Author: wpc_editor

Vice Chairman & CEO, SK Innovation since 2016. He has held various positions within the SK Group, among others, President & CEO, SK Innovation, President & CEO, SK Energy, President, Strategy Committee of SK SUPEX Council, President, Corporate Ethics Committee of SK SUPEX Council, President & CEO, SK C&C, President & Managing Director of IT Service Business, SK C&C, Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Planning & Management, SK C&C, Head of SK Research Institute, SK Holdings. He graduated from Pusan National University and Georgia State University.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France since February 2016. He served as Prime minister from May 2012 to March 2014. He was Mayor of Nantes (in Loire-Atlantique, west of France) from 1989 to 2012 and president of the Urban Community of Nantes Métropole from 2001 to 2012. He was also a Member of Parliament. From 1997 to 2012, he was president of the Socialist, radical, citizen and left-wing currents Group at the French National Assembly. He started his career as a German professor in 1973.

Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) and the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) in the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in the UN Secretariat. Previously he served as Acting Director and Deputy Director of DPA’s Middle East and West Asia Division (MEWAD) and, before that, of the Asia and the Pacific Division (APD). He also served as Head of DPA’s Iraq Team and Chairman of the UN Iraq Operations Group (IOG). Before joining the UN Secretariat in 1992, he served as Chef de Cabinet to the President of the UN General Assembly. He is a graduate of London University and holds a Doctorate in International Law from the Fletcher School of Diplomacy/Harvard Law School.

Senior Fellow at OCP Policy Center and associate professor in finance at the University of Bordeaux (France). He is also an affiliate professor at Toulouse Business School. His most recent research examines the link between the volatility of the futures market, exchange rate uncertainty and the export of cereals. He is also the head of a master program focused on banking, finance and international trading both at the University of Bordeaux and at Vietnam National University (Hanoi, Vietnam). He has authored several books in the field of finance, including a work studying financial derivatives. He graduated from Middlesex University. He holds a PhD from the University of Bordeaux.

Chairman of SK Group. He oversees and unites the 82 companies – primarily focused on the energy, chemical, telecommunications, semiconductor and trading/services industries – that comprise SK Group. He has been Chairman & CEO of SK Holdings since 2016, Chairman of SK Hynix since 2012 and Chairman of SK Innovation since 2011. From 1998 to 2001, he served as Chairman & CEO of SK Energy. He was among others a Member of Brookings International Advisory Council (ICA) (2010), Director of the Board, United Nations Global Compact (2008), Vice Chairman, Federation of Korean Industries (2005). He graduated from Korea University. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.

Vice president Strategy & Climate, Total, since 2016. Previously, he served as the senior vice president Mergers & Acquisitions for Total S.A. since early 2015. From 2010 to 2014 he was senior vice president Americas for the Exploration and Production division of Total. Prior to that, he also served as senior vice president Middle East for the same division (2007-2010). He was also managing director of the Total’s E&P subsidiary in Argentina, Total Austral (2005-2007). He was head of the Investor Relations department of Total S.A., and in various other positions in the Total group, which he joined in 1985. He holds a masters degree in business administration from New York University and a master’s degree in finance from the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, France.

Professor of International Relations at Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier’s Law Faculty and Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South. He is also professor at Royal College of Advanced Military Studies (Kenitra) and professor invited at Cergy-Pontoise University (Paris), Cadix University (Spain) and at La Sagesse University (Beirut, Lebanon). He wrote of numerous books and articles dealing with International relations and geopolitics: the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Arab world. He is co-director of the Moroccan-Spanish review Peace and International Security and in charge of the Observatory of Mediterranean Studies (Abdelmalek Essaadi University).

Director of the Diplomatic Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, since 2012. Following his doctorate degree, he became Assistant professor at Qatar University. In 2005, he moved into the public service sphere, where he headed the Department of Social Planning at the State of Qatar Planning Council. In parallel, he was Deputy Chairman of the Permanent Population Committee (2007-2011). In 2009, he was appointed as the state focal point representative for the Alliance of Civilizations. Author and co-author of several books and technical reports, he has published many articles in academic journals, and conference papers on various political, sustainable development, and management issues. He holds a Ph.D in Resources Management from the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom.

Vice President at JOKR, a rapid grocery delivery startup primarily operating in the US, Latin America and Europe. Previously he worked as a Vice President at SoftBank Group International. Benedict has experience in the mobility sector, the last-mile delivery sector, and the not-for-profit sector in various senior management roles across various successful startups. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies from King’s College London.

