Leadership & Board

James Arnett and Krista Cruz Lucero

Krista and James are proud parents to two daughters and a son. Krista is the Asia CEO for Designit, a global design consultancy. Krista's career has crossed consulting, banking and private equity with Capco, Morgan Stanley, Mekong Capital and Citi. She has over two decades of experience spanning strategic advisory, financial services, design consulting, technology and private equity, building successful businesses and new capabilities. Krista has played a pivotal role in launching and nurturing new ventures and offering insights in planning, strategy and growth. Her track record includes executing complex initiatives, encompassing new business enablement, the integration of large-scale technology platforms, navigating intricate post-acquisition integrations, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Now based in Singapore, Krista has had the privilege of driving transformative change in dynamic hubs across the globe, including Hong Kong, London, Vietnam and Manila.

James is the managing partner for Capco across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, based out of Singapore. Capco is a global management consultancy focused on financial services and energy. James has over 25 years of international experience in consulting, banking and technology, working with some of the world’s largest financial institutions and many of the UK’s pioneer internet banks. He led and built out Capco’s UK Finance, Risk and Compliance practice and was the head of the capital markets practice, splitting time between London, New York and Zurich before moving to Asia. He joined Capco in 2011 having held roles at IBM Global Business Services, Capita, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and The Co-operative Bank. James has extensive experience applying an entrepreneurial approach to developing fast-growth businesses, which has led to several successful transactions throughout his career. James applies the same principles when working with nonprofit organizations. James first started working with Room to Read in 2006 and led the London Chapter between 2013 and 2015.

Mark Bedingham

Mark is president and CEO of Singapore Myanmar Investco Ltd., a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, focused on investing and managing businesses in Myanmar. He has held this position since 2015 and is responsible for the group’s corporate plans, policies and business development, as well as the general management of the group's operations.

Mark also serves as chairman of the board, Ce La Vi; advisor and consultant, Access Myanmar Distribution Co Ltd, Myanmar; non-executive director of the Scotch Malt Whisky (Holdings) Limited; and advisor and director of the board, Crystal Jade Culinary Concepts Holding.

From 1995 to 2014, Mark was regional managing director, Moet Hennessy Asia Pacific. He joined Moet Hennessy following eight years as president of Jardine Wines and Spirits, now known as Moet Hennesy Diageo Japan. Mark began his career in 1977 as a member of the "cadre" of Jardine Matheson. Mark graduated with a master’s degree in agricultural and forest sciences from the School of Biological Sciences of Oxford University.

Joris Dierckx

Joris Dierckx is the head of corporate and institutional banking for Southeast Asia and CEO of Singapore Branch at BNP Paribas.

Joris started his banking career in 1995 as a graduate trainee at Generale Bank in Belgium. At Generale Bank and, subsequently, at Fortis, he held various roles in export and project finance in Brussels, Dublin, Mumbai and Singapore. In 2008, Joris was appointed country head for Japan at Fortis, while also serving as interim head of merchant banking Asia during the integration with BNP Paribas. Since joining BNP Paribas in 2010, Joris has been successively country head for Greece, South Korea and India.

Joris holds a post-graduate diploma in sustainable development from the University of London, a post-graduate degree in finance from the University of Leuven, a master's degree in law from the University of London and a master’s degree from the University of Antwerp.

Alan and Christine Miyasaki

Alan is a senior managing director in the Real Estate Group and head of Real Estate Acquisitions at Blackstone. Based in Singapore, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the real estate group’s investment activities in Asia. Since joining Blackstone in 2001, Alan has been involved in a variety of real estate transactions in both the United States and Asia. Since 2007, Alan has played a key role in building Blackstone’s Real Estate business in Asia including executing investments in Greater China, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Before joining Blackstone, Alan was with Starwood Capital Group, where he worked in acquisitions. He received a bachelor of science in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated cum laude. He currently serves on the board of the Crown Resorts Ltd. and Singapore American School Foundation.

Christine holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a nursing degree from New York University. She practiced nursing in New York while working for Pathways to Housing, a non-profit organization that provided housing and support services to people suffering from psychiatric disabilities. For the last 3 years, she has worked at Singapore American School as a Community Ambassador. Christine works closely with admissions giving prospective family tours as well as onboarding new families once they start at SAS. She currently lives in Singapore with Alan and their three children.

Helman Sitohang (Chair) and Ria Sitohang

Helman was the chief executive officer for Credit Suisse Asia Pacific from 2014 to 2022. In 2015, he was appointed to the executive board of Credit Suisse Group AG and Credit Suisse AG. He is the first Indonesian to sit on the executive board of a global bank.

Under his leadership, Credit Suisse has won among the most prestigious house, country and deal awards in Asia Pacific including, most recently Best Investment Bank by Global Capital, Asia's Best Bank for Wealth Management and Asia's Best Bank for Financing in Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence, and was ranked as having Asia’s top Equity Sales and Trading house in a poll by Institutional Investor. Credit Suisse was also named House of the Year by AsiaRisk and Best Private Bank by Asian Private Banker in 2016. In 2015, Helman was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by FinanceAsia. In 2009, Helman was named as an inaugural member of Finance Asia's "Club" of the 50 most influential people in Asia's financial markets.

Helman joined Credit Suisse in 1998 from Bankers Trust, where he worked in the derivatives group. Upon joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Sitohang worked as part of the Indonesian coverage team and rose to become head of the team. He continued to take on additional responsibilities across Southeast Asia, until in 2009 he became the co-head of the investment banking department for Asia Pacific. In 2012 he was appointed head of the Investment Bank in Asia Pacific, responsible for all Credit Suisse’s fixed income, equity and investment banking department activities across the region.

Ria is the co-founder of Ars86care Foundation, a highly acclaimed charity based in Indonesia, whose vision and mission is to promote and create high-quality child-friendly living spaces to achieve a better quality of life for children. She is a highly committed and active philanthropist and has been instrumental in driving a strong culture of giving and volunteering for Indonesian causes. In 2017, Room to Read honored Helman and Ria with the Friends of Global Literacy award for their support in kick-starting a two-year project to implement school libraries and publish children's books in Bahasa. The initiative was undertaken in cooperation with five local NGOs and two private-sector publishers. In 2014, Ria was named by Tatler Indonesia as one of just seven "Heroes of Philanthropy" for her work in education.

Justin and Kari Teo

Justin is group head of corporate finance and strategy at TCIL, a Hong Kong-listed multinational corporation spanning automotive retail and distribution, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, real estate and hospitality. He is responsible for business planning and oversees financial performance across 11 countries in Asia. In addition, he oversees corporate strategy and business development, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising and strategic partnerships. He also leads group initiatives around mobility innovation and automotive electrification. Justin is concurrently managing director and executive board member of TC Zero, a transportation and logistics joint venture with Japan listed Zero Co Ltd. He served as a management committee member of the group and sits on various subsidiary boards in Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. Before TCIL, Justin held investment, M&A and corporate finance roles at Magnetar Capital, Ardmore Park Capital and UBS in New York, Singapore and Tokyo. Justin is interested in impact investing and is a member of the UBS Social Finance Collective. He has been previously involved with microfinance and social enterprise projects in Africa and South East Asia. Justin was a Merrill Presidential Scholar and graduated magna cum laude, with an undergraduate degree in economics from Cornell University.

Kari is a managing director of Summer Capital, an Asia-based private credit and equity investment firm. Before Summer Capital, she spent over a decade at Värde Partners and Deutsche Bank. She has made equity and financing investments across industries including renewable energy, fintech and education, spanning both emerging and developed countries in Asia and Europe. Prior to her investment career, she worked at IBM in Silicon Valley.

Kari has lived in Taiwan, the United States and Hong Kong. She now calls Singapore home. Her involvement with Room to Read started in Hong Kong over a decade ago and she has also been involved in other non-profit efforts to create academic and career opportunities for children and adults from under-resourced communities in South East Asian countries. 

Agnes and Tony Zameczkowski

Tony is vice president of business development for Netflix Asia Pacific. He joined in 2016 to co-lead Netflix in Asia and lead the company’s partnership strategy of expanding consumer access to the global streaming service across a rapidly growing region. Before Netflix, Tony had a proven track record working in large organizations such as Google and WarnerMedia where he led teams in strategic partnerships and business development efforts. He holds a master of business administration from the Kellogg School of Management and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a master’s degree from ESSEC Business School. He serves on the board of directors of Asia Video Industry Association and XA Network (formerly known as Xoogler Angels).

Agnes has 16 years of experience in the luxury industry, having worked for prestigious international brands. She managed the Asia Pacific eyewear business for Safilo's luxury brands portfolio (i.e., Celine, Jimmy Choo, Givenchy, Gucci) until June 2018. Since then, she has dedicated her time to supporting non-profit organizations and the education of her two daughters. Previously, she held various roles as a marketing executive at Chaumet, Tag Heuer and Dior. She has extensive global experience, having worked and studied in Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. 

David and Catherine Zemans

David is the managing partner of Milbank's Asia practice and a member of the firm's global executive committee. David has been based in Singapore since 1997 and has advised clients from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, India, China and Australia. David is a member of the advisory board of the Singapore Management University School of Law.

David is consistently ranked in the top tier by Chambers Asia Pacific for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance and restructuring/insolvency, receiving the "Outstanding Achievement in the Legal Profession Award" at the most recent Chambers AsiaPacific Awards. He is also recognized by Legal 500 and IFLR1000 for projects and energy/project finance, banking and finance, corporate and M&A, capital markets and restructuring. David was cited in the Leading Lawyers Survey as one of Asia’s leading business lawyers and has been recognized as a leading lawyer in project finance, banking, capital markets, private equity and mergers and acquisitions by Euromoney. He is also listed as one of the "World’s Leading Lawyers" in IFLR’s Banking, Finance and Transactional Expert Guide. He has been named "Banking & Project Finance Lawyer of the Year — Singapore" by Corporate LiveWire’s recent Innovation and Excellence awards, and is named among the world’s leading energy lawyers by Who’s Who Legal: Energy.

Catherine practiced civil and criminal litigation from 1993 to 1997 at McCarthy Tetrault, Toronto, before moving to Singapore in 1997 when she joined the corporate finance practice group at Shearman and Sterling LLP. Between 1997 and 2001, Catherine represented corporations and investment banks in a variety of debt and equity offerings and asset securitizations in Indonesia, India, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. Between 2001 and 2008, Catherine worked on an adjunct basis as faculty of law at the National University of Singapore, teaching in the legal skills programme. During her tenure, Catherine participated in a comprehensive review and revamping of the program curriculum. Catherine has also served on the Board of the Singapore American School and the Singapore American School Foundation.

James Arnett and Krista Cruz Lucero

Krista and James are proud parents to two daughters and a son. Krista is the Asia CEO for Designit, a global Design Consultancy. Krista's career has crossed consulting, banking and private equity with Capco, Morgan Stanley, Mekong Capital and Citi. She has over two decades of experience spanning strategic advisory, financial services, design consulting, technology and private equity, building successful businesses and new capabilities. Krista has played a pivotal role in launching and nurturing new ventures and offering insights in planning, strategy and growth. Her track record includes executing complex initiatives, encompassing new business enablement, the integration of large-scale technology platforms, navigating intricate post-acquisition integrations, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Now based in Singapore, Krista has had the privilege of driving transformative change in dynamic hubs across the globe, including Hong Kong, London, Vietnam and Manila.

James is the Managing Partner for Capco across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, based out of Singapore. Capco is a global management consultancy focused on Financial Services and Energy. James has over 25 years of international experience in consulting, banking and technology, working with some of the world’s largest financial institutions and a number of the UK’s pioneer internet banks. He led and built out Capco’s UK Finance, Risk and Compliance practice and was the Head of the Capital Markets practice, splitting time between London, New York and Zurich before moving to Asia. He joined Capco in 2011 having held roles at IBM Global Business Services, Capita, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and The Co-operative Bank. James has extensive experience applying an entrepreneurial approach to developing fast-growth businesses, which has led to a number of successful transactions over the course of his career. James applies the same principles when working with nonprofit organizations. James first started working with Room to Read in 2006 and led the London Chapter between 2013-2015.

Laura and Aron Harilela (Co-chair)

Laura was born in Paris, France. She studied Finance at Université Paris X. After a brief stint working in brokerage firms, she went on to business school to pursue a marketing degree. Laura started her career in the Cosmetics industry with Nuxe, a French niche skincare brand. She then moved to New York where she lived and worked for the Estée Lauder Companies for 10 years, working for both the Estée Lauder brand, and then becoming senior director international marketing for MAC Cosmetics. In 2009, she was transferred to Hong Kong where she was vice president of Marketing Asia Pacific for the Clinique brand. She now lives in Hong Kong with her husband, Aron and their two children. Laura has since left the cosmetics industry and has gone on to study and practice Interior Design.

Aron is the Chairman & CEO of Harilela Hotels Limited. Aron joined the group at their London office in 1994 and subsequently joined the Hong Kong headquarters in 1996. Established in 1959 and still wholly owned by the Harilela Family, The Harilela Group is a Hong Kong-based private company with extensive experience in hotel investment and management, owning and operating some 15 properties across Hong Kong, China, the Asia, Europe and the U.S. In 2019, Aron was awarded Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) by The Government of Hong Kong SAR and in 2014 he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace. Aron was the Chairman of The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) from 2018-2020 and is currently a member of the General Committee of HKGCC. Aron served on The Court of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for over 10 years and is now an Honorary Court Member. Aron graduated with an honours Bachelor degree in Law and Politics, and a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy, both from the University of Hull, England. He has written and published several articles on contemporary social-political thought. Despite a tight schedule to meet his business, professional, civic and social commitments, Aron manages to find time to devote to recreational activities. He plays a fair game of tennis, is proficient at horseback riding and heads the Harilela team in polo – a game he loves and at which he has won several trophies.

