Speakers

Mar 5th, 2010 by HEC Paris Social and Sustainable Business Conference

We are proud to welcome the following speakers to the 2010 HEC Net Impact Social and Sustainable Business Conference:

KEYNOTES:

Clara Gaymard, President, GE France and GE International Government Initiatives leader SHOW BIO
Clara Gaymard, 50, is Vice President, government strategy and sales for GE International and National Executive for GE in France. Clara joined GE three years ago as National Executive for GE in France. In 2008 she was appointed as the Regional Executive for GE in Northwestern Europe. In April of this year she was appointed to head GE’s Government strategy and sales initiative outside of the United States. Clara has been responsible for building a strong country strategy for GE in close coordination with the GE businesses to identify and promote growth opportunities for GE in France. She has played a key role in several landmark transactions with the French Government and major customers. Prior to joining GE, Clara was Ambassador, president of Invest in France Agency, in charge of promoting foreign investments in France. Before that, she was a Deputy Director in the French Ministry of Finance. Clara is a graduate from the ENA, the French national school of administration, holds a Masters degree in Political Science from The Paris Institute of Political Studies, and a degree in law and history. In France, she is Chevalier of the National Merit Order and Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur and is a Commendatore of the Italian Republic Merit Order. Clara is also the author of several published works. Clara lives in Paris with her husband, Hervé, and their 9 children.
Ben Verwaayen, CEO Alcatel-Lucent SHOW BIO
With over 30 years of experience in the communications industry, Ben is a passionate believer that this industry needs to play a critical role in tackling the world’s climate change challenge. Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Climate Change Board, active member of the World Economic Forum, Ben has been an advocate of the low-carbon economy as a fundamental driver of innovation and growth with key business leaders, politicians and stakeholders around the world. As CEO of Alcatel-Lucent since September 2008, Ben has reinforced the company’s commitment to eco sustainability around three areas: developing and providing low carbon communications technology solutions, reducing its own carbon footprint, and actively participating in key discussions worldwide geared to combating climate change. Ben and Alcatel-Lucent have been signatories of some major commitments to the Low Carbon Economy including the World Economic Forum’s Letter to G20 Heads of State on the importance of public/private collaboration to tackle climate change, the B4E “The Green Imperative” Manifesto and the “Copenhagen Communiqué” on Climate Change. Before joining Alcatel-Lucent, Ben Verwaayen was CEO of BT where he equally championed the importance of climate change and low carbon solutions for the company and its customers. A Dutch national, Ben graduated with a Master’s degree in law and international politics from the State University of Utrecht, Holland.
Pamela Hartigan, Director of the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship Oxford Said Business Schoool, UK SHOW BIO
Pamela Hartigan is Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University’s Said Business School. She is also founding partner of Volans Ventures, an organization focused on building innovative scalable solutions to challenges affecting our future. From 2000 to 2008, she was the first Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum where she was also on the Forum Managing Board. Throughout her career, she has held varied leadership positions in multilateral health organizations and educational institutions as well as in entrepreneurial non-profits. She has been responsible for conceptualizing and creating new organizations, departments or programs across a variety institutional arrangements and multi-stakeholder platforms. She is currently a Trustee for different social ventures that operate around the world. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., she also holds Masters’ degrees in Economics and Public Health and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology. Dr. Hartigan is an Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Business School. Her latest book, co-authored with John Elkington, is entitled The Power of Unreasonable People: How Entrepreneurs Create Markets to Change the World and was released in 2008 by Harvard Business Press.
Scott Beale, Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Service Corps SHOW BIO
Scott Beale is the founder of Atlas Service Corps and an experienced social entrepreneur who has started three citizen sector organizations and helped thousands of people in his generation become agents for social change. He has worked in four continents, with citizen, government and business leaders from around the world, and through Atlas Corps has pioneered an innovative, sustainable and scalable way for revolutionizing international volunteerism. For ten years Scott was a recognized leader of the Millennial Generation as the author of “Millennial Manifesto: A Youth Activist Handbook” and the founder of Millennial Politics.com. He has published many articles and delivered over 300 speeches on his “10 Steps To Change the World”. He has even appeared on CBS discussing the politics of his generation. After the 2004 Election, the Youth Vote Coalition named him on of “30 People Under 30 Changing Politics in America.” In addition to his political activism, Scott is an experienced social entrepreneur. As the Mid Atlantic Director of Youth Venture (a sister organization of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public), he helped over 1,000 young people start citizen sector organizations. While at Youth Venture, he helped expand the organization from approximately three to twenty-five, in large part due to a partnership with AmeriCorps VISTA and the Corporation for National Service. Scott also founded a small nonprofit organization, the 2100 Fund, that organizes large parties to raise money for charity. Scott’s activism started at a young age. As a freshman at Georgetown University, Scott organized rallies at the U.S. Capitol to protest cuts in federal financial aid. The protests were so well organized that he helped reverse the education cuts in the Contract for America protecting Pell Grants and Stafford Loans for hundreds of thousands of young people. He became active organizing students with Rock the Vote (RTV), taking him to both the New Hampshire primaries, and the Democratic National Convention. He then helped register 1,000 students on campus organizing the first-ever successful election of two students to the local government. By the end of Scott’s senior year, his leadership on campus won him the recognition of the University President and both campus papers, which labeled him one of “the most prominent students on campus.” Additionally, Scott was nominated for the school’s highest honor, the Spronk Medal. Since college, Scott’s activism has extended beyond the United States, three times taking him to Bosnia, once as the youngest member of an advance U.S. State Department group. While there, he became the youngest Core Supervisor from any country for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an intergovernmental organization responsible for supervising elections in war-recovering Bosnia. Scott’s management of a forty-five person international team resulted in the successful registration of over 30,000 Bosnian voters. In the States, Scott has worked for Governor Tom Carper of Delaware as well as the Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House. Scott returned overseas in 2004 to coordinate the U.S. Government’s efforts to fight human trafficking in India. Scott helped coordinate $9 million of USG resources to citizen organization and international organizations in India who were fighting modern day slavery. He worked with the Government of India to advance their response to trafficking. He also wrote reports for the U.S. State Department on trafficking and issues related to trafficking such as female feticide, and child labor. In March 2006, Scott left India to start Atlas Service Corps. He now splits time between Bogotá, Colombia, Washington, DC, Newark, Delaware and New Delhi, India developing a revolutionary method of international service. He is happily married to Courtney Allison Kramer Beale, who is a U.S. Foreign Service Officer serving in Colombia.
Simon Pickard, Director General, European Academy for Business in Society, Belgium SHOW BIO
Simon Pickard is Director General of EABIS, where he is responsible for implementing EABIS’ overall knowledge development and learning strategy for 2009-2012. Prior to serving as Director General from 2006-2008, Simon was EABIS’ Deputy Di
Tim Turner, Director, Private Sector Operations, African Development Bank SHOW BIO
Mr. Tim Turner a Canadian national is the Director of the Private Sector Operations at the African Development Bank (AfDB). Tim joined the AfDB in 1996 as the inaugural head of Risk Management. Previously, he worked for Smith Barney, an American Investment Banking firm, in both London and New York. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.

