONSHOT
EUROPE'S EQUALITY MOONSHOT
CLOSING REMARKS
VIP RECEPTION & AWARDS
LEADher BOOK LAUNCH
forum VENUE
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