Lauren and James Houghton (Co-chair)

Lauren received her undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Boston University School of Law. She practiced as a litigator at New York’s Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison and Boston’s Hale and Dorr. She served as the Executive Director of Asian Charity Services, providing capacity building services to NGOs. She is currently leading Strategy and Development streams at Equal Justice, a Hong Kong access to justice non-profit, having volunteered with its predecessor, PathFinders’ Access to Justice Program, since the inception of its justice work in 2014.

James Houghton is co-head of Asia Pacific Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities (FICC) at Goldman Sachs. James relocated to Hong Kong in 2012 and is a director of Goldman Sachs Asia Bank Limited. He serves on the council of the Hong Kong Treasury Markets Association and is a member of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance. James joined Goldman Sachs in 2002 and was named managing director in 2005 and partner in 2008. Before joining Goldman Sachs, he worked for UBS in London and New York. James earned a BSc in Economics from The London School of Economics. James and Lauren have been supporting Room to Read since 2013 and live in Hong Kong.

John and Camilla Lindfors

John is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of DST Global. DST was founded by Yuri Milner to back exceptional category-leading internet companies led by visionary founders. Over the last several years, DST has invested more than $5 billion in companies such as Facebook, Alibaba, JD.com, Xiaomi, AirBnB, Spotify, Lending Club, Flipkart, etc. Prior to joining DST in 2010, John was the Partner in charge of the European Technology and Media Investment Banking department for Goldman Sachs. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1993 and worked in London and New York during his 17 years at the firm. John earned a M.Sc. (Econ.) from the Swedish School of Economics in Helsinki in 1993.

Camilla received a M.Sc. (Econ.) from the Swedish School of Economics in Helsinki in 1993 and worked for the leading global paper company UPM Kymmene following her graduation. She received diplomas from the Inchbald School of Design in London in 1998 and the New York School of Interior Design in 1999 after which she launched a successful interior design business taking on projects in different parts of the world.

Angela Mackay

Angela is Global Publisher of FT Live and Managing Director of Asia Pacific at the Financial Times. Based in Hong Kong, she is a member of the FT’s global board. As Global Publisher for FT Live, Mackay leads business and strategy development for conferences, events and communities, including FT Forums and Board Director Programme. The FT stages more than 200 events around the world annually.

In Asia Pacific, Mackay focuses on developing the group’s significant potential across the region. This includes FTChinese.com, the mainland's leading foreign-owned, Chinese-language news site. Mackay also holds wider responsibility across the FT Group, as Chair of Longitude, a specialist thought-leadership and research company acquired by the FT in 2018; and a board director for The Next Web, an events and media company based in Amsterdam with a
focus on new technology and startups in Europe. She is also an executive board director of scoutAsia, a corporate data and news service jointly founded by the FT and Nikkei; and a non-executive director for Headspring, a joint venture between the FT and IE Business School.

Angela joined the FT in 2003 on the editorial team, serving as the Asia investment editor for two years. Before joining the FT, she was Asia editor for Sunday Business from 1998 to 2001. Her previous roles include editor at The Economist Group, supervising producer at CNBC, deputy news editor at The Times in London, and UK correspondent for the Australian
Financial Review.

In her personal capacity, Angela is a non-executive board member for the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), Sovereign Art Foundation and the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. She holds a BA in English Literature and an LLB from the University of New South Wales and was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia.

Angel Ng and Andy Wong

Angel is a seasoned banker with a tenure of over 25 years serving Citibank. She was appointed Asia North & Australia Cluster and Banking Head in 2023, overseeing Citi’s franchise in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand and Taiwan across all lines of business. Prior to this, Angel was the Head of Asia for Citi Global Wealth from April 2022, with the responsibility of the wealth business in the region which includes Asia Private Bank and Consumer Banking. Before assuming the regional roles, Angel was the Citi Country Officer for Hong Kong and Macau from May 2018. Angel actively contributes to the Hong Kong community by serving as a board or committee member of several organizations including the Banking Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation and Council of the Treasury Markets Association, and Board of Trustee for the Chinese University of Hong Kong Chung Chi College.

Andy is the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before taking up the administrative duties that covers admissions, scholarships and financial aid for all undergraduate students, he has served the CUHK Business School as the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and Associate Professor in Marketing. Andy received his PhD in Marketing from the University of Southern California. Prior to his pursuit of an academic career, Andy was an award-winning creative director at major ad agencies including D’Arcy, FCB, JWT and M & C Saatchi. During his tenure as creative director, he has won more than 60 awards at local and international award shows including the HK4As, Asian Advertising Awards, the London Advertising Festival and the New York Festivals.

Dieter Turowski and Laura Howard

Dieter is the chairman of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking for Morgan Stanley and member of Asia Pacific Executive Committee of Morgan Stanley since early 2013, based in Hong Kong. Prior to his current role, Dieter was co-head of the global natural resources group within investment banking division, which includes energy, metals & mining, chemicals, cement and forest products. For most of his career, Dieter was in the merger and acquisitions department, including a period as head of European mergers and acquisitions, based in London. Dieter joined Morgan Stanley in 1988 and has worked in Toronto, New York, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong. Dieter graduated from the University of Waterloo with a B.A.Sc. in Systems Design Engineering and has an M.B.A. from Harvard University where he was both a Baker Scholar and a Loeb Fellow. Dieter is a Canadian and British citizen. He and his wife, Laura Howard, live in Hong Kong and have two children.

Laura is a senior advisor within the Asia Pacific investment banking division at Morgan Stanley. Prior to this she was the co-head of the European healthcare group at Morgan Stanley based in London where she worked from 1997 to 2013. Laura also worked in the mergers & acquisitions department at Goldman Sachs in New York from 1990 to 1992 and The MAC Group / Gemini Consulting in both New York and London from 1992 to 1997. Laura received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in economics from Haverford College where she currently serves on the International Council. Laura is also a member of the Board of Chelsea & Westminster Healthcare Trust.

Frank Wong

Frank Wong has been President of Scholastic Asia since 2003. Scholastic is the world’s largest children book publisher and distributor and a leader in comprehensive education solutions to help children read and learn, including popular titles like Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Clifford the Big Red Dog.  Scholastic Asia has extensive on the ground presence in India, Greater China, Korea and ASEAN countries. 

Before joining Scholastic, Frank was Managing Director of PepsiCo Foods in China from 1999 to 2003, where he built dominant market position for Lay’s potato chips brand and led PepsiCo’s first acquisition in China. Prior to PepsiCo, he spent 5 years with Nabisco, where he began as International Marketing Director  in New York  and later became the  Managing Director of Nabisco’s China operations, successfully launching  brands like Oreo, Chips Ahoy and Ritz in China. Before his Asia assignments, he held a series of senior brand management positions with Colgate Palmolive in New York. 

Frank received a bachelor's degree from George Washington University, a master's degree from Columbia University; and did graduate study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He currently serves as a Governor of the HK public policy think tank Path of Democracy and a board member of a leading local charity Christian Action. Previously, he was the founding chairman of Teach for Hong Kong; vice-chairman of AFS Inter-cultural Exchange; and Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in HK. 

Bassam Aflak and Rita Azar

Bassam and Rita were raised in Sydney by migrant parents who believe in the value of education, faith and giving. 

Bassam is founder and director of Ecove Group, a boutique property development firm, specialising in large-scale, mixed-use developments across various property classes.

Rita went from university to the corporate world to work for a cutting-edge online training company. Since then she has become an active presence in her son's school being recruited as the parent advisor for the school’s mental health program, has been part of staff recruitment panels, has mentored students in the area of literacy, and volunteers in social justice initiatives.

Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes

Mike Cannon-Brookes is the co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian, a collaboration software company. Mike co-founded the company with his university friend, Scott Farquhar, in 2002 from Australia, and the company has grown to over 10,000 staff globally, serving more than 250,000 customers. Outside Atlassian, Mike is a technology investor in the areas of software, fintech, agriculture and energy. Mike has been recognised as a leading entrepreneur by Ernst & Young, the Australian Financial Review, Forbes and the World Economic Forum. A passionate clean energy evangelist, he continues to be an investor in climate change philanthropy and sustainable solutions.

Jane and Andrew Clifford

Jane has worked in public education for 20 years and has a strong commitment to social justice and philanthropy. A director of the JAAM Foundation since 2012, the Foundation has supported organisations working in the arts, education, health, domestic violence and the environment. Championing both local and international causes, Jane is a board member at Griffin Theatre and the UTS Foundation Board, an active member of the Sydney Committee of Human Rights Watch and in 2019 was the inaugural chair of 'Champions of Change' for Social Ventures Australia. Jane holds a bachelor of arts with a diploma in education from UNSW. Committed to environmental protection, Jane works closely with the Australia Wildlife Conservancy through the JAAM Foundation.

Andrew is co-founder and co-chief investment officer of Platinum Asset Management, joining as a founding member in 1994. Previously he was a vice president of Bankers Trust Australia covering Asian equities and managing the BT Select Market Trust — Pacific Basin Fund. Andrew’s investment experience at Platinum has included managing/co-managing the Platinum International Fund, the Platinum Asia Fund and the Platinum International Technology Fund. He currently co-manages Platinum’s global strategies. Andrew was previously in the role of chief executive officer of Platinum Asset Management from July 2018 until January 2024. Outside of work, Andrew is a keen supporter of a wide range of causes, most notably the Australian Wildlife Conservancy where he has been a director since 2010.

Harriet Fesq and Toby Norton-Smith

Harriet is an impact and sustainability leader with extensive experience designing, managing and measuring innovative, meaningful impact strategies for non-profits and social ventures, and is currently co-founder and CEO at Rethinkable, a certified-B Corp social innovation consultancy. Harriet is also chair of Parents for Climate, Australia's leading climate advocacy organisation for families and all who care about a safe climate for kids to thrive.

Toby is founder and managing director at x15 Ventures, a venture scaler powered by CommBank. Toby has a strategy consulting background and experience in developing and executing growth and innovation strategies for financial services and media companies, M&A, digital product design thinking and innovation culture and capability. A keen surfer, Toby is a former adviser to international non-profit SurfAid.

Brett and Zahra Godfrey

Brett is the director of Rugby Australia. In 2010, Brett stepped down from the position of chief executive officer for Australia's second largest air carrier, Virgin Blue Airlines Group, a position he had held since launching the company in August 2000. Prior to establishing Virgin Blue, Brett worked for 12 years in aviation and finance, which included appointments as chief financial officer of Virgin Express in Brussels and finance positions for London-based Virgin Atlantic. Brett has been awarded the Centenary Medal for his service to Tourism and Aviation, was recognized as the "Australian Chief Executive of the Year" by the Institute Of Customer Service, and an "Outstanding Chartered Accountant in Business" by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Zahra was raised in Calgary and earned her degree in law from Queen’s University in Ontario. She was admitted to the bar in 1988 and worked for the Ontario Human Rights Commission before moving to Australia with her husband, Brett. She has worked with many charities in addition to raising the couple’s two sons.

Charles (Chair) and Alison Gorman

Charles and Aliso live in Sydney with their two teenage sons, Samuel and Will. Charles splits his time between running his cattle operation at Waukivory and several not-for-profit director and advisory roles. He was formerly the head of the financial markets business at Investec Australia. He left Investec in 2020, having spent the previous 25 years in various senior banking roles. Charles was previously managing director and co-head of FICC sales at Goldman Sachs Australia, where he had primary responsibility for the foreign exchange, futures and institutional rates business. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2003, he was head of foreign exchange sales for Credit Suisse in Australia. He began his career at the Australian Wheat Board in Melbourne.

In addition to chairing the Room to Read regional board in Australia, Charles is a director of the Kings School Foundation, chairing the foundation finance committee and the school’s investment management committee.

Alison is the founder of Inkling Writing Studio. She completed a master of creative writing at the University of Sydney and her poetry has been published in several Australian literary journals. Alison completed her bachelor’s degree in speech pathology at La Trobe University in Melbourne and worked in brain injury rehabilitation for 12 years.

Tash and Wendell Keuneman

Tash and Wendell had similar childhood paths, 10 years apart. They were both born in Sri Lanka and have lived most of their lives in Australia. They are passionate about the power of education, equal rights and how technology can make leaps and bounds for the betterment of humanity, flora, fauna and the planet.

Tash is the head of design at Sonder, a digital care platform enabling people to take control of their well-being. She has had a fortunate technology career at Intuit, Data61 and Atlassian. Through her work and charity efforts, Tash wants to help reduce human and climate suffering.

Wendell is a managing partner at Tidal Ventures, a prominent seed-stage venture capital firm based in Sydney and the United States. He is a three-time founder with more than 25 years of experience in senior roles at Atlassian, Inference and BroadSoft. He is passionate about creating a vibrant Australian technology ecosystem by helping great founders reach their next stage of growth.

David Torrible and Donna Yip

David and Donna live in Sydney with their four young boys. David relocated to Sydney in 2012 following a 19-year career in Asian investment banking. He has lived in Hong Kong, Indonesia and New York, but always followed Asian Equity markets. He is a retired partner of Goldman Sachs and was responsible for their Asian Equity sales team up until he departed from Hong Kong in 2012. David is a citizen of Canada, the UK and Hong Kong. He graduated from Queen's University with a bachelor of arts in history in 1993. David is currently a member of the Janchor Partners management board.

Donna is Australian and a chartered accountant by background, but has held jobs in marketing, adventure travel and media. She graduated from Sydney University in 1992 with a bachelor of arts in economics. She is currently studying to design and build furniture.