SPEAKERS:

Nawal Aït-Hocine, Corporate Responsibility Director, Cartier International SHOW BIO
Nawal graduated from the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis with a Doctorat in law (droit économique international) and a Masters degree (Maîtrise) in business economics. From 1993 to 2000 she worked as in-house counsel for SGS Société Générale de Surveillance, the Swiss based inspection testing and certification group. She then moved to Reuters as Head of Compliance for Europe Middle-East and Africa until 2004. In 2004, she joins Metalor Technologies, a Swiss-based precious metals and advanced materials group as Head of Legal & Compliance. Since May 2010, she is managing Cartier’s ethical, social and environmental performance.
Katerina Ananiadou, Education Analyst, OECD SHOW BIO
Katerina is currently working on the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation project on Systemic Innovation in Education and Training. Katerina has been an analyst at the OECD’s CERI since 2006. During this time she has worked on several projects, including New Millennium Learners and a study on systemic innovation to VET. Prior to joining CERI she worked as a research officer at the Institute of Education in London, within the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy, mainly on a project focusing on literacy and numeracy programmes at the workplace. Her academic background is in Psychology and Cognitive Science which she studied at the Universities of Athens (BA), Wales (MSc) and Warwick (PhD).
David Atchoarena, Program Specialist Team Leader of ICT in Education, UNESCO, France SHOW BIO
David Atchoarena is Director of the Division for Education Strategies and Capacity Building at UNESCO. Prior to holding this post, he served as Senior Programme Specialist at UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris where, since 2006, he was heading the Training and Education Programmes Unit, including the IIEP Masters Programme in Educational Planning and Management. Before joining the Institute in 1991 he served as Chargé de Mission at the National Agency for Lifelong Education (ADEP) of the French Ministry of Education, and as Project Coordinator in the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Saint Lucia. David Atchoarena is also Special Professor at the University of Nottingham and he holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Karen Brennan, Finance Director, Futerra Sustainability Communications SHOW BIO
Since 2001 Futerra has built a unique expertise in communicating sustainability, from corporate responsibility to climate change, ethics to biodiversity. As Futerra’s Finance Director, Karen works to build a sustainable business with a sustainable product. Karen has years of experience in growing traditional business, and now brings that knowledge to the ethical sector. She is also a passionate advocate for using communications to encourage sustainable behaviours. The combination of communications insight and fiduciary experience is a rare combination in the sustainability sector. Karen’s passion for sustainable development was born in Africa, where she lived for 19 years. She has over 12 years experience working as an Accountant in industries as diverse as Design and Build, Facilities Management and Retail. Karen is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accounts, and holds a degree in Accounting and Finance from Exeter.
Nadège Claudel, Carrefour Non-Food Quality and Sustainability Department SHOW BIO
Nadège Claudel has run Carrefour Group’s non food quality and sustainability Department for 2 years. Together with her team, she is in charge of the quality and the safety of all Carrefour non food product ranges. She constantly aims to develop more environmentally-friendly and responsible products.

In 2004, Nadège joined Carrefour China in Shanghai where she assumed responsibilities for 4 years by taking up the duty of quality and food safety Director and Secretary General of Carrefour foundation for Food safety.

Prior to joining Carrefour, and after her Veterinary Medicine doctorate, she completed her education in HEC Paris where she took the Master of Science in Management, with emphasis on Marketing.
Phil Conway, Social Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO Cool2Care, Director IBM Business Transformation SHOW BIO
Phil leads a new social enterprise “Cool2Care”, aimed at supporting families with disabled children. The organisation was established in 2007 and helps families find support. Cool2Care has won several top awards including Global Social Venture Competition, Europe (2007), Startup Social Enterprise of the Year (2008) and RADAR Doing Care Differently Award (2009). Phil has a professional background in international business, having worked for IBM for 20 years in various international roles, in particular management, strategic planning, marketing and business transformation. He spent four years working in IBM Asia Pacific HQ, based in Tokyo. For five years he has been a member of the board of trustees for the UK based charity ‘Contact a Family’, that provides support and information to families with disabled children. He campaigns regularly on behalf of disabled children via public speaking engagements, newspaper and radio. In 2007 the Cabinet Office appointed Phil as a “Social Enterprise Mentor”, to encourage and advise social entrepreneurs, and contribute to the development of social enterprise across the UK. Phil has a BA in Mathematics from Oxford University, and an Executive MBA from London Business School. He is married with two sons, of which the elder has physical and learning disabilities, and lives in Surrey, UK.
Craig Courtney, Director, External Relations (Acting) / Special Adviser, Innovative Finance, GAIN SHOW BIO
Since joining GAIN in 2006, Craig Courtney has been responsible for designing and implementing a successful resource mobilization strategy which has attracted more than US$ 250 million to GAIN through government and private sector foundation contributions.

Prior to joining the GAIN management team in Geneva, Craig acquired extensive experience raising capital and providing strategic advisory services to governments, corporations and foundations while working in the investment banking industry for 20 years in both Asia and Europe.

During his investment banking career he worked for both the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and ABN AMRO Bank N.V. As a Managing Director his responsibilities included advising clients operating across a broad spectrum of industries including the consumer products (including food and beverages) and healthcare sectors.

He has a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University and a Bachelor’s in Economics/Development Studies and Viticulture/Enology from the University of California, Davis.

