WEF unveils 2021’s ‘most promising’ global leaders

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has unveiled the ‘promising’ 112 Young Global Leaders committed to improving the world. 

The driven group of researchers, innovative entrepreneurs, activists and promising political leaders, all under 40, are WEF’s Young Global Leaders Class of 2021. The class of 2021 is gender equal and represent 56 countries. They join a group of Nobel Prize recipients, Pulitzer winners, heads of state and chief executive officers committed to improving the state of the world.
 
The Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL) was founded in 2005 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, to create a world where leaders take responsibility for a sustainable future, while meeting increasingly complex and interrelated challenges. Today, there are 1,400 members and alumni from more than 120 countries. Notable members include prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada of Costa Rica, actor Yao Chen, lawyer Amal Clooney and filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu.
 
YGLs are active in today’s most exciting and dynamic fields and focus on impact. In the past year they have worked on more than 30 Covid-19-related initiatives, including expanding the use of free public digital health services, launching data challenges to build an ecosystem that can help tackle the pandemic, creating mobile intensive care shelters, opening mental health support platforms and working on vaccine development.

LEADERS SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Members will take part in a five-year programme, which offers executive education courses, expeditions and opportunities to collaborate and test ideas among a trusted network of peers.
 
“The YGL Class of 2021 is comprised of thoughtful and courageous leaders who will shape a more sustainable and inclusive post-pandemic era,” stated Mariah Levin, Head of the Forum of Young Global Leaders. 

“We are delighted to welcome the class of 2021 at a time when cultivating responsible leadership is needed more than ever to steer us through the multiple challenges the world is facing,” added Nicole Schwab, Board Member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.

2021’S YOUNG GLOBAL LEADERS

This year’s class of YGL include:

Academia and Research

• Abasi Ene-Obong, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, 54gene, United States of America
• Dalal Saeb Iriqat, Vice-President for International Relations, Arab American University-Palestine, Palestinian Territories
• Devi Sridhar, University Lecturer in Global Health Politics, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• Ibram X Kendi, Director of the Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University, United States of America
• Izkia Siches, President, Medical College of Chile, Chile
• Lu Chaoyang, Professor, University of Science and Technology of China, People’s Republic of China
• Peter Biar Ajak, Visiting Fellow and Adjunct Faculty, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, United States of America
• Tom Crowther, Professor of Global Ecosystem Ecology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• Wu Chen, Deputy Director, Department of International Collaboration, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, People’s Republic of China

Arts, Media and Sports

• Adriana Cargill, Independent Journalist, United States of America
• Christoph Bornschein, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TLGG (Torben, Lucie und die gelbe Gefahr), Germany
• Faouzi Khlifi (known as El Seed), Artist and Founder, El Seed Studio, Tunisia
• Hu Ge, Actor, Hu Ge Studio, People’s Republic of China
• Jessica Mauboy, Artist, Parade Management, Australia
• Li Ni, Vice-Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Bilibili Inc., People’s Republic of China
• Lukas Nelson, Singer, Songwriter, Philanthropist, United States of America
• Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Captain, Bangladesh Cricket Team, Bangladesh
• Nathalia Arcuri, Founder/President, Me Poupe, Brazil
• Rohan Ramakrishnan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The ASEAN Post, Malaysia
• Wang Guan, Chief Correspondent, CGTN, People’s Republic of China

Banking and Investment

• Brian Kaufmann, Portfolio Manager; Head, Private Investments; Management Committee Member, Viking Global Investors, United States of America
• Catherine Lenson, Chief Human Resources Officer, SoftBank Investment Advisors (UK), United Kingdom
• Cristina Fonseca, Chief Executive Officer, Cleverly, Portugal
• Daniel Ahn, Managing Director, Chief US Economist, Head of Markets 360 and North America, BNP Paribas, United States of America
• Gregoire Pictet, Chief Executive Officer, Pictet North America, Banque Pictet and Cie, Switzerland
• He Zhengyu, Principal Scientist, Ant Group, People’s Republic of China
• Lee Seung Gun, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Viva Republica (Toss), Republic of Korea
• Luis Felipe Cervantes Legorreta, Principal and Head of Mexico Office, General Atlantic, United States of America
• Mohammad Salem Omaid, Chief Executive Officer, Azizi Bank, Afghanistan

Business

• Andrey A. Guryev, Chief Executive Officer, PJSC PhosAgro, Russian Federation
• Anne-Laure De Chammard, Group Chief Strategy Officer, ENGIE Group, France
• Claudia Vergueiro Massei, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Oman, Oman
• Dana Juffali, Business Development Director, Khaled Juffali Energy and Utilities, Saudi Arabia
• Erica Alessandri, Member of the Board, Technogym, Italy
• Gareth Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Mitbana, Singapore
• Haley Lowry, Global Sustainability Director, Dow, United States of America
• Kishin Rk, Chief Executive Officer, RB Capital, Singapore
• Laure Forgeron, Managing Director – Head of Facultative Underwriting EMEA, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Switzerland
• Liam Sobey, Vice President of Merchandising, Sobeys, Canada
• Matthew Chamberlain, Chief Executive, London Metal Exchange, United Kingdom
• Mohamed Al Hashemi, Country Head, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Majid Al Futtaim Group, Majid Al Futtaim Retail, United Arab Emirates
• Nari Kahle, Head, Transformation and Operational Excellence, Volkswagen, Germany
• Nirvana Chaudhary, Managing Director, Chaudhary Group, Nepal
• Ricardo Weder, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, JUSTO, Mexico
• Roongchat Boonyarat, Director, Chief Executive and Operating Officer, Malee Group, Thailand
• Rose Damen, Managing Director, Damen Yachting; Non-Executive Member of the Board, Damen Holding, Netherlands
• Shreevar Kheruka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Borosil, India
• Sophie Kim Seul Ah, Founder, Market Kurly, Republic of Korea
• Srikanth Bolla, Chief Executive Officer, Bollant Industries, India
• Sylvia Wiesner, Vice-President Foods DACH, Unilever, Germany
• Tanit Chearavanont, Director, Siam Makro, Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand

Civil Society and Social Entrepreneurship

• Amit Paley, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, The Trevor Project, United States of America
• Anulika Ajufo, Principal, Soros Economic Development Fund, United Kingdom
• Deepika Padukone, Founder, The Live Love Laugh Foundation, India
• Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT), Chad
• Jessica Jackson, Chief Advocacy Officer, Reform Alliance, United States of America
• Jocelyn Formsma, Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres, Canada
• Roberto Patiño, Chief Executive Officer, Convive, Venezuela
• Sangu Delle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Health Holdings, Ghana
• Sinéad Burke, Chief Executive Officer, Tilting the Lens, Ireland
• Zolzaya Batkhuyag, Founder and Head of Board, Women for Change, Mongolia
• Wawira Njiru, Founder, Food for Education, Kenya

 Global Health and Healthcare

• Arvan Chan, Regional Vice-President, International and Corporate Operations, Centene Corporation, United States of America
• Burcu Ozturk, Chief Financial Officer, MLP Saglik Hizmetleri, Turkey
• Conrod Kelly, Executive Director, Global Social Determinants and Population Health, Merck and Co., United States of America
• David Alexander Walcott, Founder and Managing Partner, Novamed, Jamaica
• Qian Zhuang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Zhiwo Explore Education and Technology, People’s Republic of China
• Shiho Azuma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lily MedTech, Japan
• Terrence Kommal, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Medical Expert Consulting Group, South Africa
• Vasudha Vats, Global Commercial Lead/Senior Director, Pfizer, United States of America
• Vivek Ramaswamy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Roivant Sciences, United States of America

Professional Services

• Ameya Prabhu, Managing Partner, UAP Advisors, India
• Alexis Crow, Global Head, Geopolitical Investing, PwC, United States of America
• Emily Serazin, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group, United States of America
• Esraa Al-Buti, Partner, EY, Saudi Arabia
• Laura Gersch, Member of the Board of Management, Corporate Pensions, Allianz Lebensversicherungs, Germany
• Lucy Cooper, Managing Director/Head of Innovation, Europe, Accenture, United Kingdom
• Luiza Mattos, Partner; Head of Healthcare South America, Bain and Company, Brazil
• Megan Greenfield, Partner, McKinsey and Company, United States of America
• Sanae Lahlou, Director of the African Business Unit, Mazars Maroc, Morocco

 Public Figures

• Adriana Ortiz, President, National Handcraft Institute (IPA), Paraguay
• Alanoud Bint Hamad Al-Thani, Managing Director, Qatar Financial Centre Authority, Qatar
• Alberto de Belaunde, Congressman, Congress of Peru
• Amélie de Montchalin, Secretary of State, European Affairs, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France
• Andrew Bragg, Senator for New South Wales, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
• Fawaz Farooqui, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia
• Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, Member of the Knesset, Israel
• Garlin Gilchrist II, Lieutenant Governor, State of Michigan, United States of America
• Lea Wermelin, Minister for Environment, Denmark
• Maleeka Bokhari, Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice of Pakistan
• Martin Guzman, Minister of Economy, Argentina
• Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, South Africa
• Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United States of America
• Vera Daves de Sousa, Minister of Finance, Angola
• Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, European Commission, Belgium

Technology

• Achmad Zaky, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bukalapak, Indonesia
• Aditi Avasthi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Indiavidual Learning, India
• Alexander de Carvalho, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Public Group International, United Kingdom
• Anneliese Schulz, Regional President, Asia-Pacific and Japan, Software AG, Singapore
• Clarisse Iribagiza, President, DMM.HeHe, Rwanda
• Elham Al Qasim, Chief Executive Officer, Digital14, United Arab Emirates
• Francesca Chia, Chief Executive Officer, GoGet, Malaysia
• Gazal Kalra, Co-Founder, Rivigo, India
• Hitesh Wadhwa, Vice-President – Strategic Initiatives, Tech Mahindra, India
• Hriday Ravindranath, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Global Services, BT Group, India
• Kira Radinsky, Co-Founder, Diagnostic Robotics, Israel
• Obi Ozor, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Kobo360, Nigeria
• Paul Rivera, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kalibrr Technology Ventures, Philippines
• Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Vice-President, International Rides, Uber, Netherlands
• Suren Aloyan, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dasaran, Armenia
• Xue Peng, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Beijing Tongcheng Biying Technology, People’s Republic of China
• Yifan Li, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Hesai Tech, People’s Republic of China