Category: Invited guests

Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He joined the Organization in January 2019 as Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department. Previously, he was the World Bank Group Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay since November 2016 and before joining the Bank, Mr. Torero led the Division of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). His major research work lies mostly in analyzing poverty, inequality, importance of geography and assets (private or public) in explaining poverty, and in policies oriented towards poverty alleviation based on the role played by infrastructure, institutions, and on how technological breakthroughs (or discontinuities) can improve the welfare of households and small farmers. His experience encompasses Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

Managing Director and Partner in the Dubai office of Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Rami Rafih has more than 15 years of consulting experience. He leads the Economic Advantage of Nations topic (FDI, clusters/hubs/SEZs, SME development, etc) globally for BCG. Rami is also a member of BCG’s Public Sector leadership team, a core member of Principal Investors and Private Equity (PIPE) as well as Global Advantage (GA) practice areas; and worked for government ministries and authorities in Europe, GCC countries, North Africa, and Asia, covering topics such as economy, commerce, investments, industry, healthcare, and tourism. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the American University of Beirut as well as a Masters in Management from HEC Paris. He is fluent in English, French and Arabic.

Business Development and Partnerships Director at Carbios. He has over 25 years of experience in the Chemical Industry in developing business with innovative chemistries and establishing long term partnerships, innovating with customers and colleagues, observing and thinking how we could do and think differently. Carbios, with its unique technical solution, business model, and ability to make polyester (PET) circular is a perfect fit to passionately address the major issues to transition to a more sustainable economy by reducing plastic and textile waste. Bruno Langlois holds a Ph.D. from Clarkson University in New York.

Co-Founder and CEO of Transmutex. Franklin received a bachelor in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in comparative history from Carnegie Mellon University. He was the Assistant Director of ELLE magazine in New York, member of the corporate philanthropy division of Shiseido Co. in Japan, Head of the user interface research lab for Sony USA Corp, Director of Communication at the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Founder and President of the award winning Zoomorama startup in Paris, advisor to the Executive Chairman at the World Economic Forum, Volunteering member of the Strategic Committee and Director of Communication at the Race for Water Foundation engaged in the fight against ocean plastic pollution, and now co-founder and president of Transmutex SA based in Geneva.

Former Ambassador, former Permanent Under Secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After graduating from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris and the Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) as well as from Paris-Assas where he completed a MA in Public Law, he joined the diplomatic service in 1978 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he had his whole career, alternating between positions in France and abroad. He has notably been spokesperson for the Ministry (1991-1993), Private Secretary for the Prime Minister (1995-1997), Senior Diplomatic Advisor to President Jacques Chirac as well as Sherpa of G7/G8 (2002-2007), he was also in charge of strategic dialogues with India and China. He worked abroad in India and Germany as Secretary and Advisor to the Embassies and then as Ambassador in Tokyo (1998-2002), London (2007-2011), Berlin (2011-2014) and Beijing (2014-2017).

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of LATC Group – a proprietary investment firm with interests in marine logistics, retail, agriculture & manufacturing. He has vast experience in global logistics and commercial aviation having led commercial operations within the Air France/KLM & Kenya Airways group at senior levels in Africa, Europe & USA. Sam holds a BA in History & International Relations and is an alumnus of the executive management program of Columbia Business School. In addition to a number board positions, Sam is a member of the global advisory board of the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council (CWEIC) in London and is a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Besides English, Sam is fluent in French and has conversational knowledge of Spanish & Portuguese.

Hyosung Yim is currently Vice President at the Corporate Strategy Center of Hyosung Corporation in Korea. He is the assistant to the Vice Chairman/Chief Operating Officer of Hyosung Group, who administers and runs the everyday operations of the multinational business group. Mr. Yim is also currently responsible for managing and coordinating the hydrogen business within Hyosung. Prior to joining Hyosung, Mr. Yim was a stock analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Korea. He also served as a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), a government think-tank responsible for advising the government on international economic and trade issues. He holds a BA in business administration from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and an MBA from the Graduate School of Yonsei University.

