Voices, choices and leadership: a tipping point for Europe?

Ahmed Abdirahman is the founder and CEO of the Järvaveckan Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting inclusivity across social, economic, and political spheres. His foundation organizes Järvaveckan, a major democracy and political festival in Sweden’s political calendar that brings together over 300 organizations and attracts more than 60,000 attendees each summer. The event fosters connections among citizens, politicians, civil society, business leaders, and public authorities. Somali-born, Abdirahman previously served as a policy expert on social sustainability at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, focusing on advancing integration initiatives.

Prior to his current position, James Appathurai has served as the acting assistant secretary general for innovation, hybrid and cyber division, deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy, and as the NATO Secretary General’s special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. He has also held several other positions within NATO, including as NATO spokesperson and as deputy head and senior planning officer for the policy planning and speechwriting section of the political affairs division. Before joining NATO, he was a policy officer at Canada’s Department of Defence.

Uladzimir Astapenka started his diplomatic career in 1985 going up to the position of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the newly independent Belarus in 1992. Then he served as the first Consul General of Belarus in the Netherlands and opened the Embassy in Brussels in 1995. From 1997 he started an academic career at the Belarusian State University as Vice-Rector and Head of the Chair of European Law.
In 2008 Astapenka was appointed to the position of the Ambassador of Belarus to Cuba, in 2017 to Argentina, from where he resigned in 2020 joining the democratic forces of Belarus.

Sylvain Boko has held several international Executive, Representative, and Diplomatic posts, including Chief of Party/Country Representative (RTI), Regional Director (ACBF/AU), and Principal Regional Advisor (UNECA). In these roles, Boko provided vision and leadership in pursuit of common objectives, strengthened partnerships, and led resource mobilization initiatives. These experiences have also provided him with firsthand knowledge of multilateral, bilateral, and intergovernmental organizations’ processes including the United Nations, African Union, as well as international implementing agencies and non-government organizations. Overall, Sylvain Boko has interwoven his academic and research knowledge with his international development and diplomatic skills to achieve impactful results. Academic achievements include several publications on key issues affecting development in Africa, and several research grants, including from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Benjamin Brake has been head of the Digital and Data Policy directorate-general at the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) since March 2022. In this position, he reports directly to State Secretary for Digital, Stefan Schnorr. Before joining the Ministry, Mr. Brake spent roughly ten years at the head of the Berlin office of IT service provider IBM, where he represented the company’s policy interests. His early career included positions at the German Bundestag and as private secretary to the then Federal Minister of Justice, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (FDP).

Nicolas Brien is an entrepreneur, investor and board member. He is a vibrant advocate of EU tech sovereignty and has chaired the European Startup Network, the most influential industry group representing start-ups in Brussels. Brien sits on the boards of companies and foundations in Europe and Asia, including Heritage, Vidacity, Tilder and France Alzheimer. After successfully restructuring EuraTechnologies, Europe’s largest startup incubator, he entered into stealth mode and has been working on a green tech start-up project. He previously led France Digitale, Europe’s largest start-up organisation with over 2,000 start-up members and more than 100 venture capitalists. Prior to joining the digital ecosystem, Brien ran the Direction of Studies at Kantar and was a senior advisor to Najat Vallaud-Belkacem in her role as the spokeswoman of the French government.

Annette Brüls is Corporate Vice President EMEACLA at Edwards Lifesciences. Prior to joining Edwards, Brüls was the CEO of Medela and has held several senior leadership positions at global MedTech companies. She has over 25 years experience as Board member and leading diverse teams with a mission-driven approach, coupled with a passion for innovation and technology. She has been named among the Top 50 Technology CEOs by The Health Technology Report and Best CEO for 2020, 2021, and 2022 by Comparably. She is an advocate for diversity and inclusion, dedicated to elevating women in the workplace. She holds a BA and MA in electrical engineering from the University of Liège’s Ecole Polytechnique and completed management courses at Wharton and Harvard Business School.

