Hosted by the UN Global Compact Office, the Expert Network is comprised of representatives from business, civil society, trade unions, the UN, Government and Global Compact Local Networks who have strong understanding of the broader sustainability agenda. Throughout the year, Members are invited to share perspectives on emerging trends and gaps in corporate sustainability and to provide strategic and substantive input to programmatic prioritization and agenda-setting discussions within the UN Global Compact.

Business

Naty Barak
Chief Sustainability Officer, Netafim

Naty Barak is Chief Sustainability Officer of Netafim, the pioneer and global leader in drip irrigation solutions. Naty has been with Netafim since 1975. Prior to his current post, he served in several positions including Director of Marketing and Treasurer of Netafim, Executive VP of Netafim USA, and President of Netafim South Africa. As Chief Sustainability Officer, he works with governments, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, environmental organizations, and private sector companies on sustainability and multi-resource productivity issues. In this capacity, he focuses his efforts on water, land, energy and other agronomic inputs, and their impact on global sustainable intensification of agriculture. Naty is member of the United Nations CEO Water Mandate and the UN LEAD initiative. He is the chairman of the Technical Committee for Water Re-Use of ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. He is a member of Kibbutz Hatzerim, located in Israel’s Negev desert, and has served on Hatzerim’s board of directors, management committee and economic committee. Naty studied International Relations and Political Science at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at the Recanati School of Business at Tel Aviv University.

Noémie Bauer
Head, Sustainability, Pernod Ricard

Noémie Bauer has been working at Pernod Ricard since 2011. She joined the company in New York working as a regional manager in Legal, Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Affairs covering North and Latin America. She holds a global role since January 2016 and now serves as Head of Sustainable Business for the Group. She is responsible for the integration of sustainability in core functions of the company, ensuring sustainability is embedded in other teams’ ways of working and roadmaps. She oversees for the delivery of the Group 2030 Sustainability & Responsibility strategy, with a strong focus on the SDGs. She manages a team in charge of reporting, stakeholders’ dialogue and Human Rights. Noémie holds a LL.M Business Law degree from UCLA School of Law and a MBA degree of Business Law and Management from University Paris II Panthéon-Assas.

CHEN Lei
Deputy Director-General of the Office of Board of Directors, China Development Bank

Ms. Chen Lei is Deputy Director-General of the Office of the Board of Directors, China Development Bank. She is in charge of the Bank’s sustainability practices, social responsibility management, and communication and cooperation with international organizations such as UNGC. Ms. CHEN has many years of experience in protecting rights of the youth, and is an expert on the UN SDGs in Quality Education and Good Health and Well-being. Previously, Ms. CHEN served as Vice President of CDB Hubei Branch, where she developed her wealth of knowledge and expertise in balancing socio-economic development with climate action, wildlife conservation, and water quality improvement along the Yangtze River, China’s largest river that runs through Hubei.

Wincy Cheng
Sustainability Director, Knoll Printing and Packaging

Wincy Cheng is the Sustainability Director of Knoll Printing and Packaging. She joined the company in 2017 and has been working on corporate initiatives, reporting directly to the CEO on sustainability with specific goals and deliverables. Her responsibilities range from working with each of our factories in China to rolling out the code of conduct and implementing our sustainability improvement action plan, to global co-ordination of the Corporate sustainability plan. Working with Knoll, Wincy is committed to strike a balance between sustainability and aesthetics of luxury packaging. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) and a master’s degree in Environmental Management, both from the University of Hong Kong. She is currently pursuing Master of Social Science in Corporate Environmental Governance, also at the University of Hong Kong.

Sandra Dante
Vice President, Social Accountability and Prospective, Total S.A.

Sandra Dante has been working at Total for 20 years, with a commitment to Sustainability issues for the last 10 years. Since September 2016, she has been serving as Vice President Social Accountability and Prospective. Her scope of actions covers Sustainability strategy and reporting, with a special focus on the SDGs. She is also responsible for stakeholder's dialog and NGOs’ relations, and is developing a team dedicated to better anticipating the expectations from society. Sandra was previously in charge of a team at Total who covered Sustainability and Climate Reporting, as well as internal change management about Ethics, Safety, Environmental and Climate Policy. On a voluntary basis, Sandra was involved in scaling up one of the first social businesses dealing with access to energy in Africa through solar solutions. Before that, she was Head of Total Corporate Press Office for six years. During this experience she gained awareness of the rise of sustainability concerns that led to her taking a new turn in her career to address these issues. As a Philosophy Master Graduate in France and Italy, she has always had a strong interest for societal trends and global citizenship issues.

Betina Del Valle Azugna
Sustainability Manager, Grupo Sancor Seguros

Betina del Valle Azugna has worked in the Sancor Seguros Group since 1999 and she has coordinated the CSR Process of the group since 2005. She is the Sustainability Manager of the group for Argentinean and Latin American companies. She has certifications in CSR from Argentinean and Spanish universities. Betina is also a teacher of CSR at Rosario University. She is a member of the board of the UN Global Compact in Argentina. There, she is the Head of the Human Rights and Business Group. She is also in the group of Companies for Equality and Caring for Climate. She is in several sustainability and climate change groups in the Argentinean World business Council for Sustainable Development. Betina is a trainer in the Compliance Program of Alliance for Integrity, GIZZ and the Argentinean and German networks of the Global Compact. She is member of the Intelligence Committee of ICMIF. She is part of the W20 Group of Women in Boardrooms and Task Force on Energy, Resource Efficiency and Sustainability of B20. Betina has a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from UCES (University of Business and Social Sciences) and has an MBA from Universidad de Belgrano. She is currently attending a Masters in Entities of the Social Economy at Rosario National University.

Alice Durand-Reville
Corporate Public Affairs Director, Danone

Alice Durand-Reville was appointed Corporate Public Affairs Director for Danone in 2015. She is responsible for the animation and development of Danone's relations with international public authorities, especially strong global organizations and UN-bodies. Aligned with Danone's mission to "bring health through food to as many as possible" and Danone's new signature "one planet, one health" Alice has developed a strong knowledge in the areas of sustainability, nutrition, sustainable agricultural practices and supply chains and gender equality.

Christian Frutiger
Vice President, Global Head of Public Affairs, Nestlé S.A.

Christian Frutinger leads the Nestlé’s efforts in Creating Shared Value (CSV) in all focus areas: individuals and families, communities and planet. He is also in charge of stakeholder engagement, issue and crisis management. Christian serves on the boards of the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and the UN Global Compact LEAD group and is a member of the Swiss Government’s Advisory Commission on International Cooperation. He joined Nestlé in 2007 following almost 20 years of experience across all continents in the social, humanitarian and development sector, mostly with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Filippo Giuseppe Bettini
Chief Sustainability & Risk Governance Officer, Pirelli & C. S.p.A.

Filippo Giuseppe Bettini is the Chief Sustainability and Risk Governance Officer at Pirelli & C. S.p.A. Filippo entered Pirelli in 2008 to manage some of the non-core activities of the Group, while actively cooperating in company portfolio reshaping. From 2001 to 2008 he worked in Telecom Italia Group covering roles in innovation management until being appointed Chief Strategy Officer. From 1985 to 2001 he worked in biomedicine and biotechnology in multinational companies as well as academic research centers. Filippo holds a degree in biomechanical engineering from Politecnico of Milan and a Master in Business Administration from Bocconi University of Milan.

Emmanuel Lulin
Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L'Oréal S.A.