Chairman and co-founder of World Network of Security and Defence Professionals for preventing and combating terrorism. Former Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). In this position, General Francis A. Béhanzin notably managed with great efficiency and discernment political affairs, promotion of democratic governance, regional security and peace in the West African region. He conducted during his mandate from 2018 to 2022 the presidential electoral in the fifteen members states of ECOWAS. He also methodically and rationally led the development of the 2020-2024 regional action plan to combat terrorism. With several specialized military and police trainings in Europe, the United States, Canada and Africa, particularly on organized crime and peace operations, he also graduated from National Defence College of Abuja and auditor of the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Defense Nationale de Paris (IHEDN). He became Lecturer at the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale in Paris and at the National Defence College of Abuja. Founder member of the Benin Human Rights Commission of Benin, he holds a Master’s Degree in Law and Political Sciences from the National University of Benin since 1981.

Senior Minister in charge of Economy and Finance of Benin. Romuald Wadagni had a leading international experience within Deloitte. He developed cutting-edge expertise in several fields, serving customers in various sectors of activity and various governments and donors. In 2012, he was promoted to Managing Director and Partner at Deloitte in recognition of his professional achievements, his expertise and knowledge of European, American, and African economic issues. In 2015, he created a new office in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was appointed Audit Manager and Director of Professional Practice for all of Deloitte’s activities in French-speaking Africa. In charge of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Benin since April 2016, he implements a policy articulated around two axes: on the one hand a transparent, proactive, and innovative management of public finances in order to make Benin trustworthy with public and private international donors, and on the other hand the improvement of the business climate and the strengthening of the resilience of the private sector in the face of exogenous crises. He plays a major role on the West African stage. As Chairman of the Statutory Council of WAEMU Finance Ministers, he led negotiations with France and signed the agreement in December 2019 to put an end to the franc CFA in West Africa.

Minister of Interior of the Republic of Rwanda since 12 June 2024. He previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from 4 November 2019. Prior to that, Dr. Biruta held several cabinet positions in the Government of Rwanda including Environment from August 2017 to November 2019, Natural Resources from 2014 to 2017, Education from 2011 to 2014, Public Works, Transport and Communication from 1999 to 2000, and Health from 1997 to 1999. Beside his cabinet appointments, he was the President of the Senate in the Parliament of the Republic of Rwanda from 2003 to 2011 and President of the National Transition Assembly from 2000 to 2003. Dr. Biruta is a qualified physician. He has furthered his studies in Public Health and Nutrition at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium as well as in Planning and Management of Health Services in Developing Countries at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Managing Director and Head of Middle East at Rothschild & Co. Before that, he worked for Linklaters. He also serves as Independent Director of the Board of ADC SPAC and Xcube. He is an Advisory Council Member of the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce.

Co-founder and chief technology officer at Mimicrete, a spin-off from Cambridge University developing self-healing cementitious materials. She holds a BSc in Chemistry, MPhil in Mineral Science and Technology, and a PhD in autonomic self-healing cementitious materials. Lívia was a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge for 5 years, during which time she started working on the transition of laboratory solutions to commercial products. Now, she focuses mostly on the large scale manufacturing platforms and extending the utilization stage of construction products.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, since January 2022. Roman Vassilenko has been in Kazakhstan’s diplomatic service since 1996, first as Third Secretary and later as Second Secretary at the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He worked as Assistant to the Head of the Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1999 – 2000), Chief Inspector of the Secretariat of the Secretary of State of Kazakhstan, Consultant of the President’s Chancery of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State of Kazakhstan (2007 – 2009). He served as Chairman of the Committee for International Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, overseeing the communications for the Ministry during such important periods as Kazakhstan’s chairmanships in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (2009 – 2012). He served as Deputy Director (2012 – 2013) of the Nazarbayev Center, a multifunctional scientific, analytical, humanitarian and educational public institution. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2016 – 2019). He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Slovak Republic (2019 – 2022). He was appointed as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan again in January 2022.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. In 2003, Mr. Kuleba graduated with honour from the Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv, Ukraine), where he studied international law. In 2006, Mr. Kuleba obtained a Ph.D. in Law. From 2003 to 2010, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the OSCE. He also worked at the office of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2013 where he was in charge of the issues related to the image of Ukraine abroad, international organizations, and the relations with the United States. After quitting civil service in 2013, he chaired the Board of the UART Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy. In 2014, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Ambassador-at-Large to launch strategic communications. He introduced the concepts of digital diplomacy, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy into the Ministry’s work. In 2016, Mr. Kuleba was appointed as Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe. From August 2019 to March 2020, he was Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. He is author of the book The War for Reality. How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths and Communities, 2019.

