Nerissa is a seasoned entrepreneur, CEO and board member. She was a co-founder and CEO of āxil, a Fintech creating a smart wallet for small businesses.
Nerissa has served as a board member to multiple businesses globally over the last 5 years. Her directive is to advise on the overall ESG, technology enablement, and revenue generation strategies as businesses grow or gain strategic funding. She has been appointed as Chair of the Board to multiple companies, Audit Chair, and sits on Governance and Compensation committees.
During her two-decade corporate tenure, Nerissa has filled numerous senior executive roles, to open, manage and grow global businesses whilst at AIG and Accenture, provide board oversight, manage a 5000+ global workforce, and perform multinational strategic turnarounds through M&A and divestitures in Fortune 100 companies. She has worked in over 40 countries, navigating cross-border working environments and regulators including the Fed.
As a native South African who grew up in Apartheid, Nerissa has been a proponent of equality and strives to break the mould of stereotypes in gender, race, and professional norms. She has been a keynote speaker on diversity and inclusion, systemic inequality, and racial injustice.
Nerissa was selected as a Young Global Leader in the World Economic Forum in 2019, and subsequently elected to its Advisory Group, including Chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion sub-committee in 2021. She was featured in the Financial Times as a leader to watch, holds an executive MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a BTech in Industrial Engineering from the Durban University of Technology. More recently, she continues her executive education at London, Harvard and Wharton Business Schools.

Erika Najarian is managing director and head of Americas financial sector research, comprising $4.5 trillion in market capitalization. An expert and thought leader on financial services and global financial regulation, she advises institutional investors, bank executives, central banks, finance ministers and regulatory agencies. She founded the Future of Financials conference, the premier annual forum on disruptive technology, regulatory change and investment themes within financial services. She is a passionate advocate of the professional advancement of women and people of colour.

Siamak Namazi endured a challenging 2,898 days of captivity in the infamous Evin Prison before his release in September 2023, earning him the unfortunate distinction of being the longest-held American hostage in Iran. Prior to this ordeal, his career spanned various sectors, including consulting and non-profit work. He provided assistance to major multinationals in strategy development, market entry, and external affairs across the MENA region while also engaging in track-2 diplomacy and championing human rights initiatives. He has been a fellow at the Wilson Center for International Scholars, CSIS, and the National Endowment for Democracy. He has also appeared as a commentator in the international media, including CNN International, BBC World, The New York Times, The Financial Times, Fortune Magazine, Forbes Magazine, The Washington Post, and Business Week, among others.

In a three-decade career in media and publishing, Raju Narisetti has an unusual track record in creating, rethinking and managing major media organizations in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as being on the frontlines of digital transformation challenges and opportunities in publishing. Raju has worked as a practicing journalist at The Wall Street Journal, where over 14 years, he rose from a Reporting Intern to be the Editor of WSJ Europe, and Managing Editor, Digital, of the global WSJ; and at The Washington Post, where he was the Managing Editor who helped kick-start the newspaper's print/digital transformation. He is the founder of Mint (livemint.com), India's second-largest business news publication. As a business executive, he was Senior Vice President of Strategy for News Corp and CEO of the Gizmodo Media Group, which then encompassed a group of digital journalism sites that included Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Lifehacker, and The Root. As a journalism educator, he led the Knight Bagehot Fellowships in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University, where he also was a Professor of Professional Practice at the School of Journalism. Raju serves on the board of Wikimedia Foundation, which manages Wikipedia, the fifth-most visited site in the world. He lives in New York City.

Nina Nashif is Managing Director of Generation Health, an innovation and investment management platform. She was formerly the Founder and CEO of Healthbox, a business accelerator and venture fund created to support early-stage entrepreneurs and stimulate innovation in the healthcare industry. Nashif is best known for her expertise in building businesses and leading high-performing teams to achieve results. She has more than 15 years of global business experience within the public and private sector in more than 10 countries around the world. Prior to Healthbox, Nashif served on the executive team of Sg2, was a consultant to the leadership team of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi, and was a director of business development in the International Services Division of the Houston Methodist Hospital. She also co-founded a Turkish cotton textile business with operations in New York City and Istanbul. Among many honors, Nashif has been named a “40 Under 40” by Crain's Chicago Business. She is a Member of the Women's Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School, and is active in other leadership and community organizations.

Chairman and CEO of Tau Investment Management, a Private Equity firm established to transform global supply chains. Former Operating Partner, Advent Int'l. Previously Founder and CEO, DF King Worldwide. Member Global Exec. Board, Computershare, the world’s largest share registry, which Oliver joined when it acquired Pepper Technologies. Founder, Pepper Technologies. Currently Non-Exec. Director, Equiniti, owned by Advent Int'l, UK. PhD in Strategic Mgmt, Univ. of Munich. 1998. Board memberships include The World Policy Institute and National Museum of the American Indian, both New York.