Emmanuel Lulin oversees all of L’OREAL ethics strategy and operations, a mission he created in 2007. He joined L’ORÉAL in 1999 as Group General Counsel for Human Resources. He was admitted to the Paris Bar in 1988 and practiced as a corporate and tax attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton in Paris and New York. In 1988, he was Lavoisier laureate of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs. From 2007 to 2012, he was on the Board of the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and he has been on the Board of the Cercle Ethique des Affaires in France since 2011. He is a Fellow of the Ethics Resource Center, former Chair of the Global Business Conduct Council (New York), and sits on the Ethics Committee of MEDEF. Emmanuel advises a number of public and private international organizations. He has been interviewed and featured in more than 40 countries and gave more than 100 classes in leading academic and business institutions in 60 countries as an expert on Business Ethics, Corporate Governance, Human Rights and building a culture of Global Integrity. In 2012, 2014 and 2017, he was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a “Top Ethics & Compliance Officer”. In 2015, he was awarded the Carol R. Marshall Award for Innovation in Corporate Ethics from the Ethics & Compliance Initiative. Emmanuel holds law degrees from University of Chicago Law School, Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris Assas.

Sami Lundgren
Vice President, Environment & Responsibility, UPM-Kymmene Corporation

Sami Lundgren is the Vice President of Environment and Responsibility at UPM-Kymmene Corporation. His team manages corporate level environmental responsibility topics at UPM’s global network. Sam is an expert in environmental topics with a sound track record from over 25 years in the industry. He has in-depth experience related to forest products supply chains. Before serving as the Vice President of Environment and Responsibility, Sam was the Director of Ecolabels and Reporting as well as the Director of Environmental Intelligence. Sam graduated from the University of Helsinki with a Master of Science in Biology.

Dr. Márcia Balisciano
Director, Corporate Responsibility, RELX Group

Since 2003, Márcia Balisciano has led corporate responsibility at RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics focused on science and health, risk and business, legal and exhibitions, with more than 30,000 employees and offices in 40 countries. Engaging colleagues throughout the business, she works to ensure RELX Group’s non-financial performance is a source of competitive advantage and stakeholder confidence. Márcia is a member of the board of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, the United Nations Global Compact UK, and the UK National Crime Agency's Child Rescue Alert Development Board. She is founding the director of London museum and educational facility Benjamin Franklin House and previously was special advisor to the American Chamber of Commerce (UK). She is a member of the Conference Board’s Sustainability Council and Global Business Women Leaders Council. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a PHD in Economic History from the London School of Economics. Márcia was named Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s 2007 Birthday Honours List and lives in London with her husband and two boys.

Marcela Manubens
Global Vice President for Integrated Social Sustainability, Unilever

Marcela Manubens joined Unilever 2013 and led the Social Impact strategy and the expansion of the USLP Enhancing Livelihoods ambitions, specifically driving Unilever agendas on Human Rights and Women’s Empowerment. In 2016, her role was expanded to assume new responsibility for all areas of Supply Chain Social Sustainability in addition to continue leading its human rights agenda. Prior to joining Unilever, Ms Manubens was Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at PVH Corp., notably establishing one of the first Human Rights and Social Responsibility programmes in the early 1990s. Ms Manubens participated in initiatives to eradicate sweatshops and advance human rights. She was a member of the Fair Labour Association (FLA) Board of Directors and its Executive Committee and chaired the Board of Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) for three years. Ms Manubens gave testimony in the United States Congress as an expert witness upon the invitation of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and represented U.S. business in the launching of the Global Report on Child Labour by the ILO at the United Nations. In September 2013 she spoke alongside the UK Foreign Secretary and the UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills at the unveiling of the UK Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles.

Bérangère Magarinos-Ruchat
Head of Sustainability, Firmenich

Bérangère started her career with the United Nations System Staff College in 1998 where she led the Partners in Action Program working in more than 20 countries helping UN colleagues and business leaders forming partnerships. In 2004 she joined GAIN, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At GAIN Berry was Director of Partnerships. In that position she created the GAIN Business Alliance. Since 2010 Berry has transformed Firmenich Sustainability work and became Global Head of Sustainability three years ago. Berry has a PhD in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, New York, as well as a postgraduate in Public Private Partnership Management from Cambridge University. Berry has published books and articles on Public Management and Public Private Partnerships. Berry seats on Investment Committee of the Livelihood Carbon Funds and the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming. She has been a founding member of the Toilet Board Coalition and an active advocate of SDG 6 on access to sanitation. Bérangère was elected Head of Sustainability of the Year 2015 by Ethical Corporation in London and was selected in 2017 by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as one of the 10 most influencing women in sustainability.

Helen Medina
Senior Manager for Multilateral Affairs , Nestlé

Helen Medina joined Nestlé Headquarters in 2017 as Senior Manager for Multilateral Affairs. In this role, Helen manages external relations with governments and multilateral organizations. In addition, she oversees the Nestlé in Society Report. Previously, Helen worked at the US Council for International Business, and managed the Council's engagement on issues related to food and agriculture, health care, product policy and intellectual property. Prior to joining USCIB in 2008, Helen was assistant director for international affairs at the International Dairy Foods Association in Washington, D.C., where she promoted US dairy interests in free trade discussions and represented the dairy industry before US Congress on a variety of trade issues.

Vance A. Merolla
Worldwide Director, Global Sustainability, Colgate-Palmolive Company

Vance Merolla is the Worldwide Director, Global Sustainability for Colgate-Palmolive Company, a consumer products company based in New York City, responsible for providing leadership on Colgate’s global sustainability strategy, and identifying technical and commercial integration opportunities throughout the company’s business. Vance also leads Colgate’s supply chain sustainability programs including climate, energy efficiency, water stewardship, zero waste and environmental risk management. Vance currently teaches a graduate level course on Sustainable Operations at Columbia University in NYC. Prior to his current 21 years with Colgate, he was an environmental consulting group manager for the URS Corporation. Vance holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from Rutgers University. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) in the states of New York, New Jersey and Washington, and is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED-Accredited Professional.

Marina Migliorato
Head of Sustainability Innovation & Stakeholder Engagement, Enel Group

Marina Migliorato is Head of Sustainability Innovation and Stakeholder Engagement of the Enel Group. She worked for UNICEF and many NGOs, and was also a consultant for various Public Administrations and private companies. She joined the Enel Group in 1999, where she started as Head of the Relations with stakeholders in the Institutional Affairs Department, then Head of Internal Communication and then Head of CSR in the External Relations Department. Since 2014 she is Head of Sustainability Innovation and Stakeholder Engagement with the responsibility of identifying and managing sustainability trends at a global level and managing relationships with key stakeholders, rating agencies and investors. She is member of the Steering Committee of the UN Global Compact LEAD, Vice Chair of CSR Europe and she was recently elected member of the GRI Stakeholder Council. Moreover, she actively participates in the GRI working groups and on the development of the GRI Sustainability & Reporting Trends 2025 project. She is also member of the Cornerstone Capital Inc. Advisory Board. Marina has a degree in Political Science and a Masters in International Law and Business Administration and received subsequent credentials including the Cambridge Sustainability Leadership Programme.

Scott N. Mitchell
President & Chief Executive Officer, Sumitomo Chemical America Inc.

Scott N. Mitchell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sumitomo Chemical America Inc., Regional Headquarters Americas. A 25-year Sumitomo Chemical Group Company employee, Scott is working to grow the Sumitomo Chemical business in the Americas with a focus on enhancing the Sumitomo Chemical brand, improving the efficiency of administrative functions and developing new business. Scott exemplifies the concept of harmony between the company’s interests and those of the public through his long time engagement in the company's Corporate Social Responsibility work. Through the company's endeavors in these critical areas, Scott hopes to play a significant role in building a sustainable society and realizing their corporate goals. Scott holds a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.

Indalecio Perez
Social Sustainability Director, Inditex S.A.

Indalecio Pérez serves the Social Sustainability Director at the Inditex Group. Before Indalecio joined Inditex’s Corporate Social Sustainability department in 2004, he was appointed Controller of Megasa, participating in the integration of the Portuguese National Steel Company. He started his career in September 2000 at Arthur Andersen as a finance accountant. Indalecio has been a Lecturer of Business Ethics at the University of Deusto. He is a graduate in Business Administration from the University of Deusto and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of A Coruña.

