Past speakers

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  Matt Damon

  Actor and co-founder, Water.org & WaterEquity

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  Matt Damon

  Actor and co-founder, Water.org & WaterEquity

  Academy Award winner Matt Damon is an actor, screenwriter, producer and humanitarian, who has garnered international acclaim for his work both on-
  and off-screen. Inspired during international travel with his family throughout Mexico and Guatemala as a youth, Matt has long been devoted to
  environmental and social issues. Learning about the immense challenges of
  accessing safe water and sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Matt was inspired
  to create the H20 Africa Foundation. In 2009, he teamed up with Gary White
  to merge their organizations and launch Water.org. For his work as Co-founder of Water.org, Matt, along with fellow Water.org Co-founder Gary, was recognized as one of the TIME 100 most influential people in the world in 2011 and received the Environmental Media Award from The Environmental Media Association in 2013. In 2014, the World Economic Forum named Matt as the Crystal Award winner for his work through Water.org. Matt’s active participation in his organization’s work, including site visits to multiple countries, strategy development, advocacy and high-level meetings with institutions like the World Bank and the World Economic Forum over the past decade, has positioned him as one of the world’s experts on water and sanitation issues.

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  Virginijus Sinkevicius

  Commissioner, environment, oceans and fisheries, European Commission

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  Virginijus Sinkevicius

  Commissioner, environment, oceans and fisheries, European Commission

  Virginijus Sinkevičius is Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries at the European Commission. From 2017 to 2019 he served as Minister of Economy, and before this he led the Economics Committee of the Lithuanian parliament. Mr Sinkevičius was elected to parliament in 2016. Prior to this he was a team lead for regulatory affairs at Invest Lithuania.

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  Razan Al Mubarak

  UN climate change high-level champion, COP28

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  Razan Al Mubarak

  UN climate change high-level champion, COP28

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  Mo Ibrahim

  Founder and chair, Mo Ibrahim Foundation

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  Mo Ibrahim

  Founder and chair, Mo Ibrahim Foundation

  Mo Ibrahim established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in 2006 to support good governance and exceptional leadership on the African continent. Mr Ibrahim was the founder in 1989 of Mobile Systems International, a cellular consulting and software provider, and in 1998 he set up Celtel International, one of Africa’s leading mobile telephone companies, which pioneered mobile services on the continent. He is also founding chairman of Satya Capital, a private investment firm primarily focused on Africa. Mr Ibrahim co-founded and serves as co-chair of the Africa Europe Foundation, which was launched in 2020 to reset and bolster Africa-Europe relations.

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  Peter Herweck

  Chief executive, Schneider Electric

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  Peter Herweck

  Chief executive, Schneider Electric

  Peter Herweck is Chief Executive Officer of Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation. Peter became Schneider’s chief executive in May 2023, returning to take the helm of the company after having served as CEO of the industrial software group AVEVA since May 2021. Peter first joined Schneider Electric in 2016 when he was appointed to the Executive Committee to lead the Industrial Automation business. In 2018, he undertook the merger of Schneider’s Industrial Software business with AVEVA. After starting his career as a Software Development Engineer with Mitsubishi in Japan, Peter joined Siemens where he held various executive positions before becoming Chief Strategy Officer. Peter’s background also includes senior management in the US, Japan, China, and several European countries, as well as extensive global responsibilities. Peter holds an MBA from Wake Forest University School of Business, and Electrical Engineering degrees from Metz University, France and Saarland University, Germany. He is also a Harvard Business School Advanced Management alumnus.