Maryam Bukar Hassan, also known as Alhanislam, is a distinguished Nigerian poet, speaker and advocate. A dynamic voice in the global fight against systemic oppression, Alhanislam has made significant strides in amplifying the narratives of marginalised communities, particularly women. As a native of Borno State, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, Alhanislam co-curated the ‘Peace Begins with Me’ campaign with UN Peacekeeping. This campaign featured prominent figures reciting a poem co- written by Alhanislam, aimed at fostering peace and reconciliation in conflict-affected regions. Alhanislam is the founder of the ‘True My Voice’ initiative, a groundbreaking platform dedicated to empowering young people through creative expression and advocacy. Additionally, Alhanislam has served as a campaign coordinator for Change.org , where she worked closely with communities to amplify their voices and connect them with decision-makers.

John A Clarke is a Fellow at Maastricht University’s Institute of Globalisation and the Royal Asiatic Society, and a member of the Travellers Club London and the Club Diplomatique de Belgique. He previously served as Director for International Trade negotiations at the European Commission and was Head of the EU Delegation to the WTO and UN in Geneva. With over thirty-five years of experience in international negotiations, Clarke was an official of the Hong Kong Government from 1983 to 1993. He is also on the editorial board of the Journal of International Trade Law and Regulation, frequently writing and lecturing globally on trade and cultural topics, and serves as Special Adviser on Trade for the Brussels-based consultancy FIPRA.

As Chief Energy Modeller, Laura Cozzi oversees the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) outlooks and forecasts. She is in charge of ensuring the consistency of the modelling work and the resulting messages. Cozzi is also Head of the Demand Outlook Division, responsible for producing the annual World Energy Outlook: the IEA flagship publication that is regarded as the gold standard in energy analysis. The Division produces medium- to long-term energy demand, efficiency, power generation, renewables and environmental analysis for this report and other publications.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is a Dutch politician who notably served as the 11th Secretary-General of NATO. He also previously worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch delegation of the NATO headquarters in Brussels. He now works as President of the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) of the Netherlands, an independent body which advises government and parliament on foreign policy. Furthermore, he was appointed to the Pieter Kooijmans Chair for Peace, Law and Security at Leiden University.

Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska is the Minister of Finance of North Macedonia, having previously served as the Additional Deputy Minister of Finance as part of the Caretaker Government. Prior to her ministerial posts, Dimitrieska-Kochoska held numerous cabinet positions, as well as various posts in North Macedonia’s financial sector. She has extensive knowledge of international financial services and the broader financial sector.

Pedro Duarte is the Portuguese Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Prior to this post,  Duarte led the Legal and Corporate Affairs department at Microsoft Portugal, and was a member of the Portuguese Parliament, where he chaired the Education, Science and Culture Committee. Duarte has also been a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, as well as President of Social Democratic Youth (JSD), Vice-President of Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP) and Secretary of State for Youth. Duarte has also served as Vice-President of the Board and Chair of the Strategic Council for Digital Economy of the National Business Confederation of Portugal.

Currently serving as the Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk is among Poland’s most recognised social activists and a strong advocate of women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights. She previously served as a member of the Polish Parliament Social Policy Committee and the Education, Science and Youth Committee. Dziemianowicz-Bąk was instrumental in leading the demonstrations against anti-abortion laws in Poland that became known as ‘Black Monday’. She is a former board member of the left-wing Razem party. Dziemianowicz-Bąk was listed among the top 100 most influential Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy Journal and also received the Campaign Against Homophobia’s Equality Crowns award.

Frank Elderson is a member of the Executive Board and of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB). He is Vice-Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board and oversees the ECB’s Legal Services. He co-chairs the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Risks of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Elderson previously served as Executive Director of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). At DNB he held several senior positions before joining its Governing Board in 2011. Before joining DNB in 1999,  Elderson worked as a lawyer specialising in EU competition law. Throughout his career, Frank Elderson has stressed the importance of climate and environment related considerations for the financial sector and for supervisors and central banks. He founded and chaired the Dutch Platform for Sustainable Finance from 2016 to 2020 and from 2018 to 2022 he served as the first Chair of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a network he helped creating and expanding. Elderson graduated in Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam in 1994 and obtained an LL.M. Degree at Columbia Law School, New York, in 1995. He also studied various courses at the University of Zaragoza, Spain.

