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.
Meet our members
Stefany Bello
Stefany Bello is a Head of Digital Partnerships and Strategic Alliances in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at Mastercard. In her role, she is responsible for executing Mastercard's digital strategy with digital giants, marketplaces, streaming services, e-commerce software enablers, social media platforms, gig platforms, ride-sharing, fast fashion, gaming, crypto, and innovative startups. Stefany is responsible for expanding Mastercard's digital footprint, managing relationships with key players, and driving innovation and transformational efforts across digital payments in LAC. Before this role, Stefany led partner engagements with Operating Systems and Social Network players globally and with a broader Product team, launching proximity and remote wallet solutions leveraging the Mastercards tokenization platform. Stefany joined Mastercard in 2009 and has played a key role in driving Mastercard preference, product strategy, co-brand engagements, value-added services, and data insights. Stefany also holds a patent for the Mastercard Aid network, an end-to-end, non-financial service designed to streamline aid distribution even in the absence of telecommunications infrastructure. Stefany holds a B.A. in International Business Management with a double concentration in finance and Latin American Studies from Manhattanville College in N.Y. Additionally, she is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian and proficient in French.
Li Chen
Chen Li has taken roles in Gotion High-Tech since 2014, including Director of Silicon Valley R&D Center, CEO of Gotion US, Director of Global R&D Centers, VP of Engineering R&D Institute, and now SVP and President of Gotion Global. Before Gotion, he worked with think tanks Bridging Nations Foundation and Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC. He holds a BS from Purdue University and MPA from Columbia University.
Fawaz Farooqui
Fawaz Farooqui is a public sector entrepreneur and innovator who led multiple transformations and established several entities and companies. He dedicated his career to improving the quality of life in Saudi Arabia and creating unforgettable experiences that are inspired by the culture and people of Saudi. He currently serves as the Chief Advisor to the Saudi Minister of Culture and sits on the board of several organizations such as Saudia Airlines, Cruise Saudi Corporation, AlUla Development Company and the Saudi Sports for All Federation. In addition, he is the interim CEO of Cruise Saudi, which he led to launch the cruise industry in Saudi and promote the Red Sea to global cruise lines. Previously, Fawaz was appointed as the first CEO of the country’s National Transformation Program (NTP) to lead the first revamp of the program to enhance execution and delivery, resulting in specialized programs, such as Quality of Life, which he helped establish and was a board member of. Before that, Fawaz served as an Advisor to the Minister of Economy and Planning, focusing mainly on recreation and quality of life portfolio of the country. He led the establishment team of the General Entertainment Authority and various other public and social programs focused on improving the quality of life of the citizens in Saudi. Before joining the government, Fawaz led key initiatives in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) where he launched KAEC’s entrepreneurship program, as well as partnering with the global Messengers of Peace (MoP) initiative to initiate several programs in add KAEC on the global agenda of MoP initiative. Fawaz started his career with Saudi Aramco, where he led several transformations, starting from revamping field operations and establishing technology support in Aramco’s Satellite Communications to a complete turnaround and re-launch of the Corporate Telecom Network Operations Center. Fawaz has an MBA from Stanford University. He also earned a BSc in Computer Engineering and Computer Science, a BA in Political Science, and an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. He has authored several technology articles including 3 technical papers that were published in global journals and were presented in different conferences worldwide.
Amit Paley
Amit Paley is the Entrepreneur in Residence at the International Rescue Committee, the global humanitarian organization that provides aid and development in 40 war-affected countries. He previously served as CEO of The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for LGBTQ young people. Under Amit Paley’s leadership, The Trevor Project expanded the number of youth served more than ten-fold, launched a global expansion, and developed innovative technology tools leveraging AI and machine learning that were recognized as one of TIME magazine’s top 100 inventions of the year. Amit was also an Associate Partner at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where his clients included Fortune 500 companies, governments, and non-profit organizations. Amit Paley started his career as a reporter at The Washington Post covering several high-profile beats, including as a foreign correspondent based in Iraq, where his work was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and a financial investigative journalist.
