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
David Alexander Walcott
David is a Medical Doctor (MD., Ph.D. MSc.) and Entrepreneur with over 20 years experience as a healthcare & real estate investor in emerging markets. Professionally, he is committed to attracting world-class healthcare resources into emerging markets through Novamed, a healthcare & real estate investment firm that actions best-practices and global insights through its portfolio companies. His firm invests in and develops hospitals, clinics, health technologies & commercial real estate. He is currently building a google campus’-type Smart business district in the first such commercial change-of-use project in the Caribbean, as well as a smart hospital on the legs on the first such acquisition in the English-speaking Caribbean. His work in healthcare has been recognized by Forbes, World Economic Forum, the United Nations and the IMF and his firm led the largest private donation of PPE into the Caribbean and has completed extensive public & private sector projects in emerging market healthcare. He is also Founding Partner of The Visionaries’ Summit & My Destination Experience, knowledge & opportunity exchange platforms designed to attract investment into the Caribbean convening a community controlling US$140 billion in equity that has seeded over US$300 million in investments in the region. A Rhodes Scholar, his academic profile includes Oxford, INSEAD & Harvard and he is the previous Co-Chair of the Global Shapers’ Covid-19 Steering Committee, and Young Global Leader & a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council.
Rafael Paz
Rafael Paz is currently the executive director of the National Competitiveness Council, where he develops the strategic agenda to strengthen the competitiveness of the Dominican Republic. He has extensive training in areas such as governance, public management, business, leadership and political communication. Paz served for six years as Executive Vice President of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), was a member of the National Social Security Council (CNSS), and on the Board of Directors of the Patrimonial Fund of the Reformed Companies (Fonper). He was the first secretary of the National School of Electoral Training and Civil Status (EFEC) of the Central Electoral Board.
Liam Sobey
Nourishing families and communities is part of Liam's DNA. He is a value-driven leader with a passion to feed the world. He is Senior Vice-President of Merchandising, Sourcing & Liquor at Sobeys. Being an active member of his family business, Liam ascribes to its more than century-old tradition of giving back to the community. His motivation to support fairness and equality among communities led him to be the only non-aboriginal executive member of NaMeRes, a not-for-profit group that supports Aboriginal men fighting homelessness and addiction in Canada. Liam is a member of his family firm's governance and business committees. He has founded two investment groups that help next-generation family members learn about the financial markets and the positive impact of investing responsibly for a sustainable future. Liam's passion for family and community has also led him to attend multiple family business seminars, including the Scone Project and the WEF Family Business Conference in Gstaad. Liam is currently a board member of Urban Squash of Toronto and has an MBA from McGill University.
Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman
Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman is Cabinet Minister for Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development in Sri Lanka. He is also General-Secretary of the Ceylon Workers Congress, that works towards the upliftment of historically marginalized plantation worker communities. Thondaman is also one of the youngest MPs elected in Sri Lanka, in 2020, aged 25. In his previous portfolio as State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure, he worked relentlessly to create a conducive environment for plantation workers, ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions and adequate benefits. As Minister for Water Supply, he has been spearheading ambitious reforms in the water sector to increase access to safe and affordable drinking water, create a climate resilience roadmap for water services and a transparent pricing formula that protects the most vulnerable in society. He continues to advocate for the rights of all marginalized people in Sri Lanka, especially workers, women, ethnic minorities and the LGBT+ community. In 2022, he became one of the first MPs to openly support the rights of the LGBT+ community. He is also known for his passion for art, culture and sport. Thondaman has a certification in Criminology from the London School of Economics and an LLB from Northumbria University.
Katsuya Uenoyama
Dr. Katsuya Uenoyama is a Japanese entrepreneur in the machine learning and artificial intelligence space. He founded PKSHA Technology in 2012 and steered it to become Japan's leading AI company.
After earning his PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Tokyo and gaining valuable insights at Boston Consulting Group,
Dr. Uenoyama and PKSHA embarked on an intellectual journey to explore both the potential and challenges of artificial intelligence.
Dr.Uenoyama also leverages his AI expertise to advise Japanese government bodies, including the Digital Agency, as they address the complex challenge of harmonizing technological advancement with human society.