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  Philipp Hildebrand

  Vice-chairman, BlackRock

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  Philipp Hildebrand

  Vice-chairman, BlackRock

  Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock, is a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee. He also oversees the BlackRock Investment Institute (BII) and BlackRock Sustainable and Transition Solutions (STS). Mr. Hildebrand joined BlackRock in 2012. Prior to that, he served as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB). In that capacity, he was also a Director of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Swiss Governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), of which the Leaders of the G20 appointed him Vice Chairman in 2011. He was also Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Board of Directors of the BIS, and part of the Steering Committee and the Plenary of the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Previously, Mr. Hildebrand was Chief Investment Officer of a Swiss private bank and a partner at Moore Capital Management in London. Mr. Hildebrand is a Trustee of the British Museum, Chair of the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, a member of the Group of Thirty and an Honorary Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. He sits on the International Leadership Council for Europe for the University of Toronto. He is a Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Mérite (France). Mr. Hildebrand earned a BA from the University of Toronto, an MA from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford.

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  Barry Parkin

  Chief procurement and sustainability officer, Mars

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  Barry Parkin

  Chief procurement and sustainability officer, Mars

  Barry Parkin leads two areas critical to Mars’ future business success and its role as a corporate citizen.  As Chief Sustainability Officer at Mars, Barry is responsible for developing and driving the company’s sustainability programs across its value chain from farmers through to consumers. In the almost 10 years, he has held this position, Barry has worked with business leadership and operational teams to develop and articulate Mars’ corporate commitments and strategies. This work resulted in the launch of Mars’ Sustainable in a Generation Plan in September 2017, laying out the path for Mars to become a truly sustainable business, with the business announcing its fresh pledge to achieve net zero emissions in its full value chain last year. Barry is one of the key corporate spokespeople on Sustainability, regularly sharing his viewpoints at influencer convenings and through media interviews. He and his team are responsible for building strong and collaborative partnerships with Mars’ suppliers, governments, development agencies, NGO’s and peer companies on a pre-competitive basis to advance sustainable development.  Barry is also the Chairman of the World Cocoa Foundation. In this position, he leads the industry’s collaborative efforts to advance sustainable cocoa.  In September 2017, Barry also took on leadership of the Procurement function for Mars. In this role, he is responsible for the transformation and governance of the function. Given that the goods and services that Mars sources make up a large proportion of the company’s entire environmental and social footprint, there is a strong mutual dependence between Sustainability and Procurement.   During his 37-year career at Mars, Barry has worked in a diverse set of roles across Sustainability, Procurement, Engineering, Business Development, Supply Chain and Human Resources.  Barry holds an Engineering Science Degree from Cambridge University and is a Chartered Engineer (IMechE).

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  Michael Kobori

  Chief sustainability officer, Starbucks

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  Michael Kobori

  Chief sustainability officer, Starbucks

  Michael Kobori has spent his career working to build a more just and sustainable world. As Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks Coffee Company, he is responsible for leading Starbucks to become resource positive and activating sustainability with the company’s 350,000 partners and millions of customers worldwide. He also serves as an independent Director of Bunge Ltd., one of the world’s largest agricultural companies, which connects farmers to consumers to deliver more sustainable food, feed, and fuel to the world. Previously, Michael served as Vice-President at Levi Strauss & Co. where he helped build the company into a sustainability leader in the apparel sector. Michael is deeply committed to industry collaboration on sustainability, having served on a number of boards and advisory commissions, including the U.S. Cotton Board, Better Cotton Initiative, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ILO Better Work Programme, and Levi Strauss Foundation Board. During his long career in sustainability, Michael also served as Vice-President at BSR and spent nearly a decade at The Asia Foundation, where he supported human rights and economic development in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam. Michael has taught corporate sustainability at the Haas Business School, University of California at Berkeley. He is the Executive Producer of Utopia Theatre Project, an artist-led social justice theater company. Michael received his Masters’ Degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, where he also received his undergraduate education in Asian Studies and Psychology. He spent a year at International Christian University in Tokyo and studied sustainable finance at Oxford University.