Amit is a sought-after speaker who has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, and CNN. He has been an adjunct professor at City University of New York and served on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Steering Committee, the Executive Committee of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the Board of the Center for Public Integrity, and Chair of the Graduate Council of The Harvard Crimson. Amit Paley graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Aminata Kane
Aminata Kane Ndiaye is the Executive VP of Mobile Financial Services at Orange Middle East and Africa, overseeing mobile money, banking and fintech activities across 17 countries. From 2018 to 2022, she was the CEO of Orange Sierra Leone and the Chairwoman of the Board of Orange Mobile Finance Sierra Leone. Under her leadership, Orange Sierra Leone became the market leader, significantly improved its growth and profitability, and has established itself as a key player in innovation with the launches of mobile money microcredit, Orange energy and e-Education. Prior to this appointment, she was the Chief Marketing Officer for Orange Money in Senegal, a business that has grown exponentially and become profitable in the past two years. From 2009 to 2011, she was a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company in France and Africa, designing strategies and operations for telecommunication and technology providers, banks, and consumer goods manufacturers in Europe and West Africa. She is a graduate from HEC Paris, earned her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and is a MIT Legatum fellow. In 2017, she was named Young Leader of the French African Foundation, and in 2019 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2020, at 36, won the Africa CEO of the Year Award organized by the AfricaCom / AfricaTech Festival. She was in 2021 and 2022 selected as one of the 100 Women CEO in Africa, an initiative by Africa.com and Harvard University. She is a Senior Advisor to the Amadou Mahtar Mbow Association, a board member for several companies and an investor in African tech start ups.
Komal Dadlani
Komal Dadlani is a Biochemist with an MSc from the University of Chile. In 2013 she started Lab4U to democratize science and change the way science is taught with a lab in the pocket. Today Lab4U is present in Latin American and the US with more than 120,000 students using Lab4Physics, their first product. Komal has been a recipient of the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards 2015, Toyota Mother of Invention Award 2017, MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35 Leaders in LatAm 2018, Ashoka Fellow and internationally recognized by The New York Times, Forbes, People Magazine, and the BBC for her work at Lab4U as a top female entrepreneur.
Natashya Gutierrez
Experienced multimedia journalist with a demonstrated history of working in the online media industry. Skilled in digital reporting, breaking news, editing, management, investigative journalism, and content strategy.
As a leader and editor, Natashya built two newsrooms in Asia-Pacific: the Indonesia bureau of multi-award winning newsroom Rappler, and the Asia-Pacific digital news operations for Vice News. Under her watch, the Vice APAC team won several awards for their reporting on human rights in the region.
As a journalist and correspondent, she is trained in text, video, and social media. Natashya is particularly knowledgeable on Southeast Asia, and has lived and worked in Manila, Jakarta, Singapore and Sydney in the last decade. Her work is largely focused on covering women's rights, politics, democracies and disinformation.
Rose Damen
Rose Damen is a Young Global Leader and the Managing Director of Damen Yachting. She has grown this division from luxury yachts into a business that inspires its clients to explore adventurously and also responsibly. Rose introduced a sustainability agenda to Damen Yachting, while supporting broader projects to protect the oceans. She is an advocate for gender balance and diversity. A graduate of INSEAD, Rose has prior experience as an investment research analyst in the UK and NGO coordinator in Sri Lanka. She serves on an number of non-profit boards, including those focused on the arts.
Yashovardhan Lohia
Yashovardhan Lohia started his career at Indorama Ventures in the Packaging Division, overseeing the company's operations across seven countries. Since 2018, he has also helped guide the fibres business, which is a strong growth area for the company. Lohia was appointed Executive Director of the Board of Directors in 2019 and is a member of the Sustainability and Risk Management Committee. He was also Chief Recycling Officer and later appointed as Chief Sustainability Officer. In this position, he plays an important role to define Indorama Ventures’ path to sustainability.