António Wagner Diniz, Principal of Lisbon’s National Conservatoire, Chairman of Orquestra Geração, El Sistema Portugal SHOW BIO
António Wagner Diniz was born in Lisbon (Portugal). Degree in Economics ( Superior Institute of Economy in Lisbon) and Music ( Musik Akademie der Stadt Basel).As a singer he hás toured many countries singing in places like the Theatre de la Monnaie ( Brussels) , Municipale de Lausanne, Opera of Basel ( Swizerland), The Berlin Philarmonia , Tokyo Opera City Hall,National Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur, etc. He recorded for Virgin Classics, RCA Classics, Harmonia Mundi, etc.
Antonio Wagner was a member of the Bureau of the International Federation of the Jeunesses Musicales and has organized several music festivals in Portugal. He was the principal of Lisbon’s National Conservatoire from 2000 till 2009 and now he is the chairman of Orquestra Geração, the Sistema in Portugal.
Diane Emdin, Co-ordinator of Create Joy Fund, Vivendi SHOW BIO
After completing her studies in Belgium, Diane Emdin joined the international ‘Up With People’ program and toured one year in 1991, together with 100 other young people from all over the world. In addition to performing a 2-hour show on stage, she was involved in all the artistic parts of the show, took care of the cast logistic issues, learned promotional or recruitment skills … and also got involved in lots of Community services in the areas visited (in the USA, Mexico, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland…) http://www.upwithpeople.org. In 1996, Diane was appointed Director of the French Cultural Center in Lviv, Ukraine. She founded the center and was in charge of the cultural program and developing the French teaching in schools and universities throughout the Western Ukraine, for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French Embassy. In 2001, Diane joined Vivendi. She has been involved in the Create Joy program since the beginning of the project, in 2008. Responsible for the UK projects at first, she is now managing the entire Create Joy program. http://createjoy.vivendi.com/en Diane Emdin has a master degree in French Literature in Lyon II University. She is married and has 2 children.
Bernard Fauconnier, Senior Vice President Industrial, Lafarge, France SHOW BIO
From 1976 to 1979, Bernard Fauconnier worked as a scientist in a Research Department at Saint-Gobain. He then moved to the US group AC Nielsen, in Mexico City where he managed and coordinated the technical and production departments. In 1982, he joined AC Nielsen’s International Development team as an International Marketing Coordinator until 1987. He then became the Deputy Managing Director of DIAS Consultants and an Expert of the United Nations for Industrial Developments. In 1990, he joins Usinor and is appointed Corporate Marketing Senior Vice President. Bernard Fauconnier integrated the Lafarge Group in 2000 as Senior Vice President Sales, Marketing & Innovation for the Gypsum Division. Since January 2010, he is in charge of the Sustainable Construction project of the Lafarge Group
Isabelle Flory SHOW BIO
Isabelle Flory is the Director of Strategic Initiatives and the Public Sector at Intel France, together with her team, she works to federate and unite industrial ecosystems and public associations around innovative projects in the fields of health, education, research and sustainable development. At Intel, She has been part of the management of several projects for the French Government with the aim of reducing the digital divide such as: “Internet together,” or “Passport to the Digital Economy”. Prior to joining Intel on 1999, Isabelle fulfilled several marketing and sales positions in Europe in the micro-computing (Atari, Merisel, Wyse) and telecommunications sectors (Shiva, Telxon).
Thierry Fornas, President and Co-FOunder of EcoAct SHOW BIO
Thierry Fornas is President and co-founder of EcoAct, one of the leading carbon strategy companies in Europe. As a Franco-Brazilian company, EcoAct works with a number of consultancies in India, China, Niger, Burkina Faso and South Africa. It has developed a portfolio of carbon offset and reforestation programs focusing on poverty alleviation and local economic growth in developing countries. EcoAct has offset nearly 1.5 M tCO2e for more than 40 companies in Europe and developed a wide portfolio of projects following the more demanding international standards. It is also the leading company in France and Brazil for carbon inventories (GHG protocols, Bilan Carbone® and energy inventories). Thierry Fornas holds a degree in engineering from the ESIEE Paris school in France, as well as an MBA from HEC Paris. Before creating EcoAct, he has worked for 4 years as a Project Manager at Schlumberger, and 6 years at STMicroelectronics where he developed environmental strategies and procedures as well as sales and marketing.
Peter Frykman, CEO of DripTech, USA SHOW BIO
Driptech, inc. is an award-winning, revenue-generating, angel-backed social venture startup based in Palo Alto, CA. We produce low-cost drip irrigation systems for use by small farmers in developing countries. Through proprietary manufacturing and novel distribution Driptech plans to profitably reach the hundreds of millions of people who have not previously been able to use water-efficient drip irrigation, helping small farmers greatly increase their standard of living. Peter Frykman, founder and CEO of Driptech, inc., received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, where he focused on manufacturing and design. He is vitally concerned with the challenge of water scarcity, especially in developing countries. His professional interests include mechatronics, medical devices, and design for extreme affordability. He is an avid rower and two time national champion for Stanford.
Valérie Gauthier, Associate Dean of HEC MBA
John Grant SHOW BIO
John Grant was one of the co-founders of St Luke’s (the socially aware London ad agency) and is the author of Co-opportunity (Jan 2010) about “sustainability 2.0″ – and 4 previous bestselling books on new frontiers in marketing, media and innovation. John’s previous book The Green Marketing Manifesto was named Environmental Book of the Year in UK book industry awards and Amazon.com named his first book (The New Marketing Manifesto) as one of the “ten best business books of 1999″. John’s sustainable marketing and innovation clients include (the UK Government) ACTONCO2, Cisco, The Co-operative Bank, The Design Council, The Guardian, innocent drinks, IKEA, ING, i-Team (a local government initiative), O2, Philips, The Royal Mail, Unilever. John is a prolific international speaker, writer, blogger, commentator and is an associate of Forum for the Future, Demos and an Observer Ethical Awards judge.
Françoise Guichard, Head of the Sustainable Development division of GDFSUEZ SHOW BIO
Françoise Guichard is in charge of the Sustainable Development division of GDFSUEZ ; She has headed up the Sustainable Development division of the Gaz de France Group from January 2005 to July 2008. She is Vice-President of IDDRI (Institut pour le Développement Durable et les Relations Internationales). She was a mandatory of the MEDEF during the “Grenelle de l’Environnement”. From January 2003 to the end of 2004, she was in charge of Strategic Marketing, and in this role, guided the Group’s international development and expanded its range of offerings to prepare for the deregulation of the French gas market for professional customers in July 2004, in particular by building sustainable development offerings (energy efficiency, renewable energies, etc.). From 2000 to 2003, Françoise Guichard ran the Essonne Center for the Electricity Gas Distribution division, which is common to EDF and Gaz de France. In 1997-1999, she was Chief of Staff of the Human Resources and Labor Relations Officer of EDF and Gaz de France, after having piloted the negotiation of several national collective bargaining agreements in this division. From 1980-1997, Françoise Guichard held a number of positions in human relations and marketing at the Chambre Syndicale des Banques Populaires, the French Post Office, and then EDF. She is graduate of HEC.
Julia Haake, Head of Corporate Partnerships WWF, France SHOW BIO
