Category: Invited guests

Senior Advisor to the Chairman & CEO, Total Energies. Arnaud Breuillac, 63, graduated from the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in 1981. He joined TotalEnergies in 1982 and has served in various positions in its Exploration & Production Division, including Abu Dhabi, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Angola as well as the Refining Division in France. From 2004 to 2006, he held the position of Vice President, Middle East – Iran. In December 2006, he was appointed to the Management Committee of the Exploration & Production Division, concurrent with a new role as Senior Vice-President, Continental Europe & Central Asia. In July 2010, he was appointed President, Exploration & Production, Middle East and in January 2011, became a member of the Group’s Management Committee. In 2014, Arnaud Breuillac became Member of Total Executive Committee and President, Exploration & Production, responsible for the Company’s very large and increasingly diverse upstream portfolio around the world. Since September 1st, 2021, Arnaud Breuillac has been nominated Senior Advisor to the Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies SE. 

Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Arab Emirates. Previously, he served as Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti and Permanent Representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. His Excellency Dr. Al Busaidi started his diplomatic career in 1983 as Second Secretary in the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Muscat, then as First Secretary in the Omani Embassy in Cairo. In 1988, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Muscat as Director of the Political and Economic Affairs Office of the Gulf Cooperation Council, before being promoted to Director of the Middle East and Iran Desk in 2000.  In 2004, he became Deputy Head of the Arab Department for Gulf Cooperation Council Affairs. H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Hilal Al Busaidi holds a MSC in Economic Development and International Trade from the University of Reading in the UK, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Hull in the UK.

An astute economist and entrepreneur, Michael will advise on the finances and strategic direction of Norge Mining. He has worked for Citibank Zurich, and has held a prestigious array of senior positions at multinational financial institutions in New York and Frankfurt. He has previously been mandated by various governments, finance ministries and state banks to help settle sovereign debts. Over the years, Michael has advised on structure financing for companies in the natural resources, commodities and mining sectors in Russia, the Middle East and Mongolia.

Managing Partner, Bingmann Pflüger International. Dr Holger Bingmann was born on 8 July 1961 in Stuttgart (Germany). For many years he has held leading positions in industry and associations. Since May 2020 Holger Bingmann is managing partner of Bingmann Pflüger International. He is also President of the German Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), member of the Board of Directors of KfW (Frankfurt/Berlin), and member of the Executive Committee of, among others, the German Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), the German Employers’ Association (BDA), and the German eCommerce Association. Holger Bingmann is shareholder of Pressevertrieb München Holding, advisory board member of several press wholesalers and founder and owner of the Digital Business University, Berlin. He is also member of the Advisory Board of, among others, Commerzbank (Frankfurt), the Austrian Logistics Association (WKÖ) and other national and international associations. Bingmann is partner of GLB German Latin Business GmbH and iconomy GmbH (Berlin).

Chief Operations Officer, Norge Mining. Dr. Kristian Bader has extensive experience as Operations Adviser, most of which he gained as line manager and project manager in companies in the financial and technological industries. Kristian has furthermore founded and built up various companies. His strengths lie in the analysis, conception and implementation of organizational structures and processes and in the strategic development of these. He is also passionate about developments in the fields of technology, digitization and automation. Kristian has a Doctorate in Business Administration and holds Executive Master’s degrees in Business Law and Art Market Studies.

Alice Pannier is Head of the Geopolitics of Technology program, launched at Ifri in October 2020. Her research focuses on the geopolitical dimension of new technology, European technology policies, and transatlantic relations. She has also worked for a long time on European security and the foreign and defense policies of European countries, especially France and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining Ifri, she was Assistant Professor in International Relations and European Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington (2017-2020). Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of strategic research (IRSEM) at the French Ministry of Armed Forces. She is a graduate of King’s College London and Panthéon-Sorbonne University and holds a doctorate in political science from IEP Paris, co-supervised with King’s College.

