Chair

H.E. António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations

António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on 1st January 2017.

Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, heading one of the world’s foremost humanitarian organizations during some of the most serious displacement crises in decades. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the crises in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Yemen, led to a huge rise in UNHCR’s activities as the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution rose from 38 million in 2005 to over 60 million in 2015.

Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor.

As president of the European Council in early 2000, he led the adoption of the Lisbon Agenda for growth and jobs, and co-chaired the first European Union-Africa summit. He was a member of the Portuguese Council of State from 1991 to 2002.

Mr. Guterres was elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1976 where he served as a member for 17 years. During that time, he chaired the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, Finance and Planning, and later the Parliamentary Committee for Territorial Administration, Municipalities and Environment. He was also leader of his party’s parliamentary group.

From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Guterres was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where he chaired the Committee on Demography, Migration and Refugees.

For many years Mr. Guterres was active in the Socialist International, a worldwide organization of social democratic political parties. He was the group’s vice-president from 1992 to 1999, co-chairing the African Committee and later the Development Committee. He served as President from 1999 until mid-2005. In addition, he founded the Portuguese Refugee Council as well as the Portuguese Consumers Association DECO, and served as president of the Centro de Acção Social Universitário, an association carrying out social development projects in poor neighbourhoods of Lisbon, in the early 1970s.

Mr. Guterres is a member of the Club of Madrid, a leadership alliance of democratic former presidents and prime ministers from around the world.

Mr. Guterres was born in Lisbon in 1949 and graduated from the Instituto Superior Técnico with a degree in engineering. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. He is married to Catarina de Almeida Vaz Pinto, Deputy Mayor for Culture of Lisbon, and has two children, a stepson and three grandchildren.

Vice-Chairs

Mr. Jesper Brodin
CEO, Ingka Group, IKEA

Jesper Brodin is the President and CEO of Ingka Group, IKEA. Ingka Group (formerly known as IKEA Group), is one of the world’s largest home furnishing retailers and owns and operates more than 500 IKEA stores in 30 markets (FY23) under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Ingka Group was founded by Ingvar Kamprad and is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise systems and in addition to operating IKEA Retail, the company consists of Ingka Centres and Ingka Investments.

Jesper started his IKEA career in 1995 as the Purchase Manager in Pakistan, IKEA Group. During the years he has held different roles such as assistant to Ingvar Kamprad, CEO at the time and Anders Dahlvig, Business area manager Kitchen and Dining as well as his recent role as Managing Director for Range & Supply, Inter IKEA Group. He is the Co-chair of WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders as well as Chair of The B Team and a part of the WRI, World Resource Institute, board. In addition, Jesper was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2024 by TIME.

He has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. Jesper is married with three kids. His passion is music and the sea.

Ms. Solange Maria Pinto Ribeiro
Vice President, Neoenergia

Solange Ribeiro is Vice President of Neoenergia. From 2012 to 2017, she was the CEO of Neoenergia. Ms. Ribeiro is a member of the Board of Directors of several companies of the Neoenergia Group.

Ms. Ribeiro is the President of the Board of the National System Operator; Vice President of the Board of the Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries; and a member of the board of the Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors.

Ms. Ribeiro is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development; member of the Board of Directors of the Endowment PUC/RJ; and a member of the Governance of the Together for Sustainable Development Program and a member of the Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra's Board of Trustees. She was a member of the Economic and Social Development Council.

Ms. Ribeiro has deep knowledge of the electricity sector and diversified professional experiences that combine tactical-operational and strategic aspects. She has built a career in the sector having held high leadership positions in large companies. In addition, Mrs. Ribeiro has worked as a consultant for National Economic Research Associates – NERA, in Washington, DC.

She is engaged with different multisectoral coalitions acting actively towards a more sustainable and inclusive agenda, which includes accelerating the climate ambition through energy transition.

Ms. Ribeiro holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco, and a Master’s Degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She was also a visiting researcher at the “Center of Environmental Technology” at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.

Ex-Officio and Executive Management

Ms. Sanda Ojiambo
Assistant Secretary-General, CEO, UN Global Compact

Ms Sanda Ojiambo was appointed Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Global Compact by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in April 2022. She has held the position of CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact since June 2020. Ojiambo has led the organization through transformative times, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she launched a new strategy to enhance the global impact of businesses upholding the Ten Principles and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and supportive ecosystems.