Julia Haake, 38 and PhD in economics, is Director of Corporate Partnerships at WWF-France. Julia started working on sustainability issues in 1993 as a researcher in environmental economics at Wuppertal Institute and then Versailles University, where she worked on various research projects as well as her PhD thesis related to business and industry action for dematerialization and environmental sustainability. She then joined O2 France, a French consulting company specialized in ecodesign and sustainability company strategies. From 2003 to early 2008, she worked for La Poste first as Group Head of Environment and then Director Sustainable Development in the Mail Department. Her mission at WWF-France is to build up and steer partnerships with companies that are willing to participate through voluntary and ambitious strategies in the global reduction of humankind’s environmental footprint. She leads a team of 14, that manage 12 strategic business partnerships and about 30 product related partnerships.
Arian Hassani, , Former Consultant for UNESCO in Culture and Development SHOW BIO
Arian Hassani is a development economist with extensive experience in with partnerships in the creative industries, especially in her capacity as Coordinating Manager of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network from 2004 to 2007 and her work through UNESCO’s Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity. Publishing and speaking widely about the creative industries as a vector for development, Arian has been a fierce advocate for the advancement of cultural statistics and strategic partnerships in the field of culture. Arian started her career in the media and global communications investment banking team at Merrill Lynch in New York where she completed one of the largest private placements at the time for Discovery Communications. She holds a Master’s in International Development from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s in economics and German studies from Brown University, where she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship.
Nicolas Hazard, Director Groupe SOS, France SHOW BIO
After a European education in Politics and Economics (Sciences Po Paris, F.U. Berlin, HEC Paris), Nicolas Hazard worked as an advisor at the office of Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission and President of the Italian Council. He subsequently created a Business Start-up in International trading. In Parallel he co-founded an association, developing scholarships for Kenyan children. He’s now the Head of Cabinet of the CEO of Groupe SOS, one of the key actors of the Third sector in France. With more than 3’000 employees and 52’000 direct beneficiaries each year, the Groupe SOS tries to tackle every form of exclusion and works for professional inclusion.
Christophe Henner, Board Member Wikimedia Foundation, France SHOW BIO
Christophe Henner, 25, has been volunteering for Wikipedia since 2006 and has been serving on the Wikipedia board since 2007. In addition, Henner works for an e-marketing agency in Toulouse, France.
Dermot Hikisch, ENDS Carbon and Brand Emissions, UK SHOW BIO
Dermot runs the ratings division of ENDS Carbon, the sister company to the leading environmental journals the ENDS Report and ENDS Europe, and is backed by the University of Edinburgh Business School (www.endscarbon.com). His recent work includes the launch of the Brand Emissions Leaders project in 2009 (www.brandemissions.com) and a major financial index that includes the measurement of climate risk. He is also co-chair of the UK Green Business Awards. While with ENDS Carbon, Dermot has conducted a carbon benchmarking project with the UK Supermarkets, including Asda, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco; and is now developing similar projects for the non-food retail and running shoe sectors. As a current and former sustainability consultant, he has provided a carbon ratings service for over 100 of the world’s largest multinationals since 2007. He has published reports on issues including the business implications from climate change, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, and water insecurity. He has advised SMEs, NGOs, and municipalities, and worked on the sustainability team for Procter & Gamble. Dermot has a MSc. in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability from Sweden and a business degree from the University of British Columbia. Dermot[at]endscarbon.com
Giles Hutchins, Global Director, Head of Sustainability Solutions, Atos Origin, UK SHOW BIO
Giles Hutchins, MSc MRICS, FRSA. Giles is Global Director and Head of Sustainability Solutions at Atos Origin. He draws on over a decade of business and IT transformation experience to focus on how organisations can adapt efficiently to embrace the desire, and demands, to become more sustainable. He is focused on how business can learn from nature through the concepts of biomimicry and enabling sustainable business models to adapt resiliently in these increasingly volatile times.
Prof Tim Jackson, MA, PhD, FRSA, AcSS SHOW BIO
Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE). Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the aim of RESOLVE is to explore the links between lifestyles, societal values and the environment. In particular, RESOLVE aims to provide evidence-based advice to policy-makers in the UK and elsewhere who are seeking to understand and to influence people’s energy-related behaviours and practices. Since 2004 Tim has been Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission and is the author of their controversial and groundbreaking report, now updated and expanded in the book Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet (Earthscan 2009, www.earthscan.co.uk/pwg ). In addition to his academic work he is an award-winning playwright with numerous radio-writing credits for the BBC.
Jean-René Kiechel, PhD, Senior Product Manager and Special Advisor, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) SHOW BIO
Dr. Kiechel, as the Senior Project Manager for the FACT project, manages the development of combination malaria therapies ASAQ and ASMQ. Notably, he was initially part of the DND working group, before joining DNDi as a founding team member in 2003. Dr. Kiechel has over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development, having held various scientific management positions in industry, in Switzerland, the USA, and France with Sandoz, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, and Aventis. He has contributed to the success of six drug registrations and the preparation of several INDs. Dr. Kiechel earned his PhD in Chemistry (minor in Pharmacology) from the University of Basel in Switzerland and completed additional training in Clinical Pharmacology in the UK and the USA, as well as the Advanced Management Program at Stanford- INSEAD.
Tashi Lassalle, Director, ACTIS SHOW BIO
Tashi is a communications strategist with ten years experience in politics and private enterprise. Today she focuses on the transformative power of the emerging markets as a Director at Actis, a global private equity fund with US$4.8 bn under management. Her previous work has focused on the intersection between talent and technology. As Vice President of Strategic Development for Heidrick & Struggles she initiated new ventures, and built collaborative partnerships with organizations including the World Economic Forum, World Bank, NASDAQ, and Tomorrow’s Company. Tashi actively advises Sandbox – the global network of (very) young talent, as a member of their Supervisory Board. She was instrumental in the development of the online resource “Force for Good” celebrating the role of private enterprise in relation to societal challenges in partnership with Tomorrow’s Company that launched at World Economic Forum, Davos, 2007.
Eric Le Marois, Director of Education at Microsoft, France SHOW BIO
Eric Le Marois is the Director of Education and Research at Microsoft France. Eric is also a member of the Microsoft Education Leaders Group, a group dedicated towards sharing the best practices on how to use technology to provide better learning on a global level. Eric has joined Microsoft on 2004 as the Director of Development of the Public Sector. He envisioned and rolled out the introduction of new technologies education modules to several French Universities including Sciences Po Lyon, EM Lyon and École des Mines de Paris. He was also involved in managing and contributing to the Junior Achievement programs across Primary Schools in the United States. Prior to Microsoft, Eric managed new technologies initiatives at Accenture France, providing education and training to numerous European clients on new technologies. He also managed several projects of E-learning in the United States. Eric earned his Engineering Degree from the Ecole Centrale de Lyon. He is married and has 3 children
