Category: Invited guests

Vice President, Cities & Public Services, Dassault Systèmes. He started his career as a research fellow at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), focusing on European security and transatlantic relations. He has worked for EADS-AIRBUS as senior manager in charge of international development. In 2005, he was appointed diplomatic advisor to the French Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, D. Perben. From 2007 to 2015 he worked for Alstom group, in the energy and rail transportation sector, in various capacities. In 2016, he joined the regional council of Paris Region as deputy director general and special advisor to the President, in charge of European affairs, international cooperation and tourism, until September 2019.

Research Fellow and Director of Russia/NIS Center of Ifri since January 2014. Before joining Ifri in 2005, she taught International Relations for the French-Russian Master at MGIMO University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations). At the beginning of her work at Ifri, she developed a rich expertise on issues linked to youth, higher education and innovation in Russia: she is the author of the book Les universités russes sont-elles compétitives ?, CNRS Editions, 2013. She currently heads the trilingual electronic collection Russie.Nei.Visions. She holds a degree from the State University of Ekaterinbourg, a Franco-Russian Master in International Relations from the University of Sciences Po and MGIMO University, and from the University of Marne-la-Vallée in France. In 2020, she published La Russie de Poutine en 100 questions (Paris, Tallandier).

Senior Researcher Emeritus at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique), attached to the French Research Institute on East Asia (IFRAE) of the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO). He is also Professor Emeritus at Hong Kong Baptist University. Prior to September 2021, he was Chair Professor of Political Science, Department of Government and International Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University. He was Head of the Department from 2007 to 2018. He is also Associate Researcher at the Asia Centre, Paris and at the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China in Hong Kong. Named Officer of the Palmes Académiques in 2018 and Knight of the Order of Merit in 2022, he has been a corresponding member of the Académie des sciences d’outre-mer (ASOM) since 2019. His main research topics include political, institutional and legal reforms in People’s China, Chinese foreign and security policy, China-Taiwan relations, the Taiwanese political system and China-Africa relations. His most recent publications include China Tomorrow : Democracy or Dictatorship? (translated by N. Jayaram; Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and Facing China: The Prospect for War and Peace (translated by N. Jayaram; Lanham, MD; Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).

Josep Borrell Fontelles is the High Representative of the European Union and Vice-President of the European Commission. He was a Minister of Public Works and Environment from 1991 to 1996, member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009 and its President from 2004 to 2007. Borrell became President of the European University Institute in 2010 and Jean Monnet Chair at the Institute of International Studies at Complutense University of Madrid. In 2018, he was appointed as Foreign Minister for the Spanish government and in 2019 High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Minister of State of Belgium. Former Chief of Staff of the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and in that capacity he was EU ‘Sherpa’ to the G8. Mr. van Daele joined the Belgium diplomatic service in 1971 and throughout his extensive diplomatic career he has been the representative of Belgium in the Security Council and the permanent representative of Belgium to the EU and NATO, as well as Ambassador to the US. He is a former Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and has held various other positions in the Belgian Ministry of Foreign affairs (i.a. Director-General of Political Affairs). Mr. van Daele holds a Master in Philosophy and Arts (romance philology) from the University of Leuven. Between 2013 and 2017, he served as Chief of Staff to His Majesty the King of the Belgians. On retirement Baron van Daele was appointed Minister of State.

Chief Economic Strategist at the MITRE Corporation, a $2.1 billion nonprofit corporation working across government, business, and academia to advance the safety, stability, and well-being of the United States, and Nonresident Scholar in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In both positions, she focuses on the nature of strategic economic competition in today’s international system, the role of innovation and emerging technologies, macroeconomic risks and their impact on policymaking, and U.S. economic statecraft. Senior executive in charge of the Office of Macroeconomic Analysis in the U.S. Treasury Department (October 2016 – August 2018). National Intelligence Manager and National Intelligence Officer for Economics in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (2013-2016). Former economics faculty at the U.S. Naval Academy, National Defense University, New York University, and the U.S. Military Academy. She holds a PhD in Economics from Columbia University and a MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics.

Graduated from HEC, Jean-Paul Agon joined L’Oréal in 1978, in which he has worked his entire career. He successively led several of its brands, countries and geographical zones. He created in particular the Asia-Pacific zone in 1997, that has become the 1st region of the Group since, and then managed the North America Zone as of 2001. He became CEO of L’Oréal in 2006, and then Chairman and CEO from 2011 to 2021. In 15 years, Jean-Paul Agon adapted the company by leading in-depth strategic transformations, notably the digital and e-commerce revolution and the one of responsibility and sustainability. With a double ambition: combining economic performance and exemplarity in environmental, social, ethical and societal fields. The Ethics Resource Center awarded him the “Pace Leadership in Ethics Award” for L’Oréal’s achievements in the area of business ethics, diversity, financial transparency and sustainable development. He is a Director of Air Liquide, co-chairman of the France China Committee, a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists, and a Director of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri). He is an officer of the French Legion of Honour.

Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in International Economic Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. He is author of EuroTragedy: A Drama in Nine Acts. Previously, he was Deputy Director in the International Monetary Fund’s Research and European Departments. He has worked at the World Bank, AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, and the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Financial Studies, Frankfurt. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University.

President of “Servir en Entreprise” since September 2024, the ENA alumni community in the corporate sector, previously President of Servir (former ENA Alumni Association) from 2017 to 2023 and former member of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of France as a qualified person (2015-2021), Daniel Keller is Chief Officer in charge of transversal projects of the Division of complementary pension and social action at Malakoff-Humanis. Graduate of the École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud, holder of an Agrégation in Literature and former student of the École nationale d’administration (ENA), he began his career at the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance as a Civil Administrator in the General Tax Directorate and then in the Tax Legislation Department. He joined the Renault Group where he held various responsibilities in the sales department, in the distribution network, in France and in Europe, as well as in central functions, as Head of Worldwide Sales Quality for the Group. He then managed a group of Renault-Dacia car dealerships in the Paris region. President of the Grand Orient de France from 2013 to 2016, he was then Director of Transformation and Digital at Humanis, in charge of organization, project management and operational efficiency, before becoming Deputy Director for the supplementary pension businesses from 2019 to 2022.

Prime Minister, Minister of State Budget, Head of the government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. Previously, he served as Secretary General of the Presidency. Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture (2003-2005), then Minister of Agriculture (2006-2010). Director of Economic and Financial Studies at the Direction du Contrôle des Grands Travaux (DCGTX) and Deputy Director General (1994-1995). He was mayor of Korhogo from 2001 to 2018. In January 2019, he has been appointed Chairman of the Management Board of the “Houphouétistes Rally for Democracy and Peace” (RHDP) since January 2019. 

President of Masen. Through the development of the Noor Solar Plan, Masen is now a reference on the regional and international scene of renewable energies. Before joining Masen, he has led one of the major institutions of Morocco, the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion. Previously, he held senior positions in the banking sector, within the BNP Paribas group. He was also in charge of the development and financing of the activities of the National Urban Development Company (SONADAC). He is a graduate from the “Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées of Paris” and holds a degree in Banking and Finance in one of the leading French universities. He is President of the Casablanca-Settat region.

Sebastiaan is a Venture Capital Investor at Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s leading early-stage startup investors. Before this, he was an early employee at European micro-mobility startup Circ, where he set up the global supply chain and helped drive its acquisition by industry pioneer Bird. He started his career at McKinsey & Co., working primarily on growth strategy and restructuring. Sebastiaan graduated from King’s College London and Vlerick Business School. While a student, Sebastiaan was President of the King’s College London Students’ Union (2013-15) and President of King’s College London Think Tank, a non-profit activism group (2012-2013).

Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China, Hong Kong Basic Law expert, and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. In the transition from 1984 to 1997, Mr. Leung was Secretary General of the Basic Law Consultative Committee and held many other senior positions related to the establishment of the HKSAR throughout this period. Since 1997, he served as a member and then the Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. In 2017 he founded the Belt and Road Hong Kong Centre and the Greater Bay Area Centre. Mr. Leung was also instrumental in the land and housing reforms and the establishment of the real estate market in China.

Adjunct fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA). Former Special Assistant to the Foreign Minister of Japan. Previously, he was Director-General for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Chief Negotiator of the Japan European Union Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations. He also served as Ambassador of Japan to France. Formerly, he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Japan’s G8 Foreign Affairs Sous Sherpa, and Ambassador of Japan to Singapore. He received a law degree LL.B from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo and is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration of France (ENA). 

Deputy Director-General of the WTO. His areas of responsibility include the two legal divisions dealing with the WTO’s dispute settlement system (Rules and Legal Affairs), the division for administration and general services including budget and finance as well as the human resources division. Prior to joining the WTO, he held the position of Director General for external economic policy in the German Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin for 12 years. He is a lawyer by profession, with degrees from Germany and the United Kingdom (Cambridge). He started his career in the legal department of the Federal Ministry of Economics in Bonn in 1983. In 1986-87, he worked at the German Mission to the United Nations in New York. Further postings abroad were in Athens and Sydney.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault. Chairman, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors. Mr. Ghosn joined Renault as Executive Vice President in 1996. After the Renault-Nissan Alliance was formed, Mr. Ghosn joined Nissan Motor as Chief Operating Officer in 1999 and was named Chief Executive Officer in 2001. CEO of Renault since 2005, he was appointed President and CEO of Renault in 2009, while keeping the same responsibilities at Nissan.  Mr. Ghosn has been the industry’s leading advocate for sustainable transportation; Renault and Nissan were the first automakers to launch a range of affordable zero-emission cars and commercial vehicles. Mr. Ghosn is also establishing the Alliance as a leader in the development of future automotive technology, such as autonomous drive and connected vehicles and services. Before Renault, Mr. Ghosn held several positions in Michelin, the last being Chairman and CEO of Michelin North America starting 1989. Having obtained degrees from École Polytechnique and École des Mines in Paris, Mr. Ghosn started his career at Michelin in 1978.