Kirsten Zaki

Kirsten was born in New Zealand and spent most of her life in Asia before relocating to Sydney two years ago with her husband and three daughters. Living in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia shaped her interest in the region and sparked a lifelong passion for giving back.

For over twenty-five years, Kirsten has been actively involved in advocacy and fundraising for women. Together with friends, she established a women’s group for refugee women in Hong Kong, providing a safe place for women to connect and be creative. She has also been involved in prevention of modern slavery projects, literacy programs, and most recently, projects supporting victims of domestic violence.

Kirsten recently joined The Marmalade Foundation in Sydney as part of Women’s Refuge, Lou’s Place.

Professionally, Kirsten led a design team developing accessories for global fashion groups, including H&M, Zara, Arcadia, and Urban Outfitters. She holds a Diploma of Fine Arts from Chelsea College of Arts, London, United Kingdom.

Gaurav Dalmia

Gaurav Dalmia is the chairman of Dalmia Group Holdings, a holding company for business and financial assets. It invests in private equity, real estate, public markets, structured debt and fixed income. He is also chairman of the governing board of The Institute for New Economic Thinking.

He is an early investor in and a board member of True North (formerly India Value Fund), a leading Indian private equity fund, which manages approximately $3.5 billion. He is also the founder and chairman of Landmark Holdings, a real estate investment firm, which has invested in more than 40 housing projects. He co-founded GTI, a long-term investment vehicle for India-focused investments.

He is a board member of Brookings India. He was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2000. Gaurav received a master of business administration with honors from Columbia Business School.

Mickey Doshi

Mihir J. (“Mickey”) Doshi is managing director and country CEO of Credit Suisse, India. He joined Credit Suisse in April 2006 and is based in Mumbai. He is a member of the Asia Pacific Management Committee and the Emerging Markets Council.

Mickey has been instrumental in establishing Credit Suisse's India franchise, which is active across private banking and investment banking. He has been deeply involved in strengthening the overall business profile of the Bank in India and in providing its strategic direction. Under his leadership, Credit Suisse was awarded a banking license by the Reserve Bank of India and established a bank branch in Mumbai in 2011.

Mickey is involved in Credit Suisse's human capital and corporate responsibility initiatives and is a member of the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Committee. He also serves on the board of United Way, Mumbai, on the board of the JSW Foundation and on the board of Asia Society. In addition, he is a trustee of Save the Children India and a member of the UN Women’s Business Sector Advisory Council.

Before joining Credit Suisse, Mickey spent 22 years at Morgan Stanley in various capacities, primarily in New York, Tokyo and Mumbai. His last position was managing director and CEO of JM Morgan Stanley Securities Pvt. Ltd. and he is credited with building Morgan Stanley's presence in India.

Mickey holds a bachelor of science with honors from New York University and a C.P.A. from New York State, which he gained while working with Deloitte Haskins and Sells, New York.

Salil Gupte

Salil is the president of Boeing India, responsible for the company’s work in India across commercial aviation, defense and services and leading a team of 5,000 India employees who work on building the future of aerospace, supporting both Indian and global customers and advancing the next generation of aviation technologies at the company’s sites in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Previously, Gupte was vice president of Boeing Capital Corporation and has led supply chain execution for Boeing Global Services. He also led Boeing’s spare parts business. Gupte has worked closely with customers across the industry and has experience in commercial and defense supply chains, manufacturing, sourcing, sales and fulfillment activities for Boeing products globally. Gupte has also led Boeing’s aftermarket strategy teams, completing joint ventures and acquisitions to accelerate Boeing’s growth in services.

Gupte serves as chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Committee on Aerospace and is a member of the CII National Council and Civil Aviation Committee. He has served as chairman of the national executive board of the American Chamber of Commerce in India.

Before joining Boeing in 2009, Gupte worked with Citigroup and Goldman Sachs as an investment banker in the aviation and infrastructure sectors.

Gupte holds a master of business administration from Stanford University and a bachelor of arts in economics from Cornell University.

Vishal Mahadevia (Vice Chair)

Vishal is a managing director, head of India and member of the executive management group at Warburg Pincus. He also serves on the international advisory board of Center for the Advanced Study of India. He received a bachelor of science in economics with a concentration in finance and a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Khozem Merchant

Khozem has more than three decades of experience in the media and business sectors as a journalist with the Financial Times and management with Pearson. He launched and leads Brunswick’s India practice, specialising in Indian macro and public affairs. Most recently, Khozem served as president, Pearson India, and was instrumental in shaping and rolling out Pearson’s education services strategy across the country. Before this, he was for two decades a journalist with the Financial Times, including six years as the FT’s Mumbai correspondent, before taking on a management role as director of business development. 

Anshu Prakash

Mr. Anshu Prakash is a distinguished civil servant with over thirty-five years of vast and diverse experience in the Indian Administrative Service. 

Prior to his superannuation at the end of September 2021, Mr. Prakash served as Telecommunications Secretary, and Chairman of the Digital Communications Commission in the Government of India. In this capacity, he provided dynamic leadership and was instrumental in implementing groundbreaking reforms and major expansion of telecommunications and digital communications in India. 

His leadership, policy formulation, and administrative experience are further reflected in his tenures as Chief Secretary of Delhi; Additional Secretary in the Government of India in the Departments of Rural Development and Heavy Industries; Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health; and Chairman and Managing Director of the Delhi Transport Corporation, among other postings. 

Currently, Mr. Prakash serves as a Director on the board of two companies associated with leading business groups. 

Mr. Prakash is an alumnus of Modern School, followed by St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, where he graduated in Economics. Thereafter, he earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

Ravi C. and Sumati Raheja (Chair)

An entrepreneur with a master of business administration from the London Business School, Ravi has almost 25 years of experience across real estate, retail and hospitality. He is group president at K Raheja Corp and plays a key role in guiding the teams of finance, corporate strategy and planning for the retail and hospitality divisions of the company.

Ravi has been involved in growing the business from a family-owned business into a professionally managed one. A respected name in the Indian corporate community, Ravi has been a supporter of the green building cause in India as an active contributor to premier forums such as Indian Green Building Council, where he served as the chairman (Mumbai chapter), the WEF (World Economic Forum) and FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry).

Ravi plays a key role in the group’s philanthropic initiatives through K. Raheja Foundation, Sadhana Education Society and S. L. Raheja Hospital. He actively supports various educational initiatives with a focus on the girl child and empowering marginalized children for a better future through quality education.

Sumati was a student of the Roedean School in Brighton, England, and went on to pursue her LLB at King’s College, London.

She currently serves on the board of her family's company and actively manages investments. She is a firm believer in education and also a strong supporter of Emancipaction, an organization that helps rehabilitate child sex workers.

Tanvi Jindal Shete

Tanvi is the founder of the Museum of Solutions and director of JSW Foundation, where she oversees the education portfolio.

In her role as director of JSW Foundation, Tanvi oversees the functioning of the 8 Jindal Vidya Mandir schools across India that serve students between K-12 based at JSW Steel plant locations. As the education supervisor, Tanvi ensures the development of a culture of best practices across the board and collaborates with Principals at all schools to implement new tools of instruction to ensure the holistic learning of all students.

Tanvi’s foray into the field of education began in 2009, as a member of the first cohort of the Teach for India fellowship program, where she taught a low-income school in the Lalubhai Compound, Mankhurd, Mumbai. The following academic year, Tanvi was the early childhood curriculum coordinator at Akanksha, India’s largest urban network of low-income schools built on the Public-Private Partnership Model. Her years as a grassroots-level educator inspired her to build the Museum of Solutions, a space that provides a holistic approach to education, empowering students from K-12 to make meaningful changes in their world, gaining empathy and enabling them to express themselves better. The Museum of Solutions intends to be a space for children to apply their learning to real-life situations, to foster creativity, think critically, communicate effectively and work collaboratively.

Tanvi has a degree in economics from New York University and is an alum of Cathedral & John Connon in Mumbai.

Ben and Asami Ferguson

Ben is co-head of Asia Pacific Equities Distribution. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 as a financial analyst in Tokyo. He was named managing director in 2005 and partner in 2008. He earned a bachelor of science in finance and a bachelor of arts in economics from Pepperdine University in 1998 and graduated from Sophia University's Japanese Language Institute in 1995.

Asami started her career as a model for global brands like Adidas and Uniqlo while attending Senzoku University. She spent six years with Miss Universe Japan (MUJ) to recruit, develop and manage finalists in addition to working in public relations and event planning. After leaving MUJ, Asami worked with many brands including Red Bull's F1 team in public relations and event planning in Japan. Later, she worked with Valentino as a brand consultant. Asami has leveraged her event planning background to work with charities like the Pink Ball/Run for the Cure in Tokyo and Special Olympics Japan. Asami loves sports and is an avid tennis player, wakeboarder, swimmer and snowboarder.

Eric and Ayako Golden

Eric is a managing director of Fortress Investment Group Japan focused on real estate private equity in Japan and Asia. Prior to joining Fortress in 2008, Eric worked at Credit Suisse/Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette for nine years, investing in real estate in the United States, Japan and China. Eric graduated from Brown University in 1999 with a bachelor of arts in mathematical economics.

Ayako owns and runs Beaute Absolue in Tokyo and previously worked at Animal Refugee Kansai. She is a graduate of Mejiro University and is deeply involved in her children’s education.

Hidehiro Imatsu

Hidehiro is president and representative director of Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. and a member of the Management Committee. He also serves as co-head of global Interest Rate Products Trading and cohead of the Asia Pacific Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) Franchise. Hidehiro is also a member of the Asia Pacific Management Committee and Global Banking & Markets Operating Committee, and he serves as co-chair of the Asia Pacific Risk Council. Previously, he was head of Macro Trading in Japan. Hidehiro joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 and rejoined the firm as a managing director in 2005. He was named partner in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, Hidehiro managed interest rate derivative trading and structuring at Morgan Stanley in Japan. Hidehiro earned an MS in Applied Math and Physics from Kyoto University.

Maya Horii and Joel Pulliam

Maya is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company Japan where she leads the public and social sector practice. She has worked with governments, international organizations, foundations and nonprofits globally with focus in Africa and Southeast Asia, and has worked on a range of topics including women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, digital transformation, access to energy, agriculture productivity, sustainability and many more. She has a master of public administration in international development from Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor of arts in social studies from Harvard University.

Joel is an award-winning photographer and bookmaker. His works have been displayed in museums and galleries around the world. He earned a bachelor of arts in history and literature from Harvard University and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School. Before moving to Tokyo, Joel served as the deputy assistant general counsel for the United States Department of the Treasury.

Tomoya (Chair) and Yuri Masanao

Tomoya is a managing director in the Tokyo office and co-head of Asia-Pacific portfolio management of PIMCO. He co-oversees the portfolio management teams in the region and manages clients’ assets. He is also a core member of the PIMCO's Asia-Pacific portfolio committee. His interest in philanthropic activities grew as he traveled in emerging Asia. Before joining PIMCO in 2001 in the Newport Beach office in California, Tomoya was an executive director and senior portfolio manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in London. He was also with The Sumitomo Bank in Osaka, Tokyo and London. He holds a master of business administration from Boston University, and a master's and an undergraduate degree, both in engineering, from Osaka University.

Yuri received a master of arts in linguistics from the University of London (SOAS) and has worked as an interpreter for executives around the world. Inspired by an international social entrepreneur who she helped as an interpreter, Yuri decided to devote herself to humanitarian aid activities which she had been dreaming about since her school days in The International School of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. She is engaged with philanthropic activities of the Italian Royal House of Savoy and is bestowed a Dame from the order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. Yuri also holds a bachelor of arts in comparative culture from Sophia University and was associated with Nomura Securities. She currently lives in Tokyo and Southern California. She plays jazz piano and performs with her band.

Mio Takaoka

Mio is partner at DNX Ventures, investing into early stage B2B startups in Japan. She also serves on multiple publicly listed boards in Japan. Mio started her career at Goldman Sachs, and over the course of 18 years within the finance industry, gained experience across trading, M&A and venture capital, including serving as managing director of Monex Ventures Inc. and partner at Arbor Ventures. Mio received her bachelor of arts in natural sciences (physics) from Cambridge University.

Outside of her professional career, Mio is a mother to three children. She is actively involved with educational philanthropy, including being advisor to SKYLABO, an organization promoting equity in STEAM education for junior and senior high school girls in Japan. She is also part of the advisory committee for the Initiative for Education Policy and Innovation Centre for the Study of Global Japan, University of Toronto.

Fred Towfigh

Fred is chairman and Asia-Pacific strategic advisor at GFO-X. Previously, Fred was an operating partner at SoftBank Investment Advisors in Tokyo. Fred also served as chairman of IPGH, a payments infrastructure developer operating in the Philippines, Indonesia and UAE. Fred is a retired partner and the former president of Goldman Sachs Singapore Pte.  He spent 22 years at Goldman Sachs, holding various roles in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Fred headed Asia Pacific prime brokerage, futures, electronic trading and synthetic products before assuming responsibility for the firm’s overall equities and FICC franchises in Southeast Asia until his retirement in 2017. Fred earned a bachelor of arts from the University of California, Irvine, and a master of business administration from Georgetown University.

Ahmed El-Maghraby and Malak Alireza

Ahmed is CEO of AMICO Group, a leading medical device distribution company with operations across the Middle East and North Africa. He graduated from the University of Virginia and completed his master of business administration with distinction from the London Business School. He sits on the board of MAGRABI retail, the largest regional optical group, and the Young President’s Organization’s emirates chapter. He is a proud father of two boys, Adam and Teymour. He is also an avid athlete who has completed the London Marathon and the Ironman 70.3.