Sophie Le Mouel, Director Technoserve Europe, UK SHOW BIO
Sophie Le Mouel heads the European office of TechnoServe based in London and is also responsible for Corporate Partnerships globally. TechnoServe helps men and women entrepreneurs in poor areas of the developing world to build businesses that create income and opportunity for their families, their communities and their countries. In 2008, TechnoServe assisted 1,350 businesses in 20 countries. These businesses earned $149 million in revenues and $16 million in profits. In July 2007 a Financial Times special report rated TechnoServe as one of the world’s top NGOs, placing it fourth on a list ranked on the basis of business partnerships. In her role, Sophie is responsible for developing TechnoServe partnerships in Europe as well as designing strategic partnerships with the private sector with companies such as J.P. Morgan, Cargill, Olam, Danone and Nespresso. She joined TechnoServe 2007 in the US before moving to London. Prior to TechnoServe, Sophie held senior marketing roles in the private sector, working for Procter & Gamble, Sara Lee and Nestle across Europe. Sophie has a BA from EDHEC, France, and a MBA from the University of Deusto in Spain. www.technoserve.org
Joe Madiath, Founder and CEO of Gram Vikas, India SHOW BIO
Joe Madiath completed his studies in English literature from at Madras University. As a student, he was elected as the President of the Loyola College Students’ Union and founded the Young Students’ Movement for Development (YSMD) to harness positively the student disenchantment prevailing during that period. In 1969, as a student, he journeyed on a bicycle across India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka on a bicycle for a year. In 1971, Joe led 400 YSMD volunteers to manage a number of relief camps for refugees from Bangladesh. Later that year, 40 volunteers along with Joe, moved to Orissa, which had been ravaged by a cyclone and tidal waves. Joe and a few colleagues decided to stay on in the area after relief workafterwards, to work as development activists. They moved to Ganjam District in southern Orissa in 1976 on the invitation from of the Government, to initiate development activities among the indigenous communities. This resulted in the establishment of Gram Vikas in 1979. Since its inception, Joe has been the Executive Director of Gram Vikas. Gram Vikas, today, is one of the largest NGOs in Orissa, reaching out to about 295,800 indigenous and poor families living in 851 rural habitations as on 31st March 2009. Some of the pioneering efforts of Gram Vikas have been in biogas promotion, community forestry, rural habitat development and education. Gram Vikas’ current approach to convergent community action with water and sanitation as the entry point is evolving into a movement influencing local democratic self-governance and poor people’s control over development processes. Joe Madiath is a founder of the Voluntary Association Network of India and the Orissa Development Action Forum. He currently serves on the Governing Board of several institutions including the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technologies (CAPART), the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and BASIX. He has been part of various consultative committees of the central and state governments. Gram Vikas and Joe Madiath have received several national and international awards in recognition of their work, including the Allan Shawn Feinstein World Hunger Award for 1995-96 from Brown University, USA; the Dr. K.S. Rao Memorial National Award, 1998 for outstanding Lifetime contribution to the development of new and renewable sources of energy from the Solar Energy Society of India. Gram Vikas’ ‘total habitat development model’ has been awarded the Most Innovative Development Project Award, 2001 (by the Global Development Network), the World Habitat Award, 2003 (by the Building and Social Housing Foundation, UK), Tech Museum Laureate in Economic Development (by the Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California), Kyoto World Water Grand Prize, 2006 at the 4th World Water Forum (by the Kyoto Municipality and the Soroptimist International) and Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurs 2006 by Skoll Foundation, California. Gram Vikas is also one of the winners in the Ashoka Changemakers competitions in 2006 – “Health for All” and “How to provide Affordable Housing for all”. In 2006, Joe Madiath was named ‘Water Champion’ by the Asian Development Bank. In 2009 Gram Vikas won the “Best Water NGO Award” for the year 2009-10. Joe Madiath is part of the group of Outstanding Social entrepreneurs selected by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Geneva and Skoll Foundation, USA. In 2005, he has was awarded the Social Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution in to improving the plight of the rural masses, from The Godfrey Phillips Red & White Bravery Awards. In July 2006, Joe Madiath was also awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree (Honoris Causa) by the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai. In Jan 2010, Joe Madiath was awarded LOK SAMMAN for the year 2009 for his long 40 years of dedicated service in Socio-Economic Development of the Rural poor by the Commonman’s Newspaper, Orissa.
Walid Malouf, Independent Consultant, Acting Director for France – Clinton Climate Initiative, France SHOW BIO
Walid E. Malouf is a business development professional and entrepreneur in the sustainability, energy and environment markets, operating across the EMEA region. He serves as the country representative in France for the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) of the Clinton Foundation, and works with public and private entities towards the structuring and implementation of large scale Energy Performance Contracts (EPC) in the built environment. During the last 15 years of his career Walid served in senior leadership roles within multiple high profile corporate and start-up ventures, and build a track record of successfully conceptualizing, developing, launching, and selling technical business solutions and end customer products in international markets and across industry sectors. He is passionate about helping early-stage companies achieve success by gaining customer traction and introducing new inventive technologies into the marketplace. Most recently Walid was the managing partner of BeCitizen, a French sustainability boutique firm. He architected the start-up company’s business transformation and launched its service offerings in the cleantech and carbon markets, negotiated a strategic alliance with the LCF Rothschild Group, and doubled the company’s staff in a 12 months period delivering 50% year on year revenue growth. Before BeCitizen, Walid was Vice President of Strategic Projects at Prudential Plc, where he was instrumental in launching the company’s internet bank subsidiary in the French market reaching 40% of customer acquisition target in the first 6 months of launch. Prior to Prudential, Walid was Vice President of business development at Perot Systems Ltd, recently acquired by Dell Corporation. At Perot, he Conceived, developed and managed the launch and commercialisation of an integrated e-commerce service offering across three European regional markets – UK & Ireland, Benelux, Germany and Switzerland, and drove the signing of £6m in revenues in year one of operations. Walid started his career in the United States as a consultant in the electronic payments sector advising companies such as Visa, MasterCard, and Diners Club on the launch of new service offerings in the B2C market. Walid holds a Bachelors of Arts (BA) from the University of California at Berkeley with a major in Political, Economic and Industrial Science (PEIS) and a minor in Development Studies. He earned an MBA degree from the HEC School of Management in Paris, where he teaches a course on sustainability and business opportunities in the new economy. He founded Net Impact HEC center for sustainable business, and co-Founded INNOV’ECO, the Paris Region Cleantech Hub. He is a frequent speaker and moderator of debates on the topic of sustainability. Walid is a US citizen of Lebanese origin and has resided in France with his family since 2001. He is an avid hiker, a marathon runner, and an amateur photographer.