Since 2021, Megi Fino has been Albania’s Deputy Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. She is at the forefront of advancing her country’s European Union membership process as a negotiator for the acquis Chapter 31. Fino has been engaged at the UN and regional bodies to promote support for Ukraine and regional cooperation. She was previously an Integrity Consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focused on local governance reform and worked as a regulatory expert at Vodafone Albania. A lawyer by training, she includes Chinese among her many languages.

Mary Fitzgerald is a researcher and analyst specialising in the Mediterranean region with a particular focus on Libya. She has consulted for a number of international organisations including in the areas of peacebuilding and civil society. She has worked with the International Crisis Group (ICG), the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) among others. She is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London and an Associate Fellow at ISPI in Milan. Mary has also worked on wider initiatives with UNESCO, the Anna Lindh Foundation, the British Council and other cultural organisations. Her writing has appeared in publications including Foreign Policy, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Financial Times and The Guardian.

Arancha González Laya is the third Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po and the first woman to lead the world’s third school for Politics and International Studies. Before joining PSIA, González served as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (2020-2021). She previously was Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (2013-2020). Between 2005 and 2013 she served as Chief of Staff to the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy. Before that she held senior positions at the European Commission in international trade and development. González started her career as a lawyer in the private sector. She has been a member of PSIA’s Strategic Committee since 2017. A Spanish national, she holds a degree in law from the University of Navarra and a Postgraduate Degree in European Law from the University Carlos III of Madrid.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the first female President of Croatia, has extensive experience in politics, diplomacy, and security. She served as Croatia’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to the United States, and Assistant Secretary General of NATO. Grabar-Kitarović is a member of the International Olympic Committee, GLOBSEC International Advisory Council, and various non-profit boards, including Friends of Europe and the US Atlantic Council. She is involved with the UN Alliance of Civilizations, serves as Global Ambassador for Immunization for Women Political Leaders, and is chair emerita of the Council of Women World Leaders. She also co-chairs the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board and is a member of the Committee of Independent Eminent Persons of the European Parliament.

Benjamin Haddad is the French Minister Delegate for European Affairs. Prior to this post, Haddad was a member of the French Parliament, the spokesperson for the Renaissance group at the Parliament and a member of the Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Committees. As Senior Director of the Europe Centre at the Atlantic Council, he advocated for transatlantic unity and greater European responsibility. He authored “Le paradis perdu: L’Amérique de Trump et la fin des illusions européennes” analysing the historical and geopolitical forces that determined the transition from a long period of liberal optimism to an era of retrenchment in the US and Europe.

Inspecteur General des Finances, Pierre Heilbronn is a graduate of SciencesPo and a former student of the École nationale d’administration. A committed European, Pierre Heilbronn was rapporteur for the Commission for the Liberation of French Growth chaired by Jacques Attali (2010), Deputy Secretary General of the Secretariat General for European Affairs (2010-2014), Deputy Director of the Cabinet of the Minister for the Economy and Finance (2014-2016) and Vice-President in charge of policies and partnerships at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2016-2021). On 6 March 2023, he was appointed “France’s Special Envoy for Ukraine’s Relief and Reconstruction” by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.

Valeriya Ionan is the Deputy Minister for Eurointegration at the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, where she oversees European integration and international relations, the national digital literacy programme, regional digital transformation, as well as the development and growth of SMEs. Her top projects at the ministry include Diia.Education, a national edutainment platform for reskilling and digital literacy; award-winning Diia.Business, a national project on the development of SMEs; WinWin platform for growing global Ukrainian innovation vision; Future Perfect, a national language programme; CDTO Campus, an education project for digital leaders, and many others. Her efforts focus on launching Ukrainian digital products to speed the process of national digitalisation and to help solve complex challenges.