Chairman and CEO of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French Space Agency. Previously, he was advisor to the Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, and chief of staff to Frédérique Vidal, the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation. A scientist from the digital sphere, Philippe Baptiste is a specialist in algorithms, combinatorial optimization, operational research and artificial intelligence. He has helped to found and develop several start-ups and pursued numerous collaborations with digital, aviation and defence manufacturers. He was a Partner and Director with Boston Consulting Group and Chief Technology Officer of Total. Before that, he was a researcher at the French national scientific research centre CNRS and IBM’s Watson Research Center, and a lecturer at Ecole Polytechnique. He headed its information technology laboratory and created the Institute of Information Sciences and Interactions before being appointed Associate Director General of CNRS. He also previously sat on the board of INRIA, the French national institute for research in computer science and control. He holds a PhD from the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC) and is a graduate in civil engineering from the Ecole des Mines engineering school in Nancy. He also holds an MSc from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and a DEA postgraduate diploma from Sorbonne University.

Secretary-General of La Francophonie since 2019. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and the East African Community of the Republic of Rwanda, she was previously Minister of Information in the Government of Rwanda. After living in the United States for some 20 years, she moved to Tunisia where she worked at the African Development Bank in the communications directorate. In March 2008, she was called by the President of the Republic of Rwanda to join the government team. Deeply affected by the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994, she co-authored the book Rwanda Means the Universe (Saint Martin’s Press, 2006), an intergenerational and autobiographical socio-historical memoir, and has written numerous press articles. A multi-faceted African politician, she has spoken on numerous television and radio programs on Rwandan and pan-African issues and collaborated on many award-winning documentary films. She also received the 2004 Outstanding Humanitarian Award from the American University & School of International Studies. In May 2018, Jeune Afrique magazine featured her as one of the most influential African figures on the continent. Louise Mushikiwabo, a language and interpretation graduate from the University of Delaware in the United States, is perfectly fluent in French and English, in addition to her native language, Kinyarwanda.

Chair of Middle East and Mediterranean studies at École nationale supérieure in Paris and of the Middle East Freethinking Platform of the Italian Switzerland University in Lugano. Specializing in the contemporary Arab world and Islam in the West, he teaches at the University of Paris Sciences & Lettres. He is the author of widely-acclaimed books translated into many languages, including the latest one, The Prophet and the Pandemic / From the Middle East to Atmosphere Jihadism. The excerpt : The Murder of Samuel Paty, was released in the Spring issue of Liberties Journal (April 27th, 2021). His previous book’s English version, Away From Chaos / The Middle East and the Challenge to the West, was published in 2020 by Columbia University Press.

Member of the French Council of State. He graduated from HEC Paris, Sciences Po Paris and the French School of Administration. He also holds a degree from Johns Hopkins University. He started his career at the French Senate by working on international affairs. He wrote several reports on the strategic issues raised by the digital economy.

Executive Director of Capgemini Ventures, since January 2019, Ms. Lucia Sinapi graduated from ESSEC business school (1986) and started her career as a tax and business lawyer in 1986, was admitted to the Paris bar (1989), before joining Capgemini in 1992. She was successively Group Tax Advisor (1992), head of Corporate Finance, Treasury and Investors Relations (1999), taking over Risk Management and Insurance in 2005. She was appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer in 2013, and from January 2016 Executive Director of Business Platforms Unit. Lucia Sinapi-Thomas is a member of the Board of Directors of Bureau Veritas since May 2013 and Dassault Aviation since May 2014, and has been a Board member of Capgemini from 2012 to 2024.

Dean Emeritus at The American University in Cairo. He founded the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in 2009 but he is also a career Diplomat. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt from July 2013 to June 2014. During his distinguished diplomatic career over three decades, he served as Ambassador to the United States between 1999 and 2008 and Japan between 1997 and 1999, as well as in numerous government and international positions. His work focused on international and regional security, disarmament and non-proliferation, conflict resolution and Arab-Israeli diplomacy. He was also the Chairman of the United Nations Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and the Vice Chairman of the United Nations General Assembly’s first committee dealing with disarmament and international security. Currently Chairman of LYNX Strategic Advisors which supports international and domestic firms in pursuing best business practices, he also publishes weekly articles on Global, International and Middle East Affairs.

President of BOAD, the development finance institution of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) member countries. Prior to joining, this well-known expert with over twenty years of international experience in global finance, structured finance and capital markets, worked as Natixis’ Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Country Manager for the UK in London as well as Head of Global Markets for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Head of Natixis’ Africa and Russia Departments. Between 2010 and 2016, he managed Natixis’ Global Markets for the Asia-Pacific region before taking over as Chief Executive Officer of the bank based in Hong Kong. He holds an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, a post-graduate degree in Banking and Finance from Paris V University and a degree from the Institut d’études politiques of Bordeaux.

Special Advisor to the Regional Office of WHO for Europe, Professor Kazatchkine has over 35 years of experience in global health as a leading physician, researcher, administrator, advocate, policymaker, and diplomat. He is Emeritus Professor of Immunology at Paris Descartes University, Senior Fellow with the Global Health Centre of the Geneva Graduate Institute, and a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. He has been Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Director of the French Agency for Research on AIDS, French ambassador on HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases, and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2021, he was a member of the Independent panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response convened by the World Health Assembly to evaluate the global response to Covid-19.

Board-member and advisor to companies in the field of digital transformation and artificial intelligence. Jacques N. Biot has international professional experience in higher education and research (First executive President of Ecole polytechnique, 2013-2018), life sciences (Roussel-Uclaf, Pasteur-Mérieux Serums and Vaccines, now parts of Sanofi; JNBD, strategic consulting firm in health technology, divested to ICON; and Guerbet, GBT, Euronext), industry and technology financing, and public administration (Prime Minister’s office). The motto of his career has been about how to turn scientific innovation into societal and economic value. He currently serves as a Trustee to several scientific academic institutions and teaches entrepreneurship as an invited Professor at the Tianjin University in China. He currently chairs the Board of Directors of Huawei Technologies France and independently advises several projects in the field of AI in healthcare.  Jacques is a graduate of Ecole polytechnique (year group X71) and a member of the Corps des Mines. He is an Officer of the Legion of Honor and of the French Orders of Merite, a member of the Lion’s Order of Senegal and a Commander in the Order of National Education in the Ivory Coast.

Jean Kramarz is currently Director of the Healthcare activities of the AXA Partners Group. He is a specialist in the development of healthcare services in France and around the world. Before joining the AXA Group, where he launched medical teleconsultation for the general population in France, he was Director of New Services for the Malakoff-Médéric Group, Director of Development for Europ Assistance, Director of International Health Subsidiaries for the Gras Savoye Group. He also worked in the French public sector, including in the Oil & Gas and Automotive Departments of the Ministry of Industry and in the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance. Jean Kramarz is an alumnus of Sciences Po Paris and the Ecole nationale d’administration.

Professor Emeritus at Sorbonne Université and a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. He began his academic career as a mathematician, specializing in logic and teaching at Paris 7 and other universities. He then was appointed as professor of philosophy of science at the universities of Lille, Nanterre and finally Paris IV. He is chiefly interested in cognitive science and artificial intelligence, and in their impacts on education, collective decision and public policy. He was the founder and first director of the department of cognitive studies at the Ecole normale superieure in Paris. His latest books are La Silhouette de l’humain, quelle place pour le naturalisme aujourd’hui ?, La Cognition, du neurone à la société (co-authored) and Intelligence artificielle, intelligence humaine: la double énigme. 