Alex Marshall, Environmental Journalist, UK SHOW BIO
Alex Marshall is a journalist for ENDS, Europe’s leading environmental-business news service, for which he writes in-depth stories about climate, energy and waste issues – covering everything from last year’s Copenhagen climate summit to the Trafigura pollution scandal in the Ivory Coast, from UK renewables policy to the latest, lengthy European directive. He has a particular interest in Chinese environmental policies, having previously worked for the Chinese government’s China Daily newspaper. He is also a freelance journalist and has written for newspapers including the Guardian, Telegraph, and the Age and been interviewed on radio including the BBC World Service.
Francois Marty, Reseau Chenelet Construction, France SHOW BIO
Diplômé CPA-HEC PDG d’une SA SCOP agrée Entreprise d’Insertion depuis plus de 20 ans Ancien Conseiller et Chef de Cabinet du Secrétaire d’Etat à l’Economie Sociale et Solidaire Co-auteur du rapport parlementaire Territoires, emploi et développement durable auprès du Premier ministre Lauréat de la Fondation Ashoka en 2008
Erick Maville, Regional Director at Global Business Coalition (GBC) Europe SHOW BIO
Based in GBC Paris office, Erick Maville is the Regional Director at GBC’s European headquarters. With an extensive background in program management, Erick provides European member companies with technical assistance and helps identify partnership opportunities.
Having worked primarily in Africa, Erick has ten years of professional experience in AIDS-related development. Prior to joining GBC, he served as a consultant for the Centre for Childhood and Family in Ivory Coast and for UNDP in Burkina Faso. He was also Manager of the International Department at AIDES, one of the most prominent European AIDS NGO’s. As a civil society representative, Erick has taken part in various European networks and international initiatives to fight HIV/AIDS in resource-poor settings. A former member of the board of ESTHER, he is currently recognized as an expert for selection committees at both Sidaction and Solidarité Sida, two major French Foundations that support community AIDS programs in developing countries.
A published author, Erick has written several articles and guidebooks on comprehensive care for people living with AIDS and the role that community based organizations can play in assisting these individuals. He holds a Doctorate in Economics and Development from University Paris-Nord, France.
Maggie McArthur, Deputy Director, Net Impact SHOW BIO
In her role as Deputy Director, Maggie works closely with the Net Impact senior management team, staff, and Board of Directors to develop the organizational strategy, manage operations, and lead the organization to the next level of growth and impact. Currently, Maggie oversees the global chapter network, conferences and events, member value proposition, and membership programs, including Career Center, Impact at Work, Issues in Depth, and Campus Greening. Prior to joining Net Impact, Maggie spent six years as a management consultant with the global strategy consulting firm Bain & Company, where she helped clients in a wide variety of industries on projects ranging from growth strategy to organizational and profit improvement. While her clients ranged from growing startup to Fortune 100, Maggie’s passion lies in the nonprofit sector. Her favorite projects were helping two large Bay Area nonprofits, one in public media and the other in medical research, determine their strategies for growth and financial stability. Maggie also launched and led Bain Community Works, an organization to oversee and promote the San Francisco and Palo Alto offices’ various pro bono and volunteer activities. Before joining the staff, Maggie was actively involved with Net Impact as a member of the San Francisco Professional Chapter, and at Stanford, as a member of the curriculum team for the 2005 Net Impact Conference. Maggie received her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2006, with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management, and holds a Master and Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Anne Michaut, HEC Professor of Marketing SHOW BIO
Anne Michaut-Denizeau is an Assistant Professor in Marketing at HEC School of Management, Paris, where she teaches International Marketing and New Product Development both at the MBA and at the Grande Ecole. She is the coordinator of the Luxury Strategy Certificate. Her research focuses on innovation: the new product development process within companies and consumer behavior issues associated to new product adoption. More recently, she developed her research in the field of luxury as well as sustainable development in luxury. She holds an engineer degree in agronomics from ENSAT, a MSc in Marketing, and a PhD in Marketing from Wageningen University (the Netherlands).
Kumar Narayanan, Country Manager, TCS France SHOW BIO
Kumar Narayanan, Country Manager of Tata Consultancy Services in France has been associated with TCS since 1994. He is in charge of defining and executing the strategy and operations for TCS in France. TCS is part of the Tata Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates with 98 companies operating in 80 countries in the fields of energy, automobiles, communications, hospitality etc. TCS has pioneered the Global Network Delivery Model of technology services and has been on forefront of various quality and human resources processes and standards in the world. TCS has contributed to sustainable practices in the developing world, with emphasis on using technology for alleviating issues. Kumar Narayanan has played many roles in TCS, including Country Manager for TCS Singapore for 3 years and Global Client Partner for one of TCS largest banking customers in the US for 5 years. He has successfully led many large and challenging engagements for customers in the airlines, retail, banking and financial services sector and has built several strategic relationships with customers. Prior to joining TCS, he was working in a courseware firm, traveling across India and he first started his career in an oil production plant as a trainee-engineer. Kumar is a graduate of mechanical engineering and has masters in business administration. He loves to travel and meet people of different cultures. He likes to read history and biographies.
Jessica Nyman, Consultant, PriceWaterhouseCoopers SHOW BIO
Jessica works as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sweden. She works mainly with strategic sustainability solutions for public listed companies. Jessica has an LLM from University of Lund and anLLM for London School of Economics, specialising in Business & Human rights.
Cliff Prior, CEO of Unltd, UK SHOW BIO
Cliff Prior is the Chief Executive of UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs. UnLtd’s mission is to reach out and unleash the energies of people who can transform the world in which they live: we call these people social entrepreneurs. In its first 7 years, UnLtd has supported 17,000 people with cash, coaching and networking, creating the world’s largest group of social entrepreneurs. UnLtd is the creative force behind UnLtdWorld.com the online community for social leaders, UnLtd Advantage pioneering investment readiness and brokerage in the social sector, as well as the groundbreaking Young UnLtd for young social entrepreneurs. Cliff is also a member of the Cabinet Office Third Sector Advisory Body, Comic Relief’s UK Grants Committee, the Clore Social Leadership Group and the DH Social Enterprise & Third Sector Taskforce. He has set up several organisations over the years such as Strutton Housing for people living with HIV in the 1980s through to recent work on National Voices. Cliff joined UnLtd from mental health charity Rethink, where he was Chief Executive for over 8 years. Under his leadership, Rethink grew to become the UK’s largest and most influential charity in mental health. Rethink is both a membership based advocacy organisation and a social enterprise delivering over £40m pa in health and social care services under contract.
