Category: Invited guests

International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Honorary Advisor on Interfaith Relations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Among his honorary positions, he is President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace and serves on the Board of Directors of the KAICIID Dialogue Center founded by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia together with the governments of Austria and Spain and the Vatican. In November 2005, he was made a Knight Commander by the Pope, and in 2010 he was made a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. He is a former Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1979-1985) and former Senior Rabbi of the largest Jewish congregation in South Africa (1975-1979).

World News Editor, The Daily Beast. Former Paris Bureau Chief and Middle East Editor, The Daily Beast, author of seven books, most recently Our Man in Charleston: Britain’s Secret Agent in the Civil War South. He was formerly the Paris Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine, and previously covered the Middle East and Central America for The Washington Post. He has also written for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, Wired and National Geographic. He frequently appears as a commentator on CNN, France 24, the BBC and many other networks in the United States and abroad. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). She oversees one of Africa’s largest grant-making organizations in the food security and agricultural development sector. She took up the presidency of AGRA in 2012 after serving as Deputy Chief Executive and Secretary-General of Telkom Kenya. She has held senior positions in a number of international corporate organisations including Cadburys Limited, as Managing Director for East and Central Africa. She graduated from the University of Nairobi and holds an MBA in Marketing from the National University of California.

Executive Director of the Lowy Institute. He has also worked as a Visiting Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, an adviser to Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, and a lawyer. He remains a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings. He writes widely on foreign policy and global issues in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Washington Quarterly, The National Interest and Foreign Affairs. He graduated from the Universities of Sydney and New South Wales and he holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Foreign Minister of Sweden since 2006. He served as Prime Minister (1991-1994). He was also a member of the Swedish Parliament (1976-2001) and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Balkans (1999-2001). Previously, he held the position of European Union’s Special Envoy to the former Yugoslavia (1995) and High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995-1997).

President of the Constitutional Council, President of the COP 21.  He played a crucial role in the negotiations and success of the Paris Climate Agreement, the first universal agreement to fight against climate change. Member of the Conseil d’État, he occupied several governmental positions in France: Minister for the Budget (1981-1983), Minister of Industry and Research (1983-1984), Prime Minister (1984-1986), Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry (2000-2002), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development (2012-2016). He was also member of Parliament from 1978 to 2012, and served twice as President of the French National Assembly, from 1988 to 1992, and again from 1997 to 2000. He is a former student of the École normale supérieure of the Rue d’Ulm, holder of an Agrégation higher degree in French Language and Literature and a former student of the École nationale d’administration.

Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute. Previously, he was Economics and Policy Practice Leader in the World Bank’s Agriculture and Environmental Services Department, he coordinated the Secretariat of the Bank’s Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP), and was Program Manager for the Global Agricultural and Food Security Program (GAFSP). He also worked at the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Livestock Research Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University.

Member of the Institut de France and honorary professor at the Collège de France (Chair of Comparative Legal Studies and Internationalization of Law). She has published numerous books and articles on criminal law, human rights law and globalization of the law, such as: Le flou du droit (PUF 2ème éd. 2004) ; Les grands systèmes de politique criminelle (PUF 1992) ; Pour un droit commun (Seuil 1994) ; Vers un droit commun de l’humanité (Textuel 2nd ed. 2005) ; Trois défis pour un droit mondial (Seuil 1998) ; Les forces imaginantes du droit : (I) Le relatif et l’universel, (II) Le Pluralisme ordonné, (III) La refondation des pouvoirs, (IV) Vers une communauté de valeurs ? Seuil, 2004-2011; Libertés et sûreté dans un monde dangereux, Seuil, 2010 ; La Chine et la démocratie (avec Pierre-Étienne Will) ; Fayard 2007 Résister, responsabiliser, anticiper, Seuil, 2913 ; Le travail à l’heure de la mondialisation, Bayard, 2013.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to France and Monaco since 2011. He started his career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1981. He was, among others, Ambassador of Belgium to Morocco, Mauritania and Cape Verde (2005-2009) and to Luxembourg (2000-2002). He also served as Head of the Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1999-2000). He was Representative for Belgium to NATO (1991-1995). In 2012, he gave lectures at the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA) in Paris on the future of diplomacy. He graduated in Law and Notarial Studies.