In his current role of Executive Director of the ESTDEV, Klen Jäärats is responsible for managing and implementing Estonia’s international development cooperation and humanitarian assistance projects. Previously, he served as director of the EU Secretariat in the Estonian government for over a decade, where he coordinated and developed all EU policy and acted as chief European affairs adviser to three different Estonian Prime Ministers. A career civil servant, Jäärats started out in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, rising quickly to the position of Head of the Refugees Department. In this capacity, he dealt with a variety of NGOs and international organisations, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Jäärats also worked at the Estonian Permanent Representation to the EU, where he dealt with many issues related to the preparation, ratification and implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Disa Jironet is a Dutch Public Prosecutor and author with a background in Dutch and international law. Specialised in the role of justice in society, her work adopts a new approach to criminal law by examining how societal systems and institutions can be shaped compassionately to better serve humanity. Her book “Crime and Compassion” argues for a more humane criminal climate. Acknowledging the complexity of human behaviour, Jironet remains critically optimistic that justice reform can move beyond the debate of hard or soft punishment and towards an evidence-based conversation about long-term sustainable justice and security.

Sylvain is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and a director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) the firm’s business and economics research arm. He serves financial-services institutions in Switzerland, across Europe, the United States, and Africa, focusing on strategy, transformation, underwriting, risk, investment management, sustainability and the net-zero transition. Sylvain leads research and actively supports insurance clients on the transition to more sustainable underwriting and investments. At MGI, he leads research on economic topics such as European competitiveness, the global balance sheet, productivity and climate risk adaptation. Sylvain previously served as the managing partner of the Geneva office. He holds an MA degree in communication systems from EPFL in Lausanne and an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business in New York.

Isabelle Jörg, originally from Eastern Switzerland and now based in Basel, has always had a passion for exploring the world, particularly Europe. After studying in the UK and living on the Canary Islands—where she developed a deep commitment to environmental protection through replantation efforts—she returned to Switzerland to study law at the University of Basel. Isabelle’s career as a corporate counsel began at Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis), where she specialized in risk financing and witnessed the company’s forward-thinking approach to diversity and sustainability. In her late fifties, she left the corporate world to pursue interests in history, art, and nonprofit work, eventually joining Klima Seniorinnen Switzerland, where she now serves as a board member and represents the organization in the European Grandparents for Climate initiative.

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Jesse Klaver currently serves as the green-left party leader in the Dutch parliament, with a mandate focused on environmental and educational issues. In his time as party leader, Klaver was instrumental in capturing 10 additional parliamentary seats, rising to an all-time high of 14, and making GroenLinks the fifth most important group in the House. Previously, Klaver was the spokesperson for finance, environment and education, and sat on a wide range of parliamentary committees. He has publically opposed tax evasion and has co-authored a memo on protecting the Dutch flora and fauna.

António Leitão Amaro is the Portuguese Minister of the Presidency and Vice-President of the Social Democratic Party. He is also the President of the Municipal Assembly of Tondela (his mandate is currently suspended). He was Secretary of State for Local Administration in the XIX Constitutional Government, deputy in the Assembly of the Republic, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Secretary-General of the Social Democratic Youth (JSD). Leitão Amaro holds a PhD in Law from the Catholic University of Portugal, an LL.M from Harvard Law School at Harvard University (USA) and a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon. He is a professor of Public Finance at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon and at the Católica Global School of Law. Leitão Amaro was a Marshall Memorial Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in the United States, a Scholar at The Europaeum, a Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School, and a lawyer at the Cuatrecasas law firm.

As the first woman as Commanding Officer in the German Navy (FGS Datteln), Helena has participated in several international missions under the United Nations and NATO with her crew. In this role, she has been responsible for all issues concerning her ship, crew and assignments, including extensive training and combat cycles. Helena is the first woman ever to take over the command of a German navy ship.