Vice President, Thematic and Emerging Portfolio Risk Foresight at La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). He manages a team of geopolitical and emerging risk analysis specialists who support investment decisions and the organization’s strategic orientations. He also advises global companies on refining their understanding and management of geopolitical, climate and technological risks. He has over 15 years of experience in international relations and geopolitical risk analysis. In addition to his role at La Caisse, he teaches geopolitical risk management at Université de Montréal. He has also authored several essays, including the Geopolitical Awakening of Finance (2023), in which he sets out a methodology and tools for investors to find success in an unpredictable world. His work focuses on the intersection of geopolitics, global macroeconomic shifts and long-term capital allocation, with a particular emphasis on anticipating systemic disruptions and strengthening portfolio resilience in a rapidly evolving international environment. He holds a Master’s in International Relations and Comparative Politics from Université de Montréal.

Country Head for BNP Paribas for the United Arab Emirates since 1st of October 2021. He also serves as Multinational Clients Coverage Coordinator for the Middle East region. As a seasoned professional, François has over 30 years of strong and diversified experience with BNP Paribas. He spent 10 years in Paris at the start of his career, both in Inspection Générale and then Coverage in a Banker role. From 2000 onwards, he held several senior executive roles in London and Central & Eastern Europe. He was Country Head for BNP Paribas in Hungary from 2005 until 2009, and then Country Head in Russia from 2012 until 2015. In London, he led the Acquisition Finance team in the early 2000’s and served as Head of Human Resources at the time of the BNP Paribas and Fortis merger. He was also Chief Operations Officer for BNP Paribas London Branch. Before coming to the UAE, he served as BNP Paribas’ Chief Compliance Officer, UK. Francois graduated in France as an Engineer from Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Arts et Metiers and he holds an MBA from EM Lyon.

Swedish Ambassador for Global Health at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. Medical doctor from the Karolinska Institute. He worked for WHO as the Assistant Director General for General Management, Health Systems and Services and as Acting Director-General 2003-2008 and as the Head of the WHO Country Office in Sierra Leone 2015-17. He has served as Director-General for the Swedish International Agency for Development Cooperation (Sida). As the Interim Executive Director, he established the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as a legal entity 2002. Recently he headed the secretariat for the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. He has served as board member of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, GAVI, UNAIDS and PMNCH. He is currently a member of the Alliance for Health Systems Research’s board, the Chatham House Commission for Universal Health, the International Vaccine Institute Global Advisory Group of Expert and the Virchow Foundation for Global Health Council.

Junior Environmental Policy Analyst at the OECD. He is a young leader in resource and environmental policy who has been working on these policy issues for over 10 years. For the past 2 years he has worked for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), primarily on issues relating to resource productivity and waste management, with a strong focus on resource efficiency and the circular economy. In this capacity he has been an author of five recently published research papers, including the OECD’s “Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options”.  Before joining the OECD, Mr Brown worked in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specializing in promoting wildlife conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. He holds degrees in Economics and Policy from University College London in the United Kingdom and the College of William and Mary in the United States.

Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva since 2021. Before this, Mr. Jean-Marie Paugam was the Permanent Representative of France to the WTO. He has held various Senior Management responsibilities on Trade, Development and International Finance, with the French Treasury and with the UN system (International Trade Center). He also was Senior Research Fellow with the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), France’s leading think tank on international affairs. Mr. Paugam graduated in 1993 from the French National Administration School (ENA) and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Law as well as a Diploma of Political Sciences from the University of Aix-Marseille.