Malak received a degree in communication studies from Northeastern University in Boston. She then moved to Milan to complete her graduate degree in brand management at Istituto Marangoni. After her studies, she worked as a brand manager in two of the leading fashion retail companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. She is now living in Dubai with her husband and two young boys.

Mahdi Amjad and Shaima Amjad

Mahdi is the founder, executive chairman and CEO of Omniyat, the Middle East’s most iconic property developer. The visionary entrepreneur launched Omniyat in 2005. Over 14 years he has turned it into a leading privately-held real estate company that has dynamically enhanced the city’s skyline with landmark projects such as The Opus and One Palm. With a combined gross realization of over AED 14 billion in real estate assets, Omniyat continues to undertake investment, development and asset management opportunities to provide sustainable value and measurable benefits to its community, clients and stakeholders. Omniyat is known and respected in the industry for its unique projects which can immediately be identified by their outstanding architecture and attention to detail. Mahdi has collaborated with award-winning and globally respected designers and architects including the late Dame Zaha Hadid, Foster & Partners and Super Potato. Mahdi not only runs what has become the Middle East’s most admired property development and management company but also owns and manages Almasa Holdings, the multi-billion Dirham turnover company that he founded in Dubai at the age of 18. Like Omniyat, Almasa Holdings is a leader in its field. It is today considered the largest and most successful IT infrastructure distributor in the Middle East and North Africa.

Adel Al Falasi

Adel leads the UAE business of global management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, as well as its digital government practice in the Middle East region. He has more than two decades of experience, leading and helping clients with transformational projects. Having held senior positions across the UAE’s private and public sector and worked as an Executive Director in the UAE Prime Minister’s Office prior to moving to management consulting. He is an alum of both Oxford and Colombia Business Schools, as well as the UAE Government Leadership Program and holds an industrial electronics degree from the Higher Colleges of Technology in UAE.

Farah Foustok 

Farah began working in the investment field in 1994. Her most recent experience comes from her time as CEO of Lazard Gulf Ltd., based in Dubai. Previously, she was CEO and CIO of ING Investment Management Middle East from 2008. Farah was a co-founder of Reach in 2013 and is now an advisory committee member. In 2015 Farah co-founded and chaired the Steering Committee for the MENA chapter of the 30% club and is now a global advisory committee member. In 2019, Farah was awarded International Investment Woman of the Year by Women in Investment Awards, London. She is a finance leaders fellow of the Aspen Institute. In January 2020, Farah launched TARA, an initiative to connect female university students to the corporate world; increasing women’s participation in financial services. Farah has mentored several start-ups in the Middle East over the last 10 years, mostly Fintechs. Farah holds a master of business administration from Imperial College London and a bachelor of science with honors in mathematics from King’s College, London.

Yusuf Alireza (Chair) and Dina Khreino

Yusuf Alireza Yusuf moved to Dubai in August 2017 after being away from the Middle East for 30 years. Prior to Dubai, he lived and worked in all three major global Financial Centers. New York (5 years.), London (12 years.) & Hong Kong (9 years.).

From 2012 to 2016, Yusuf was the Chief Executive Officer of Noble Group, at the time, the largest Asian commodity trading firm and a Global Fortune 100 company.

Yusuf started his career at Goldman Sachs & Co where he spent 20 years working in their NY, London and HK offices. His last role was as Co-President of Goldman Sachs Asia and a member of the firm’s Global Management Committee. He began working at Goldman Sachs New York in 1992, transferring to the firm’s London office in 1997 and became the Head of EMEA Sales and Structuring efforts in 2003. He relocated to Hong Kong in 2008, where he managed the Asia Pacific Sales, Trading & Investing Businesses. In 2004, he made history by becoming the first Arab Partner in the firm's 140-year history.  He continued to break barriers in 2010 when he was elected to the firm's Global Management Committee, becoming the youngest and only person of Middle Eastern descent ever to serve on the committee.

Yusuf holds several prominent board positions. He is Vice Chairman of the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board, the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the Global Board of Room to Read, the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, and he chairs the Audit Committee of the Bahrain Ship Repairing & Engineering Company (BASREC).

Yusuf grew up in Bahrain (Dual Bahrain and UK Nationality) and moved to the US to attend university in 1988. He received a joint Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Services at Georgetown University in 1992. He completed his Bachelor’s studies in International Economics and Econometrics, pursuing a Master’s degree in Arab Studies and International Relations and Affairs.

Dina is an award-winning film director and producer. Her work has aired on the Documentary Channel and has had worldwide release on Amazon, AppleTV, and multiple media platforms. Dina has a double master’s degree from the Academy of Film and Television in Hong Kong and SOAS University of London.

Malick Badjie and Nadia Logab

Malick joined Robeco in July 2017 and is the global head of sales and marketing. He has over 16 years of experience working in the institutional asset management industry and has extensive experience working with official institutional clients in Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific on investment solutions and advice including assisting in developing asset allocation, and investment policy and guiding investment strategies. Before joining Robeco, Malick held several senior positions for BlackRock, including head of Africa institutional business, where he was responsible for the strategic development and business management of BlackRock’s institutional business in sub-saharan Africa.

More recently, Malick was a partner at Silk Invest, where he was responsible for investment solutions, business and strategy. He holds a bachelor of science with honors in political science and international business from Tennessee State University and a master of business administration from the Warwick Business School, University of Warwick.

Nadia is a private equity KYC Analyst at FMO. She has over eight years of robust experience working in policy and market research with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. Previously, Nadia was a political risk consultant and has also worked for a London-based conflict resolution think-tank where she participated in multiple senior transnational and inter-regional political dialogue processes in Europe, North Africa and the gulf regions. She is a One Young World Ambassador for Algeria and has a master of arts in public policy from Kings College London.

Samantha Barry

Samantha Barry is the global editorial director for Glamour. She oversees content, development, and consumer experiences across the title’s digital, social, and video verticals for Glamour.

Under her leadership, Glamour emphasizes a digital-first focus on original reporting, exclusive features, and unique perspectives impacting women today across the world.
During her tenure, Barry has transformed the annual Women of the Year Awards into an inspirational celebration, championing Glamour’s diverse community of women and led Glamour to reach record-breaking monthly audiences, and grown video content across platforms. In 2023, Glamour honored their first global Women of the Year selections– Millie Bobby Brown and America Ferrera– for their respective global influence and activism.

Over the last two years, Barry has highlighted women entrepreneurship while advocating for paid leave across the country. During Women’s History Month, Glamour released its ‘By Women: The Glamour 100’– highlighting products from women-owned businesses in an effort to drive purchases to their site. At the same time, Glamour launched a national campaign with Paid Leave for All to pass the country’s first paid family and medical leave program, guaranteeing all working people the right to take paid time off to care for a newborn, a sick relative, or themselves.

Most recently, Barry joined First Lady Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates, and Amal Clooney– alongside their respective foundations– in Malawi and South Africa on their fight to end child marriage. During her trip, Barry formed relationship with the grassroots leaders and learned about their organization, ultimately bringing global attention to the cause.

Prior to joining Glamour, Barry served as global head of social media at CNN. She spearheaded the organization’s 2016 election coverage across social platforms, which received the first ever Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in social media. Barry previously worked as a reporter and producer for BBC World News in London, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Papua New Guinea, and RTE and Newstalk in Ireland.

Barry earned a Master’s in Journalism from Dublin City University and was a 2016 fellow of Columbia University’s Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program. She serves as a guest lecturer at Yale University. She is also a board member for Room to Read, Ever/Body, and the Bologna Business School.

Susan Breyer

Susan is a Woodside, California, painter of abstract and impressionist landscapes. In her work, she endeavors to reflect her reverence for the mystery, power and vulnerability of nature.  She is a graduate of Stanford University and subsequently worked in strategy and marketing for the advertising agencies Benton & Bowles in New York, HBM/Creamer in Boston and Hal Riney in San Francisco. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Susan served as director of marketing for First Republic Bank. In moving from the corporate world to art, Susan studied for seven years with Bay Area master painter and former SF Academy of Art teacher, Ning Hou.  Susan has worked to increase her community’s awareness of and investment in Room to Read since 2012. She currently serves on the leadership council of NARAL Pro-Choice America and in the leadership circle of WANDA (Women’s Advancement Network and Development Alliance) of Silicon Valley.

Mary Byron

Mary is currently the owner of Cloud Nine Quilts based in Montana. Mary is retired from Goldman Sachs, most recently as the global head of corporate technology including finance, risk, operations and human resources at Goldman Sachs. She served on the technology division executive, operating and risk committees. Before this role, Mary was based in Tokyo as CIO for Asia Pacific businesses and co-chair of the Asia Pacific diversity committee. She joined Goldman Sachs in 1989 and has held various roles within technology, including managing the firm’s global networks and computing infrastructure. Mary was named managing director in 1999 and partner in 2006. She serves on the board of directors for the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and the Auburn Theological Seminary. Mary earned her bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in 1986.

Richard and Sabine Chalmers

Richard is a citizen of the United States and the UK and Sabine is a citizen of the United States with German and Indian origin. They have one daughter, Natasha. They have lived in London, Miami, Stamford, Brussels and New York and believe strongly in the power of education to transform lives, which was their main inspiration for becoming friends of Room to Read.

Richard received a degree in business studies from the University of Edinburgh before training to become a lawyer with Berwin Leighton in London. He practiced family and litigation law in England, Florida and Connecticut before dedicating himself wholly to raising Natasha and volunteering for various causes. He has served on parents' associations at Natasha's schools in Brussels and New York, coached rugby at the International School of Brussels for three years, and served as president of the United Nations International School Athletics Association. Richard also chairs the board of the apartment building where the family lives in New York. On a personal level, he enjoys sports, travel and photography.

Sabine is general counsel of BT Group Plc, formerly known as British Telecom. Previously, she served as chief legal and corporate affairs officer and secretary to the board of directors at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI). She is qualified as a solicitor in England and is a member of the New York State Bar Association. Sabine is a member of the board of directors of ABI, a member of the supervisory board of Ardian, a board member of Continental Grain Company, and serves on several professional councils and not-for-profit boards, including the Royal National Theatre and the International Baccalaureate. 

Sabine’s education reflects her global background. She spent her formative years as a student in the Philippines at the International School Manila, went on to graduate from London School of Economics, and received her solicitors’ qualification at London’s College of Law.

Richard and Sabine are on the North America and UK regional development boards.

Ernest Chow and Gwen Hinze

Ernest is principal of Viridian Works LLC, which is focused on private impact investing. He was previously founder and partner at Sensato Investors, an institutional investment firm that managed Asia Pacific quantitative equity strategies. Before that, he was co-head of Active Equities at Barclays Global Investors where he spent a decade in various roles leading research and portfolio management of scientific active strategies for Asia and other markets. He started his career in finance in the Investment Technology Group at County Investment Management, a division of the National Australia Bank. Before that, Ernie worked as a research assistant and as a lecturer at Monash University. He was also a musician and still loves to play. He is a fellow of Monash University, from which he graduated with a Ph.D. in applied mathematics, LL.B. with honors and a bachelor of science with honors. He also holds an A.Mus.A. and is a CFA charterholder. He serves as a trustee at the Bay School of San Francisco and has previously served as board chair and trustee at the Chinese American International School and as a trustee at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.

Gwen has worked at the intersection of law and policy for over 20 years in academia, the nonprofit sector, government and private legal practice. She has conducted research on how copyright law affects libraries as the international copyright fellow at the Berkeley Digital Libraries Copyright Project at U.C. Berkeley Law School and the role of copyright law in shaping online platforms and access to knowledge for her doctoral dissertation. She previously served as an attorney and subsequently the director of the international program at digital civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2002 to 2012, where she engaged with policymakers at international and national forums in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Before that, she worked for the Federal Court of Australia and the Australian government's National Native Title Tribunal and practiced at the international law firm Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (now Allens). Gwen is a member of the State Bar of California and holds a doctorate in law and a LL.M. from the University of California Law School and a LL.B with honors and bachelor of arts with honors from Monash University. 

Gwen and Ernie are passionate about the power of education to change the world and have been supporters of Room to Read's work since 2002.

Shaziya and Vikas Keswani

Shaziya Keswani is an Occupational Therapist based in New York and specializes in breast cancer and lymphedema rehabilitation. She is passionate about enhancing patient outcomes and is a published author on the advantages of using occupational therapy in breast cancer treatment. Shaziya is also Co-Chair of the Horace Mann School Lower Division Parent Association. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Columbia University, where she also currently serves as Vice Chair of the Alumni Legacy Circle, a leadership giving society that brings together Columbia College Women to strengthen the mission of the College.

Vikas Keswani is a Managing Director at HPS Investment Partners and Head of North American Specialty Lending. Prior to joining HPS in 2010, Vikas spent most of his career at BlackRock, where he was a part of the initial team that established, structured and capitalized BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: BKCC), a publicly traded private investment vehicle. Vikas is a CFA charterholder and holds a BSE from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Vikas also serves on the board of directors of Teach for India U.S.

Shaziya grew up in Mumbai, India and Vikas in Kobe, Japan. Together, they are dedicated to fostering educational equality and the opportunity set for those less fortunate. Shaziya and Vikas live in New York with their two daughters Siana and Riya.

Sara Eisen and Matthew Levine

Sara is co-anchor of the 10 a.m. hour of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M–F, 9–11 a.m. ET) and "Money Movers" (M–F, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET). She is known for her deep expertise in financial markets and the global economy and regular news-making interviews with some of the most prominent names in the financial world. Eisen joined CNBC in December 2013 as a correspondent focusing on the global consumer. She previously co-anchored CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange."