Francis Quinn, Director of Sustainable Development, L’Oréal SHOW BIO
Trained as a physicist at Trinity College in Dublin, Francis Quinn joined L’Oreal in 1996 as an engineer in the Science and Material department where he worked with biomimetic and polymeric compounds. Dr. Quinn has published four reference books and more than 20 scientific articles, and he is the source of more than 30 patents. After working to integrate the Body Shop into the L’Oreal group and focusing the company’s risk management in terms of the environment, Dr. Quinn took the reigns as L’Oreal’s Director of Sustainable Development in July of 2009.
Martin Rich, Social Finance, UK SHOW BIO
Martin is a Director of Social Finance where he focuses primarily on developing the investor base for social impact investments. Social Finance was set up by Sir Ronald Cohen in 2007 and brings together social and financial expertise to increase the quantity, effectiveness and reliability of funding for social enterprises. Prior to this, Martin spent 13 years in international investment banking working on structured debt and derivative products for JP Morgan, HSBC and UBS Warburg. He has a passion for international development and poverty relief and, amongst a number roles, is a member of Christian Aid’s “In Their Lifetime” Campaign Cabinet. Martin holds a double-Masters in Engineering from Queens’ College, Cambridge.
Phillippe Rosier, CEO of Orbeo, France SHOW BIO
Philippe Rosier is a graduate from ESPCI (Physique et Chimie de Paris) and ENSPM (Ecole des Pétroles et Moteurs – IFP), and holds an MBA from Insead. Philippe Rosier is President of Rhodia Energy and member of Rhodia Executive Committee. He is also President of Orbeo, a co-managed 50/50 joint venture with Société Générale dedicated to CO2 emission markets. Rhodia Energy is the enterprise of the Rhodia Chemical group in charge of energy purchasing and management and CO2 emission management. It developed two of the largest Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the Kyoto scheme. Besides CO2, Rhodia Energy manages approximately bn 1$ of energy purchases in the world, 60pc of which relates to gas. It is a founding member of Exeltium, a nuclear power purchasing consortium in France. Philippe Rosier chairs the “Energy” Working Group of BUSINESSEUROPE, the Confederation of European Business. He also chairs the Energy Strategy & Competitiveness Working Group of MEDEF, the French Business Confederation. In January 2009, he has also been appointed as Member of the Economic Council for Sustainable Development, created by the Ministry of Environment in France with the objective to lay down the foundations of a new environmental growth.
Gargi Saha, co-founder of Kuvam Shines SHOW BIO
Besides being the co-founder of Kuvam Shines, an organization that works to provide women and youth with the opportunity to escape a position of vulnerability and exploitation, the following is a brief about her other accomplishments: Gargi has more than eight years direct experience in anti-human trafficking and children/youth rights. She has been consulting with UNICEF in Bihar as State Consultant, for Anti-child trafficking and piloting the Prevention of Child Marriage project in Bihar. She is an Atlas Corps Fellow from India to the USA and worked at Youth Venture and Ashoka’s Changmakers in Washington DC in 2007-08. Prior to this, she was a senior program coordinator at CHILDLINE India Foundation where she coordinated and monitored programs in five northern Indian states. She also assisted in the arrest and prosecution of traffickers, for which she has posed as a decoy client and rescued more than 1000 minors from trafficking in Delhi and Bihar. Previously, she was the city coordinator for CHILDLINE Delhi (2003-05) and the center coordinator with the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice (2001-03), a NGO working for marginalized children, women and youth in India, Germany, and the United Kingdom. She has been invited to speak about her work in trafficking and sexual abuse on many occasions, including a regional trafficking conference in Tokyo, Japan, at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi, followed by Scotland’s Strathclyde Police September 2004 and in June 2006. More recently she was invited by the Scottish Interfaith Council to address their National Youth conference in December 2007. In 2008, she was invited by DuPont corporation, as one of the external judges for their 2008 social sustainability awards program in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2004, she was selected as one of the “50 Dynamic Women” by the U.S. Ambassador in Delhi, and in 2005, was nominated as a Young Indian Professional Leader by the U.S. Embassy. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Delhi.
Robert Scheidig, L’Appel, Former Global Director Marketing IBM, Manager of nonprofit activities in Chad SHOW BIO
After graduating with a MS in Engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point, Robert Scheidig began his career as an infrantry officer in the US Army. Between 1963 and 1983, Scheidig served two tours in Vietnam, was a member of the 4 party Joint Commission implementing the Peace Accords (1973), served in the Pentagon in the Office of Chief of Staff of the US Army (1974-1978) and at the US Embassy in Paris as an Army Attache (1980-1983). In 1983, Scheidig joined IBM Europe, where he worked for twenty years as a Manager in Marketing. Now, as a retiree, he works with the homeless with Benevole with Secours Catholique and has gone on several humanitarian missions to Chad in support of the village of Koumogo and dispensaries in Lere. Scheidig holds a Masters in Operations Research/Systems Analysis, US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA (1973)
Dr Robert Sebbag, Vice President Access to Medicines, Sanofi-Aventis SHOW BIO
Dr Robert Sebbag is currently Vice President Access to Medicines at sanofi-aventis. In his role, Dr Sebbag participates in the company’s access to medicines strategy development for the Southern Hemisphere. Prior to joining sanofi-aventis, Dr. Sebbag worked in Brussels for the European pharmaceutical industry association (EFPIA) on creating a communications platform for the pharmaceutical companies operating in Europe. In his prior role, he was Senior Vice President of Communications for the vaccine company, Aventis Pasteur (today known as sanofi pasteur). In addition to his activities within the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Sebbag is also teaching public health courses within the Paris hospital system, focusing on tropical parasitic diseases. Dr. Sebbag is active within the French Red Cross and has participated in numerous health missions in the Southern Hemisphere. Dr. Sebbag is a Doctor in Medicine with specialty in tropical parasitic diseases and training in psychiatry.
Laura-Jane Silverman, Trinity Green, UK SHOW BIO
Laura-Jane is Director of Trinity Green, a bespoke careers consultancy that specialises in the renewables and clean tech sector. Laura-Jane graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Modern and Medieval Languages. She began her career in the television industry, first as a presenter andlater as Business Development and Sales Director for one of the top UK Post Production Companies. In 2006 Laura-Jane was headhunted into a financial recruitment role in the City where she built up a desk in Corporate and Project Finance. It was in this role that she developed her passion for the renewable energy arena and 2 years ago set up her own niche recruitment company specialising in the green sector. She is a frequent attendee at global renewable energy conferences, exhibitions, and networking events and has led numerous workshops at the top European Business Schools. As a Director of Trinity Green, Laura-Jane is responsible for all European operations and will be assisting in the setup of a US office later this year.
Andrew Simms, Policy Director and Head of Climate Change and Energy, New Economics Foundation, UK SHOW BIO
Andrew is the author of Ecological Debt: Global warming and the wealth of nations (2009) as well as numerous other publications about human development and the environment.
He is co-editor of Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth? (2008), and author of Tescopoly: How one shop came out on top and why it matters (2007).