Thorsten Pinkepank
Director Sustainability Relations, BASF SE

Thorsten Pinkepank is the Director of Corporate Sustainability Relations at BASF. After completing his education in business administration and studying political science, mass-communication and psychology, he helped establish a political and business consulting institute. There he developed and moderated projects on sustainability issues on national and local levels for business and politics. In 2002, Thorsten joined BASF and has held various positions in political communications. He then headed the HR advocacy and communications unit before taking over as Director of BASF's Corporate Sustainability Relations. He is engaged in the steering bodies of several sustainability networks, such as the steering committees of econsense and of the German Global Compact Network (DGCN). He is Member of the Board of CSR Europe and Member of the Stakeholder Council of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Netithorn Praditsarn
Senior Vice President, Global Partnership Office C.P. Group

Based in Thailand, Mr. Netithorn Praditsarn is currently Executive Assistant to C.P. Group CEO and Senior Vice President, leading the Global Partnership Office of C.P. Group. C.P. Group is Thailand’s largest conglomerate with 14 business groups operating in 21 countries and territories. The three key businesses are: agri-food, retail and distribution and telecommunications. His roles include strategic engagement with C.P. Group’s international stakeholders, particularly those related to sustainability issues. He also oversees global communications for C.P. Group. In addition, he serves as Deputy Secretary-General of Global Compact Network Thailand, a Thai chapter of UN Global Compact Local Networks. C.P. Group is one of the original founder of the Network. Prior to joining C.P. Group, he served as a career diplomat in Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, being posted at the Mission of Thailand to the UN office in Geneva and led the human rights section of the Ministry. He received both of his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in international relations from Stanford University, USA.

Ru Qiao
Deputy Director, Securities Affairs Office, Board Secretariat, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation - Sinopec

Ru Qiao has been working in Sinopec Corp. for 15 years. From 2003 to 2015, she was responsible for corporate governance ensuring that the company’s operations comply with the UN Global Compact’s 10 Principles. From 2015 to present, Ru has been responsible for sustainability affairs, mainly including communicating with stakeholders on sustainability issues to enhance the company’s transparency, to provide constructive advice to the management, and to communicate with internal departments to convey the material issues that stakeholders concern. She organized more than 20 departments to conduct the COP (Communication on Progress) Report compilation and made sure the report embedded the 10 Principles and 17 SDGs. Meanwhile, Ru serves concurrently as the Deputy Secretary of the UNGC Network China. During the past three years, she has participated in organizing the China Summit on achieving SDGs and joined the discussion on UNGC strategy and governance reform to provide suggestions. Ru organized and participated in the China-Japan-Korea Roundtable Conference, participated in the Asia & Oceania Local Networks Regional Meeting of 2017, organized a Roundtable meeting on Business Engagement on SDGs convened by Network China and UN agencies in China, and issued the Business for 2030-China Initiative to support SDGs. Ru holds a Bachelor of English Literature and a Master of International Trade Law.

Stephanie Richardson
Global Sustainability Strategy Manager, Accenture

Stephanie Richardson is Accenture’s Global Sustainability Strategy lead and is part of the Corporate Citizenship team. She leads Accenture’s internal action on sustainability with a focus on environment, human rights and supply chain. She works closely with a wide range of stakeholders on the sustainability agenda to shape the overall strategy and make the business case for change. Prior to this Steph was manager for Accenture’s Strategy’s Sustainability Practice where she specialised in low carbon & energy consulting, climate change risk and smart buildings within both the public and private sectors. Before starting at Accenture, Steph worked for AECOM consulting to the UK government working on large scale energy management projects across US public institutions. She has 15 years’ experience in Sustainability spanning both the US and UK market. Steph is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) and LEED Accredited Professional.

Carlos Sallé Alonso
Director of Energy Policy & Climate Change, IBERDROLA S.A.

Carlos Sallé Alonso joined the IBERDROLA Group as Director of Regulation, and in 2014 he was appointed Director of Energy Policies and Climate Change, directly reporting to the Chairman. Carlos is Member of the Business Advisory Board in the Public-Private-Partnership unit at UNECE (Geneva) dealing with Sustainable Development Goals. He was one of the founders of Energía Sin Fronteras, an NGO specialized in water and electricity projects in rural areas of non-developed countries. He is President of the Energy Commission at Spanish Commerce Chamber. Carlos worked in areas related to system operations in Red Eléctrica de España (the Spanish Transmission System Operator). He was the Director of Electricity at the energy regulator in Spain. He was also a member of the management team in charge of launching and setting up the Market Operator Company. Carlos has an Industrial Engineering degree from the ETSII (School of Industrial Engineering) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Luigi Sampaolo
VP Projects and Sustainability Strategic Relations, Eni S.p.A

Luigi Sampaolo is Vice President for Projects and Sustainability Strategic Relations within the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Department at Eni, one of the leading world energy companies. He is responsible at corporate level for sustainability stakeholder’s relations dealing with global issues such as business and human rights, transparency, sustainability scenarios, energy transition. Before joining the Sustainability Department he was Vice President Climate Change and Environmental Policy within the Strategies and Development Department. He started his career at Eni in 1998 as a financial controller. He then worked at the Economic and Energy Studies Department, dealing with econometric analysis of energy markets, and later at the Planning and Control Department, focusing on the long term strategies in the hydrocarbon exploration and production sector. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome La Sapienza and a Master of Arts in Applied Economics from the University of Turin.

Karsten Schroeder
Manager, Corporate Responsibility, Daimler AG

Karsten Schroeder has been the Manager of Corporate Responsibility Management at Daimler AG since 2017. His work includes reporting, stakeholder dialogue and human rights due diligence. He has five years of experience in strategy consulting (Boston Consulting Group). Karsten also served as Deputy Head of econsense, Germany’s leading business association for sustainable development. He has a PhD in Economic Geography from Hannover University, a Master in Business Administration from Mannheim University and a Master of Science in International Relations from Rutgers University.

Jorge Soto
Sustainable Development Director, Braskem

Jorge Soto has been the Sustainable Development Director at Braskem SA since 2009. He also serves as a Professor at at the Fundação Getulio Vargas University (EASP / FGV), where he has been teaching classes in Competitiveness Management with emphasis on Sustainable Development as part of the Professional Master Degree. From 2013 to 2014 he was the president of the Global Compact Network Brazil. He also holds the position of Co-chair of the ISO Technical Committee PC 277 that developed the ISO 20400 standard, an international standard to provide guidance to organizations integrating sustainable development within procurement processes. Jorge is a Chemical Engineer from Polytechnic School of UFBA, Brazil. He holds a Master Degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Environmental Planning from the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (COPPE / UFRJ).

Claus Stig Pedersen
Head of Corporate Sustainability and EMEA Public Affairs, Novozymes A/S

One of the pioneers in the development of Life Cycle Assessment methodologies and sustainability concepts for business, Claus Stig Pedersen has been driven by the vision of combining “good for the world” with “good for business”. As Head of Corporate Sustainability & Public affairs, he lives that vision every day. He is currently also Liaison Delegate to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and he represents Novozymes in the UN Global Compact LEAD initiative. Claus has been engaged with the development of the UN Global Goals since its start at RIO+20 in 2012 and has worked to align Novozymes’ Corporate Purpose and Strategy into the direction set by the SDGs. Launched in January 2015, Novozymes’ new Purpose and Partnering for Impact strategy puts the SDG agenda directly into heart of Novozymes’ core business and its innovation pipeline. Claus and his team have developed a strategic framework for business development and innovation based on the global goals – being the first company to communicate their sustainability efforts according to the SDGs, while aligning core business accordingly. In 2016 Claus was recognized as a UN Global Compact SDG Pioneer for his lead in sustainability practices.