Before joining CNBC, Eisen was co-anchor of "Bloomberg Surveillance" and was a correspondent for Bloomberg Television, where she covered global macroeconomics, policy and business. During that time, she covered the European debt crisis, the tsunami aftermath, and the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan. Before Bloomberg Television, she hosted the Bloomberg Radio program, "On the Economy." She is the editor of "Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System," published by McGraw-Hill in 2013. Eisen holds a master's degree in broadcast journalism with a concentration in business reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Matthew is partner at the Brunswick Group. He was most recently at Bloomberg, where he was the head of U.S. programming for Bloomberg Television. Matt had led numerous coverage initiatives, including Bloomberg's 2016 election night coverage, and acted as executive producer on a variety of special programs and documentaries. Previously, he served as Bloomberg Television's U.S.-based managing editor among other roles.

Before Bloomberg, Matthew was a senior editor at CNBC. During that time, he was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy Award for producing "Investing in America," a town hall with President Barack Obama. He was also acknowledged with a Scripps Howard National Journalism Award for the network's coverage of General Motors' public stock offering. 

Levine graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics and political science. He holds a master's degree in international relations from the University of Sussex.

Rami and Manal Elghandour

Rami joined Arcellx in 2021 and serves as chairman and chief executive officer. Most recently, Rami served as president and CEO of Nevro, beginning in 2012. Under his leadership, Nevro grew from a small private company to a public company approaching $400m in revenue and a leader in neuromodulation. Prior to Nevro, Rami was an investor with Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), where he led several investments including Nevro’s Series B Financing and served on the board of directors of several private companies including Nevro. Before joining JJDC, Rami was a design engineer for Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc. where he led firmware design and development on several implantable spinal cord stimulators.

Rami earned recognition as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, as one of the top CEOs in the United States, and as one of the top CEOs for women and diversity. He is a recipient of the Bill Campbell Award by Watermark for his influence, impact, and advocacy in promoting women and women’s issues. Rami received a master of business administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a bachelor of science in electrical and computer engineering from Rutgers University School of Engineering.

Manal serves on the Belmont Redwood Shores council board and the Sandpiper school PTA Board. Most recently, she served as PTA president for Sandpiper School from 2020 to 2022. Manal started her career in commercial insurance as an underwriter. In addition to caring for their four children, Manal supports programs for autism and neurodiversity, mental health and children’s organizations around the world.

Erin and Jitendra Ganju

Erin is a former managing director of Echidna Giving, a private funder that will grant over $500 million over the next 40 years to advance girls’ education in countries with limited resources. She is also a co-founder, former CEO and former COO of Room to Read. From the early start-up days, Erin was instrumental in the design and implementation of the organization’s scalable, replicable model for improving the quality of education around the world. In 2009, Erin became chief executive officer of Room to Read. As CEO, Erin oversaw Room to Read’s global operations across 15 countries; a technical assistance unit called Room to Read Accelerator; fundraising teams in North America, Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific region; and a worldwide staff of more than 1,500 employees. Erin captured her experiences and insights as co-author of "Scaling Global Change: A Social Entrepreneur’s Guide to Surviving the Start-up Phase and Driving Impact." She has been selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs for 2014 and in 2012 was one of Fast Company’s Extraordinary Women. 

Before founding Room to Read, Erin worked at Unilever, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and a couple of technology start-ups. She has spent extensive time working and living in Asia, where she saw firsthand the need to enhance developing countries’ educational systems. Erin holds a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in international relations and economics from The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. She currently serves as a board member to the Luminos Fund and The Bay School of San Francisco.

Jitendra is a clinical trials consultant trained in statistics with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. His prior employment includes tenures as the VP of biometrics at Global Blood Therapeutics and Hyperion Therapeutics and senior director at Gilead Sciences. Therapeutic areas include hematology, diabetes, pulmonology, cardiovascular, inflammation and vaccines. Areas of interest include speeding up Phase 1–3 development, acting as a statistics representative at FDA/EMA meetings, participating in collaborations on regulatory documents, producing clinical development plans with attention to mitigating risk, endpoint selection and competitive analysis. Jeetu has been published in peer-reviewed journals on non-inferiority trials, improving operational efficiency and methods to increase power.

Caryn Freiberger

Caryn is co-head of Global Institutional FX sales at Deutsche Bank, where she is responsible for driving the global sales strategy, providing solutions for clients across complex and vanilla products in the currency and metals markets. As part of her management responsibilities, Caryn is a member of the institutional client group executive committee. Before this role, Caryn was the North America head of the FX real money sales team at Citi. While at Citi, Caryn served as the founding co-head of Citi’s North America markets and security services women’s network. In 2013, Caryn conceived and launched 'Citi’s e for education' a corporate social responsibility program where Citi donates money to non-profit organizations generated from client-initiated electronic trading volumes. Since its inception, the initiative has donated over $73 million, earning the program recognition as Citi’s CEO-sponsored 2018 Progress Award winner.

Outside of Room to Read, Caryn is an advocate for pediatric cancer research contributing to the funding of several scientific studies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Kids Hospital by hosting handstand walkathons, empowering gymnasts to raise money for the cause. Caryn holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Brown University.

Peter T. Grauer

Peter is chairman of Bloomberg L.P., the global financial media company. He has been a member of the Bloomberg board since October 1996 and was named chairman of the board in March 2001, succeeding Michael R. Bloomberg. Peter joined Bloomberg full-time in his executive capacities in March 2002. Before this, he was a managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from 1992 to 2000 when the company was acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston, then managing director and senior partner of Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity until March 2002. Peter serves as lead director of Davita, Inc., as well as on the boards of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Inner City Scholarship Fund in New York City, Rockefeller University and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.

Lydie Hudson

Lydie is the co-founder and president of Citation Capital. With a career spanning more than 20 years in financial services, Lydie previously served on the executive board at Credit Suisse. Lydie also founded the CS Women’s Financial Forum, a global convention of female experts across financial services. She was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2017 and an Aspen Finance Fellow and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network in 2021. Lydie earned a bachelor of arts in international politics and economics from Middlebury College and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School. A Midwest native, she resides in Greenwich, CT, having recently moved back to the United States from Switzerland.

Tami Lippit and Carl Huttenlocher

Carl is managing partner and chief investment officer for Myriad Asset Management. Before founding Myriad in 2011, Carl was managing director of Highbridge Capital Management, senior portfolio manager for the Highbridge Asia Opportunities Fund and a member of the Global Investment Committee for Highbridge Capital Corporation. Before joining Highbridge in 2002, Carl was the portfolio manager for Asian Convertibles and Equity Derivatives at Long Term Capital Management. Carl began his career at Citadel Investment Group where he traded European and Latin American convertible bonds. He also founded Intelligent Markets — a venture capital-backed financial software company — and served as chief executive officer from 1999 to 2001. Carl earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tamiko received her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in history and literature from Harvard College and her juris doctorate from Columbia Law School. She has practiced law at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, LLP, in New York City, and at Venture Law Group in Menlo Park, California, where she advised start-up companies on a broad array of legal issues. She currently lives in California with her family.

Sonny Kalsi (Chair)

Sonny is the co-CEO of BentallGreenOak (BGO) and is based in New York City. BGO is a global real estate investment and management platform with approximately $69 billion of assets under management. BGO has 24 offices worldwide (North America, Europe, and Asia) and over 1,300 employees. The firm manages investment strategies and properties in various asset and risk classes.

Sonny previously was a founder of GreenOak Real Estate in 2010 and together with the team, built the business organically to $12 billion of assets under management in 10 countries with over 100 employees. Before GreenOak, Sonny was the global co-head of Morgan Stanley’s Real Estate Investing (MSREI) business and president of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds until 2009. At its peak, the platform had approximately $100 billion of assets under management in 33 countries. During his 18-year career at Morgan Stanley, Sonny spent almost 10 years in Asia and has lived and worked in six different locations around the world.

Sonny is a graduate of Georgetown University and continues to be very involved with the school. He has been cited by Private Equity Real Estate magazine as one of the "30 Most Influential" people in private equity real estate globally. Sonny is on the board of several charitable organizations including Teaching Matters, SparkYouth NYC, Asia Society and the Hirshhorn Museum. He is a trustee of the Spence School, board member of Oberoi Realty, and Georgetown University. He is also chair of the North America regional board at Room to Read and, until recently, adjunct professor at Columbia University in the Master of Real Estate program.

EB Kapnick

EB is a Managing Director and co-head of Americas Technology Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) at Morgan Stanley. 

Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2023, EB spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs where she held a number of different roles, including most recently, Head of North American Digital Infrastructure M&A. EB joined Goldman Sachs in 2010 and was named Managing Director in 2021. She has held roles in London, San Francisco and New York. 

EB holds a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Williams College where she graduated cum laude. She resides in New York City with her husband Mike and three children - Victoria, Matthew and William. EB and her family have been passionate supporters of children’s literacy and girls education through Room to Read for over a decade.

Ryan Korinke and Kimberley Stafford

Ryan Korinke retired from PIMCO in 2023 where he was a managing director and global head of sustainability, overseeing the business management of the firm's environmental, social, governance and sustainability efforts. He was a member of PIMCO’s executive office, contributing to firmwide strategic, financial and operational initiatives. Prior to that role, he was head of hedge fund and quantitative strategies, leading the growth and development of the firm’s discretionary and systematic absolute return strategies. He holds an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Currently he is the Treasurer for the San Juan Capistrano Performing Arts Center, and a Trustee at St Margaret’s Episcopal School.


Kimberley Stafford is a managing director, global head of product strategy, and Executive Committee member responsible for oversight of sustainability. As global head of product strategy, she oversees traditional strategies and alternatives, including private strategies and hedge funds. She also oversees ESG and sustainability initiatives, providing strategic direction and firmwide coordination around sustainability efforts. She joined the firm in 2000 and has held several positions, including head of PIMCO Asia-Pacific, global head of consultant relations, head of U.S. institutional sales and alternatives marketing teams, and global head of human resources and talent management. Prior to these roles, Ms. Stafford was a member of PIMCO's executive office, contributing to firmwide strategic, financial, and operational initiatives; an account manager in the consultant relations group; and an analyst in PIMCO's trade compliance group. She has 24 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Redlands, where she currently serves as a Trustee.

Angel Mehta 

Angel is an early-stage investor in technology companies with a particular interest in artificial intelligence, enterprise software, bio-hacking/longevity, and meat-alternative food companies. He also serves as an advisor to entrepreneurs, coaching them on human capital/recruitment, automation, and outsourcing.

Between 1998 and 2018, Angel served as chief executive officer of Sterling-Hoffman Management Consultants, a global executive-search firm with over 300 employees worldwide and offices in 5 countries.

Angel is an active member of several CEO mastermind groups, including Young President’s Organization (YPO) and Tiger 21. His philanthropic interests are focused on girls' education, human trafficking, fact-based journalism, and animal rights. Angel holds a bachelor of arts from York University in Toronto.

In his spare time, Angel enjoys weightlifting, ice hockey, and learning magic.

Kim Anstatt Morton 

Kim Anstatt Morton worked almost a decade on Wall Street as an equity research analyst at UBS and Hambrecht and Quist in New York City. She later joined Montgomery Securities in San Francisco, where she covered emerging growth and big-cap biotech companies. Kim is passionate about literacy, education, and the arts. She enthusiastically serves as board chair for Girl Rising, a global movement for girls' education through media, film and social action campaigns (and a partner of Room to Read). She is active with SFMOMA’s director’s circle committee, contemporaries committee and media acquisitions. She is also an active ambassador for For-Site. Kim has worked with the Department of Health and Human Services in San Francisco with abused and neglected children and has tutored children enrolled in a special literacy program through Dartmouth College. She holds a fine art graduate painting degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. Kim travels extensively and lives in San Francisco and Vermont with her husband, Ian, and son, Baker.

Stasia Obremskey

Stasia is the managing director of RH Capital, an impact venture capital fund of Rhia Ventures, where she is responsible for investing in innovations in women’s reproductive health. She joined RH Capital at its founding in 2018 after more than 25 years of experience as an interim CFO for non-profit organizations and start-up companies and an impact investor and philanthropist in women’s reproductive health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and a master of business administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. She has extensive experience as a member of several nonprofit boards where she has held several leadership positions. Stasia is a founding member of The Maverick Collective, an initiative of PSI. As the proud mother of three young adults, she is working with scientists and entrepreneurs to find the next generation of hormone-free contraceptives to meet their sexual health needs.

Dusty Philip 

Dusty is co-chairman of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at Goldman Sachs and a member of the investment banking division executive committee. Before this role at Goldman, he was global co-head of the industrials group and the co-head of M&A in the Americas. He joined Goldman Sachs in M&A in 1991. Dusty was named managing director in 1999 and partner in 2000. Dusty serves on the board of trustees of the Brearley School and the board of trustees of the Young People's Chorus of New York City. Dusty earned a bachelor of art from Amherst College in 1986 and an master of business administration from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1991. 

Jesse Purewal 

Jesse is a father, husband, son and grandson to some of the most wonderful women and girls on the planet. At work, Jesse is the VP and brand and marketing at PagerDuty. At PagerDuty, Jesse leads and serves the teams that pull the PagerDuty business and brand forward through corporate events, executive experiences/EBCs, brand strategy, content and creative.

Before PagerDuty, Jesse was the SVP and GM of the global high-tech sector at Qualtrics, an SAP company whose SaaS platform enables companies to deliver breakthrough employee and customer experiences. And, he was previously a partner at Prophet, a brand and marketing consultancy, where he worked with B2B and B2B2C tech clients to grow by developing and linking business strategy, product strategy and marketing strategy. His professional expertise is in working with cross-functional teams in marketing, product management, engineering and sales to develop growth strategies that drive relevance, loyalty and market value. 

