Ilmas Futehally

Co-founder, Executive Director and Vice President of Strategic Foresight Group (SFG)

Ilmas Futehally has been a member of SFG delegations for consultations with Heads of Governments and Foreign Ministers of several countries on various global issues. In 2010-2011, she led
projects on water security in the Himalayan River Basins and the Middle East.

She is the Co-author of Big Questions of Our Time (2011), Coauthor of Cost of Conflict in the Middle East (2009), Principal Author of Global Security and Economy: Emerging Trends (2008), Principal Author of Cost of Conflict between India-Pakistan (2004) and co-author of about ten other internationally acclaimed research reports. She has contributed chapters to three books on regional cooperation in South Asia.

Ilmas has been a non-residential fellow (2001-2002) at the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs, New York, and a Visiting Fellow (1998) in regional security at the Henry
L. Stimson Center in Washington, DC. She has travelled to more than 40 countries for consultations with government leaders and experts on global issues. She is the recipient of Young Achievers Award of Indo-American Society for 2001 for her work on issues of relevance to the relationship between the two countries. She was profiled by timesofindia.com among India’s ten upcoming young leaders on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of India’s independence.

She obtained her Master of Science degree from Bombay University. She has also undertaken
advanced professional courses in Security, Technology and Arms Control conducted by King’s
College, London. She worked as a research scientist in Excel Industries and as Assistant Director
at the International Centre for Peace Initiatives prior to her current responsibilities.

Tamoifo Nkom Marie

Presidente, Jeunesse Verte du Cameroun

Spokesperson for the African youths and Diaspora/ Bamako 2005, President of AJVC, Cameroon (2006 – 2012), Regional Coordinator of the Regional Central Africa youth forest
Network (2008 – 2011), Facilitator of the National Environmental Youth network in Cameroon
and peace network in the sub region.

Marie is the coordinator of the Youth regional network on Forests for Central Africa (for Congo, RDC, Chad, RCA, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao tome and Principe, Rwanda, Burundi, and Cameroon) and she coordinates the focal points of all of this countries and national network since 2008. She has organized the United Nations Environment Youth Program on Sustainable Consumption Campaign in Cameroon under the auspices of UNEP Youth Advisory Council Associate Advisor for Africa in collaboration with the German Development Corporation (GTZ), the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MINEF).

In 2005 she has been designated spokesperson for MDGS/ 2015 UNDP campaign for Cameroon. In August 2005 she was one of the laureates of the King Mohammed IV Award on Youth Led Projects on the MDGS.

In 2010, she was one of leaders representing Cameroun, participating in the President Obama’s
Africa Forum with Young African Leaders.

Melanie Giard

Communications Officer, World Water Council

After 8 years of experience within her travel agency in Marseilles, France, Melanie joined the World Water Council in January 2002, initially as a translator and assistant. After handling logistics for various international events, she progressively took on greater responsibilities within the Communication Department.

Her academic background includes both communications and languages: Following studies in Tourism & Geography, she acquired a master’s degree in 2002 in Applied Foreign Languages and technical translation in both English and Russian at the University of Provence. She also obtained a master’s degree in Information & Communication Sciences from the same University.

In 2006, Melanie became Communication Officer at the WWC, in charge of overall communication activities, including publications, media and public relations, web development and coordination of projects such as the “Water & Film Event”, amongst others. She is also responsible for coordinating the communication activities related to the 6th World Water Forum that will be held in Marseille in March 2012.

Simon Sinek

Author of the book “Start With Why”
Simon is an author best known for popularizing a concept of The Golden Circle. He joined the RAND Corporation in 2010 as an adjunct staff member, where he advises on matters of military innovation and planning. His first TEDx Talk on “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” is the 7th most viewed video on TED.com.

His 2009 book on the same subject, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2009) delves into what he says is a naturally occurring pattern, grounded in the biology of human decision-making, that explains why we are inspired by some people, leaders, messages and organizations over others.
 

Joichi Ito

Director, MIT Media Lab, Boston, USA

Media Lab director Joi Ito is a leading thinker and writer on innovation, global technology policy, and the role of the Internet in transforming society in substantial and positive ways. A vocal advocate of emergent democracy, privacy, and Internet freedom, Ito is board chair (and former CEO) of Creative Commons, and sits on the boards of the Mozilla Foundation, WITNESS, and Global Voices.

In Japan, he was a founder of Digital Garage, and helped establish and later became CEO of the country’s first commercial Internet service provider. He was an early investor in more than 40 companies, including Flickr, Six Apart, Last.fm, Kongregate, Kickstarter, and Twitter. Ito’s honors include TIME magazine’s “Cyber-Elite” listing in 1997 (at age 31) and selection as one of the “Global Leaders for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum (2001).

In 2008, BusinessWeek named him one of the “25 Most Influential People on the Web.” In 2011, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oxford Internet Institute. In 2012, he was named to the board of directors of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Rene Redzepi

Nordic Food Ambassador, Noma Restaurant, Copenhagen, Denmark

Rene is a chef, a skilled craftsman who happens to be one of Denmark’s finest culinary artists. Rene opened Noma after having served as sous chef at Kong Hans Restaurant in Copenhagen. Before that, Rene worked for extended stints at some of the world’s highest esteemed 3-star Michelin restaurants e.g. French Laundry and El Bulli. Chef Rene Redzepi has been recently appointed as Ambassador for the New Nordic Food Programme by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The programme is a Nordic cooperation to expose the value of Nordic food and Nordic food culture.

Kristine Pearson

Founding CEO of Lifeline Energy

Kristine is the founding CEO of the award-winning Lifeline Energy, a position she has held since 1999. An international social enterprise based in London and Cape Town, Lifeline Energy provides technology solutions for off-grid learning. Pearson gives voice to women and girls by speaking about and advocating for pressing energy poverty and education issues at UN, World Economic Forum and other global conferences. Previously, Pearson held an executive with a South African banking group and was a consultant specializing in the development of women in business.

Pearson is a Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum and served on the Forum‟s Council for Disaster Mitigation and New Energy Architecture. Pearson was named by TIME magazine in 2007 as a Hero of the Environment. She serves on the Women’s Leadership Board of Harvard‟s Kennedy School of Government, is a lifetime fellow of the World Technology Network and received the 2005 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award affiliated with the Tech Museum of Innovation in California. A graduate of the University of California, Pearson has attended Executive Education at Harvard University and the Global Social Benefit Incubator at Santa Clara University. She has travelled to more than 90 countries, 25 in Africa.

Homaro Cantu

Owner of iNG & Moto Restaurant, Chicago

Homaro is an inventor, entrepreneur, chef, and molecular gastronomer. He owns and operates Cantu Designs Firm in Chicago, Illinois, United States as well as Moto Restaurant in Chicago. Chef Homaro Cantu is an internationally recognized chef in the new era of postmodern cuisine known as, molecular gastronomy. He is considered one of America’s most daring chefs and is pushing the limits of taste, texture and technique in a stunning and futuristic fashion.