Annette Stube
Head of Sustainability, A.P. Moller-Maersk Group

Annette Stube is the Head of Sustainability at A.P. Moller–Maersk Group. In 2008, Annette established a new sustainability unit at the Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen. A main pursuit has been to integrate sustainability into daily business and strategic decision making. In later years, key deliveries have also been several Shared Value programs in emerging markets, aiming at eliminating trade barriers to allow SMEs to enter international supply chains, as well as on-the-ground development of the ship recycling sector in Alang, India. Previously, Annette was Director, Global Business Ethics Development at Novo Nordisk, and headed up its Anti-corruption and Responsible Sourcing programs. Annette worked with Novo Nordisk from 1997 and was part of the team that developed the Triple Bottom Line approach on Corporate Responsibility in 1998. Annette is Adjunct Professor at CBS, Copenhagen Business School. She serves on the Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility advising the Danish Government on CSR regulation and topical issues. Annette is also Chair of the CSR committee in the Danish Ship-owners Association as well as Chair of the sustainability network of large Danish companies in Confederation of Danish Industries. She has an MSC in Organizational Psychology from the University of Copenhagen.

Stuart Templar
Director, Sustainability, Volvo Cars

Stuart Templar is responsible for the co-ordination, delivery and communication of Volvo Cars' sustainability programme, Omtanke. This includes ensuring that the organization is focused on delivering against our Omtanke commitments, which include putting 1 million electrified vehicles on the road by 2025, and achieving climate neutral global manufacturing operations by the same year. With the support of the company's CEO-led Sustainability Board, Stuart also works to ensure that Volvo Cars makes business decisions that have a positive social and environmental impact. Before joining Volvo Cars in September 2016, Stuart was a British diplomat for 16 years working on a wide range of issues, including human rights and anti-corruption. He holds a BA in History and Politics from UCL.

Dominic Vergine
Head of Sustainability, ARM

Dominic Vergine is responsible for Arm’s sustainability and corporate responsibility strategy, reporting to the Arm board. He is also involved in company reporting, marketing, public policy and business development for the sustainable development of Arm. Dominic is currently driving several initiatives, including creating 2030Vision, promoting technology’s role in the Global Goals, and partnerships with UNICEF and WHO, focused on delivering innovative technology to help some of the poorest people in the world and support the 2030 Global Goals. Dominic has co-founded three businesses a non-profit and a charity. These initiatives are all on-going and Dominic is currently Chair of Trustees at The Centre for Global Equality, one of the organizations he founded. Dominic has worked with governments, the private sector and international agencies on innovation and technology projects for international development. In 2018, initiatives he has incubated will help over three million people. Dominic has a master’s degree from the University of Oxford and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business from the University of Cambridge.

Civil Society, Labour, and Other

Katja Bechtel
Lead, Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, World Economic Forum

Katja Bechtel has been leading on relationships with companies, governments, international organizations, and civil society at the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) since July 2019. She is also responsible for PACI’s engagement in international fora, including in the Business 20, the UN Global Compact and the OECD, and drives collective action initiatives on the promotion of beneficial ownership transparency and integrity of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). PACI is the world’s largest CEO-led anti-corruption initiative with around 100 members. Before taking on this role, Katja headed the global Business Integrity Programme at Transparency International (TI). For almost seven years, she oversaw the implementation of largescale multi-country projects on business integrity, developed Anti-Corruption Principles for SOEs with a multistakeholder group, conducted surveys on transparency in corporate reporting, and led on TI’s work with international coalitions. She has also worked in the private sector as EU Policy Advisor for environmental and agricultural policies at Bayer AG, and spent time at an industry association in Brussels.

Pietro Bertazzi
Global Director – Policy Engagement, CDP

Pietro Bertazzi has engaged and shaped responsible business policy and regulation over the past decade, with a focus on human rights, climate and sustainable development. He currently leads Policy Engagment at CDP, boosting ambition and accelerating action on climate, water and forests. Prior to CDP, Pietro worked at GRI, enhancing corporate sustainability and transparency in national policies worldwide, as well as major regional and global inter-governmental processes such as the Rio+20 Conference and the adoption of the EU directive on Disclosure of Non-Financial Information. He is a proud architect of the Business Engagement in the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he co-authored the SDG Compass and co-lead the Reporting on SDGs Action Platform - a collaboration between the UN Global Compact and GRI

Kaori Shigiya
Senior Specialist, Sustainable Development Goals, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

Kaori gained BSc in Economics and Accounting before qualifying as lawyer. She worked on corporate finance transactions at Norton Rose and Linklaters in Moscow, Prague, London and Tokyo. Kaori studied MBA at INSEAD, after which she worked for Lehman Brothers then Nomura. She completed postgraduate certificates in Sustainable Business from Cambridge University, and in Impact Investing from Middlebury Institute and went on to work at Oxfam as Financial Sector Policy Advisor. Kaori is now Senior Specialist, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

Cathrine Bloch Poulsen-Hansen
Programme Manager and Senior Adviser to the Corporate Engagement Programme, Danish Institute for Human Rights

Cathrine Bloch Poulsen-Hansen, works as Programme Manager and Senior Adviser to the Corporate Engagement Programme of the Human Rights and Development Department of the Danish Institute for Human Rights. She has 8 years of experience working with companies, including companies in the maritime sector, on human rights risk and impact assessments as well as policy gap analyses, development of action plans and recommendations and action plans on human rights implementation. She also works with company organisations and sector initiatives on developing tools and approaches to support business respect for human rights. Cathrine also manages the Human Rights Compliance Assessment tools of the Institute and leads on the national work of DIHR on human rights and business, including the role of the state in protecting human rights and promoting company respect (including reporting requirements, human rights and business action plans, expectations on state-owned enterprises and public procurement).

Cristianne Close
Global Practice Leader, Markets, World Wide Fund for Nature

Cristianne Close leads WWF’s Markets Practice, providing strategic direction and leadership for WWF’s work on markets and sustainable production and consumption. She has extensive experience in sustainability, strategy and business development. She has worked for McDonald's and Syngenta, as well as foundations, designing projects in Latin America, India and Africa focused on sustainable value chains, community enterprise and smallholder market access. A Brazilian/Argentine national, Cris holds an MBA from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is based in Florianopolis, Brazil.

John Elkington
Chairman & Chief Pollinator, Volans Ltd.

John Elkington is a pioneer and world authority of the sustainability industry. He is Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Pollinator of Volans. Founded in 2008, Volans is a certified B Corporation, and works to help leaders move from incremental to systemic, Breakthrough change. Over the last four decades, John has worked with scores of large corporations, particularly at board and C-suite level, as well as with the financial community, industry bodies, government, the media, NGOs, academia, innovators and entrepreneurs. His favorite description of his role: “grit in the corporate oyster.” As a provocative friend both of the future and of business, his aim is to help identify and create new forms of value. John is author or co-author of 19 books, including 1988’s million-selling Green Consumer Guide and 1997’s Cannibals with Forks, where he first introduced the Triple Bottom Line concept. He is currently writing his 20th book, exploring the role of Artificial Intelligence in saving the world from a climate catastrophe. John is a Visiting Professor at the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at the Cranfield School of Management, as well as at Imperial College and University College London (UCL).

Bennett Freeman
Principal, Bennett Freeman Associates LLC

Over the last two decades of a 37-year career, Bennett Freeman has worked at the intersection of governments, international institutions, multinational corporations, responsible investors and NGOs to promote human rights and sustainable development around the world. As Principal of Bennett Freeman Associates LLC, he advises multinational corporations, foundations and NGOs on international human rights and labor rights. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of Global Witness; co-founder and Board Secretary of the Global Network Initiative; Chair of the Advisory Board of the Responsible Sourcing Network; a member of the Governing Board of the Natural Resources Governance Institute; a co-founder and member of the Board of Advisors of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark; and as a co-founder and member of the Steering Committee of the Cotton Campaign. He served on the boards of Oxfam America and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and as a founding trustee of the Institute for Human Rights and Business. Freeman served as a Clinton presidential appointee in three positions at the U.S. Department of State: as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Senior Advisor to Under Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Stuart Eizenstat; and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and chief speechwriter for Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He was Manager-Corporate Affairs for General Electric from 1985 to 1993. Bennett earned an MA in Modern History at the University of Oxford (as a Churchill Scholar at Balliol College from 1979-81), and an AB in History from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979.