Before joining Prophet, Jesse ran a business delivering college prep services to high school students and families which sold to Kaplan, Inc. He also worked in corporate strategy and marketing at Starbucks Coffee, where he helped create the company’s loyalty program and develop its whole-bean coffee portfolio. 

Jesse has a master of business administration from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a bachelor's degree in mathematics and sociology from Northwestern University. He lives in San Francisco. And, with respect to the father role above, he is the proud dad of two identical twin girls who are learning and loving to read.

Mythili Sankaran and Shekar Ayyar

Mythili is the CEO and co-founder of Neythri.org and the founding managing partner of the Neythri Futures Fund.

Mythili’s 25+ years of experience spans R&D, product management and senior leadership roles driving growth, strategy and digital transformations for Fortune 500 companies, early-stage technology startups and nonprofits. Previously, Mythili led regional operations for the U.S.–India Business Council and the American India Foundation, where she built a strong reputation for scaling and growing the organizations’ brand, revenue, member base and operations. Mythili also served as CEO of Koollage, a web service company that allowed users to create, package and share information on the internet, where she oversaw the growth strategy from prototype to the notable public launch at the 2008 DEMO conference. Earlier in her career, Mythili spent several years in research and product management at IBM Research Labs, AT&T Bell Labs, Lucent, eVoice and Palmsource. She is an active angel investor and member of several women-led investor networks that invest in women entrepreneurs and an independent board advisor to early-stage startups.

Mythili is a mentor for the Duke Technology Scholars program and is a global advisor for How Women Lead. She has a master of science degree in physics from Texas Tech University, a master of science in electronics from the University of Bombay and an executive master of business administration jointly offered through the AT&T School of Business and the Wharton School. In her spare time, Mythili enjoys reading historical fiction, studying Indian antiques and watching cricket.

Shekar is CEO and chairman of Arrcus, a venture-funded network infrastructure company, which is transforming 5G and edge connectivity for service providers and enterprises. He is also a board member at Altair, a venture partner at NTTVC and a partner at ADMY Technologies. 

Shekar is a seasoned technology executive and industry leader with over 25 years of experience spanning general management, research, strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and business development. Before joining Arrcus, Shekar was executive vice president and general manager of the telco and edge cloud business at VMware. He incubated and grew this business to become one of the largest vertical opportunities for VMware in the context of 5G and edge computing. 

Prior to his general manager role, Shekar was EVP of strategy and corporate development, leading VMware’s M&A and strategic investments for several years. He oversaw over 60 acquisitions and investments across a wide range of target companies and transaction sizes including the acquisitions of Nicira, Airwatch, Velocloud, Heptio and Uhana. 

Before VMware, Shekar held senior executive roles at BindView (acquired by Symantec) and Instantis (acquired by Oracle). In prior roles at other companies including Lucent and McKinsey, Shekar advised C-level executives on a wide range of strategic technology and business decisions. 

Shekar has a master of business administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar. He also holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, both in electrical engineering. 

Vicky Tsai

Vicky is the Founder of Tatcha, a global luxury skincare brand founded in 2009. Every Tatcha purchase supports children's education through the brand's Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures Program, established in 2014 in partnership with Room to Read. To date, the program has funded over 8 million days of school for girls in Africa and Southeast Asia and funded Room to Read’s U.S. literary initiative to provide diverse books to underserved communities.

Vicky's work at Tatcha has earned her recognition as a Marie Claire Changemaker (2022), Inc Magazine’s 100 Top Female Founders List (2021), the WWD Beauty Inc Founder’s Award (2019), InStyle Magazine’s "Badass 50 Women" List (2018), and the No.2 fastest-growing privately held company in America led by a woman on the Inc 5000 list (2015). She holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Wellesley College and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School.

Hilary Valentine

Hilary is a board member of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and a member of Part the Cloud, whose mission is to fund Alzheimer’s research with the highest probability of slowing, stopping or ultimately curing Alzheimer’s disease. Hilary serves on the board of directors of the Valentine Family Foundation and the Canary Foundation. She also serves on the emeritus board of Breast Cancer Connections. Her primary focus has been to evangelize the Room to Read mission in front of high-net-worth donors in the technology world. The Valentine Family Foundation provided the initial multi-year seed funding for Room to Read's Girls' Education Program. Hilary served on the Room to Read board of directors from 2003 to 2012, was co-chair of the board of directors from 2005 to 2008, and was chair of the board of directors from 2008 to 2010. Hilary graduated with a bachelor of science in psychology from St. Lawrence University. 

Frank and Leslie van Veenendaal  

Frank retired from Salesforce in 2015 after almost 14 years with the company and was instrumental in growing Salesforce from $5M to $5B+. He served as president and executive vice chairman for three years and held a number of senior executive positions with the company during his tenure. He has over 30 years of technology sales and executive management experience and previously held various sales and sales management positions for companies such as Actuate, Interleaf, Integrated Solutions, Pyramid and Harris Corporation. He also serves on the board of directors of Coupa, Onfido and ServiceMax.

Priya Venkatesh

Priya, a highly experienced prestige beauty retail leader, is Sephora’s global chief merchandising officer. In her 15-year tenure, Priya has focused on category vision and development, including building a robust brand portfolio of indie, emerging, clean and classic brands, as well as the first introduction of K-Beauty in prestige retail, while driving innovation in formulation offerings, product and services experiences at Sephora. 

Under Priya’s leadership, Sephora’s skin and hair business has grown dramatically, ensuring these areas play an integral role in the retailer’s in-store and digital experience offerings for clients. She has developed and executed many successful initiatives, including the launch of "Clean at Sephora," providing clients a clear point of view on the clean beauty category and Sephora’s offering across 50+ brands and 2,000 products; Skin IQ, an in-store skincare solutions diagnostic tool; and introduced a range of high performing brands including Algenist, Bumble and bumble, Dr. Jart, Drunk Elephant, Dyson, Farmacy, Glam Glow, Living Proof, Olaplex, Summer Fridays and Tatcha. 

Before her current role at Sephora, Priya was a clinical skincare merchant and before joining Sephora, she was the director of makeup at The Body Shop. Priya earned a master's degree in international economics and finance from Brandeis University. She currently resides in the Bay Area with her family. 

Susan Wojcicki (†) and Dennis Troper 

(July 5, 1968-August 9, 2024) Susan was a tech executive with over 30 years of experience in the industry. As the former CEO of YouTube, she oversaw YouTube's content and business operations, engineering and product development. Before joining YouTube in February 2014, Susan was senior vice president of advertising and commerce at Google, where she oversaw the design and engineering of AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick and Google Analytics. She joined Google in 1999 as the company's first marketing manager and led the initial development of several key consumer products including Google Images and Google Books. Susan graduated with honors from Harvard University, holds a master's degree in economics from UC Santa Cruz and an MBA from UCLA. In 2015, Susan was named to Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She currently serves on the board of directors for Salesforce and Waymo and as an advisor at Youtube and Google. Susan served in an advisory role to Google and Google-parent Alphabet.

Dennis is the product director for Wear OS by Google. He joined Google in early 2003 and has worked on several product areas since then, including AdWords, G Suite and Google Fiber. Before Google he held positions Oracle, Concur Technologies and Deloitte Consulting. Dennis holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a master of science in applied economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He lives in Los Altos, California, with his wife and five children.

Amy Wong

Amy retired from PDT Partners at the end of 2019, where she was a founding partner and chief operating officer.  She joined PDT (Process Driven Trading) as one of the first hires in 1994 when it was a newly formed proprietary trading group in Morgan Stanley. During her 25-year tenure at PDT, Amy helped build the business into a highly regarded quantitative investment firm, including spearheading the successful spinoff from Morgan Stanley in 2013.

She serves on the exchange board for the members' exchange (MEMX), is a board member at the GO Project NYC and a member of the board of trustees at Hackley School in New York. Amy holds a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in electrical engineering and computer science.

Jürgen Bauer (Chair)

Jürgen is a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist with 30 years of management consulting and business leadership experience. He co-founded and chairs Tenthpin Management Consultants, and joined the boards of a number of healthcare, IT growth and venture capital companies. Before that, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM, and he co-founded Lodestone Management Consultants. After the acquisition of Lodestone by Infosys, Jürgen served as the managing partner for Infosys Consulting.
He is co-owner of premium ski manufacturer Timbaer and co-founded Fainschliff a social enterprise promoting entrepreneurship for young craftspeople.

Jürgen and his wife, Henriette, live in Zürich and have two adult daughters who have been supporting Room To Read since 2013. The family is passionate about skiing, music, traveling and reading.  

Paul and Michelle Agbaje 

Paul and Michelle strongly believe that every young child should be entitled to education and have been proud supporters of Room to ream for many years. They are also passionate about promoting awareness of the shortage and disparity among certain ethnicities of blood, stem cell and bone marrow donors on registers around the world, and the impact this has on lifesaving treatment for people of colour with blood disorders.

Paul currently heads the Africa Desk at SingAlliance, a multi-family office and independent wealth management firm. He previously held senior wealth management and investment banking roles at Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse. He is a CFA Charterholder and has a degree in Mathematics & Computing from the university of East London in the UK.

Michelle is a seasoned Project Manager and currently works at UBS having previously worked on key projects in the UK and Switzerland with global banks including Citi, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Credit Suisse.

Paul and Michelle previously lived in London prior to moving to Zurich in 2018. Their daughters, Nadine and Helena, respectively work and study in London and also proudly support Room to Read, having .previously volunteered and donated at Room to Read events in Switzerland.

Noelle Aigrain-Kaegi and Florian Aigrain 

Noelle and Florian are strong believers in the power of literacy and are proud to support a number of causes related to education, economic development programs and international relations.

Noelle is an educator, having taught students in both traditional school settings and special needs institutions. She manages a portfolio of investment assets, consisting primarily of equity assets, multi-family residential real estate, and fine art investments. She has supported selection committees for endowed academic grants and is an active leader in her community.

Florian is the CEO of the Acutronic Group, a supplier of test equipment and components for the aerospace industry. Before Acutronic, Florian served in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking and Securities Divisions. He later founded a specialist investment firm focused on venture capital opportunities in emerging markets. Florian is an alum of the American Swiss Foundation’s Young Leaders Conference and represents Acutronic on the Austin Technology Council, Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.

Noelle and Florian have two daughters and a son. They are inaugural members of the University of Virginia’s Global Affairs Corps of Ambassadors. 

Katrin Koch and Daniel Epstein

Katrin and Daniel were active supporters of Room to Read for several years before joining the Swiss Regional Board in 2021. They firmly believe that literacy and access to education are pre-conditions to take charge of one's life. 

Katrin heads the global corporate development team of Vontobel in Zurich. She previously worked with UBS for over 20 years in various roles such as managing the chief of staff function for the group CEO and leading group corporate services globally. Before that, she worked as a management consultant for strategy and organizational development with Price Waterhouse.

Daniel graduated as a physicist, specialising in elementary particle physics, from the University of Hamburg. He is a keen reader and was actively involved in managing the Zurich Rugby Academy for children.  

Katrin and Daniel live near Zurich with their teenage son and daughter. They enjoy skiing, travelling and food from all around the world.

Katie Kurz

Originally from Philadelphia, Katie has lived in Switzerland since 2005, having worked in Lausanne, Zurich, Zug and Basel. Today, she works for Syngenta Group as a global communications executive, having grown her career in various industries including biotech, financial services and consumer packaged goods. Katie started her service with Room to Read as a volunteer and led the Zurich chapter of volunteers for two years. An athlete at heart, Katie has completed numerous international marathons and Ironman 70.3 triathlons; many of them, she fundraised more than $150,000 for global NGOs including Room to Read and others focused on cancer research. She studied at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and earned her executive master's degree in communications management from the Universita della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano and UCLA’s Anderson Business School in California. Katie and her husband Andrea Rubio live in Erlenbach with their Lagotto Romagnolo dog named Kona.

Martin and Christine Rinck

Martin is a seasoned C-suite hospitality executive with over 35 years of global experience, widely recognised for inspiring positive change. He led two organisations through successful IPOs and is a growth expert with a focus on luxury and the Asia Pacific Region, in particular China and India. Martin is the founder and CEO of Cervo Advisory, a strategy consultancy that focuses on travel and tourism, as well as luxury retail, and is an executive director on the board of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Martin is also a senior advisor for Global F&B and Hospitality Expansion at Breitling, and a senior advisor at Deloitte.

Before assuming his board roles, Martin was the EVP and chief brand officer at Hilton (NYSE: HLT), where he led a portfolio of 18 award-winning brands across 6.5K+ hotels globally, developing and executing the enterprise portfolio strategy, while at the same time leading multiple ESG initiatives for the company. 

Martin is a leader known for his passion for people and purpose and is a long-running advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, resulting in Hilton having been recognised as #1 in the "Top 50 companies for diversity by DiversityInc" in 2021, as well as achieving multiple #1 rankings for Hilton globally by Great Places to Work in 2021.

During his long-standing career, Martin has been highly engaged with multiple NGOs around the world and has been supporting Room to Read for more than 15 years, a passion shared by the rest of his family. He is a global citizen with a strong desire to make an impact on communities in the critical areas of sustainability and education, drawing inspiration from his life hero, Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Christine studied economics in Germany and is a dynamic HR professional, who has had a successful career in executive search, HR management and HR consulting for globally renowned organisations is currently working at an International School in Zurich.