MD, Zagreb Medical School; clinical training, Medical Centre, University of Zagreb, Croatia. 1994, Harvard Graduate Program in Immunology; postdoctoral fellowship in transplantation immunology; Instructor in Surgery; Instructor in Medicine; Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; since 2002, Founder and Director, Advanced Immunology Laboratory for Tolerance Induction Stem Cell Transplantation, Renal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School; since 2007, current position, on leave from faculty position, Harvard Medical School. Author of over 50 articles and patent applications. Co-Founder, three biotechnology companies. Research interests: immunogenetics, immunological tolerance induction for transplant, auto immunity and stem cell research. Recipient of awards.

Dr. Chinny Ogunro is the Chief Operating Officer of The Africa Center, a New York based non-profit that seeks to serve as a hub for the exchange of ideas around culture, business, and policy related to the continent, and in the spirit of collaboration and engagement with individuals and institutions who share the Center’s values. The mission of the organisation is guided by a leadership team that includes Board Co-Chairs Chelsea Clinton and Hadeel Ibrahim, and Board President Halima Aliko Dangote.

Previously, she was the Chief Executive Officer of WellSpring Health, an Africa-focused integrated care consortium backed by DAI, committed to delivering quality, affordable healthcare at scale. Chinny is a co-founder of Africa Health Holdings (AHH), a healthcare investment and operations company in which she raised over $13M in investor funding. AHH was born out of her doctoral research and her first company, CarePoint Hospitals and Clinics.

Chinny also currently serves as Director of Health Research at the Center for the Study of the Economies of Africa, where her research has explored innovative business models for health care delivery in growth economies, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. She was also a Senior Director at BroadReach Group, responsible for technology implementation and operational excellence. She is the founder of Company Is You, a professional development edtech firm that prepares individuals and companies for the future of work.

Her work in healthcare operations has delivered high-quality, low-cost healthcare to over 40,000 patients across West Africa and India. Her research has received over $700,000 in direct support from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank.

Chinny is an advisory board member at Growth Capital—the investment arm of CCHub, a Steering Committee member of the Africa Leadership Academy’s Health Network, serves on the leadership committee of MIT Solve, and is frequently a guest lecturer at top international business schools. She has previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Veralon Partners, and provided long-term consultancy for the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, the U.N. Special Envoy for Malaria, as well as multiple other development and partner organizations.

Chinny holds a Ph.D in Health Management (Technology and Operations Management, Strategy) from the Harvard Business School, a M.A. in Health Administration from Cornell University, and Bachelors degrees from Stanford University.

Multiawarded at the Cannes Festival, Ortiz won the first Film Gold Lion at Cannes Festival in
Colombian history with a campaign for the
government program against drugs. Ortiz collects
several awards in advertising competitions all
over the world.
Ortiz was a member of the jury in the Titanium &
Integrated and Outdoors categories at the
prestigious Cannes Festival. This year was
appointed President of the Jury in the Outdoors
category at the Cannes Festival.

John Osborn was recently appointed as the Director for Ad Net Zero (ANZ) in the United States in October, 2022. Originally launched in the UK, ANZ has grown to over 100 supporting companies, and now counts over 50 supporters in the US, which officially launched in early February this year. Under John's leadership, ANZ's mission is to leverage the power of its supporters, alongside the ANA, 4As and IAB, to educate, set benchmarks & standards, measure and take action to lower the carbon emissions associated across all advertising-related operations. Prior to ANZ, John was CEO of OMD in the US over five years from 2017 until August of 2022. John's experience also includes 25 years of service at BBDO, where he was President & CEO for 13 consecutive years prior to joining OMD. John has a wealth of non-profit board experience including the Red Cross of Greater New York, Global Dignity, Police Athletic League, AdCouncil, AAF and more.

Eva Otieno is a connector between governments and institutional investors to channel much needed capital into Africa. As a strategist, she discusses Africa-focused market opportunities in order to attract financial flows into the region's local currency and hard currency fixed-income securities. Otieno has led roadshows in the region with investors that have combined assets under management of an estimated $50 billion, which is substantial capital that is seeking for robust returns in frontier Africa. Otieno also participates in thought leadership and media events through providing market insights where solutions are deliberated on how to attract capital into the region. In her role, she also engages with policy-makers to discuss solutions in fixed-income markets. Eva also engages with corporate clients where she provides market insights. This information assists the clients in making decisions as to which country to invest in bringing much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Jill Otto is a Managing Director and Partner of the Grausam Otto Group at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Previously, she was an UHNW Banker at the J.P. Morgan Private Bank where she built the Financial Institutions and Sponsors Group in Florida. Prior to moving to Miami, Jill ran, in New York, business development for J.P. Morgan’s Global Investment Opportunities Group (GIO), a multi-asset class investment desk for institutional UHNW clients of J.P Morgan. Prior to J.P. Morgan, she managed the investment offices in Rio de Janeiro and Paris of her family's 75 year old business. Jill sits on the board of the Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University's Divinity School. She sat on the board of the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami and was a member of the Group of Fifty (G50), a select group of private business leaders from Latin America. In 2010, Jill was honored as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum where she helped build the Family and Private Company Community. Her other past board memberships include serving for International Planned Parenthood, the alumni councils of Princeton University and Phillips Academy Andover. Jill received a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, a Master of Arts from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.