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  Nicki Lyons

  Chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, Vodafone UK

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  Nicki Lyons

  Chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, Vodafone UK

  Nicki Lyons became director of corporate affairs and sustainability at Vodafone UK in 2021, with responsibility for external communications, government affairs, regulatory affairs and sustainable business. She previously held senior roles at Walgreen Boots Alliance, Unilever and PepsiCo, in the UK government and in international development. Ms Lyons specialises in corporate reputation management and ESG.

   

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  Thomas Becker

  Vice president sustainability mobilität, BMW Group

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  Thomas Becker

  Vice president sustainability mobilität, BMW Group

  Thomas Becker is vice-president for sustainability and mobility strategy at BMW Group. He supervises the integration of sustainability into corporate strategy, including defining the implementation of the objectives of the Paris agreement at the corporate level, the group’s strategic approach to the circular economy, and the role of individual mobility in the urban environment. Mr Becker joined BMW Group in 2007 and was previously vice-president for governmental and external affairs. He began his career in the Department of Environmental Policy at the Federation of German Industries (BDI), and later held several leadership positions at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

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  Dirk Voeste

  Chief sustainability officer, Volkswagen AG

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  Dirk Voeste

  Chief sustainability officer, Volkswagen AG

  Since April 1st 2023, Dirk is CSO of Volkswagen Group. In this position, he together with his team is responsible for the sustainability & ESG strategy development and its implementation into the Group stakeholder relationships. In 1994 Dirk graduated with a Ph.D. in biology from University Bonn in Germany and a M.Phil. from the Cranfield Institute of Technology in England. After his studies he was the scientist responsible for three space flight experiments in cooperation with NASA, USA. Since 1998 he has held various positions in the field of biotechnology, breeding and crop protection. Dirk joined BASF SE in 2001, where he held responsibilities in research as well as in global marketing functions. Among others he was Head of Sustainability and Product Stewardship for the Crop Protection Division. In 2012 Dirk Voeste has taken the lead of BASFs corporate sustainability strategy, as a Vice President of Sustainability Strategy, being in charge of the strategy implementation into all business activities and decision-making processes as well as of sustainability stakeholder relation management. Since 2019 Dirk acted as Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Public Affairs & Sustainability for BASFs Agriculture Solution Division. He held global responsibility for regulatory affairs and science, public affairs, compliance management, product stewardship and sustainability of BASF’s Agricultural Solutions.

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  Noah Deich

  Deputy assistant secretary, Office of carbon management, US Department of Energy

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  Noah Deich

  Deputy assistant secretary, Office of carbon management, US Department of Energy

  Noah Deich is deputy assistant secretary of carbon management in the US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). He joined FECM from Carbon180, which he co-founded to catalyse the development of a portfolio of carbon-removal solutions. Prior to this Mr Deich was an economic and management consultant with Accenture and ICF international, where he gained experience in fields including environmental-market and carbon-offset modelling and the valuation of renewable- and fossil-energy power plants.

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  Ivo Mulder

  Head, climate finance unit, UN Environment Programme

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  Ivo Mulder

  Head, climate finance unit, UN Environment Programme

  Ivo Mulder leads UNEP’s Climate Finance Unit (CFU), and oversees a growing portfolio of various initiatives and finance facilities that actively unlock public and especially private capital towards sustainable agriculture, forestry, restoration and other sectors with demonstrable positive impact for the climate, nature and people. The team consists of 30 staff and consultants based in Geneva, Nairobi, Jakarta, Sao Paulo and Cambridge.

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  Charlotte Howard

  Executive editor, The Economist

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  Charlotte Howard

  Executive editor, The Economist

  Charlotte Howard is The Economist‘s executive editor, New York bureau chief and co-host of the Checks and Balance podcast. Prior to this, she served as The Economist’s US business editor. In other beats she has covered the energy sector and climate policy, consumer goods and retail, the global health-care industry and politics and policy in America’s Midwest. She joined The Economist in 2004 and is a graduate of Yale University.