After 20 years living abroad, Christine and Martin recently moved back to Zurich, while their two daughters study in New York. They love the outdoors, good food and wine, and spending time with family and friends. The entire family shares a passion for travel, and the desire to have a lasting positive impact. 

Mindy and Adam Silverstein

Mindy, Adam and their two sons, Max and Ben, are proud supporters of Room to Read and other local and global organizations that advocate for education and healthcare access for children. After practicing law for 18 years, Adam dedicates his time toward building the archive and collections and serving as a board member of the Universal Hip Hop Museum. He is also passionate about sports, plays on FCZ’s 40+ team, and founded and manages the Zurich International School basketball mini-league program.

Mindy is an independent advisor, Silverstein Group, at Credit Suisse. Previously, she served as a senior advisor to the group CEO, head of client strategy and partnerships, and as a member of the sustainability, research and investment solutions management committee. Before Credit Suisse, Minday was with the Milken Institute, serving as managing director and driving the organization's global revenue, strategic relationships and programming.

Mindy and Adam both received their bachelor's degrees from Indiana University. They attained a master of business administration and law degree respectively in Los Angeles, where they were based as a family until moving to Zurich in 2016.

Christoph von Reiche

Christoph is the head of institutional clients at Vontobel. Previously, he was head of global distribution and marketing at Vontobelwas, and an executive committee member at Robeco. In this role, Christoph was responsible for Robeco’s global sales strategy and organization, sales teams in 15 countries, consultant relations efforts and global marketing.

Christoph has roughly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including 19 years in asset management. Previously, Christoph was head of Europe institutional business at JP Morgan Asset Management in London. From 1995 to 2014 he worked at Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt, where he held various positions, including country head of Germany, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (2011 to 2014), which he joined in a sales role in 2003. He started his career as an analyst in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division. During his time at Goldman Sachs, Christoph also worked in the fixed income, currency and commodities division for four years providing financing advice to financial institutions. He obtained a master's degree in foreign service and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Georgetown University in 1995.

Carmen Alonso and Matthew Strassberg

Carmen has over 25 years of experience in finance and asset management. She currently serves as the head of Iberia and UK at Tikehau Capital. Carmen joined in 2015 and has responsibility in both regions across all investment strategies, including private equity, private debt, real estate and capital Markets as well as fundraising Tikehau Capital’s funds among institutional and retail investors. Before joining Tikehau Capital, she was a managing director at Morgan Stanley in their European leverage finance practice. Carmen started her career in Zurich in the leveraged finance department of UBS. She moved to London where she worked in Merrill Lynch and HVB. She also gained corporate experience managing GSK’s Corporate Finance activities globally. She is a graduate of Boston University, School of Management, and Babson College, Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Matthew has worked since 2002 at Mid Europa Partners, a private equity firm focused on mid-market investments in healthcare, consumer goods, retail and e-commerce. Within Mid Europa, Matthew has built a leading healthcare services practice, having committed over $1 billion in equity to several investment platforms. Before Mid Europa, Matthew worked in banking at Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan and in private equity with TLC Capital, the family office of Reginald F. Lewis. He studied economics at the University of Chicago and has a master of business administration from INSEAD.

Christopher and Cynthia Bake

Christopher is a member of the executive committee at Vitol. He is also chairman of VTTI, a global provider of storage services for crude oil, refined petroleum products and LPG, and chairman of Vivo Energy, the Shell licensee operating 1,800 retail sites in 16 countries in Africa. From 2006 to 2012, Christopher established and ran the Vitol office in Dubai. During this time, he established a partnership with the Oman Oil Company to create Oman Trading International (OTI) and oversaw the acquisition of Fujairah Refinery Company Limited, one of Vitol’s key assets in the region. Since joining Vitol in 1995, Christopher has held several global leadership positions and served in Vitol’s offices in Bahrain, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Houston and London. Christopher has worked closely with the UT Energy Institute and its deputy director and UT professor Dr. Michael Webber providing insight and guidance on a variety of issues.

Cynthia is on the board of trustees of The American School in London. She is a member of the advancement committee, serving as co-chair from 2016 to 2020, and currently co-chairs the trustee affairs committee. Fluent in French and conversant in Spanish, Cynthia worked for the Société Générale in San Francisco and New York in the communications department. She holds a bachelor of science from Santa Clara University, where she studied French, political science and international business.

Vinni Bhandari

Vinni is the Founder of OnRamp Ltd, which provides strategic guidance to entrepreneurs, focusing on ed-tech and health-tech ventures. Over the past 20 years, Vinni has held leadership positions at large corporations and startups in Silicon Valley, Boston and New York. Before moving to London, she led digital marketing at TJX Companies for the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls brands. She also worked as director of data mining consulting services at Manna, Inc., using AI (at the time, termed predictive modeling) and data mining to enhance consumer experiences. Vinni was an early adopter of using data and AI to predict behavior and co-authored and published a data mining case study that is actively used in a course taught at MIT. To help break the cycle of undereducation and exploitation, she co-founded the Freedom Fellows Scholarship Program, which funds educational opportunities for vulnerable youth. Vinni holds a bachelor of science in civil and environmental engineering from Rutgers College of Engineering and several certifications in Metaverse, Blockchain technologies and the neuroscience of mental health. She resides in London with her husband Mintoo and two daughters.

Richard and Sabine Chalmers

Richard is a citizen of the United States and the UK and Sabine is a citizen of the United States with German and Indian origin. They have one daughter, Natasha. They have lived in London, Miami, Stamford, Brussels and New York and believe strongly in the power of education to transform lives, which was their main inspiration for becoming friends of Room to Read.

Richard received a degree in business studies from the University of Edinburgh before training to become a lawyer with Berwin Leighton in London. He practiced family and litigation law in England, Florida and Connecticut before dedicating himself wholly to raising Natasha and volunteering for various causes. He has served on parents' associations at Natasha's schools in Brussels and New York, coached rugby at the International School of Brussels for three years, and served as president of the United Nations International School athletics association. Richard also chairs the board of the apartment building where the family lives in New York. On a personal level, he enjoys sports, travel and photography.

Sabine is general counsel of BT Group Plc, formerly known as British Telecom. Previously, she served as chief legal and corporate affairs officer and aecretary to the board of directors at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI). She is qualified as a solicitor in England and is a member of the New York State Bar. Sabine is a member of the board of directors of ABI and also serves on several professional councils and not-for-profit boards, including the Royal National Theatre and the International Baccalaureate. Sabine’s education reflects her global background. She spent her formative years as a student in the Philippines at the International School Manila, went on to graduate from London School of Economics and received her solicitors’ qualification at London’s College of Law.

Conor and Joanna Davis

Conor and Jo live in London, with their two teenage boys, Fred and Woody. They are both passionate believers in education being able to transform the lives of kids across the world and create a different trajectory both for them personally and economically for the country they live in. Whilst in Indonesia they saw first-hand the inspirational work that Room to Read doing and the results being achieved, they were very keen to work closer with the organisation.

Jo grew up just outside London, went to Southampton University, before working for Virgin. She gave that up with the birth of their first child and now helps with local community and school charities. Conor is the Head of Financial Institutions Sales & Solutions at Citi. He runs the sales force and relationship management function globally across equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities. Conor joined Citi in 2007 as Head of European Distressed and High Yield trading having previously worked at Bank of America and Deutsche Bank. He grew up in Belfast before going to Loughborough and Cambridge Universities, and first tried to become a professional rugby player having represented Ireland at junior levels, but injury forced him into finance. He still is active in the sport coaching kids at Wimbledon RFC every Sunday morning! Conor also sits on the diversity and inclusion board for Citi in EMEA and is a proud ally for Citi’s LGBTQ+ community.

Craig and Raquel Dawson

Craig and Raquel are both Americans from Southern California. They have been married for over 20 years and have three teenage children. Their family has lived abroad for over 10 years including Munich and London. Craig and Raquel are both UC graduates. Craig received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, while Raquel received hers from the University of California, Los Angeles. They both also have a master of business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Craig is a managing director at PIMCO in their London office. He is head of PIMCO Europe, Middle East and Africa. Craig has been at PIMCO for over 20 years. He is a member of the firm’s executive committee. Craig’s previous roles at PIMCO include head of strategic business management, head of PIMCO’s business in in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, and head of product management in Europe. Craig has over 25 years of investment experience.

Before business school, Raquel worked at Wilshire Associates, an investment consulting firm. After getting her master of business administration, Raquel focused on strategy consulting, particularly in the financial services industry. Eventually, Raquel became a stay-at-home mother. She has focused her time on managing her family and raising her children. She is also an active member of her children’s parent associations including the annual fund committee, gala committee and charity fundraisers.

Marisa Drew

Marisa is the inaugural chief sustainability officer for Standard Chartered Bank. Marisa's responsibilities include evolving the bank’s sustainability ambition and strategy, establishing key sustainability platforms and partnerships, chairing the group’s sustainability forum and overseeing the bank’s netzero and other public commitments. Marisa is also responsible for driving Standard Chartered’s sustainability advisory and financing activity with its global client base.

Marisa joins from Credit Suisse where she was the CSO and the global head of the sustainability strategy, sdvisory and finance group, where she was responsible for setting the sustainability strategy and ambition for the bank and for creating and facilitating sustainable investments on behalf of the bank’s wealth, institutional and corporate clients.

From 2013 to 2017, Marisa was the co-head of investment banking and capital markets for EMEA. Before this role, she held many other leadership roles at the bank since joining in 2003, including as global co-head of the global markets solutions group, encompassing equity and debt capital markets, leveraged finance and derivatives products. Before this, Marisa worked for Merrill Lynch, in private equity and for the investment bank, Kidder Peabody.

Marisa was appointed in early 2022 as a NED of the U.S.-listed broadband and mobile company, Liberty Global plc and late 2021 as a non-executive director of the City of London Corporation. She further serves on the advisory boards of the Aspen Institute UK, the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, the FCA’s markets practitioner panel and on several high-level working groups sponsored by the World Economic Forum and the UN, including the UN Oceans Panel. Marisa's external activities include charitable advisory board roles for Cash & Rocket, The Wharton School and Room to Read. In 2022, Marisa was recognised by Sustainability Magazine as one of the Top 10 CSOs of a Global Corporation and in 2021 as one of 100 Global Visionary Leaders by Meaningful Business and EY.

Marisa has also been recognized by the BBC as one of the Most Powerful Women in Britain and by Fortune Magazine as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in International Business.

Marisa received a bachelor of arts in finance and marketing with distinction from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and a master of business administration with distinction from the Wharton School.

Jerry del Missier

Jerry founded Copper Street Capital in July 2015. He is responsible for overseeing all investment activities within the firm and setting the firm’s strategic direction. He has extensive experience in the financial services industry including business acquisition, growth, restructuring and reengineering. Prior to founding Copper Street, Jerry was co-chief executive officer of Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank and subsequently, chief operating officer for Barclays Bank Plc (1997–2012). During his time at Barclays he held various executive leadership positions and played a key leadership role in the acquisition and integration of Lehman Brothers and the post-crisis restructuring of the bank.

Previously, Jerry was a senior managing director of derivative products for Bankers Trust (1988–1997). He started his career at Scotiabank (1987–1988) in Toronto. Jerry holds a master's of business administration from Queens University (1987) and a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Queens University (1985). 

Elio (Chair) and Maria Leoni Sceti

Elio Leoni Sceti has over 30 years of experience in the consumer goods and media sectors. He is co-founder, Chairman and chief crafter of The Craftory, the first investment house for mission-driven challenger brands in Consumer Goods. Elio is also Chairman of LSG Holdings
and was formerly CEO of Iglo Birdseye until June 2015, when he oversaw its sale to Nomad Foods. Previously, Elio was CEO of EMI Music from 2008 to 2010 and he earlier held senior leadership roles, firstly at Procter & Gamble and then at Reckitt Benckiser, where he served as CMO, global head of Innovation and then head of the European operations. He holds a degree in Economics from LUISS in Rome, where he also passed the Dottore Commercialista post-graduate bar exam.

Maria is the founder and creative director of Sonia Petroff, a luxury costume jewelry and accessory brand. Maria received her bachelor of arts with honors in economics from Wake Forest University and her master's degree in international management from Thunderbird AGSIM, having studied along the way in Vienna, Oxford and Paris. She is a patron of the RPO and speaks four languages. Her first job was in Rome at Saatchi and Saatchi, enabling her to learn skills that would soon prove essential for her own brand journey. While living in Paris, Maria founded Global Access, a language school for corporate management, based on the then avant-garde method of phone conversation learning. In the following years, Maria focused on her family’s growth and progress, until she was recently entrusted with Sonia Petroff’s collection.

Björn Nilsson

Björn is a private investor. Björn was previously a senior partner at Triton, a European investment firm, since the firm’s inception. Over the 20 years at Triton, Björn held various roles within both private equity and credit investing and he was part of the investment committee of the firm. Prior to Triton, Björn was at Chase Manhattan Bank, both in New York and London, working mainly with leverage finance and high yield origination.

Björn is currently the vice chairman of Rederi AB Gotland, a Swedish based maritime transportation company.

Björn is also the chairman of Human Rights Watch’s Stockholm Committee and a trustee of the Young Nilsson Foundation.

Björn was born and grew up in Sweden, went to high school and the Naval Academy in Stockholm, and then moved to New York. He holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Columbia University in New York. He lives in London with his wife Sandra and children Aliya, David and Alice.