Senior Consultant with the OECD and Asian Development Bank, currently working on Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Bhutan. Former Deputy Director in the OECD Economics Department, he supervised work on around 50 member and non-member countries. He authored or co-authored reports on China, India, Russia, Japan, the two Koreas, Thailand, New Zealand, the euro area, France, the UK, Türkiye, Poland and the Nordics. He also served as the Economic Counsellor, as the main author of the OECD Economic Outlook and as OECD G10 Secretary. Earlier on, he was an Economist at the International Monetary Fund, in the Research and European departments. He started his career at the Bank of France. He holds an Economics Ph.D. from MIT, has published two textbooks as well as numerous articles and papers. He has taught at ENA, HEC and Paris-Dauphine University.

Member of the German Bundestag where he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is the spokesperson for the Committee of Inquiry on Afghanistan. From 2018 to 2022, Mr. Beyer held the position of Federal Government Coordinator for Transatlantic Cooperation in the chancellery of Angela Merkel. Mr. Beyer studied law at the universities of Düsseldorf and Bonn, graduating in 1999. He began his legal career as an associate attorney for the US-headquartered firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt (now Mayer Brown), followed by professional roles at Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione in Chicago, and Murchison & Cumming in Los Angeles. In 2000, he enrolled in a postgraduate legal studies program at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville where he received a Master of Laws degree. Mr. Beyer started his political career in 2009 and has been directly elected to the German Bundestag in every general election since then (2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021). As a politician, he has been known as a steadfast advocate for a strong transatlantic relationship, fostering ties between Germany, the United States, and Canada. Additionally, Beyer has been the Foreign Affairs Committee’s main rapporteur on the Western Balkans for twelve years. He is an engaged member of various organizations, such as Atlantik-Brücke, and holds the position of Executive Vice-President at the German American Association, Vice President of the Southeast Europe Association and as President of the Federal Assembly of Silesia in Germany.

Economist and President of Club Praxis, a multidisciplinary think tank that advocates for the integration of Big Data into public policy, specifically for the modernization of tax and welfare systems. His work has earned multiple accolades, including the Special Prize of the Political Economy, Statistics, and Finance section of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. Having spent the majority of his research career at Citigroup as Managing Director and Head of Multi-Asset Quantitative Analysis, he is now the co-founder of GlassView, the pioneers of Neuro-Powered Media™, and member of the board of the Paris School of Economics. He is the co-author of Le Capitalisme contre les inégalités (Capitalism against Inequalities) (PUF, 2022), and recipient of the “Prix Turgot” and the “Prix Louis Marin”. Since 2023, he has been a pivotal voice in highlighting the “cost of failure” within the innovation gap between Europe and the United States. In 2026, he co-authored a strategic piece for the Atlantic Council proposing original frameworks for the Climate Club to catalyze green financing. He graduated from ENSIMAG and HEC Paris. He is a recipient of the French National Order of Merit, of the Gold Medal of La Renaissance Française and of the Médaille d’honneur des Conseillers du commerce extérieur.

Director of the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva. Professor of Public Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva. In 2019, he was elected as Co-Director of the Swiss School of Public Health in Zürich. He previously served as Founding Director of the French School of Public Health, Co-Director of the European Academic Global Health Alliance, and President of the Agency for Public Health Education Accreditation. He has conducted his research in mathematical modelling of communicable diseases and he has chaired the WHO collaborative centre for electronic disease surveillance. He is member of the Académie suisse des sciences médicales and corresponding member at the Académie nationale de médecine in Paris. MD, and Ph.D. in Biomathematics. In March 2024, he published the book Prévenez-moi! Une meilleure santé à tout âge, with Editions Robert Laffont.

Managing Director at BNP Paribas, Middle East and Africa. He is Senior Banking Executive with a 20-year experience in leading coverage, structured finance and product platforms within top-tier international and regional Corporate and Investment Banks.