Who we are

The Young Global Leaders ® Community is an accelerator for a dynamic community of exceptional people with the vision, courage, and influence to drive positive change in the world.

Our growing membership of more than 1,400 members and alumni of 120 nationalities includes civic and business innovators, entrepreneurs, technology pioneers, educators, activists, artists, journalists, and more.

Aligned with the World Economic Forum’s mission, we seek to drive public-private co-operation in the global public interest. We are united by the belief that today’s pressing problems present an opportunity to build a better future across sectors and boundaries.

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Meet our members

Barbara Maul

Board Member, Child Center of Ny Inc, USA

Barbara Mulvee is a seasoned financial services executive, strategic advisor and angel investor. Most recently, she was a Managing Director and Global COO of Securities Research at Credit Suisse. During her 12 years at the bank, she held multiple roles, primarily leading business strategy for the Global Markets division. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, she spent five years at Deloitte Consulting serving financial services clients. Barbara was appointed as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2020, where she is currently serving a five year term. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Child Center of New York, a non-profit focused on providing children and their families with healthcare and other social services in New York City, where she chairs the strategic planning committee and sits on the finance committee. Barbara currently resides in New York City with her husband, Conner.

Abasi Ene-Obong

Chief Executive Officer and Founder, 54gene, USA

Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of 54gene, a health technology company advancing the state of healthcare through large-scale discovery and translational research, advanced molecular diagnostics, and clinical programs for the benefit of Africans and the global population. He holds a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of London, a Masters in human molecular genetics from Imperial College London, and a Masters in Business Management from Claremont Colleges, California. He also worked as a cancer researcher and published a seminal paper on pancreatic cancer immunology, Gastroenterology Journal. He has extensive experience operating in the US, UK, and Nigerian healthcare industries. Prior to 54gene, Dr. Ene-Obong worked with leading healthcare organizations, including Fortune 100 pharmaceutical companies, academic and research institutions, and governments as a management consultant with PwC and IQVIA (formerly QuintilesIMS). Founded in 2019, 54gene has made the Time Magazine list of 12 innovations that would change healthcare in the 2020s and has been listed by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper as 1 of 5 innovations that would improve healthcare for Africans. 54gene also made the Fast Company list of the world's Most Innovative Companies’ in 2020. It was also awarded the best health technology solution by AppsAfrica. Dr. Ene-Obong was listed as 1 of the 30 most innovative entrepreneurs on the African continent in 2019 by Quartz Africa. In September 2020, Dr. Ene-Obong was labelled a Nigerian hero in the fight against COVID-19, by a Nigerian newspaper, ThisDay. Dr. Ene-Obong is also included in Fortune’s 40 under 40 most influential people in healthcare for the year 2020.

Sofia Elizondo

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Brightseed, USA

As an award-winning tech business leader, Sofia Elizondo is committed to endowing people with fundamentally longer and healthier lives. She has built multimillion-dollar companies and brands in the consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and technology industries. Before Brightseed, Sofia led the commercialization of plant-based protein products, including the novel mung bean protein isolate to replace egg functionality. Sofia began her career at the Boston Consulting Group and was also a founding member of the BCG Henderson Institute; the consulting firm's think tank on the future of business innovation. She also served as an advisor to the UN Global Compact, the United Nations agency focused on the private sector, while it developed its global corporate sustainability standards released at the 2011 World Economic Forum in Davos. Her decades of leadership in corporate social innovation now enable Brightseed's mission to resource companies looking for scientifically validated and naturally derived products that can transform human health. Sofia holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She lives in San Francisco, California, with her husband and two young daughters. Accolades include Inspiring Women Leading in the AgTech Sector by Food Tank (2019), VentureBeats Women in AI - Award in the Entrepreneur category (2020), Top 100 Female Founders from Inc. Magazine (2021).

Gregoire Pictet

Head of Human Resources, Asia, Pictet Group, Switzerland

For over ten years, Grégoire has been working for the family business, a Swiss private Bank, in Switzerland, the Bahamas, and the UK. Grégoire currently leads the North American market for private clients out of Geneva, his hometown. Developing strong relationships is key in everything he does, both professionally and personally. Grégoire believes that more than ever, the World requires human connectivity and inquisitive minds. Grégoire holds an MBA from IESE and a MA from Edinburgh University. Outside work, he enjoys reading, playing tennis and hiking.

Gregory Rockson

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, mPharma, Ghana

Gregory Rockson is the co-founder and CEO of mPharma, a technology-driven, vendor-managed inventory and retail
pharmacy operator with operations across eight countries in Africa. An alumni of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community and tech pioneer, he was a PPIA Fellow in Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and a Rotary Scholar at University of Copenhagen.

Charles Zhaoxuan YANG

Chief Financial Officer, Netease Inc., People's Republic of China

Charles Zhaoxuan Yang has served as So-Young International Inc.'s independent director since May 2019. Mr. Yang is the chief financial officer of NetEase, Inc., NASDAQ: NTES, and a director of KANZHUN LIMITED (NASDAQ: BZ). Before joining NetEase, Inc. in 2017, Mr. Yang was an executive director of the China technology, media and telecommunications, and corporate finance team at J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Limited based in Hong Kong and worked there for almost a decade. Mr. Yang holds a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Hong Kong and a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University with majors in Economics and Mathematics. Mr. Yang is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Michigan.

Akiko Naka

CEO, Wantedly Inc, Japan

Akiko Naka is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wantedly, a social networking service for professionals. Following its official launch in February 2012, Wantedly grew to 2.5 million monthly active users and 30,000 corporations. Wantedly has become the leading professional social networking service in Japan. Naka was the youngest female founder to take a company public in Japan.

H.R.H. Prince Mateen of Brunei Darussalam

Prince, The State of Brunei, Brunei Darussalam

He is the tenth child and fourth son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and a Major of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. He accompanies his father to numerous events, such as during the US-ASEAN special summit.

Sangu Delle

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CarePoint, Ghana

Sangu is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of CarePoint, a tech forward healthcare network serving over 1 million patients across 65+ facilities in Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, with a vision to "build Africa's healthcare future." He is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of Golden Palm Investments Corporation, whose portfolio companies, including Andela, Flutterwave and mPharma, have raised over $1.5 billion in venture financing. Sangu co-founded CleanAcwa, a water and sanitation non-profit that has worked in 160 communities in Ghana impacting over 200,000 people. Sangu serves on several boards of directors and advisory boards including Harvard University's Board of Overseers, the Peddie School, Ashesi University, Ghana International School, Harvard University's Center for African Studies, Harvard Medical School and Oxford University. Sangu graduated with highest honors in African Studies and Economics from Harvard College, a Doctor of Law from Harvard Law School, an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master’s in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University and a PhD in Economic Anthropology and African Studies from the University of Birmingham (U.K.). He is the author of "Making Futures: Young Entrepreneurs in a Dynamic Africa." He is a TED Fellow, a Tutu Fellow and an Eisenhower Fellow.