Ojiambo's leadership has been marked by her dedication to increasing business engagement with UN partners to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under her guidance, the UN Global Compact has expanded significantly, with membership nearly doubling to over 20,000 companies. She has spearheaded the establishment of regional hubs in Abuja, Dubai, Panama City, and Bangkok, bringing the UN Global Compact closer to businesses worldwide.

Her career spans more than 20 years across public, multilateral, and private sectors. She has a profound understanding of the intersection between business and development, having worked on numerous public-private partnership initiatives and cultivated relationships with key business entities and civil society organizations.

Ojiambo's academic background includes a Master of Arts in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Development from McGill University, Canada. Her diverse experiences and strong educational foundation have positioned her as a pivotal figure in promoting sustainable business practices on a global scale.

The UN Global Compact, under her leadership, remains the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, with more than 20,000 participating companies, 5 Regional Hubs, 62 Country Networks covering 78 countries and 14 Country Managers establishing Networks in 20 other countries. The initiative continues to drive businesses to integrate the Ten Principles in human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption into their core strategies, thus fostering a more sustainable and inclusive global economy.

Members

Mr. John W.H. Denton
Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

John W.H. Denton AO is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce. John was previously a Partner and CEO of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm. John is a Board member of IFM Global investors - one of the world’s major infrastructure investors. John is a founding member of the B20, of the Australia-China CEO Roundtable and of Australia for UNHCR.John co-led the Australian Government’s White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century and previously Chaired the APEC Finance and Economics Work Group. John is Chair of the Global Engagement Taskforce of the Business Council of Australia.

He is a former diplomat and an Alumnus of Harvard Business School and the University of Melbourne. He is a Board member of the Australian Ballet and a founder of Human Rights Watch (Australia) and Teach for Australia. In 2015 John was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the business community, the arts and the rights of refugees

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro
Chair, United World Colleges

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro is the Chair of the United World Colleges. She is a social activist and theologian who is globally recognized for her leadership of organizations and initiatives that advance human rights, and philanthropy for women and girls. She was President and CEO of Global Fund for Women from 2011 to 2019, one of the world’s leading publicly-supported foundations for gender equality.

Musimbi received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, a Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She was a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School studying Hebrew and Old Testament.

Musimbi has received several recognition awards and honorary degrees over many years. In 2015, Forbes magazine named her one of 10 women “power brands” working for gender equality. In 2016 she was recognized on a list of “Forty over 40 – women who are reinventing, and disrupting and making an impact”. More recently, she was named among the 100 people making a difference in gender policy and alongside Bill Gates as one of the 9 powerful people changing the planet. Musimbi’s Ted Talk on equal generosity, released for International Women’s Day 2018, is available at the Global Fund for Women website.

Mr. Anand Mahindra
Chairman, Mahindra Group

Mr. Anand Mahindra is the Chairman of the Mahindra Group and the Executive Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. His tenure has seen the Group expand domestically and internationally into a range of major industrial sectors from automobiles and agriculture to IT and aerospace. The Group has also grown inorganically through acquisitions such as Ssangyong Motors, Reva Electric Car Company, Satyam Computer Services, Peugeot Motorcycles, Gippsland Aeronautics, Aerostaff Australia, Holiday Club Resorts, and Pininfarina S.p.A.

He has served on several influential bodies globally, including the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, and the International Advisory Council of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. He is currently on the board of Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency. Mr. Mahindra has been named in Barron's List of Top 30 CEOs worldwide (2016) and Fortune Magazine’s list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders (2014). He was appointed ‘Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour’ by the President of the French Republic (2016).

Mr. Mahindra is an incisive business commentator and humanitarian with over 6 million followers on Twitter. Among his many social change initiatives is the Nanhi Kali programme, which, for the last two decades, has provided over 330,000 under-privileged girls access to high quality education.

Jim Kearney
Chairman, Foundation for the Global Compact

Jim Kearney was a senior litigation partner at the global law firm, Latham & Watkins, where he also headed up the firm’s award-winning global pro bono practice for five years. He represented US domestic and non-domestic pro bono clients. In 2006, he was a co-founder of the Foundation for the Global Compact and has since served as a Director and Chair of its Audit Committee.  Throughout his commercial legal practice, Jim specialized in jury research, communication arts and litigation strategy. For more than thirty years he taught litigation tactics to practicing lawyers in the US and abroad. Jim was a philosophy major at Manhattan College in New York and obtained his law degree, cum laude, from New York University Law School. 