A Slovak parliamentarian, Vladimíra Marcinková, member of the Freedom and Solidarity parliamentarian club, is the vice-chair of the Committee for European Affairs. Under her leadership, the Committee for European Affairs was the first in EU member states to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and call for a unified EU response to support the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. A staunch supporter of human rights and the rights of the rights of minorities and other vulnerable groups, she has sponsored legislative initiatives to expand children’s rights and social assistance to mothers and families, as well as defended the expansion of the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Marcinková is also actively dedicated to improving the position of women and mothers in the labour market.

A human rights lawyer and defender, Oleksandra Matviichuk is the first-ever Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. She was awarded the esteemed prize for her work with the Center for Civil Liberties on democratic reform campaigns in Ukraine and the OSCE region. The organisation has been documenting war crimes committed by Russian troops since the initial invasion of Crimea, but also develops legislative changes, exercises public oversight over law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, and implements international solidarity programmes. Matviichuk coordinated the Euromaidan SOS civic initiative to provide legal assistance following the government’s crackdown on Euromaiden protesters, which has since monitored political persecution in the illegally occupied regions of Crimea and Donbas. Matviichuk has led similar campaigns, including #LetMyPeopleGo and #SaveOlegSentsov, to fight for the release of political prisoners detained by Russian authorities. Having authored reports for several United Nations bodies, the Council of Europe, the EU, the OSCE and the International Criminal Court, she received the Democracy Defender Award and is the country’s first female candidate to be nominated to the UN Committee against Torture.

Tanja Miščević is the Chief Negotiator for the accession of Serbia to the EU. She was Head of the Negotiation Team for accession negotiations with the European Union, 2013 to 2019, and Director of Serbian European Integration Office, negotiating Stabilization and Association Agreement as well as Readmission Agreement between Serbia and the EU, 2004 to 2009. Between 2019 and 2022, she was Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council. She is currently a professor at the Faculty of Political Science University of Belgrade, teaching International and European Studies, including EU Enlargement Policy.

A distinguished economist, Mario Monti has cemented his reputation as a committed supporter of the single currency and a talented negotiator leading a government of technocrats in the wake of the Italian debt crisis in late 2011. Most recently, he chaired the High-Level Group on Own Resources, a consultative committee of the European Union, aimed at proposing new forms of revenue for the European Union’s budget, which resulted in the final report “Future Financing of the EU”, arguing for new tax sources.

Sebastián Nieto Parra is the Head of Latin America and the Caribbean at the OECD Development Centre. His research interests include financing for development, economic development, infrastructure and connectivity policies and political economy in emerging economies. Before joining the OECD, Mr. Nieto Parra was an economist for Latin America at Santander Bank, Madrid. Before that, he worked on regulating the financial sector and developing the mortgage market, both at the Central Bank of Colombia and the Colombian Ministry of Finance. He holds a PhD in Economics and completed his graduate studies in Economics at Sciences Po, Paris and Toulouse School of Economics.

Liisa-Ly Pakosta is Estonia’s Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs. Pakosta graduated from the University of Tartu in 1993 with a degree in history and from Tallinn University in 2021 with a master’s degree in law. She started her law doctoral studies at the University of Tartu in 2022. In 2023, Pakosta was awarded the Commander Cross of the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star. She was a Member of the Supervisory Board of the Estonian Open Air Museum in 2013–2015 and a Member of the Supervisory Board of the Estonian Anti-Doping and Sports Ethics Foundation since 2019.

Péter Pető is a Hungarian political journalist, who currently works as the Editor-in-Chief of 24.hu. Previously, he was the deputy editor of the left-wing political daily Népszabadság until it was shut down following the publication of articles revealing scandals that implicated politicians close to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Soon after its dissolution, he was shortlisted for the Reporters Without Borders’ Prize of Independence. Having started his career in sports journalism, Pető became increasingly politically engaged as the country’s media landscape became growingly turbulent. He aims to uphold independent journalism through the preservation of traditional and the adoption of new approaches to journalism to reach diverse audiences. He has also authored eight books, including novels and political essays.