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  Santosh Rao Danda

  Global mobility sustainability lead, Uber

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  Santosh Rao Danda

  Global mobility sustainability lead, Uber

  Santosh is the Global Lead for Sustainability on Mobility at Uber. He is responsible for Uber’s progress on Sustainability on the Mobility side of the business. Previously, he was an Applied Scientist on Uber’s Research and Economics team focusing on urban mobility. He’s based in Amsterdam.

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  Brian Moran

  Vice-president, global sustainability policy and partnerships, Boeing

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  Brian Moran

  Vice-president, global sustainability policy and partnerships, Boeing

  Brian Moran serves as vice-president for global sustainability policy and partnerships for Boeing. He leads a team responsible for informing the global policy landscape and deepening partnerships to advance Boeing’s sustainability objectives. Prior to this role Mr Moran led corporate communications for Boeing, and before that he headed government affairs for Boeing in Europe. In his more than two decades with the company he has held leadership roles across Boeing’s commercial and defence businesses.

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  Kaisa Tikk

  Head of sustainability enablement, A.P. Moller-Maersk

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  Kaisa Tikk

  Head of sustainability enablement, A.P. Moller-Maersk

  Kaisa Tikk is passionate about finding scalable solutions for decarbonising supply chains. As head of sustainability enablement at A.P. Moller-Maersk she is responsible for driving sustainability engagement with the company’s customers and enabling the wider organisation for it. She has been part of Maersk’s sustainability team since 2010 and has held a range of roles driving the sustainability strategy and customer engagement.

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  Steve Woerner

  Strategy and integration director, Global Social Impact, dentsu

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  Steve Woerner

  Strategy and integration director, Global Social Impact, dentsu

  Steve joined dentsu in June 2023, bringing over a decade of experience managing ESG issues across a wide range of industries for a leading Japanese conglomerate. As Strategy and Integration Director, he supports the delivery of dentsu’s sustainability ambitions, including its Net Zero strategy and transition programme. He is also leading the development of Dentsu Group’s nature strategy based on a high-level impact assessment of its global value chain. Steve originally hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and lived and worked in Japan for over 15 years prior to settling in the UK.

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  Anne Imbach

  Group head of sustainability, Rothschild & Co

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  Anne Imbach

  Group head of sustainability, Rothschild & Co

  In her role as group head of sustainability at Rothschild, Anne Imbach is responsible for advising management and business lines on strategic priorities related to material sustainability risks, opportunities and impacts, and championing a collaborative approach to addressing these issues in creative ways across the different business lines and functions. Ms Imbach was previously co-head of corporate affairs at Rothschild, and before joining the company she spent most of her career as a strategy consultant advising clients across different industries on a range of business challenges.

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  Anders Boyer

  Chief financial officer, Pandora

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  Anders Boyer

  Chief financial officer, Pandora

  Anders Boyer has been chief financial officer of Pandora since 2018. Copenhagen-based Pandora is the world’s largest jewellery brand, and during Mr Boyer’s tenure the company has introduced the most ambitious climate and circularity targets in the jewellery industry. He has also been responsible for linking all Pandora’s financing as well as executive remuneration to the targets.

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  Samy Zekhout

  Chief financial officer, Nomad Foods

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  Samy Zekhout

  Chief financial officer, Nomad Foods

  Samy Zekhout has served as chief financial officer of Nomad Foods since 2018. Prior to joining the company he was CFO and vice-president of global grooming at Procter & Gamble. Mr Zekhout held various finance roles at Procter & Gamble during his more than 30-year career at that company. Since 2021 he has also been a board member of Algama, a French food-tech startup.

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  Niclas Rosenlew

  Chief financial officer, SKF Group

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  Niclas Rosenlew

  Chief financial officer, SKF Group

  Niclas Rosenlew is chief financial officer and senior vice-president at SKF, a position he has held since 2019. His responsibilities include finance and M&A as well as overseeing SKF’s Green Finance Framework and the related green bonds, which are used to finance investments as well as research and development that support the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient growth and lower environmental impact.