Mr. David Atkin
CEO, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

David Atkin was appointed CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment in December 2021. The PRI is a UN-supported organisation, with more than 4,500 signatories who collectively represent over US $121 trillion in AUM. He is responsible for the PRI’s global operations.

Most recently, David served as the Deputy CEO for AMP Capital and prior to that spent almost 13 years as the CEO for Cbus Superannuation Fund where he saw membership grow from 500,000 to over 750,000 and AUM rise to AUD $55 billion.  

David currently serves on the board of the Climate Council. He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from La Trobe University for his work in the sustainable finance field, was awarded the FEAL Fund Executive of the Year in 2017 and was presented with a ASFA Life Membership in 2020.

Mr. Roberto Suarez-Santos
Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

Appointed Acting Secretary-General in March 2018, Roberto Suárez Santos joined the IOE as Deputy Secretary-General in December 2012. He is a trained lawyer with experience in European and international labour law, as well as in international relations. Within the IOE, he is mainly in charge of managing, coordinating and supporting the business presence at the ILO.

Prior to his appointment, Roberto was based in Tunisia, working as the ILO Programme Director for the promotion of youth employment in the Maghreb region. Before that, he worked at the Spanish Confederation of Employer’s Organisations (CEOE) in various capacities ranging from comparative labour policies and labour relations to youth unemployment and social and employment policy. His most recent position at the CEOE was as Head of European and International Social Policy, where he managed, implemented and evaluated social and youth employment projects.

Roberto has also been involved in academia. He has taught European Social Law as an associate professor at both the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Spain.

Roberto was a member of the European Social Dialogue Committee and has also worked as President of the CSR group for the European employer’s organisation, BUSINESSEUROPE. He was BUSINESSEUROPE’s Vice-President for Labour Affairs for several years and has been the spokesperson for European employers at Euromed meetings such as Marrakech (2009) Barcelona (2010) and Brussels (2011). Roberto was Vice-President of BIAC’s Employment and Labour Affairs Committee, and has also been a member of various follow up committees for the European Social Fund and the EU Economic and Social committee.

Mr. Jean-Pascal Tricoire
Chairman, Schneider Electric

Jean-Pascal Tricoire is the Chairman of Schneider Electric. He previously served as COO of Schneider from 2003, CEO from 2006 to 2011, and Chairman and CEO from 2011 to 2023. Under Jean-Pascal’s leadership, Schneider has transformed and become a technology company leading in software, sustainability, digitization, and electrification. As CEO, he redefined the company’s purpose and technology portfolio, growing the company to four times its size, with revenues and footprint balanced across the globe.

Jean-Pascal joined Schneider Electric in 1986 and held various positions across France, Italy, China, South Africa, the United States and Hong Kong. In 2001, he first joined the company’s Executive Committee to take charge of Schneider’s international division.

Jean-Pascal also serves as an independent director on the board of Qualcomm. He is a director of the worldwide board of the United Nations Global Compact, a United Nations #HeForShe Corporate IMPACT champion and a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum as well as the Asia Business Council. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Northeastern University. Jean-Pascal is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Singapore Economic Development Board and a member of the advisory councils of Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. He led the France-China Business Council from 2009 to 2019. He is a Knight of the Legion of Honor and an Officer of the National Order of Merit in France.

Jean-Pascal is committed to leverage technology to create a net zero and inclusive future for all. He is passionate about technology and software, access to energy, sustainable development and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Ms. Sandra Wu, Wen Hsiu
Chairperson and CEO, Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Sandra Wu is the Chairperson and CEO of Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. since 2013. She also co-founded Japan Asia Group and was its Director until 2021.

Sandra is currently serving as board member of Global Compact Network Japan, member of the Advisory Committee on National Resilience (Disaster Reduction and Mitigation) to the Cabinet Secretariat, and Chair of the Board of Councilors at Shizenkan Graduate School of Leadership and Innovation, and Visiting Professor at IRIDeS, Tohoku University.