Delphine Gibassier
Associate Professor of Accounting for Sustainable Development, Audencia Business School

Delphine Gibassier has over 16 years’ experience in non-financial accounting & reporting. She is an award-winning specialist in accounting for sustainable development and has developed an expertise both in academia, practice and policy-making in that area. She has worked with the IIRC, WBCSD, Reporting 3.0 and CDSB, as well as the French government on carbon accounting and integrated reporting. In practice, she has developed carbon accounting, SDG accounting and integrated reporting for large companies. Prior to joining Audencia Business School, she was a Senior Research Fellow at Birmingham Business School and an Associate Professor in Management Control and Sustainability Accounting at Toulouse Business School, France from 2013 to 2018. She earned her PhD from HEC Paris. Before joining academia, she worked as a management controller at GE Healthcare, Danone and Syngenta, in Paris, USA and Asia. Delphine speaks four languages and has lived in China, Japan, USA, UK, Canada and Germany.

Laura Gitman
Senior Vice President, Business for Social Responsibility

Laura Gitman spearheads Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) New York office, working with global companies across a range of industrysectors and sustainability issues. She also serves on BSR’s Executive Committee and oversees global membership strategy and services. Laura works with leading global companies to develop and enhance their sustainability strategies in order to maximize value for both business and society. She runs senior-level sustainability strategy workshops and multi-stakeholder forums. She has also published reports on environmental, social, and governance integration in mainstream investing, as well as sustainability integration and leadership. From 2006 to 2010, she facilitated the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, growing the initiative from 15 to more than 50 electronics companies. Laura previously worked for Deloitte Consulting, where she acquired extensive strategy experience advising multinational financial services companies. She also managed a community development project in Ecuador, developed the business strategy for a social venture in Brazil, and worked with the biotechnology sector in Chile. Laura holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. She is an adjunct professor in the Bard MBA Sustainability program.

Geoff Kendall
Co-Founder & CEO,Future-Fit Foundation

Geoff Kendall is an entrepreneur whose experience spans sustainability consulting, high-tech startups, and academic research. He holds a PhD in artificial intelligence, and has co-founded two software businesses, the second of which was acquired by a global technology company. Geoff switched careers in 2010, joining London-based think-tank SustainAbility. For four years he led the communications team and helped some of the world’s biggest corporations develop more sustainable business models. In so doing he realised that there was no reliable way to measure how sustainable a company is now, and how much more it needs to do, and he wanted to fix that. So in late 2013 Geoff co-founded Future-Fit Foundation: a non-profit whose mission is to equip companies and investors with free tools to identify how - and how much - they must change the way they do business, to create enduring value for themselves and society as a whole

Cate Lamb
Director, Water Security, Carbon Disclosure Project

Cate Lamb has over 17 years of experience in all aspects of sustainable development, corporate engagement, and team leadership. As Director of Water Security at Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), she leads a talented team to ensure that the economy values water so that all important economic actors take meaningful action to conserve this precious resource. Evidence and insight is vital to driving real change. CDP uses the power of measurement and information disclosure to catalyze action that improves capital flows, enhances business, and protects natural resources. Cate strives to take a pragmatic yet strategic approach in supporting her team; enabling them to deliver outstanding results at a global scale. With a focus on high performance, CDP has incentivized thousands of companies, shareholders, cities and policy makers across the world’s largest economies to act and deliver a more sustainable world.

Mark Lancelott
Director, Business Design, PA Consulting Group

Mark Lancelott specializes in business design and transformation, helping organizations execute strategy. He co-leads PA Consulting’s work on sustainability and the circular economy. As well as his consulting work, he lectures at Ashridge Management School on Designing Operating Models, and he co-authored the Operating Model Canvas book. Mark holds an MBA from the University of Manchester and an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

Daniel Neale
Director of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), World Benchmarking Alliance

Daniel Neale is the Director of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), a part of the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). The CHRB creates annual rankings of the largest companies (from high-risk sectors) on their approaches to human rights and engages with investors, corporations, civil society and governments to push for improvements in disclosure, alignment with the UNGPs and human rights performance. Prior to CHRB he was a social performance consultant, working in extractives and renewables projects in Africa, the Middle East and Europe between 2012 and 2017, focusing on social and human rights risk and impact management, team and systems development, and responsible security practices. Prior to this, Daniel spent the best part of a decade with the British military and several years working in civil-military coordination and conflict stabilisation roles, including in Afghanistan with the DfID-led Provincial Reconstruction Team. Daniel has degrees in Physics (Oxford) and Security, Conflict and International Development (Leicester). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability and is a member of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB’s) International Advisory Council.

Shawn MacDonald
CEO, Verite

Shawn MacDonald is CEO of Verité, a civil society organization that works with businesses to promote workers’ rights and other sustainability goals in global supply chains through research, consulting, training, assessments, and policy advocacy. Before his appointment as CEO in 2016, Shawn had led Verité’s research, program, and policy work since 2003. Shawn has broad international and domestic experience in labor rights, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, workplace health, and multi-sector partnerships. Before joining Verité, he was Director of Accreditation at the Fair Labor Association, Vice President of Ashoka, Senior Advisor at Meridian Group International, and co-founder of the Development and Employment Policy Project. Additionally, he worked for a variety of civil society organizations in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Shawn holds a PhD from George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and an AB in History from Harvard University.

Eliot Metzger
Senior Associate, World Resources Institute

Eliot Metzger is a senior researcher with 15 years of experience working on solutions to climate change and natural resource challenges. As a Senior Associate at the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization, he puts big ideas into action in partnership with leading businesses. Eliot previously worked at Eastern Research Group on energy and water management programs, including EPA’s WaterSense program. Eliot holds a Master’s of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University, and Bachelor degrees in Environmental Science and Business from the University of San Francisco, where he was a Goldwater Scholar.

Jason Morrison
President, Pacific Institute

Jason Morrison joined the Pacific Institute in 1993 and became its president in October 2016. As president, he oversees the Institute and its activities, focusing on broadening and amplifying the organization’s reach and impact. Additionally, Jason serves as the Head of the CEO Water Mandate, an initiative of the United Nations Global Compact, and has supported the initiative since 2008 with applied research, event organization, and other services. He is also a co-founder of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), a global initiative that has developed and is now implementing a freshwater certification program to advance responsible water practices by water providers and large-scale users. He previously directed the Institute’s Corporate Sustainability Program, studying the policy implications of private sector sustainability initiatives, with a focus on freshwater-related business risks and on sustainable water management in the business community. Jason received a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego and a Master’s Degree in Energy and Environmental Studies from Boston University.

Peter Paul van de Wijs
Chief External Affairs Officer, GRI

As the Chief External Affairs Officer, Peter Paul van de Wijs is responsible for driving effective advocacy for GRI around the world, developing and implementing GRI’s global internal and external communications strategy and maintaining the external relations. Peter Paul has over 20 years of professional experience in communications and sustainability. In addition to leading his own business, Peter Paul has held executive positions at the LEGO Foundation and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Earlier in his career, Peter Paul has held various international positions in communications, sustainable development, government affairs and issues management at The Dow Chemical Company, including leadership of Dow’s Global Water Strategy Team. He holds a degree in Communications from the College for Economic and Business Administration Studies in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

David Rakowski
Circular Economy and Sustainability Co-Lead, PA Consulting Group

David Rakowski is a Chartered Engineer within PA Consulting Group’s Technology Innovation service and co-lead of PA’s Circular Economy and Sustainability work. Managing a wide range of projects from new product developments to designing and implementing technology innovation functions, David has experience across a number of sectors. Having previously led sponsor-funded development work in Borneo, he has a passion for helping organizations realize the value from the Sustainable Development Goals and a particular interest on where Business Design and Technology meet in creating sustainable solutions. David holds a Master's in Systems Engineering from UCL and a Master's in Mechatronics from the University of Hull.

