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

Eva Maydell

Member of the European Parliament, European Parliament, Belgium

Eva Maydell is a Member of the European Parliament and President of European Movement International, the largest organisation of associations and civil societies in Europe.

Maydell´s policy priorities include innovation and the use of new technologies as well as supporting entrepreneurs and sustainable investments in Europe. In the European Parliament, she is a member of the Industry and Economic Affairs Committees, Vice-Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Japan and member of the Delegation for Relations with the U.S.

MEP Maydell is the EPP Group Rapporteur on the Chips Act and the rapporteur on the Chips Joint Undertaking, a massive new planned EU public-private partnership for microchips. MEP Maydell is also the lead rapporteur in the Industry Committee on the AI Act, the first-ever general law on Artificial Intelligence, as well as the EPP Group rapporteur on the NIS 2 Directive on cybersecurity.

Eva Maydell is a Board Member for World Economic Forum’s Digital Europe program and a member of the WEF Global Future Council of Europe. Maydell has been awarded the European Parliament's MEP of the Year Award twice and has been featured in FT's 'New Europe 100' ranking of CEE's emerging change-makers, European Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, POLITICO’s 40 most influential MEPs and “POLITICO 28” list of people who shape Europe.

Asif Zahir

Deputy Managing Director, Ananta Apparels Ltd, Bangladesh

Deputy Managing Director, Ananta Group, one of the leading conglomerates in Bangladesh engaged in the Apparel and Textile Manufacturing, Real Estate, Hospitality, Retail and e-Commerce, Financial Services and Banking sectors.

[1] Member of the senior leadership team of Ananta Apparels Ltd, one of the largest exporters of Apparel and Textiles in Bangladesh with revenues of $350 million and employing over 30,000 people. Ananta Apparels is engaged in the production of jeans, suits, outerwear, lingerie, activewear and sweaters to leading retailers in the US and EU markets.

[2] Deputy Managing Director of Ananta Real Estate Ltd, one of the leading real estate developers of Bangladesh. The company is currently engaged in the development of several ground breaking projects in the capital city of Dhaka, including a luxury gated condominium complex ("Ananta Terraces") with world class sustainable living features and the first of its kind mixed-use project ("Ananta Business District") comprising of a Luxury Hotel, Branded Residences, Grade A Offices and Retail Spaces all in a highly secured and accessible location.

[3] Co-Founder and Managing Director, Sindabad.com Ltd, one of the largest B2B and B2C focused e-commerce marketplaces in the country serving over 50,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and several million consumers with affordable and convenient procurement solutions.

[4] Formerly: Spent several years in the USA working as a Product Manager at Google, focusing on developing applications for the Android mobile operating platform.

Bsc in Computer Science, Stanford University, USA
MBA, Harvard University, USA
YGL, WEF

Niklas Adalberth

Founder and Executive Chairman, Norrsken Foundation, Sweden

Niklas Adalberth, the unicorn entrepreneur behind payment start-up Klarna, donated $125 million to found the Norrsken Foundation, a tech-for-good ecosystem for social impact entrepreneurs daring to tackle societies biggest challenges. Norrsken currently houses 125+ companies in Europe's largest impact hub in Stockholm and is opening up Africas largest hub for entrepreneurs in Kigali Rwanda. Norrsken Foundation have also launched different impact funds in Europe and Africa.

Lea Wermelin

Member of Parliament, Parliament of Denmark (Folketinget), Denmark

Lea Wermelin currently holds the position as Minister for the Environment in The Social Democratic government of Denmark. She is a member of the Danish Parliament and former Chairman for The Parliament's Fiscal Affairs Committee as well as former co-chair for the Environment and Food Committee and the Climate, Energy & Utilities committee. Since she was elected to parliament at the age of 30, she has represented her home region, Bornholm, and their key interests in green energy and circular economy. For more than a decade she has been actively engaged in politics and was in 2020 elected to be one out of the 40 most promising young leaders under 40 in Europe.

Caroline Blanch Israel

Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group, Australia

Caroline Blanch Israel is a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group. As a leader within the firm’s Consumer Practice, she works with some of the world’s leading consumer goods companies and retailers, specializing in the role of e-commerce, data and analytics to transform how people transact, work and live. Caroline is a deep believer in the power of technology and data to drive change and our collective responsibility to harness these for social and economic good. Outside of her work in digital and retail, Caroline chairs the People functions for BCG Australia & New Zealand and champions Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for BCG Asia Pacific, working to further representation, affiliation and community engagement including LGBTQIA+, cultural diversity and disability inclusion. She has been recognized as an INvolve HERoes Role Model for future women leaders in business. Caroline holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Law degree from the University of Melbourne, where she was awarded the law school’s highest honour, the Supreme Court Prize.

Veronika Linardi

Chief Executive Officer, Single Family Office, Togs Capital, Singapore

Drawing on personal experience as a serial entrepreneur and founder, Veronika through her Single Family Office, invests in alternative investments in high growth emerging markets with a very strong focus on sustainability. They are also building one of the leading and profitable tech enabled ecosystems in SEA including Electric Vehicle, logistic, supply chain, and commerce infrastructure.

Veronika is also a co-founder of one of the largest Human Capital development companies in Indonesia (Qerja.com, Jobs. Id, Karir. Com, Linardi Associates, Kelas.com). Qerja is Indonesia’s first online community for empowering professionals on making the right decisions for their careers by creating a platform for professionals to share knowledge, salary and experiences. Qerja introduces transparency to an otherwise opaque working environment.

Sakaja Johnson

Governor, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Sakaja assumed his role as the Governor Elect of Nairobi County since August 2022. Previously as a senator, he served as the vice chairperson of the committee on National Security, Defense and Foreign Relations, a standing committee on regional integration, national security and foreign relations, international relations, agreements, treaties and conventions. Sakaja was awarded the African Achievers Award Change- Maker of the Year in 2016 in recognition of his leadership skills and youth empowerment in Kenya

Mia Perdomo

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Aequales, Colombia

Mia Perdomo is an entrepreneur, activist and feminist. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aequales, a company that provides tools for organizations to close their gender gaps through measurement, consultancy and technology. She is also the Co-Creator of Par Ranking, the largest corporate gender equality ranking in Latin America. She was named one of the 100 transforming women of Colombia, one of the 101 people that are changing the world of work by the BBC, and one of the most creative people in business in 2020 by Fast Company. She received a degree in Psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia and an MSc in human rights from the London School of Economics. She is also a Global Competitive Leadership Program Fellow at Georgetown University and an ECLA Program Fellow at Columbia University's Business School. She loves nature, dancing, and is curious about anything that brings passion to people's lives.

Florian DELMAS

Chairman, Andros & Cie, France

Florian Delmas joined Andros straight after finishing his degree in agri-food engineering. A fast learner, Florian rose quickly through the ranks. He was named Director of R&D in 2011 and promoted to Director of Industrial Products, Sourcing, and Primary Processing three years later. After cementing his understanding and competencies with an MBA at the prestigious HEC business school in 2016, Florian took the post of CEO of Andros France, spearheading the implementation of an ambitious development strategy. Two years later, in June 2018, he was named CEO of the Andros Group. In 2022, Florian will be appointed Chairman and CEO of the famous 3 billion Euro global food company. Heavily involved in changing the rules of his industry via the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, Florian published a book in 2021 called "Planète A, Plan B," which describes a new global and optimistic way of building a better world. He is also committed to inventing new Leadership approaches.