She was Chair of UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)'s private sector stakeholder group from 2013 to 2015, and board member of its private sector initiative, ARISE, from 2015 to 2020. With the World Economic Forum, she was Co-Chair of the Infrastructure and Urban Development (I&U) Industry Group in 2017.

Sandra is a graduate from the Department of Chinese Literature, National Taiwan University and the Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School.  

Mr. Stephen Cotton
General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)

Stephen Cotton is General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), a global union federation of 670 trade unions representing nearly 18 million transport workers in 154 countries in the maritime, port, aviation, road, rail and urban transport sectors. He was elected at the 43rd ITF Congress in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2014, and re-elected at the 44th ITF Congress in Singapore, 2018.

Under his leadership, the ITF has transformed into a proactive campaigning organisation, allowing the ITF and its affiliates to secure industry-leading contracts and protocols with key multinational companies in the transport sector. 

He is Chair of the Council of Global Unions (CGU), a Trustee of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust and serves on the United Seaman’s Service (USS) governing body. 

In 2021, Cotton has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to serve as a Member of the Board of the UN Global Compact, an initiative that mobilises industry leaders globally to do business responsibly and improve the state of society. 

In 2014, Cotton received the USS Admiral of the Ocean Sea (AOTOS) Award, in recognition of his work defending the well-being and fair treatment of seafarers.

Liz Patterson
Deputy Director and Head of the Partnerships and Infrastructure Department, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office

Mr. Bolaji Balogun
Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham

Bolaji is Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham and Chief Investment Officer of the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund. Bolaji has over 34 years of experience in investment banking, investing and mobile telecommunications. Chapel Hill Denham is Nigeria’s leading investment bank and the leading alternatives asset manager focused on areas accretive to Nigeria and Africa’s development, namely Infrastructure, Renewables, Real Estate, Venture, Gender & Youth.

Bolaji spent over ten years within FCMB, until January 2001, when he left to be a co-founder and Director of Econet Wireless Nigeria, now Airtel Nigeria. Bolaji led the capital raising and license bid auction for Econet Wireless Nigeria’s mobile license. The US1.67 billion sale of Econet Wireless to Celtel in 2005, remains Nigeria’s single largest successfully exited private investment. Bolaji founded Chapel Hill, in 2005.

He is Co-Chair of the Private Sector Advisory Group on the SDGs, (“PSAG Nigeria”), Chairman of Endeavor Nigeria and a Director of Trustfund Pensions, one of Nigeria’s largest pension fund managers. He was immediate past Chairman of Lafarge Africa Plc. He was appointed to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Africa Advisory Board in September 2009. Bolaji is an Economics graduate of the LSE.

Mr. Ani Dasgupta
President and Chief Executive Officer, World Resource Institute

Ani Dasgupta is the President and CEO of WRI, where he works to advance the institute’s global vision to improve the lives of all people and ensure that nature can thrive.

Dasgupta is a widely recognized leader in the areas of sustainable cities, urban design and poverty alleviation. He developed his expertise in positions ranging from at nonprofits in India to the World Bank, where he developed the Bank’s first Knowledge strategy.

He took the helm at WRI after seven years as Global Director of WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, which is dedicated to shaping a future where cities work better for all people. Under his leadership, the Cities program grew to 400 staff members working in 150 cities, with a reach to more than 400 cities in total. He has established large, multi-stakeholder partnerships with city, national and corporate leaders around the world. Ani has helped create and lead innovative initiatives, including the New Urban Mobility alliance (NUMO) and the Coalition for Urban Transitions, as well as a new line of work around urban air quality. He also brought an increased focus on people and equity to the program.

Prior to joining WRI in 2014, Dasgupta served as Director of Knowledge and Learning at the World Bank, where he provided leadership in the Bank’s knowledge services for development. He also worked extensively in the World Bank’s Jakarta office as head of infrastructure, where he was deeply engaged in post-2004 tsunami reconstruction in Aceh, as an advisor to the government on housing and infrastructure reconstruction and as the head of the Bank’s housing and infrastructure team. His work at the Bank took him throughout Asia and Eastern Europe as a technical expert centered on community-based development, urban environment, disaster management, solid waste management, water supply and sanitation.