Ambassador of France to the State of Qatar since 2014. Previously, he served as French Ambassador for Syria at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the closure of the French Embassy in Damascus. He was Ambassador to Syria (2009-2012). He was also Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spokesperson and Director of Communication and Information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2008-2009), Special Advisor for crises and conflicts to the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (2007) and Director of International Missions at Médecins du Monde (2006). He was a Senior lecturer at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (IEP), the French National School of Public Administration (ENA) and the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He is a Medical Doctor from Paris V University and a graduate of Paris Institute of Political Studies.

CEO & Co-founder at Dataveyes. Ever since the completion of her studies, she has been nurturing a passion for how information can be expressed, shared and understood. In 2010, sensing that the rich data era will transform the way we work, learn and communicate, she co-founded Dataveyes, a studio specialized in Human-Data interactions. Within Dataveyes, she translates data into interactive experiences, in order to reveal new insightful stories, accompany new uses and understand our environment shaped by data and algorithms.

CEO and co-founder of OpenClassrooms, the leading e-learning platform in Europe with more than 2 million members and 40 partners. Launched in 2013, OpenClassrooms makes education accessible to all. The platform revolutionizes learning with a unique approach based on skills and mentoring. The vocational training and certifications, which are 100% online, promote employability for digital and tech jobs and help people to quickly integrate into the workforce and add value. In 2016, he was selected as “Forbes 30 under 30 Europe”. He graduated from the INSA Lyon.

Honorary President of the French Judaism Foundation. He served as President of the European Jewish Congress (ECJ) (2005-2007) and of the French Unified Jewish Social Fund (FSJU) (2006-2014). He also co-chaired the Unified Jewish Appeal of France (AUJF) (2006-2014). In January 2010, he took over from David de Rothschild as President of the French Judaism Foundation, a position he held until 2014. He started his career first as an entrepreneur in household appliances and then in internet with LibertySurf (internet service provider). He is also a member of the Board of Governors at the Shimon Peres Center for Peace and of the Weisman Institute France.

Chief Economist, Head of Strategy, Energy Economics & Sustainability, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), Leila Benali is an international expert in energy, strategic planning, investments, finance and energy diplomacy. She joined APICORP from Saudi Aramco where she was in charge of the company’s energy policy and gas strategy. Previously, she was director for the Middle East and Africa at IHS, a global research and consultancy in security and energy, in addition to being a professor at Sciences Po, and industrial engineer at Schlumberger. She chairs the Arab Energy Club and published numerous papers and books on energy, reforms and sustainable wealth. She holds a MS in Industrial Engineering from Mohammadia Engineering School and the Ecole Centrale Paris, in addition to a MS in political science and PhD Summa Cum Laude in Energy Economics from Sciences Po.  

Serial entrepreneur, he started the adventure in France where he launched several successful startups. He then went on to manage a technology incubator from 1995 to 1998. In 1998, he founded Entopia, a company specialized in semantic analysis and raised $40 million. He headed the company from the Silicon Valley until 2006. After France and the USA, he moved to China where he developed Xanadu, a key player of online travel services, with Nicolas Berbigier. In 2010 they co-founded FAMOCO of which he is the CEO.

President of Airbus Africa & Middle East. In 2011 he was appointed as General Delegate of the Group Airbus for the UAE. In 2005 he joined EADS (European Aeronautics Defence and Space Company) in Sao Paulo as VP Latin America for all the defence activity of the group. He also served as Vice President Sales and Marketing of Thales in Saudi Arabia. His career began in Madrid in 1988 within Alcatel. He graduated from the Paris Ecole Superieure des Sciences Commerciales Appliquées.

Senior policy advisor and head of Public Policy Analysis at the Kingdom Economic and Energy Analysis Department of Saudi Aramco (SA), the Saudi national oil company. Prior to his current position, he was a senior advisor at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPM), and lead negotiator on a number of issues on international energy and environmental policies at multiple UN organizations, as well as the G20. He also served as a board member at the Green Climate Fund. He graduated from the University of Hull, United Kingdom and the University of Westminster, United Kingdom.

Regional Anti-Corruption and Economic Governance Advisor for UNDP Africa.  He joined UNDP through the Leadership Development Programme (LEAD). He has served as Country Programme Specialist and Project Manager for the Peace Consolidation and Governance project in UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, in New York. Before joining UNDP, he was a litigating attorney in Cameroon and New York. He is a World Fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University, USA. He graduated from Columbia University School of Law, New York, from the Central European University, Hungary, and from the University of Yaoundé II SOA, Cameroon.

President of the Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI), Japan. He is also President of the America-Japan Society Inc. He served as Ambassador of Japan to the United States (2008-2012), Ambassador of Japan to the UN and WTO in Geneva (2005-2008). He also held the position of Deputy Foreign Minister (2002-2005) and Director General for North American Affairs (1999-2002). He entered the Foreign Ministry in 1969. He served in Jakarta, Paris, London, and Washington DC. He studied at Keio University, Brown University and Stanford Graduate School.

Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon. He received his academic education in France, attending the Sorbonne in Paris, before continuing his studies at the Catholic Institute and the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. He was ordained a priest in 1985, he continued his doctoral studies at the Holy Cross Institute of Theology in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. In 1995, he was appointed director of the Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. After being elected Metropolitan of France, he served as Vice President and President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) as well as Co-President of the Council of Christian Churches in France. In February 2021 he was unanimously elected Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon. He is Co-Moderator of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors of KAICIID.

Professor at Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Sciences Po Paris. President of the Advisory Board of EUBrasil association (Brussels). He is also a Senior Research Fellow at OCP Policy Center (Rabat) and Director of Latin America Research Chair at the Centre d’Etudes Sociales, Economiques et Managériales (CESEM – HEM Rabat). He is a Member of the Committee of Rencontres Internationales de Genève, a Member of the Advisory Council of Janus.net (journal of International Relations), Portugal. Journalist, columnist for Radio France Internationale (RFI – Brazilian Service), he has published extensively on geopolitics, global economics, regional integration and trade negotiations, Brazil and Latin America. He holds a PhD in Political Sciences from Sciences Po Paris.

Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South. He occupied several offices within the Directorate General of the Moroccan National Security where he was Borders’ Division Chief. He was the former Director of the Royal Institute of Police. He also served as the Chief of Regional Security and was Head of the Central General Intelligence. He contributed to the output of several international organizations endeavors including the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, where he represented the Directorate General of National Security several times. He holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and International Studies from the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences of Agdal in Rabat.

Former Minister Delegate for the Business Environment, Romania. Currently, he is Chairman of the Board of Cluj Innovation City Foundation. Until 2010, he was Chairman of the Board of EFG Securities Romania, Chairman of the Board of EFG Finance Romania and Senior Executive Director of Bancpost S.A. Before joining Bancpost, he was Deputy-Treasurer and Head of Trading with Citigroup Romania. He was also Chairman of the Board of CFR Infrastructura (Romanian Railways), Chairman of the Board of Transgaz (Romanian National Gas Grid Company), member of the Board of Transelectrica (Romanian National Electricity Company). He graduated from Chicago Booth School of Business, Harvard Business School and from St. Catherine’s College, Oxford.

Lord Kerr is a member of the UK House of Lords. Former member of the UK Diplomatic Service (1966-2002), serving abroad, in Moscow, Islamabad, Washington and Brussels, and in London, in the Foreign Office and Treasury, where he was Private Secretary to two Chancellors of the Exchequer. From 2004, he has been an independent member of the House of Lords, where he currently serves on its International Agreements Committee. He was Deputy Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell (2005-2012), Chairman of Imperial College London (2005-2011), and a Director of Rio Tinto (2002-2015) and now is Deputy Chairman of Scottish Power and Chairman of the Centre for European Reform. He was UK Permanent Representative to the European Union (1990-1995), British Ambassador to the United States (1995-1997) and Foreign Office Permanent Under-Secretary (1997-2C02). He also served the European Union as Secretary-General of the EU Convention (2002-2003) under President Giscard d’Estaing.

Founder and CEO of The Global Compass. He is also a senior Advisor, strategic development and partnerships, of Agence Publics. Prior to this, he served as Director of Democratic Citizenship and Participation at the Council of Europe. He served at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in New York as deputy Director, Strategic Development and Partnerships (2008-2014). He also served as the Head of Development Policy Dialogue at the World Bank (1999-2008). He was the first Executive Director of the Aspen Institute France (1994-1999) and is currently a member of the executive board of the Aspen Institute in France.