CEO of the American Hospital of Paris since 2017, a worldwide renowned, non-for-profit hospital. From 2014 to 2016, he has been President and Chief Commercial Officer of InSightec, the leading MedTech company for MR guided Focused Ultrasound. Previously he spent seven years at General Electric Healthcare, first in the Hospital and Healthcare Solutions business unit (2007-2009), then as General Manager and President of GE Healthcare France (2010-2013), a business unit in charge of commercializing medical equipment and service with an annual turnover of €400M. Prior to joining the industry, Robert Sigal had a seventeen-year career at Institut Gustave Roussy, the largest comprehensive cancer center in France. He was successively staff radiologist, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiology, and Executive Medical Director.

Minister of Justice of Hungary since 2014. Dr László Trócsányi is a lawyer by profession. He graduated from the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Eötvös Loránd University in 1980 and was admitted to the bar in 1985. He served as an assistant professor, then a reader (1991-1994) and a senior lecturer (1994-2000) at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the University of Szeged. Since 2000, he is professor and head of department at the same university. Since 2004, he serves as Director of the European Studies Centre of Szeged University. Dr Trócsányi has been appointed Hungarian Ambassador to both Belgium and Luxembourg between 2000 and 2004 and to France between 2010 and 2014. He holds various awards that he received from France, Belgium and Hungary.

Chairman of Hang Lung Group Ltd. and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Ltd., both publicly listed in Hong Kong. The Group expanded into mainland China in 1992, developing, owning and managing world-class commercial complexes in key tier one and tier two cities. He founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund, is a co-founding Director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation, Beijing, and is former Vice President and former Advisor of the China Development Research Foundation in Beijing. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chairman Emeritus of Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, and founding Chairman of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society. He serves or has served on the governing or advisory bodies of several think tanks and universities, including Peterson Institute for International Economics, World Economic Forum, East-West Center, Pacific Council on International Policy, Eisenhower Fellowships, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, University of Southern California, Indian School of Business, Yale University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University.

Olivier Blanchard is a French macroeconomist who has spent his professional life in the U.S. He first taught at Harvard, then at MIT, where he was chairman of the economics department from 1998 to 2003. From 2008 to 2015, he was on leave as the chief economist of the IMF. He is now the Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute in Washington. He also remains Robert M. Solow Professor of Economics emeritus at MIT. He is the author of many books and articles, including two textbooks in macroeconomics, one at the graduate level, and one at the undergraduate level. He is a fellow and past council member of the Econometric Society, past president of the American Economic Association, and a member of the American Academy of Sciences.

CTO and Group Vice President Corporate Strategy & External Relations VALEO. Previously, he was technical advisor for Industrial Affairs at the Office of the French Minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian (2014-2016). He was also project manager at the Aerospace & Defence Unit, French Government Shareholding Agency (2011-2014), advisor for Industry at the Office of the Chairman and CEO of OCP Group (2009-2010). He graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole des Mines, Paris.

Deputy Chairman, Oilfields Supply Center. He started his career as Third Secretary and Head of Information and Translation Section, Political Dept., Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abu Dhabi. He also served as First Secretary at the UAE Embassy in New Delhi, India.  In 1974 he became Head of UAE Consular Mission in Bombay, India. In 1979 he represented the UAE on the Political Committee of the United National General Assembly session. In 1983, he took charge of investment affairs of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Government of Dubai.  He graduated from University of Jordan.

Founder and Principal of EM Conseil, an independent consultancy which provides strategic and legal risk assessment advice on sovereign debt management matters, investments in emerging markets, as well as on best practices in corporate governance compliance. She served in General Counsel, strategy and risk-related senior positions at alternative investment funds at Citigroup, Fortress Group and Nomura International PLC.  She advised the NYSE board on international issues. The first Russian lawyer to graduate from a U.S. law school (Berkeley), she started her career at Sullivan & Cromwell and Cleary Gottlieb.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Kingdom of Morocco. He held previous positions such as Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ambassador, Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Prior to that, he served as General Director of Multilateral Relations and Global Cooperation Directorate. He also held the position of Director of the United Nations and International Organizations Directorate. His diplomatic career includes postings to Austria and Belgium (1995-2000 and 2002-2003). He graduated from the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Studies, Rabat.