Originally from Delhi, India, Dasgupta developed an interest early in life in buildings and design. He earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture, with an emphasis on low-income housing, at the School of Planning and Architecture in India. Later, he was accepted at a special program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) focused on affordable housing. Dasgupta holds master's degrees from MIT in city planning and architecture.

He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and has two sons.

Mr. Zhao Dong
Chairman, Xiamen Airlines

Zhao Dong was appointed Chairman of Xiamen Airlines in Feb 2019. He has been working in the civil aviation industry for 37 years and has accumulated a breadth of experience in airline operations and management. In 2022, Dong was awarded “National Outstanding Entrepreneur” in China. Under his leadership, Xiamen Airline has transformed and become a more sustainable, digital, diversified and inclusive company. By implementing precise policies focused on high quality development, he has steered the company through the pandemic period, maintaining profitable for 36 consecutive years.

As the airlines’ CEO & President from 2016 to 2019, Zhao Dong attached great importance to sustainable development. He has personally engaged in Xiamen Airlines’ cooperation with the United Nations on 17 Sustainable Development Goals since 2017.

From 2006 to 2016, Zhao Dong was EVP in charge of marketing & sales, network planning, revenue management, international & alliance affairs and branding. He redefined the airlines’ international strategy, growing the network to three times its size, with footprint balanced across the globe. And under his leadership, Xiamen Airlines joined SkyTeam Alliance in 2012.

Zhao Dong joined Xiamen Airlines in 1989 as an AIS Officer. And between 1989 and 2006, he worked up to the Director of Flight Operations and Assistant President of Xiamen Airlines.

Prior to joining Xiamen Airlines, Zhao Dong worked as an AIS Officer in CAAC.

Zhao Dong graduated from China Civil Aviation University with a bachelor degree in Air Traffic Management and has acquired a MBA from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.

Mr. Douglas L. Peterson
President and Chief Executive Officer, S&P Global

Doug Peterson has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of S&P Global since 2013. He joined the Company in 2011 as President of its credit ratings business.

He has repositioned S&P Global to power global markets with data, analytics and benchmarks. Under his leadership, the company has made investments in people, international expansion, technology, AI, innovation and sustainability services. In 2022, S&P Global Global completed a transformative merger with IHS Markit.

Previously, Mr. Peterson was the Chief Operating Officer of Citibank. Over his 26 years at Citigroup, he served as CEO of Citigroup Japan, Chief Auditor and in leadership roles in Latin America.

Mr. Peterson is a leading voice on sustainability issues. He chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center’s ESG Taskforce, and in 2021 he led a workstream of the G7’s Impact Taskforce to mobilize private capital through consistent global standards to measure, value, and account for sustainability. At S&P Global, Mr. Peterson created a new organization within the company, Sustainable1, to be a single source of intelligence for customers navigating the transition to a low carbon, sustainable future.

Outside of S&P Global Global, Mr. Peterson serves on the Boards of a range of nonprofit business- related, academic and arts organizations.

Mr. Luc Triangle
General Secretary, ITUC

Luc Triangle is General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), since May 2023. Before that he was leader of the European Trade Union Federation industriAll Europe, since 2012. He is Belgian and worked before at different levels in the Belgian ACV-CSC Trade Union Confederation, from 1984.

In his work over the last 30 years, he has dealt with global companies and promoted a workers-inclusive approach in company strategies. He concluded many agreements with global companies and European sectoral organisations on issues including workers’ involvement, climate action and good governance. In the previous 15 years, his focus was on policy advocacy in Europe on topics related to industrial policy, social policy and climate policy.

The ITUC is the global voice of labour and deals with all dimensions of Environmental, Social and Governance sustainability. Its main areas of activity include trade union and human rights; economy, society and the workplace; equality and non-discrimination; and international solidarity. The ITUC works actively on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr. François Valerian
Chair, Transparency International

François Valérian is an associate professor of finance at National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, a Paris-based university providing evening classes to professionally active individuals.

He also teaches financial regulation and oversight at École des Mines de Paris, a course he created in 2013. He was elected to the board of Transparency International France in 2013 where his contributions to the chapter’s anti-corruption advocacy around offshore centres brought about significant impact.

Formerly the leader of business integrity programmes at the Transparency International Secretariat, François initiated Transparency International’s advocacy at the G20 around financial regulation and anti-corruption. In his professional career, François worked in both the public and private sectors.