Anita Ramasastry
Professor of Law, Director of Sustainable International Development Graduate Program, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Anita Ramasastry is the Roland L. Hjorth Professor of Law and a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. Anita is also the Director of a Graduate Program in Sustainable International Development at the University of Washington School Of Law. She researches and teaches in the fields of law and development, anti-corruption, international commercial law and business and human rights. From 2009-2012, Anita was a senior advisor to the International Trade Administration of the US Department of Commerce. Anita has authored numerous scholarly articles and reports focused on emerging issues in business and human rights. She has recently co-chaired an independent commission on Experts with Justice Ian Binnie, focused on commerce, crime and human rights. Anita has advised many intergovernmental and civil society organizations including the World Bank, USAID, the Institute for Human Rights and Business, BSR, Amnesty International and the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable. Anita is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School and the University of Sydney.

Caroline Rees
President, Shift

Caroline Rees is President and Co-Founder of Shift, the leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Shift is a non-profit organization that works globally with governments, businesses, and their stakeholders to embed the Guiding Principles in practice. From 2007 to 2011, Caroline was a lead advisor to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights, Professor John Ruggie, and was closely involved in the development of the Guiding Principles. From 2009 to 2011 she was also Director of the Governance and Accountability Program at the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. Caroline is a regular speaker and moderator at international conferences and workshops on business and human rights. She previously spent 14 years as a British Diplomat with a focus in multilateral affairs. During that time she chaired the UN negotiations that created the UN mandate on business and human rights. She has degrees from the University of Oxford and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Paul Reig
Manager, Corporate Water Stewardship, World Resources Institute

Paul Reig is responsible for managing World Resources Institute’s (WRI) corporate engagement on water and Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas. Throughout his career, Paul has assisted numerous companies across sectors—including food and beverage, IT, oil & gas, consumer goods, and apparel—with enterprise water risk assessments and water strategy innovation. Paul is also deeply involved in shaping corporate water disclosure standards and ESG water risk ratings as member of the CDP Water Advisory Council, Global Reporting Initiative 303: Water and Effluents Standard Project Working Group, and Calvert Investments Water Advisory Group. Paul has authored and coauthored numerous publications, including the Exploring the Case for Context-based Corporate Water Targets, From Doing Better to Doing Enough: Anchoring Corporate Sustainability Targets in Science, Corporate Water Disclosure Guidelines, and Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability & Business Risk, to name a few. Prior to joining WRI, Paul spent four years managing a wide range of watershed restoration projects throughout the US States of Virginia and North Carolina. He also spent time in Latin America working on environmental and social impact assessments for global energy and mining companies. Paul grew up in Barcelona, and holds an MS in Water Resources Management from McGill University in Montreal, a BS in Environmental and Agricultural Biology from the University of Navarra, in Pamplona, Spain, as well as a Certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University.

David Schilling
Senior Program Director, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

David Schilling joined the staff at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) in 1994 and works with ICCR members and allies to engage corporations, cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder initiatives on human rights in corporate operations and supply chains. He has participated in delegations to a number of countries visiting factories and meeting with workers and NGOs. For the past ten years, David has provided staff leadership for initiatives to counter human trafficking and modern slavery. He is part of the ICCR team building the new Investor Alliance for Human Rights. David is coordinator of ICCR‘s Bangladesh Investor Initiative, a global collaboration in support of the Accord for Fire and Building Safety. David is currently chair of the Advisory Board of the Global Social Compliance Program, member, International Advisory Network of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, RFK Center Compass Education Advisory Committee and the UNICEF CSR Advisory Group and coordinator, along with ICCR members of the Bangladesh Investor Initiative, a global collaboration in support of the Accord for Fire and Building Safety. David has a bachelor's degree from Carroll College in Wisconsin in philosophy and religion; masters of divinity from Union Theological Seminary; a graduate of the International Fellows Program, Columbia University and has an advanced professional studies certificate from Pacific School of Religion.

Aditi Sen
Senior Climate Advisor, Oxfam

Aditi Sen leads Oxfam’s engagement on business and climate to ensure that the private sector takes meaningful action to decarbonize their operations and supply chains in ways that ensure that women and men who live in poverty can thrive. In this role, she has supported Oxfam’s advocacy and campaigning to get the world’s biggest food and beverage companies to adopt science based targets , and to deliver on their commitments towards achieving deforestation free and exploitation free supply chains. Aditi has deep experience working at the intersection of climate, sustainable development and human rights with a range of stakeholders in the US as well as in the global south. Prior to joining Oxfam, Aditi worked with Verra – a sustainability standards organization – where she created innovative programs to track and reduce carbon emissions across a range of sectors such as transport, waste, supply chains, forestry and agriculture. She has also worked with the World Bank and with startups in India. Aditi holds a graduate degree in in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and an undergraduate degree from Delhi University.

Robert Skinner
Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships

Robert Skinner is the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, taking up the post in July 2018. In this role, he engages partners for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), manages the UN’s relationship with the UN Foundation, oversees the administration of the UN Democracy Fund, and directs the SDG Advocates and the SDG Strategy Hub. From November 2015 to July 2018, Robert was the Director of the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Washington, DC. His duties included maintaining relations with U.S. government officials, members of Congress, media, civil society, the diplomatic community, business and educational institutions; as well as managing UN public information activities. Prior to joining the United Nations, Robert was the Executive Director in the New York Office of the United Nations Foundation. Before joining the Foundation in 2006, Robert held several positions in the United States Department of State, including as Deputy Spokesperson at the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York, and as Public Affairs Officer for the United States Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He also held posts in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and San Salvador, El Salvador. Robert holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oakland University in the United States.

Ulysses Smith
President & Chief Executive Officer, Telos Governance Advisers

Ulysses Smith is an accomplished attorney and thought leader on issues of governance and development, rule of law, multilateralism, human rights, and international law and regulation. His clients include major multinationals, governments, NGOs, multilateral institutions, and state-owned enterprises on a range of governance, development, and regulatory matters. In 2016, Ulysses was recognized by the UN Global Compact as one of ten Global SDG Pioneers for his work advancing peace, justice, governance and the rule of law. Ulysses holds a J.D. from Cornell Law School.

Irit Tamir
Director, Private Sector Department, Oxfam America

Irit Tamir is the Director of Oxfam America's Private Sector Department. In her role, she is focused on working with companies to ensure that their business practices result in positive social and environmental impacts for vulnerable communities throughout the world. Irit leads Oxfam America’s work on business and development including shareholder engagement, value chain assessments, and collaborative advocacy initiatives, such as the successful “Behind the Brands” campaign. She is co-author of Community Voice in Human Rights Impact Assessments and has contributed to numerous reports at Oxfam focused on business and human rights issues. Irit is a frequent commentator on agricultural policies, labor, human rights and their intersection with business in major news outlets including NPR, The Guardian, and the New York Times. She has years of experience in government relations and is a former prosecutor who supervised civil rights prosecutions and hate crimes. Irit has a JD from Boston College Law School and a Master’s in International Law from the University of Miami Law School where she was a Ford Foundation fellow.