Andris Piebalgs is an experienced Latvian politician who has held key positions at both the national and European levels. He is currently a member of the Latvian political party UNITY. Previously, he worked in the Latvian diplomatic service, first serving as the Latvian ambassador to Estonia, where he helped resolve a sea border issue between the two states. He went on to become the Latvian ambassador to the EU, in which role he helped establish Latvia as the EU candidate country. Afterwards, Piebalgs served as the European commissioner for energy and then as the European commissioner for development.

Dragoș Pîslaru is a Romanian economist and politician. He serves as a member of the European Parliament on behalf of USR PLUS, affiliated with the European political group, Renew Europe. He sits on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC). Pîslaru is also the co-rapporteur on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the largest financial instrument created by the European Union for the economic recovery of the bloc after the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer, Joakim Reiter is responsible for Vodafone’s public relations and corporate affairs, including policy and regulation, communications, security, sustainability and charitable activities. He is an Advisory Board Member of the World Trade Institute and sits on the Board of the Swedish Space Corporation and the EU’s Horizon Mission Board for climate-neutral and smart cities. Previously, Reiter served as the assistant secretary-general of the United Nations and the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Prior to this, he spent over 15 years in Sweden’s foreign service, including as deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador to the World Trade Organization and at the Permanent Representation to the European Union. Reiter has also served as an EU negotiator at the European Commission Directorate General for Trade (DG TRADE).

Within his mandate as the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders is responsible for the rule of law; civil, commercial and criminal justice; fundamental rights, including data protection; and consumer protection. Commissioner Reynders is also supporting the coordination of the Commission’s efforts in respect to the war in Ukraine, more specifically on accountability and enforcement of EU restrictive measures. A lawyer by training, Reynders has over 20 years of political experience, having formerly served as the Belgian deputy prime minister, as well as the country’s minister for foreign affairs, foreign trade and European affairs, defence and finance.

Rami Sabanegh is the Senior Vice President of Strategy at Coca-Cola Europe and serves as a member of Coca-Cola’s European leadership team, where he leads business analysis, strategy, insights and strategic transformation for 40 countries. With a background in management consulting, Sabanegh joined Coca-Cola European Partners (now Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world) and led transformation efforts while living across multiple western European countries, from the Nordics to Belgium and Germany to the United Kingdom. Sabanegh then moved to The Coca-Cola Company as the director of strategy and insights for western Europe before moving to his current role in Ireland, driving strategy and transformation across Europe.

Prior to her current roles as International Policy Director at the Stanford University Cyber Policy Center and International Policy Fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Marietje Schaake served as a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands. She also contributes a monthly column for the Financial Times on technology and governance, and is the author of “The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley”.

Nicolas Schmit is European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights and a Luxembourgish politician and diplomat, who has been instrumental in fostering Europe’s social dimension in his position as European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. An economist by training, he is a former member of the European Parliament and previously served as the Luxembourgish minister of labour. He has also held various positions within the Luxembourgish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as head of the Department of International Economic Relations and Cooperation. Schmit’s final diplomatic posting was as Luxembourg’s permanent representative to the EU.

Retiring from NATO in September 2018 after 38 years at the organisation, Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s spokesperson, he was the face of the alliance during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the director of policy planning in the private office of former secretary general Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.

Oleksii Sobolev was appointed as the First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine in July 2024. Prior to this post, Sobolev was Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization. Heused to be an adviser to the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and managed the Prozorro.Sale project at Transparency International Ukraine, and he is the head of Prozorro.Sale since 2018. Sobolev has extensive work experience in the investment and financial sector.

Giedrius Surplys is a Member of Parliament of Lithuania, acting as Deputy-chair of Foreign Affairs Committee. He is a vice-chair of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (ECR political group). Previously, he worked as adviser to Prime Minister of Lithuania and as the Head of Governmental COVID-19 Communication Group. He has also served as Minister of Agriculture and the Deputy-minister of the Interior of Lithuania. Giedrius holds a Master of Arts diploma in Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham and a Master in European Studies diploma from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University. Giedrius is also a publicist and lecturer, author of the book on Christian leadership “Win is no Sin”.

Dr. Pilvi Torsti, is the Director of the European Training Foundation. She served as a State Secretary in three ministries in Finland: the Ministry of Education and Culture 2013-2015 and Ministry of Employment and Economic Affairs & Ministry of Transport and Communications 2019-2023. From 2017 to 2019, Torsti was an MP and a member of the education and future committees of the Finnish parliament. She holds a PhD in social sciences from the University of Helsinki, and is also the co-founder of United World College in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Torsti also founded HEI Schools, an education company co-owned by the University of Helsinki where she has been an adjunct professor since 2012 and was nominated as the adjunct professor of the year in 2020. Pilvi is UWC graduate (1995) and Eisenhower Fellow (2013). She is married with three children.

In his former position at the European Parliament, Dragos Tudorache analysed the challenges of deploying artificial intelligence and its future impact on the EU economy. Tudorache has a long history of public service in Romania, previously serving as Head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Minister of Communications and for the Digital Society and Minister of Interior. Before his election to the European Parliament, he held a number of positions at the European Comission, including managing strategic projects such as the Schengen Information System, Visa Information System and the establishment of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems (eu-LISA).

Oras Tynkkynen is a Member of the Finnish Parliament Committee on Trade and currently holds the positions of Vice-Chair of the Green Party and Co-chair of the Ukraine Group. Prior to returning to the parliament, he worked as a senior advisor at the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and as a sustainability consultant. During his first three terms in the parliament, Tynkkynen served as the chair of the Green Parliamentary Group and vice-chair of the Committees on Future and the Environment. Previously, he was also a climate policy specialist at the Prime Minister’s Office and in the Committee of the European Green Party, among others. Tynkkynen’s work covers issues related to the climate and sustainability crisis, economic policy and securing Ukraine’s victory.

Diana Ürge-Vorsatz currently serves as Vice Chair of the IPCC and is a Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the CEU. Ürge-Vorsatz served as Vice-Chair of IPCC’s Working Group III (Mitigation) in the Sixth Assessment cycle. She was also a Coordinating Lead Author in both the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports of the IPCC. In addition, Ürge-Vorsatz is Vice President of the Hungarian Scientific Panel on Climate Change.

Karien van Gennip’s term as the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Netherlands ended on 2 July 2024. She is also a former Dutch state secretary for the economy and has previously served as a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. Van Gennip has held various executive roles at ING Group, including as the CEO of ING Bank France. She currently sits on the Board of the CDA in Amsterdam, having previously chaired the Coöperatie VGZ Board of Director and having held various board-level positions at TomTom N.V., the Organe Fund and Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, among others.

Shahin is Senior Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. He is also affiliated with the European Institute of the London School of Economics and is a member of the euro50 group, a group of senior current and former European policymakers in Europe. Prior to this Shahin was a Senior Economist at Soros Fund Management and he was also the Economic Advisor to the French Economy Minister until April 2015. Shahin has also been the Economic Advisor to the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy. In this capacity, he worked in particular on issues pertaining to European economic policy, the architecture of the euro area and the consequences of the economic and financial crisis.

Kirsten van den Hul is director of DutchCulture, the Dutch network and knowledge organisation for international cultural cooperation. Before assuming her current position, she worked as an independent consultant through her own company, The Change Agent, on different transition projects, mainly in the public sector. Previously, van den Hul served as member of parliament for the Dutch Labour Party, where she focused on culture, education, gender equality, foreign trade and development. An Eastern Europe specialist, she was also active on the crossroads between culture, human rights and international cooperation and worked for several international NGOs, including international women’s fund Mama Cash and the European Cultural Foundation.  Van den Hul was also a columnist for newspapers and magazines, contributed to a number of publications and wrote a book, “(S)hevolution”. In addition, she notably held the role of Dutch UN Women’s Representative.

Margrethe Vestager is Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the digital age and Commissioner for Competition. She previously served as Commissioner for Competition (2014-19). She was Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior (2011-14) and Minister for Education (1998-2001) of Denmark. She was Political leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party (2007-14), and has worked for the Danish Ministry of Finance (1993-95). Ms. Vestager holds an MSc in Economics (University of Copenhagen).