Andrew studied at the LSE and has worked for a variety of development and environmental organisations, including Oxfam and the International Institute for Environment and Development and has been a regular contributor to the International Red Cross’s annual World Disasters Report. He is a board member of Greenpeace UK and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Europe. He is also a member of the Green New Deal Group.

Previously, Andrew led campaigns for the development agency Christian Aid which included being one of the original organisers and leading advocates for the Jubilee 2000 Coalition debt relief campaign, the precursor to the Make Poverty History campaign.

His work at nef is currently focused on climate change, our increasing global interdependence and what that means for different models of economic development. He has written reports on issues ranging from climate change, to globalisation and localisation, debt and ecological debt, corporate accountability, and genetic engineering and food security. His work on local economies and report on Clone Town Britain defined a phenomenon of the homogenizing effect of some big businesses, and introduced a new term into the language.
Preeti Sinha , Coordinator, African Financing Parntership (AFP), Private Sector Operations, African Development Bank SHOW BIO
Preeti Sinha is the Coordinator of the African Financing Partnership (AFP) within the Private Sector Operations of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunisia. The AFP is a collaboration of development finance institutions (DFIs) and co-financiers active in project financing in Africa. Preeti joined the AfDB in 2008. In her prior experience, she was the CEO of FFD Financing for Development LLC, a company focused on resource mobilization for development, based in Geneva. She also worked in investment banking for HSBC, Rabobank, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and New York. Preeti holds a Bachelors degree from Dartmouth College in Economics and Computer Science and an MBA from Yale University School of Management. Interests: Preeti’s primary interest is in the area of financing for development and mobilizing resources for development. She likes the outdoors and travel.
Graham Sinclair, Sustainable Investment Architect and Principal, SinCo SHOW BIO
Graham Sinclair is a sustainable investment strategist, ESG investment architect and global project leader. He advises institutional investors on the integration of sustainability (environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)) factors into investment policy and practice. The ongoing research and advisory engagements of his eponymous investment advisory boutique covers emerging and frontier markets, especially Africa. Since 2006 Sinclair & Company has helped asset owners, investment managers, high net worth investors and international organizations interpret the risks and opportunities of the sustainability meta-theme within the dynamics of long term investing. Graham has worked in Africa, Europe and North America on projects modeling investment architecture integrating environmental, social and governance factors across asset classes, and developing investor networks in emerging markets for international organizations while a consultant for the UN. Graham is working with fellow African investment practitioners to launch the not-for-profit network Africa Sustainable Investment Forum [AfricaSIF] in 2010. http://sinclairconsult.com
Anna Thrap-Olsen SHOW BIO
Anna Thrap-Olsen, tied to both French and Swedish cultures, graduated from CCIP of Paris (Ecole Superieure de Commerce). She also holds an executive MBA from Essec. She began her career in 1989 in Bongrain as Area Retail Manager and in 1990 joined Kodak group where she held various management positions from Export Market Manager to Business Unit Director at Kodak Graphics. While working at Kodak Graphics, she expanded her knowledge base to include printed communication and associated technologies. She joined the Tetra Pak group in 2006 as well as became a member of the French Board Committee as Business Development Director. During this time, she learned to combine challenges related to innovation, environment, and industrial needs. As the current Marketing & Innovation Director, Thrap-Olsen prepares for the future, focusing on competitiveness and excellence in customer service and relationship.
Harry Verhaar, Head of Strategic Sustainability Initiatives at Philips Lighting SHOW BIO
Harry Verhaar has over 20 years of experience in the lighting industry, with his current roles being Senior Director Energy & Climate Change, and Head of Strategic Sustainability Initiatives at Philips Lighting. He has in the past six years been the architect of the lighting strategy on energy and climate change, which has resulted in a global momentum on phasing out of old lighting technologies for street-ligthing; non-residential buildings and homes. He is an active member of a number of partnership networks, among which the WBCSD; WorldGBC; Prince of Wales Corporate Leadership Group on Climate Change; The 3rd Industrial Revolution, and a member of the Advisory Board of The Lisbon Council. Previously he was responsible for the marketing activities of the professional lamps activities in Europe. Prior to that he has lived for five years in São Paulo Brazil, of which the last two as commercial manager professional lighting for Latin America. Before that he has held various positions in product marketing management and product and technology development.
Cédric Wachholz, Programme Specialist, Information Society Division , UNESCO SHOW BIO
Cédric Wachholz is UNESCO’s Coordinator of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) follow-up and implementation, including the Action Line on e-learning. Before 2009, he headed UNESCO’s ICT in Education Unit in the Education Sector and worked in the Office of UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education on e-learning. From 2002-2006, in UNESCO’s Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in Bangkok, Thailand, he was Chief of the ICT in Education Unit. Highlights of the work included the policymaker toolkit development and application (with the World Bank and others), the piloting of ICT in Education indicators, a regional survey on ICT in ED developments in 45 Asia Pacific countries, the development of ICT teacher education guidelines, non-formal ICT projects, the development of a sub-regional SchoolNet with toolkits and a strong clearinghouse. Mr Wachholz joined UNESCO in 1998 and became the ICT in Education Focal Point in Headquarters’ Educational Policies and Strategies Division in 2000-2002, where he co-developed UNESCO’s first ICT in Education Strategy. He also worked for the European Commission in Brussels and Vienna in 1997-8 and the Medienbauhaus, a Berlin-based private Multimedia Company in Berlin in 1996. From 1987-96 he studied Education, Political Science and International Relations in Berlin (OSI) and Paris (ScPo/IEP).
Skylar Woodward, Advisor, Kiva Microfunds SHOW BIO
After 4 years of working closely with Kiva Microfunds as a founding advisor, Skylar joined the organization formally to launch one of the first software developer programs for a philanthropic organization focused on issues of social justice. The gamble was to build on Kiva’s successes of capitalizing on trends in social technology to serve a decidedly non-technical base of the world’s working poor, and has allowed hundreds of developers to extend Kiva’s reach to entirely new audiences of philanthropists while at the same time enabling new depths of transparency by which the community can hold the organization accountable to its stated values and mission. Prior to launching the Kiva API, Skylar was an inaugural member of the Brickhouse incubator at Yahoo!, and also founded the BrowserPlus and Mac Messenger programs during his 6 and half year tenure at the Internet behemoth. Throughout his 17-year affair with the Internet he’s unfailingly fallen for prospects of building new and beautiful products, particularly those that serve fellow software developers. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Duke University and currently resides in the 3rd district of Paris, collaborating with a new community of social entrepreneurs while concurrently studying to apprehend their language.

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