Diane-Laure Arjaliès
Assistant Professor , Ivey Business School - Western University

Diane-Laure is an Assistant Professor at the Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada. She aims to push the boundaries of knowledge and practice by investigating how the fashioning of new devices and/or collective actions can help transform markets towards sustainability. Over the past years, she has studied the emergence of responsible investing, conservation finance, impact assessment, integrated reporting, and reporting on the sustainable development goals, among other topics. An ethnographer, she enjoys doing field research and sharing her experience with students and practitioners. Her work in this area has won her several academic, teaching and professional prizes. The French Ministry for Finance and Economy has recently appointed her to the Scientific Committee of the French SRI label. She is also a board member of the French Social Investment Forum, an advisory member of the Principles for Responsible Investing and a Jury member of the FIR-PRI Finance and Sustainability Awards. Since 2017, she has also been an honorary research fellow at Cambridge, Centre for Alternative Finance.

UN System

Marcos Athias Neto
Director of Private Sector, United Nations Development Programme

Marcos Athias Neto is the UNDP Director of the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector (IICPSD) in Development. The IICPSD is responsible for leading the organization strategic work with the private sector and foundations globally, which includes defining the role of the private sector and philanthropy in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Marcos leads a team of 25 people working on projects such as the Business Call to Action, the SDG Philanthropy Platform, and the G20 Inclusive Business Framework. Prior to joining UNDP, Marcos was Global Technical Advisor for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction at ChildFund International, where he has also served as Regional Development Officer for the Northeast US. Before working with ChildFund International, Marcos spent 17 years at CARE International. During his tenure at CARE International, Marcos’ assignments ranged from six years as Regional Manager for Asia and Latin America at CARE UK, to leading CARE USA’s process of establishing CARE’s presence in Brazil. In 2001, Marcos became CARE Brazil’s first National Director. From 2006 to 2008, Marcos was CARE’s Program Director in Central America, overseeing a portfolio of $25 million and 250 staff His last post at CARE was as Director for Climate Change and Special Initiatives. Marcos is a lawyer by training, with a LLM in Law and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.

Henk-Jan Brinkman
Chief of Peacebuilding Stratehy and Partnerships Branch, United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office

Henk-Jan Brinkman is chief of the Peacebuilding Strategy and Partnerships Branch of the Peacebuilding Support Office in the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. Previously, he worked in the World Food Programme, the office of the UN Secretary-General and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He has published on such topics as the peace and justice in the post-2015 development agenda, socio-economic factors behind violent conflicts, the impact of high food prices and human stature. He is the lead author of WFP’s World Hunger Series – Hunger and Markets (Earthscan, 2009) and the author of Explaining Prices in the Global Economy: A Post-Keynesian Model (Edward Elgar, 1999). He holds an M.A. in economics from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and a Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Giovanni Gallo
Chief, Implementation Support Section, Corruption and Economic Crime Branch, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Giovanni Gallo is the Chief of the Implementation Support Section of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch at UNODC. Over the past 20 years, he has held several positions in the UN system, both at headquarters and in the field. From 2011 to 2019, Mr Giovanni Gallo served as Deputy Chief in the Office of the Director-General of the United Nations Office of Vienna (UNOV) and Executive Director of UNODC (until 2014). Subsequently, he also served as Senior Legal Advisor to the Director - General and Executive Director. From 2006 to 2010, Mr Gallo worked as a Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, where his primary responsibilities included the promotion of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, providing legal advice and technical assistance for Member States to prevent and fight organized crime and corruption. From 2001 to 2003 he worked for the UNODC office in Myanmar. Mr Gallo has acted as vesting expert to the 11th Training Course on “Criminal Justice Response to Corruption” at the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI). He also cooperates, as a lecturer, with several academic institutions, including in the Masters Course “International Cooperation Against Transnational Financial Organized Crime” at the University of Teramo, Italy. Mr Gallo is a lawyer by training and holds an advanced law degree from the University of Bologna, Italy.

Michelle Gyles-McDonnough
Director, Sustainable Development Unit, Executive Office of the Secretary-General at the United Nations

Throughout her career, Ms. Gyles-McDonnough has practiced privately as a lawyer; served as advisor to the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States and has deep development experience within UNDP, including as Chief of UNDP's sub-regional facility for the Caribbean, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the OECS, Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam and was recently appointed as Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Regional Director Designate for Asia and the Pacific. She is currently Director of the Sustainable Development Unit in the Executive office of the Secretary-General. Ms. Gyles-McDonnough holds a law degree from Columbia University School of Law, with honours in international and foreign law, a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and also a Diploma in Executive Education from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania

Catherine Howell
Innovative Finance Specialist, United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office

Catherine Howell an Innovative Finance Specialist at the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office. She is a finance specialist with over 13 years of experience in the private sector across various strategy, finance and risk management roles in Investment Banking in London and development finance in Africa. Deep experience in Zambia, South Africa, Kenya in the intersection of access to health care and financial inclusion, building blended finance models and value chain analysis. Currently working on innovative finance and partnerships for Peacebuilding at the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) 3 years working in business development in Africa with a focus on Healthcare, Agriculture and the Financial Innovation sectors Last role was as Head of Enterprise and Supply Chain Development for Barclays based in Kenya, leading the setup of new social business operations across Africa, building private-public partnerships to support SME investment and development.

Henriette Kolb
Head of Gender Secretariat, International Finance Corporation

Henriette Kolb is the Head of the Gender Secretariat at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. She serves as an advocate for gender equality issues in the private sector and leads a team that works with IFC’s clients to include both women and men as entrepreneurs, employees, consumers, community stakeholders and leaders. Before joining IFC in September 2013, Henriette was the CEO of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, where she remains involved as a senior advisor. She also serves as a member of Secretary Hillary Clinton's International Council on Women's Business Leadership. Henriette graduated with a MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and received her MA from Freiburg University, Germany.

Albena Melin
Head, Multilateral Engagements, International Finance Corporation

Implementing International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) new strategy of Creating Markets and Maximizing Finance for Development, Albena Melin works with innovative blended finance mechanisms and partnerships to deliver business solutions for development challenges. Albena leads IFC’s engagement with the 2030 agenda, SDGs and FfD. She was instrumental in delivering the International Business Forum in partnership with the WEF and ICC, during the Addis FfD Conference engaging over 800 global business leaders with development partners and governments. Albena was also part of negotiating the AAAA, injecting private sector and financing perspectives and thinking into the outcome document. Albena also co-authored the private sector chapter of the Billions to Trillions paper that helped shift the thinking around development finance, giving private finance an indispensable role. She also leads IFC engagement with G20, G7, OECD on maximizing private finance for development outcomes. Albena was seconded from WBG as Senior Adviser, SDG Financing and private sector engagement, to the UN-OPGA, 71st Session. Albena has worked in over 30 countries and speaks 8 languages.

Anthony Miller
Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Anthony Miller is the Coordinator of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative and Focal Point for Corporate Social Responsibility within the Investment and Enterprise Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He has managed the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative since its launch by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009. In 2011, the initiative was named by Forbes magazine as one of the “world’s best sustainability ideas” and today it counts over 60 Partner Exchanges around the world. Anthony is a specialist on CSR, corporate governance and responsible investment. He served as an expert in the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility for five years where he was a member of the Integrated Drafting Task Force. In 2011 he was lead author for a special report to the G20 High-Level Development Working Group Promoting standards for Responsible Investment in Value Chains. Prior to joining UNCTAD, he worked on CSR issues at the UN High Commission on Human Rights, the International Labour Organization and a Fortune 500 company. He holds an MPhil and PhD in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge.

Shirin Pakfar Friborg
Head, Partnership Development, Private Partnerships and Philanthropy, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Shirin Pakfar Friborg is the Head, Partnership Development, Private Partnerships and Philanthropy at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Shirin has worked with the UN for the last 15 years in various capacities, mainly serving in field operations: Afghanistan, Sudan, the Gaza Strip, Libya and most recently as the head of the RC office in Jerusalem. She also has experience working in the private sector and in academia. She has a Bachelor's degree from University of California at Berkeley and a Master's from the London School of Economics.