Senior Reporter and International Columnist at Le Figaro. He has covered major worldwide political crises and armed conflicts for the past 40 years. Expert on geopolitics, he publishes every Tuesday his international column in Le Figaro. He wrote several books on the Middle East and the major diplomatic issues of the West. He regularly takes part in international conferences. He is also a Professor at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris and a member of the Editorial Board of the Revue des Deux Mondes. In 2014, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la presse internationale by the foreign correspondents in Paris. He graduated from the École normale supérieure and the École nationale d’administration.

Ambassador Lowenstein is Co-Founder of the French American Foundation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He began his career at Marshall Plan European Headquarters in Paris in 1950. In 1951, he was assigned to the U.S. Special Mission to Yugoslavia, resident in Sarajevo. He was a naval officer between 1952 and 1955. He was commissioned Foreign Service Officer in 1956. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1974 to 1977 and as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1977 to 1981. He graduated from Yale University.

Honorary Consul of the Republic of Croatia in the Principality of Monaco. He is also an International Business Consultant for European Industrial Groups with interests in the Mediterranean basin and in the Middle East, areas where he has developed his own network of strategic contacts. He has been co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of two European Information Technology companies and Special Advisor to MONACO TELECOM (2003-2010) for new business development.

Chairman & CEO of Wolfensohn & Company. He was President of the World Bank and of the International Finance Cooperation (1995-2005). Then, he served as Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement (2005-2006). He was Chairman of the former Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings Institution, and Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Citigroup (2006-2014). Prior to that, he held Senior Management positions at Schroders and Salomon Brothers. For more than 40 years, he has been active in music organizations, having served as Chair of both Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Mr. Wolfensohn has taught at Yale University and holds a B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Sydney, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society.

Founder and chairman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and Director of its Center for Advancing Capitalism. He currently sits on the Institute Turgot. Formerly, he served as Director of Government Relations at the Council for a Competitive Economy, as a senior economist at the Association of American Railroads and as a senior policy analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency. He regularly takes part in U.S. television and radio programs and is the author of numerous publications. He holds a B.S. degree in Theoretical Mathematics and Political Science from Tulane University.

Lorenzo Gascón is Academician of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences of Spain, of the Royal European Academy of Doctors and Academician and Vice-President Principal of the Academy of European Culture. He served as Dean of the Illustrious College of Economists of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands and as a member of the International Council of the US Information Agency. He is Honorary President of the European League of Economic Cooperation and board Member of the Fondation Jean Monnet pour l’Europe. He is also a WAAS Fellow. In addition he has been Chairman, President and CEO of several companies, including Tuneles y Autopistas de Barcelona S.A. and the Banco de Expansion Industrial. He holds a PhD and graduated from the Senior Management Program (PADE) of the IESE Business School. Doctor Honoris Causa of the Universities of Michoacan, Mexico and Lishui, China.

Executive Director, International Energy Agency. She has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) since September 2011. She has steered the IEA during a period of exceptional change in the global energy landscape, and is taking the initiative to address the challenges of global energy governance. Her priorities include building and formalising cooperation with the major emerging energy players of the 21st century, and also expanding energy access. She was formerly Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands.

CEO, Asia-Brazil Agro Alliance. Former Director of Global Public and Governmental Affairs at Brasil Foods (BRF), one of the largest food companies in the world. Former President & CEO of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) (2007-2012). Founding president of the Brazilian Institute for International Trade Negotiations (ICONE) (2003-2007). He also worked as Special Expert in Trade at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington D.C. (2001-2002). He holds a PhD from the University of São Paulo (FEA/USP).

Chairman of the Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES) and Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo. Formerly, he held several positions at the World Trade Organization including member of the Appellate Body (2008-2012), Japan’s Permanent Representative (2002-2005), Chairman of the General Council (2004-2005) and Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body (2003-2004). He served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2005-2007) and to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2000-2001). He holds a degree in law from the University of Tokyo.

Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is a political scientist, historian, columnist, expert on Eastern policy, Co-Founder of the Warsaw Rising Museum, lecturer at the University of Warsaw and Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Research Station of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kyiv. Member of the Lower House of the Polish Parliament – Sejm, where he serves as Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He served as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2007), and was a member of the National Security Council. From 2009 to 2014, he was a member of the European Parliament, working in the Foreign Affairs and Security and Defence Committees, and Chairman of the EU delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Committee. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the New Eastern Europe bi-monthly magazine and the Supervisory Board of Alwernia SA. He authored numerous publications on transformation processes in Central and Eastern Europe.

Partner of Apollo Global Management and Honorary Chairman of the French American Foundation – France. He is also Honorary Chairman of HEC Foundation and of the HEC Alumni Association. He started his career at the bank Paribas (1986-1988) and then at Lyonnaise des Eaux (1989-1992). He was appointed Chief Operating Officer and CEO of Techpack International (Pechiney-LBO France) (1996-1999) after having served as CFO (1992-1996) and then President of the Packaging Division Cosmetology Luxury International of Pechiney (1999-2000). He also served as Chief Operating Officer of Lagardère Media (2000-2005) and as Chief of staff of H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco (2005-2006). He holds a Master degree from HEC, Paris.

CEO of Pronutri, Activa and Nutrilab laboratories. He turned Pronutri into a worldwide developed company, bringing it to a new level and making it one of the major players on the market of health dietary supplements. He extended the scope of Pronutri with international subsidiaries in Europe, the USA and Asia, making Nutripuncture™ a worldwide brand. He created in 1999 the Activa Laboratories with the objective to establish a new and innovative set of technologies in the world of health dietary supplements. He graduated from the Dauphine University (Paris, France) with a major in finance and marketing.

Group Chief Executive of Prudential plc since 2009. He joined Prudential as CFO in 2008. He started his career with McKinsey & Company. He was Chief Executive and later Chairman of the National Bureau for Technical Studies and Development in Côte d’Ivoire (1994-1999). In 1998, he was appointed Secretary of Planning and Development. After the coup d’état in 1999, he went back to McKinsey and then joined Aviva, successively holding the positions of Group Strategy and Development Director, Managing Director of Aviva International, and finally Group Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Europe. He graduated from the École Polytechnique and the École des Mines de Paris. He holds a MBA from INSEAD. He is Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur.

President Emeritus from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and adjunct professor of political science for the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies at Northwestern University, Illinois. He is also a visiting professor at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Affairs of the University of California. He worked during thirty years at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, as Executive Director (1971-1974) and then as President (1974-2001). He also served in the U.S. Department of State (1962-1963). He was Foreign Policy Assistant to Senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He obtained a B.A. at St. John’s University, Collegeville (Minnesota) and a PhD in political science at Harvard University.

Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Since 1993, he has led the Monegasque delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations. He also chairs the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM), intergovernmental body, which aims to promote multilateral international research and facilitate the exchange of information, in particular between countries on the north and south sides of the Mediterranean Sea. In 2006, he set up the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation dedicated to protecting the environment. He graduated in political science from Amherst College, Massachusetts, United States.

Head of the French Council of State since 2006. He is also President of the Association of Councils of State and Supreme administrative jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) since 2012 and president of the committee established by the article 255 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (committee set up by the Treaty of Lisbon and in charge of giving an opinion on candidates’ suitability to perform the duties of Judge and Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice and General Court) since 2010. He graduated from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris, the University Paris I and the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA).

Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD since December 2011. He is in charge of Social Affairs, Education, Governance and Entrepreneurship. Before joining the OECD, he held a variety of political posts in Belgium at all levels and in all areas of government. He served as Deputy in the Chamber of Representatives, Group Chairman, National Secretary and Chairman of the CD&V party, Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Federal Senator, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Budget and Mobility, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister. He has a degree in Law and Political Science from the University of Ghent.