François negotiated social agreements with coal mine trade unions, worked for BNP Paribas and was a partner at Accenture, the international consulting firm. He was the editor-in-chief of an economic review and also published articles on anti-corruption.

Ms. Blanca Trevino
President & CEO, Softtek

Blanca Treviño is President, CEO and co-founder of Softtek, a global company dedicated to helping organizations evolve through technology. Under her management, Softtek has become the leading global IT services company in Latin America with a presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Blanca serves as Co-chair of the Partnership for Central America, an initiative supported by the Vice President of the United States. Since 2018, she has held the Vice Presidency of the Mexican Business Council, which brings together the largest companies in Mexico. She participated for 15 years as an Independent Director of Walmart Mexico as well as foreign companies such as Goldcorp and state-owned enterprises such as the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, for its Spanish abbreviation).

She is currently a Director at the Mexican Stock Exchange, Grupo Lala and Altan Redes (state - owned telecommunications company in Mexico). Blanca is a member of the Advisory Council of the MIT School of Engineering, the Americas Society and Council of the Americas and the Ibero-American Council on Productivity and Competitiveness, as well as various universities including her alma mater, Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM).

She has also been featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine and was invited to participate in CNN’s “Leading Women" TV series. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Blanca completed her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at ITESM.

Ms. Cristina Sánchez García
Executive Director. UN Global Compact Network Spain

Cristina is the UN Global Compact Country Network representative to the Board of the UN Global Compact, and is nominated to this position by the Regional Network members of the UN Global Compact. She is the Executive Director of the Global Compact Network Spain, which is the second largest network of the UN Global Compact.

Cristina joined the UN Global Compact in 2007, and has served as Executive Director of Global Compact Network Spain since 2019. She is responsible for the strategic leadership of the Network, board liaison, identifying and managing strategic alliances, designing actions aimed at attracting new partners, as well as acting as a reference for the organization before groups of relevant interest. Since becoming Executive Director, Cristina has doubled the number of business participants of Local Network Spain.

She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Autonomous University of Madrid.

Ms. Ester Baiget
President & Chief Executive Officer, Novonesis

Ester Baiget has more than 25 years of global experience. As an international leader with a strong track record, Ester has driven transformational change, enhanced profitability, and laid a strong foundation for sustainable growth across a diverse range of industries. Through her leadership, she nurtures a diverse culture of inclusion, engagement and commitment to delivering strong results.

Ester is a compelling advocate of the power of biotechnology and the positive change biosolutions can bring to support a healthy planet.

She represents Novonesis in key global arenas and brings the voice of sustainability and innovation to several Boards of Directors of which she is a member.

Ester holds a chemical engineering degree and an MBA from the University of Tarragona in Spain.

Dr. Leila Fourie
Group CEO, Johannesburg Stock Exchange

With over 30 years of international experience, primarily in financial services, Leila Fourie has served on multiple boards and held senior roles in banking, capital markets and payments.

Leila was appointed as Group CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange effective 1 October 2019. Leila also held the role of inaugural Co-chair for the United Nations Global Investors for Sustainable Development convened by the UN Secretary General, from 2019 to 2023.

Prior to her role at the JSE, Leila served as Executive responsible for Consumer Finance at Australia’s largest bank, The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and served as the NSW Vice President of the Economic Society of Australia and on the Board Audit Committee of Lifeline Australia. Before this, Leila she held the role of CEO of the Australian Payments Network.

Before moving to Australia, Leila served on the Board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as Executive Director. Leila previously worked for one of South Africa’s largest banks, Standard Bank as Card Division Managing Director. During this time, she served as Chairman on the board of Diners Club and Board Member on Discover’s Chicago-based Diners Club International Advisory board. Leila started in Standard Bank’s Investment Bank as Global Director Credit analytics, capital and portfolio management for SA, UK, Hong Kong, Russia, Brazil and Argentina.

Leila has a PhD in Economic and Financial Sciences and won the Economic Society South Africa Founders’ award in 2012 for best Masters Economics thesis in the country. Leila has published several articles in academic journals and actively advocates for policy development in various sectors.

Leila is an active rock climber, mountaineer and cyclist and plays the piano in her spare time.