Massimiliano Riva
Specialist, Sustainable & Innovative Science, United Nations Development Programme

Massimiliano (Max) Riva is responsible for contributing to UNDP’s evolving work on sustainable and innovative finance through policy advice, technical expertise, advocacy, partnership building and knowledge. Max is keen to meet, collaborate and support colleagues to unlock and mobilize new resources for sustainable development and to trigger a more efficient, effective and equitable allocation of resources in-countries. Max is a trade and finance advisor, with 15 years of experience in international organizations, governments and the private sector.

Githa Roelans
Head of the Multinational Enterprises & Enterprise Engagement Unit, International Labour Organisation

Githa Roelans is the Head of the Multinational Enterprises and Enterprise Engagement Unit of the International Labour Organisation’s Enterprises Department. The unit provides policy advice and technical support on the application of the principles of the ILO Tripartite Declaration concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) to governments, employers and workers in ILO member states and plays a central role in the ILO's engagement with enterprises. The unit also coordinates the ILO approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in relation to the role of business on the Decent Work related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As such she leads the ILO’s engagement with other international organizations to enhance international policy coherence on the labour/employment dimension of CSR, such as the OHCHR, UN Global Compact, OECD. The unit operates the ILO Helpdesk for Business providing guidance to companies that seek to integrate principles of international labour standards in corporate policies and operations. Githa held previous positions in the ILO Bureau for Gender Equality and the International Programme on the elimination of child labour. Before joining the ILO, she was Advisor and Research Fellow on CSR in the UNIDO Beijing Office. She is a graduate of the University of Leuven, where she held research and management posts.

Karen M. Smith
Business Partnership Advisor, United Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Karen Smith works with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Division as a Business Partnership Advisor working with companies to improve humanitarian effectiveness before, during and after response. In this position, she has deployed on emergency assignments as the private sector focal point for the Typhoon Haiyan response in the Philippines and the Ebola response in West Africa. OCHA also supports the Connecting Business initiative (CBi). Karen has also worked with the UN Central Emergency Response Fund as the lead for the Rapid Response Window managing the allocation USD 300 million in projects a year. Prior to working with OCHA she worked with the UN Department of Peacekeeping (DPKO) in New York, as well as in Kosovo and Sudan. In addition to working with the UN she’s held management positions with several NGOs, a decentralized fund for the Canadian International Development Agency and as Director of CSR Projects for Business for Social Responsibility. She was also a volunteer Board member for Building Markets. Karen holds an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath, a Partnership Certificate from Cambridge University, and a BA in International Development Studies from the University of Toronto.

Matthias Thorns
Director of Stakeholder Engagement, International Organization of Employers

Matthias Thorns is Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). His previous professional experiences include the following positions: International Labor Relations and Workplace Rights Manager at the The Coca-Cola Company; Senior Adviser at the International Organisation of Employers (IOE); Deputy Director for European and International Affairs at the Confederation of German Employers (BDA); Adviser for Social Affairs, Businesseurope. Matthias has a Master of Arts in Europäische Integration/ European Studies from the University of Hannover as well as a Magister Artium in History and Philosophy from the University of Hannover.

Daniele Violetti
Director, Finance Technology and Capacity Building, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat

Daniele Violetti is the Director of Finance Technology and Capacity Building of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Prior to his current position he served as Chief of Staff to Christiana Figueres and Patricia Espinosa from 2011 to 2018. He also served as Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF) at United Nation Headquarters in New York. He has extensive experience working on issues related to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol. He served as Secretary to the CDM Executive Board (EB) and was a Manager in the CDM Process Management unit within the Sustainable Development Mechanisms programme at the UNFCCC secretariat. During his time working on the CDM, Daniele oversaw the support of the UNFCCC secretariat to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) and to the EB. Prior to working at the UNFCCC secretariat, Daniele was a Team Leader in the European Affairs Department of the Environment Protection Agency of the region of Emilia Romagna in Italy, where he was in charge of project management in the environmental sector. Daniele holds a PhD in Environmental Protection from the Università degli Studi di Bologna.

Local Networks and Governments

Benafsha Charlick-Delgado
Senior Programme Manager, Global Compact Network UK

Benafsha Charlick-Delgado joined the Global Compact Network UK in 2015. With over 190 members, the UK Network serves as the focal point of coordination and communication for UK-based members through regular meetings to share best practice and working groups that are active in areas such as diversity and inclusion, modern slavery and SDG reporting. Benafsha is the Senior Programme Manager at the Global Compact Network UK where she leads on human rights and labour standards. She also heads up the UK Network’s Modern Slavery Working Group and provides Secretariat services for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sport, Modern Slavery and Human Rights. In 2015, she also worked at Aviva plc, where she was involved in drafting their modern slavery strategy. Previously, she worked for the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and the Prince of Wales' International Business Leaders' Forum (IBLF) where she was Programme Coordinator of the Business Standards team and worked as a researcher on a project with the Swiss Government and Voluntary Principles of Security and Human Rights. Benafsha also assisted the development of the Guide to Human Rights Impact Assessment and Management tool and provided content and editing support for IBLF publications on business and human rights . She has an MA in Human Rights from University College London and a BA in American Studies from Kings College London.

Marcel Engel
Executive Director, Global Compact Network Germany

Marcel Engel joined the Global Compact Network Germany (GCNG) as Executive Director in 2016. GCNG includes some 500 participants and a work program covering business and human rights, environment and climate and anticorruption, as well as cross-cutting activities on reporting and the SDGs. Between 1997 and 2014 he worked in senior level positions at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), including as a member of its Management Team, responsible for the Global Network of partner organizations in 70 countries as well as WBCSD´s Social Capital Focus Area. From 1994 to 1996 he was a professional officer at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Mexico. Marcel holds master degrees in international relations and development studies from the University of Constance and London School of Economics, as well as Swiss Hotel Management diploma.

Y.W. Junardy
President, Global Compact Network Indonesia

Y.W. Junardy is the Commissioner of PT Rajawali Corpora, an Indonesian national holding investment Company operating in diverse industries i.e. hotel & property, transportation, agriculture, mining, infrastructure and IT services. Prior to his current position he served in various companies including CEO of
Excelcomindo (Now XL Axiata), a cellular operator, Board of RCTI, a national TV broadcasting, and CEO of IBM Indonesia. He is currently serving as the President of Global Compact Network Indonesia, and also board-member of various organizations, among others: Indonesia Business Links, Asia Marketing Federation, House of Love Foundation, Uni Papua Football Community, etc. He is also an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Namibia to Indonesia. He was appointed by The UN Secretary-General as the Board Members of the United Nations Global Compact for 2015 – 2018.

Uddesh Kohli
Member, Governing Council, Global Compact Network India

Vali Marszalek
Executive Director, Global Compact Network Croatia

Vali Marszalek is the Executive Director of Global Compact Network Croatia. In addition to running the local network in Croatia since 2016, Vali holds the position of Sustainable Development and CSR Adviser in Croatian Employers´ Association, the hosting organization of the Local Network, thus supporting members of the Croatian Employers´ Association, as well as UN Global Compact participants in meeting their corporate sustainability requirements and aligning corporate strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals. With expertise in SDG impact assessment and sustainability strategy development, Vali assists companies in SDG prioritization and assessment as well as sustainability reporting. Being a Sociologist by vocation, her skills and interests lie in social impact and people oriented topics such as Gender Equality, Human Rights, Decent Work and Anti-Corruption with a special interest in supply chain sustainability.

Dr. Achieng Ojwang
Executive Director, Global Compact Network South Africa

A Sustainability Professional, Dr Ojwang leads the Network which is a group of companies in South Africa signed up to the UN Global Compact, in the implementation of UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles and for impact on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Ojwang has a specific interest in leadership for corporate governance, human rights and gender equality. She holds a Doctorate degree in Development Studies from Radboud University in the Netherlands and a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Marie Wibe
Senior Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Denmark