Vlad Voiculescu is a member of the European Parliament, health policy expert and patient advocate, who until recently has served as the Romanian minister of health. After pursuing a career in finance, Voiculescu became active in public service, serving as the Romanian Finance Minister’s chief of staff before becoming the minister of health in the Dacian Cioloș government.  He has been involved in patient advocacy, both at the national and European levels for over a decade. Voiculescu is the founder of an international network of volunteers that helped over 2,500 cancer patients receive essential medicines that were missing in Romania, a story that featured in the HBO documentary The Network’. He is also the Co-Founder of MagiCAMP, which seeks to provide support to children diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses. For this work, the European Parliament awarded Voiculescu its ‘European Citizen’s Prize.’

Dr Sinead Walsh has been the Climate Director at Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs since 2020. Prior to this, she served as the EU Ambassador to South Sudan. She has worked for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs since 2009. She was a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative from 2016-17. Prior to this, she served as the Ambassador of Ireland to Sierra Leone and Liberia and the Head of Irish Aid in the two countries, based in Freetown from 2011 to 2016. She has also worked in DFA HQ roles on multi-lateral organisations, international financial institutions and civil society engagement.

Before joining the Irish government, Sinead spent ten years in the NGO sector, predominantly with Concern Worldwide, working in India, Pakistan, Rwanda and South Sudan, as well as in a global advocacy role. She has a BA from Harvard University, an MSc in Development Studies from University College Dublin and a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics. She is the co-author of Getting to Zero: A Doctor and A Diplomat on the Ebola Frontline, published by Zed Books in 2018.

Rosmarie Wydler-Wälti is an environmental feminist and activist who currently serves as Co-President of the Association of Senior Women for Climate Protection (KlimaSeniorinnen) in Switzerland, a group of more than 2,000 older women that has taken the Swiss government to the European Court of Human Rights over its climate-change policy. Following this lawsuit, the Grand Chamber of the Court ruled their case that Switzerland is violating the human rights of older women because the state is not taking the necessary steps to combat global warming. The Court also found that the association, which currently represents over 3000 women aged 64 and over, has victim status. Previously, Wydler-Wälti was an adult educator, parenting and couples counsellor.

Charles Wyplosz is Emeritus Professor at the Graduate Institute in Geneva where he was previously Director of the International Centre for Money and Banking Studies. Prior to this, he served as Associate Dean for Research and Development at INSEAD, as Director of the PhD program in Economics at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales in Paris and as Policy Director of the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He served as Editor of Covid Economics from its launch in March 2020 to its closing in June 2021.

His main research areas include financial crises, European monetary integration and fiscal policy. He is the co-author of two leading textbooks and has published several books and many professional articles. He has served as consultant to many international organizations and governments and is a frequent contributor to public media.

A French national, Charles Wyplosz holds a degree in Engineering from Ecole Centrale, Paris and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He has been awarded the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Leena Ylä-Mononen has worked with national, European and international environmental policy and administration for over 30 years. Before joining the EEA, Ylä-Mononen was director general at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, where she was in charge of the Ministry’s Climate and Environmental Protection Department, dealing with environmental policy issues and EU files. Prior to joining the Ministry Ylä-Mononen worked in management positions at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, first as a head of unit and then as one of the directors. She also worked at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment, on policy files related to chemicals, pesticides and multilateral environmental agreements related to chemicals.

Rong Zhang leads the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Networks and Thought Leadership. She manages ESG global advisory programmes to provide technical assistance and convene networks to support government and market on climate and sustainable finance.  Zhang has been instrumental in building and expanding the IFC-supported Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN), which is a public-private capacity building platform convening financial regulators and industry associations from 72 emerging markets to advance sustainable finance collectively.

Zhang represents IFC/SBFN in theG20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, the EU International Platform for Sustainable Finance (IPSF), and the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).