Deputy director of the cabinet of the CEO of the Direction Générale des Entreprises (DGE), a French government agency attached to the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. He contributes to the design and implementation of public policies supporting business development. Previously, he was technical analyst in the Operations Department of the ANSSI, the French national cybersecurity agency. Before that, he worked for the industrial companies General Electric, Alstom, TotalEnergies and Vesuvius, as well as for the Private Equity fund Astorg in Paris. As a Corps des mines Engineer, Godefroy Galas is a French high civil servant. He is also a graduate Engineer of Télécom Paris, a graduate of the Grande École programme of HEC Paris and holds a Master’s degree in Public Affairs (Prép’ENA) from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

Prof. Sally Eaves is a highly experienced Chief Technology Officer, Professor in Advanced Technologies and Global Strategic Advisor, Author and Speaker on Digital Transformation, Sustainability, HealthTech and Social Impact. She specializes in the application of AI, Cloud, CyberSecurity, Blockchain, IoT & 5G disciplines for both business and societal benefit at scale. Sally is Senior Policy Advisor for the Global Foundation of Cyber Studies & Research and has founded ‘edtech’ enterprise Aspirational Futures to enhance accessibility, inclusion and diversity in education, technology and beyond.

General Secretary of the Fondation Dr Henri Dubois-Ferrière Dinu Lipatti and board member of several charity foundations in Geneva. In charge of administration, accounting and human resources for several companies in various industries. Member of the board of the WPC Foundation since 2013.

President of the Policy Center for the New South, and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences and Executive Vice-President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco as the Director of Economics, Statistics and International Relations. Prior to this, he served as an economist at the World Bank. He holds scientific and advisory positions in various institutions, including the Malabo-Montpellier Panel, the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, and the French Institute of International Relations. He is also advisor to the CEO and Chairman of the OCP Group, and serves as a board member of the OCP Foundation and as a global member of the Trilateral Commission. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bordeaux.

Vice Chairman of the WPC. He manages the organisation of the annual conference since its first edition in 2008. He is also chairman and founder of Alandia, a restructuring advisory firm which helped various States or Sovereign funds to regain control over their industrial investments (Middle East, Africa and West Asia). Former Vice chairman of the Franco Indian chamber of commerce, he was more especially in charge of agricultural investments. He seats, or seated, at several Advisory Boards such as British Telecom or PWC. He published a book on globalization in June 2010: Mondialisation, un autre regard and one on restructuring issues in France (2015).

Advisor to the Executive Chairman, Ifri, Editor of Politique étrangère and co-director of the annual report Ramses. He is also President of the Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe. Former Executive Vice-President of Ifri. Previously, he was in charge of the Security Studies department at Ifri. Before joining Ifri, he was Deputy Director of the Institut français de polémologie (French Institute of Polemology), and then Secretary General of the FEDN (Fondation pour les études de défense nationale). He also taught at the Military School of Saint-Cyr, at the Paris I University and at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (IEP). His studies and publications deal with strategic issues, particularly with French strategy and European issues.

President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development, a global public policy think-tank based in Belgrade, and Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly magazine Horizons – Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development. He is also the leader of Serbia’s opposition People’s Party. In 2016, he participated in the official election for UN Secretary-General and finished in second place. In 2012, he was elected President of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly. During his term in office he played a leading role in steering the UN towards the establishment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He served as Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2012.

Former Ambassador of Switzerland to France (2002-2007). He joined the Foreign Service in 1971. He held several positions such as Ambassador to Guatemala and to other States of Central America, Head of the Swiss Delegation to UNESCO, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the international organizations in Geneva. He contributes regularly to the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. He studied law and international relations at the University of Fribourg and the Graduate Institute for  International Studies in Geneva.

Managing Director of Banque Bordier & Cie, Geneva. He is also a member of the Board and Treasurer of the WPC Foundation. His area of expertise is private asset management. He was formerly Managing Partner at EFG Bank in Geneva. He previously worked as a money market dealer at the Al Saudi bank in Paris, then as treasurer for Europe at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in Paris. He received a degree in economics from the University of Neuchâtel and an advanced management degree from the École des Cadres de Lausanne.

Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017. Prior to his election, he served as Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016 and as Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012. He holds a PhD in Community Health from the University of Nottingham and a MSc in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the University of London. He is globally recognised as a health scholar, researcher, and diplomat with first-hand experience in research, operations, and leadership in emergency responses to epidemics. Throughout his career Dr Tedros has published numerous articles in prominent scientific journals, and received awards and recognition from across the globe.