John and Lizzie Ridding

John is CEO of the Financial Times Group and FT.com. He was formerly editor and publisher of the Financial Times, Asia, as well as chairman of Pearson in Asia. John led the launch of the Asia edition of the FT in 2003. It won the award for the best newspaper from the Society of Publishers in Asia in its launch year and received top awards for business reporting, scoops and newspaper design at the same ceremony in 2006. He graduated from Oxford University with a first-class honors degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

Lizzie Ridding is a board member, philanthropist and consultant with a career spanning over 25 years in management, communications, partnerships, events and fundraising in the UK, Europe, USA, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Lizzie Ridding was the Founding Managing Director of the City Music Foundation until the birth of her daughter Scarlett in 2014. Lizzie established the City Music Foundation in 2012, and in 2013, Lizzie ran the Lord Mayor's Appeal, a year long charitable campaign for the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Roger Gifford. The City Music Foundation was the main beneficiary of the Appeal.

Since 2014, Lizzie has dedicated the majority of her time to her family, whilst continuing to be involved with a number of worthwhile causes close to her heart. 

Before joining the City Music Foundation, Lizzie was Head of Events and Partnership at the Financial Times for 5 years, responsible for global events strategy and implementation, media partnerships and communications. Previous to the FT, Lizzie worked at Credit Suisse as a Senior Event Planner, and at EdenCancan, a celebrity-driven consumer PR company, where Lizzie ran the events and sponsorship division. 
Lizzie's earlier career includes working for Sahara India Pariwar in India, and a year spent as an English teacher in Miyazaki, Japan. 

A keen musician, Lizzie has a degree in music from the University of Bristol, and plays the violin, piano, and guitar. Lizzie is a qualified yoga teacher, having recently passed her 200YTT, and is also somewhat of an oenophile, having completed her WSET Advanced certificate. Lizzie lives in Highgate London with her husband John, their children Scarlett and Oliver, and dogs Yuki and Maggie. 

Pete Rosenbauer

Pete is the founder of R5 Capital Ltd., a global capital advisory firm. With extensive experience from leadership roles at HPS Investment Partners, Renshaw Bay, and BlackRock Inc., Pete is a seasoned professional in the finance industry.

Residing in London with his wife Michelle and their three daughters. Pete's dedication extends beyond finance. He is deeply passionate about education, believing it to be a catalyst for societal progress.

Teresa Teague

Teresa is a co-founder and partner of TTB and has 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry in US, Europe and Asia.

Previously Teresa was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where she spent 20 years working in a variety of capacities including Corporate Finance, Leveraged Finance, Mergers & Acquisition Advisory, and most recently she was the Co-Head of the Consumer and TMT Groups in Asia Ex Japan.

During her tenure in banking, she advised on and helped finance over $250 billion in transactions in the consumer, TMT, financial services and healthcare spaces, including public to private acquisitions in the UK and US, numerous initial public offerings in the US, UK and Hong Kong, and a number of leveraged buyouts.

Teresa has a B.A. with Honors from Dartmouth College and has an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.

Erica Wax and Andrew Balls

Erica is the co-founder of Impact 100 London, a philanthropic fund that invests in local charities working with marginalised women and girls. She has been a governor at Ark Elvin Academy in Wembley for the last six years, the advisory board of The Sutton Trust and on Harvard University’s global policy council. Much of Erica’s philanthropy focuses on funding organisations that provide access and opportunity for young people and women whether it’s via the creative arts, nutrition, literacy, sport, technology or soft skills — as well as strengthening charities themselves through capacity building. Before moving to London about 12 years ago with her family, Erica worked in global debt markets at Merrill Lynch in NYC and London, and in politics and policy in California and Washington DC. Erica has a bachelor of arts in politics from University of California and a master's degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Andrew is chief investment officer for global fixed income at PIMCO. He is a member of the firm’s investment committee and executive committee and manages a range of global portfolios. Before joining PIMCO in 2006, Andrew spent eight years at the Financial Times as an economics correspondent and columnist in London, New York and Washington, DC. He holds a bachelor's degree from Oxford, a master's degree from Harvard, and was a lecturer in economics at Keble College, Oxford.

Dagny and Ryad Yousuf

Dagny is a Mexican-American physicist, who settled in London for over 20 years. After completing her Ph.D. from Imperial College in cosmology, Dagny’s recent interests have turned to supporting maths and science teaching to young children through creative activities. Dagny has explored extensively the power of creative writing, dance, music, drawing and role playing as a way to inspire young children towards physics. Dagny believes an early accessibility and inspiration towards these seemingly complex but exhilarating topics in physics can create a lifelong passion for the wonders of the natural world. She also collaborated closely with Professor Stephon Alexander in his book "The Jazz of Physics," exploring the links between physics and jazz music.

Ryad is a partner at Goldman Sachs International, based in London. Ryad is responsible for emerging market sales and distribution for equities and fixed-income products. Growing up in Bangladesh, Ryad experienced firsthand the power of education in lifting people out of poverty. With his core mandate in Africa, Central Asia, Middle East and Central Europe, Ryad travels extensively to many of the Room to Read operating countries, bringing a deep understanding of society, government and economic situation in each of these places.

James Arnett, Capco

James is the Capco managing partner for Asia Pacific, based out of Hong Kong. He has over 20 years international experience in consulting, banking and technology, working with some of the world’s largest financial institutions and a number of the UK’s pioneer internet banks. He led and built out Capco’s UK finance, risk and compliance practice and was the head of the UK capital markets practice before moving to Asia. He joined Capco in 2011, having held roles at IBM Global Business Services, Capita, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the Co-operative Bank.

James has extensive experience managing global client relationships and transformation programs across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, and a successful track record in applying an entrepreneurial approach to developing fast-growth businesses. He has deep expertise in emerging technologies and data-led transformation within capital markets and banking.

James first started working with Room to Read in 2006, and led the London chapter of volunteers between 2013 and 2015 before joining the technology advisory committee in 2015.

Alex Belous, Education Portfolio Manager, The Cisco Foundation

Alex began his career as a first-grade teacher. He then served as the internet technology manager for the Arizona Department of Education. Joining Cisco in 1998, Alex served as one of the founders of the Cisco Network Academy. After six years, he became the educational specialist within the Cisco corporate affairs group. Presently as the Cisco Foundation and Cisco Public Benefit Investments Education Portfolio manager, he is responsible for grants with Cisco NGO partners that have helped millions of students and teachers. He also serves as co-chair of the STEM task force. Alex holds a bachelor of arts in early childhood education and two master's degrees in elementary education/reading instruction and counseling psychology.

Daniel Freeman, Chief Commercial Officer, Netlify

Daniel has an extensive career as a GoToMarket executive and advisor for leading enterprise software and infrastructure companies. He is the chief commercial officer of Netlify, an upstart internet infrastructure company funded by Andreesen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins. He has held product, marketing and sales leadership roles at several leading companies: Atlassian, Cloudflare, Sumo Logic and Symantec. As an advisor, he has helped many companies including BrowserStack, Podium and Upguard. To start his career, Daniel held various product management roles for both Cobalt Networks and Brightmail.  He holds a bachelor of arts from Claremont Mckenna College and a master's degree in international business from ESCP-EAP in Paris.

Matthew Glotzbach, CEO, Quizlet

Matthew is the CEO of Quizlet, a global education technology company whose mission is to harness the world’s knowledge to allow anyone to unlock their learning potential. He has over 20 years of experience in consumer and enterprise technology, product strategy, product management, marketing and sales. Before joining Quizlet, Matthew was the vice president of product management at YouTube, responsible for YouTube's subscription and music business, and a member of the YouTube executive leadership team. He formerly led the global creator product and technology direction. He served as the managing director of YouTube in Europe, Middle East and Africa where he was responsible for the strategy, development and management of YouTube’s business and product direction. In 2007, he launched Google Apps, Google's cloud computing suite for business. Matthew holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University.

Andrea Leszek, EVP & COO, Technology, Salesforce.com

Andrea leads engineering operations and services for the technology organization, focusing on the success of Salesforce’s customers and the enablement of the engineering teams. Her team includes engineering functions responsible for site reliability, service management, release management, customer success engineering, and technology communications and documentation. Andrea’s team also runs internal engineering enablement such as innovation programs, engineering training, employee recognition, diversity, technology marketing and agile coaching. She is a founding member of Salesforce’s Women in Technology network and is passionate about increasing diversity in tech. She holds a bachelor of science and master of science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Frank Lucido, VP of Information Technology, Making Waves Foundation

Frank is VP of information technology for Making Waves Foundation, a non-profit committed to advancing educational opportunities for college-bound, career-minded, historically underrepresented and underserved youth. This includes responsibility for internal and externally facing technologies related to programs and operations and the multiple real estate development, construction, and property management projects currently in progress to expand Making Waves' impact and reach.

Frank was formerly the director of IT at Room to Read. His leadership drove the back-end business transformation and migration to the cloud that allows Room to Read to scale operations and innovate in a constantly changing world. With over 20 years of experience, with roles in the private sector ranging from software developer to CIO, he brings a broad but intimate understanding of and passion for Room to Read’s mission, vision and goals. Frank holds a bachelor of arts in English literature from Dominican University.

Ambarish Malpani, VP of Engineering, Edmodo

Ambarish Malpani has over 20 years in software development and management. He was the CTO and VP of engineering at Cenzic, Inc. and co-founded ValiCert in 1996, which he helped take public in July 2000. Ambarish also has a wide range of experience in the software engineering and development area — from creating standards in IETF to creating the first Windows version of Apache. Ambarsh has a master of science in computer science from Univeristy of California, Santa Barbara, and a bachelor of technology in computer science from I.I.T. Bombay.

Vibhu Mittal, CEO, Edmodo

Vibhu serves as the current CEO of Edmodo, a K–12 education resource network for teachers, students and parents. He came to Edmodo through the acquisition of Root-1, a mobile educational platform startup. Before Root-1, he worked in research at Google where he worked on a variety of products including Google Scholar and Google Translate. He was also responsible for helping set up the Google engineering offices in India. He has also worked at Xerox PARC, CMU/LTI, Pitt/LRDC, USC/ISI, Ohio State University and TIFR, Bombay.

Archana Ramamoorthy, Chief Technology Officer, North America, Workday

Archana is the chief technology officer, North America, at Workday. Since joining Workday in 2013, she’s led strategy, design and development for the company's portfolio of cybersecurity products, while also helping define the technology innovation path for Workday's key customers. In her current role, Archana focuses on helping customers and prospects get the most value out of Workday through industry engagements driving digital transformation strategy with customers, and being the liaison between prospects, product and technology teams. She leads key initiatives to further Workday's technology mission, including defining the company's adoption of emerging standards and practices. Before joining Workday, Archana held product and engineering roles building hardware and software products for companies like AT&T, Triangle Biosystems, and Deutsche Bank Global Technology. Archana is an active member of the Bay Area CIO Leadership Association, Women in Cybersecurity, and Women in Identity, and a founding member of Neythri. Archana received a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering from SRM University in India.

Brett Robson, IT Workplace Engineering Manager, Atlassian

Brett Robson is the IT Workplace Engineering manager at Atlassian, where he is responsible for office infrastructure and services. Brett has over 15 years of experience working across corporate and not-for-profit organizations, with a focus on IT infrastructure, service delivery and strategy. Before his time at Atlassian, Brett spent time as the CIO for Relationships Australia and over 10 years at Cochlear Ltd., holding senior positions in infrastructure management and architecture.

Paul Sommerin, CAPCO

Based in Hong Kong, Paul leads Capco’s Asia Pacific digital, data and technology business, which includes India, Japan, China and South East Asia, and is also a client partner for a number Capco largest clients. Before Capco, Paul spent eight years with EY based in Dubai. During his time at EY, Paul has led some of the largest transformations across the Middle East and Africa, including working with the Central Banks in Egypt and Pakistan on the modernization of the country’s financial markets. He has worked with some of the largest banks on their innovation, fintech and technology agenda’s. He also helped create the technology platform for the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia. Paul was the global client service partner for ENBD, where he was responsible for managing the entire global relationship between ENBD and EY.

Paul started his career at IBM as part of the transformational deals team, which included working extensively in Emerging Markets of Latin America, Africa, India and across Asia. Before IBM, Paul spent 10 years living in the United States, working for Capco, Wipro and KPMG BearingPoint in New York and Los Angeles. During this time, Paul worked with key clients including Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, TD Bank and PNC Bank.

Paul is also a member of Australian Institute of Company Directors and currently sits on the board of Playability Ltd. PlayAbility is an expanding not-for-profit NDIS provider in early Intervention services for families who have a child aged from birth to school age with a disability or developmental delay.

Sai Sundar, Head of Product, Amazon Music

Sai is head of product at Amazon Music, leading product management and operational initiatives for their royalties payment platforms. Before this, he was a senior vice president at Wells Fargo, leading and mobilizing large-scale enterprise transformation initiatives. Sai has managed multiple product groups and digital transformation efforts, centered on delivering delightful customer experiences while building, managing and scaling enterprise solutions. Sai has expertise in strategy, change management, product management and software development methodologies. He has a bachelor of science from Visvesvaraya University, India, and a master of science in engineering from the University of Mississippi. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, running, cooking, spending time with his wife and two children.

Tim Wood, Senior Program Manager, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Tim specializes in applying information technology to address the problems of poverty and health in developing countries. After 12 years at Microsoft working on software development, Tim joined the Grameen Foundation’s Technology Center in 2002 where he pioneered replication of the Grameen Village Phone program, launching sustainable initiatives in Uganda and Rwanda and co-authoring the Village Phone Replication Manual. Tim went on to implement mobile money pilot programs for microfinance institutions in the Philippines and Kenya and spent four years as the director of mobile health innovation at Grameen Foundation, creating the MOTECH platform to deliver multiple mobile-service initiatives at scale in India and Africa. Tim joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2013 and is working across a wide range of information technology initiatives.