He is also investing in 50+ tech startups cross Asia via PKSHA Capital to help grow the next generation of unicorns and drive innovation in the region.
Aditi Avasthi
Aditi Avasthi is Founder of India's EdTech AI platform Embibe. Embibe is creating learning outcomes at scale through personalising the delivery of education to students in emerging markets. Amongst its many patents and publications, Embibe was recently granted a patent proving learning outcomes being created through its adaptive learning machine. Aditi and her company are the recipients of numerous honours and awards, including: WEF Global Innovator, Accenture Innovator of the Year; CEO of the Year 2019, India; Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Vogue; Woman of the Year 2018; CEO of the Year; Best AI Company in Education; BWDisrupt 40 Under 40 2017; BBC 100 Women 2017; Digital Disruptor, Maximum Business Impact; Woman Entrepreneur of the Year; Fortune 40 Under 40 2015.
Luis Cervantes
Luis Cervantes established and leads General Atlantic’s Mexico office, focusing on the firm’s growth investments in Mexico and across Latin America. Luis co-led General Atlantic’s investments and is a member of the Board of Directors of Justo (online supermarket), Kavak (used-auto ecommerce), Axo (fashion omnichannel retailer), Clip (payments platform), Laboratorios Sanfer (pharmaceutical lab), Hospitales MAC (hospital network), Incode (authentification platform), Klar (digital bank) and Crehana (Edtech platform) and previously participated in the Board of Directors of Sura Asset Management and Santander Asset Management Mexico. Luis also serves as a member of the board of directors of Endeavor Mexico (entrepreneurship non-for-profit) and of Ordas-Howden (insurance brokerage), is a member of YPO and was an Adjunct Professor at Universidad Iberoamericana. Prior to joining General Atlantic, Luis was at Advent International where he concentrated on investments across sectors in Latin America. Previously, he worked in the Investment Banking team at UBS in the Latin American group based in Mexico City. Luis graduated as an Industrial Engineer, with honors, from Universidad Iberoamerica and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Adriana Ortiz
Adriana Ortiz is a Paraguayan designer and entrepreneur who studied fashion design in Mexico and Spain. She has a degree in Psychology. She started working as an entrepreneur building her own commercial brand of feminine accessories and jewellery integrating craft design with contemporary design. In 2018, she was appointed President of the National Handcraft Institute (IPA). Her work focuses on promoting Paraguayan crafts through contemporary design practices that enable the strengthening of the value chains of artisanal production. This creates opportunities for fairer trade and better incomes for 20,000 artisans, of whom 70% are women. She is also leading the creation of "Safeguard Schools" for the protection of ancestral knowledge, mainly in rural communities. During her mandate, the first Paraguayan Artisan Fund was created to give financial support to civil society organizations working with indigenous communities to promote and develop indigenous crafts. The public policies promoted by IPA allowed for the creation of more than 70 new commercial units to sell Paraguayan crafts in national and international markets with a positive economic impact for many families in the country. Ortiz aims to contribute to a better future for the country and the world.
Francesca Chia
Francesca Chia is the Co-Founder and CEO of GoGet, an on demand workforce technology platform that connects businesses to trust and reliable part timers, called ‘GoGetters’. Francesca is pushing boundaries in the technology industry and the traditional labour market of Malaysia. She brings with her insights on the future of work, how businesses will adjust models to suit new labour requirements and how empowerment is possible through technology innovation. Francesca graduated with a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and was inspired by social enterprises because they redefined traditional ways of doing business and running a non-profit. Prior to launching GoGet, Francesca was a Management Consultant in The Boston Consulting Group for 4 years. GoGet was also invited as a one of the selected ASEAN start up to speak in the World Economic Forum, Hanoi 2018 to discuss the Future of Work. Francesca is also an Alibaba eFounders Fellow from the program jointly created between Alibaba and UNCTAD. Most recently, Francesca was invited to speak at a summit in conjunction with United Nations General Assembly 2019 about the platform and how it is specifically addressing the Sustainable Development Goal #8: To promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive.