Community
The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of innovators from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Search current members and alumni by year awarded, sector or region.
Tony Abrahams
Since 2003, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ai-Media, founded in Australia in and now operating globally. A leader in live transcription for TV since inception, Ai-Media pioneered live captioning on social media, including a partnership with Facebook in 2017. Ai technology is also used to improve teaching practices, and outcomes for students with autism. LLB and BCom (Hons), University of New South Wales; MBA and MPhil in Economics, Rhodes Scholar.
James Chin Moody
Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Sendle, Australia's highest-rated parcel delivery service. Formerly, Executive Director, Development at Australia's national research agency, the CSIRO and was the chief systems engineer for Fedsat, Australia's first satellite to be launched in 30 years. PhD in Innovation Theory. Co-Author of “The Sixth Wave: How to Succeed in a Resource Limited World”. Passionate about science communication; former panellist on the ABC TV television programme “The New Inventors”.
Clayton Cosgrove
Honourable Clayton Cosgrove is Director of Cosgrove & Partners Ltd. He consults to chief executives, boards and chairs of major commercial entities. Professional services include: Government relations/regulatory advocacy, strategic communication & public affairs management, asset protection, risk/issues & crisis management, media/investor/stakeholder relations and management. He is a former Member of Parliament of New Zealand and former Cabinet Minister he retired from politics at the 2017 Election. He was a Cabinet Minister from 2005 - 2008 and his ministerial portfolios included: Minister of Immigration, Associate Minister of Finance, Minister of Building & Construction, Minister for Small Business, Associate Minister of Justice, Minister for Sport & Recreation, Minister for the Rugby World Cup and Minister of Statistics. Prior to going into politics he served as a senior adviser to Rt. Hon. Mike Moore, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, former WTO Director General and former New Zealand Ambassador to the USA. Cosgrove has also worked in senior commercial roles in the telecommunications and minerals industries in Australia and New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management and in 2007 was appointed an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. In politics he has also held the role of Shadow Minister of: State-Owned Enterprises, Revenue, Associate Finance, International Trade, Commerce, Tourism, Building & Construction Canterbury Earthquake Recovery and the Earthquake Commission. He was also Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Parliamentary Select Committee. He was a Member of the Advisory Board of the Public Sector Governance and Accountability Research Centre at Le Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Cosgrove received a BA (triple major) and MBA from the University of Canterbury and completed executive education programmes at Harvard and Yale Universities.
Lucy d'Arville
A rising leader in Australian business focused on transforming health care, d'Arville's work with large payer and provider organisations has had a significant impact in creating more customer-centric and efficient operations. She is also passionate about having an impact in the social sector. This includes leading Bain Australia's social impact practice, supporting OzHarvest in their efforts to reduce food waste and co-leading Bain's collaboration with Social Ventures Australia and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute on Restacking the Odds to tackle intergenerational disadvantage.
Mei Ling Doery
Mei Ling is a medical doctor strategist at the intersection of medicine, technology and design with a particular interest systems transformation and the emotional factors that impact decision-making in healthcare.Credentialed as the youngest Ministerial appointment to the Board of the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (1996-2011), Mei Ling guided the transition to digital grant-making systems for the AUD $32M annual investment budget.
Her perspective on contemporary health challenges is informed by roles as medical advisor for the Department of Veteran Affairs(2016 - current), Australian Defence Force (2007-2009), team doctor for an AFL Football Team (2005-2008), as Executive Physician at BUPA Wellness (2012-2014), Board Member to the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and as independent advisor to several organisations including the Parliament of Victoria, Singtel and Commonwealth Scientific Research and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO).
A skilled coalition builder, Mei Ling has over 16 years experience within and advising start-up ventures including developing ‘RUPERT’ (Rational Use Protocol for Expert Recommended (Clinical) Testing), Doctors,net,uk and the Live Council initiative, and as advisor to Appete, Umps Health, NebulaHealth, Smileyscope, 8i, Black.ai among many.
As a seasoned public communicator, Mei has been engaged to address audiences for TEDMed, IBM, Art Series Hotel Group, Mallesons, the Department of Small Business Innovation and Trade, the Australian Medical Association, the International Aeronautical Federation, Rock Health, WEF Young Global Leaders Summit, World Congress of Sport and Culture(Tokyo) and UN Sustainable Development Impact Summit
In 2014, Mei was appointed doctor-in- residence for digital agency Portable Studios (named in BRW’s Fast 100 for 2013) and co-hosted the RockHealth speaking tour in Australia. In 2016, Mei Ling co- founded SugarByHalf, became innovation advisor to Nightingale Housing and a Board Member to the Chisholm Institute and Chisholm Online.
In 2017 Mei Ling lead the implementation of a Market Led Proposal to establish an international campus and lifestyle destination for entrepreneurs, investors and connectors in Melbourne. This project was recognised as a major grant recipient by LaunchVic(Victoria’s State Innovation Fund).
Mei Ling holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Medical Science and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Melbourne.
Kate Fitz-Gibbon
Kate Fitz-Gibbon is a Professor (Practice) in the Faculty of Business and Economics and former Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre at Monash University (Victoria, Australia). She is also an Honorary (Professorial Fellow) with the Melbourne Law School at University of Melbourne. Internationally recognized as a research leader, Fitz-Gibbon specializes in domestic and family violence, femicide, responses to violence against women and the impacts of law and policy reform in Australia and abroad. Her research findings are widely disseminated through books, academic journals, funded reports and presentations at national and international conferences and forums. She has provided expertise on homicide law reform and family violence reviews in Australia and internationally. Her research has been cited by the High Court of Australia. Fitz-Gibbon holds a PhD in Criminology, a Masters in Human Rights Law, and a Graduate Certificate of Higher Education.
Samantha Freebairn
As a C-130H Hercules and C-17 Globemaster military pilot, Samantha is committed to ensuring the concept of a woman military pilot is the norm. Leveraged her national Telstra Business Womens award to forge partnerships between inter-government agencies, police, fire and rescue, and civil industry to drive cultural change for women working in male-dominated environments. Wrote Flying Solo, a guide for women pilot trainees and Flying through Parenthood, for military parents negotiating flexible work arrangements. Her team conceptualised the Air Force Experiential Camps for Girls and developed the Air Force Graduate Pilot Scheme. The scheme doubled women pilot numbers in 2 years, when they had remained stagnant for the prior 30 years. Most importantly, she would love to see every little girl who loves rainbows to study physics and take to the skies!
Ellen Gonda
Ellen Gonda is Co-Founder and CEO of GonGlobal, a company committed to radically improving the IVF patient experience and treatment success rates. In February 2024, Ellen was part of Press Play Ventures Cohort #1, a pre-accelerator program for female entrepreneurs. At the conclusion of the program, Ellen received the peer nominated award. In August 2024, GonGlobal was selected for the Health 10x Accelerator, a program led by UNSW Founders in partnership with The George Institute for Global Health, Australian Medical Angels and Virtus Health. In parallel, Ellen was awarded a Westpac Accelerator Scholarship for women founders of high potential startups.
Ellen has counseled public and private companies and individuals in various capacities, particularly during critical inflection points. She is a passionate and strategic communications professional with global experience across industries and disciplines. Ellen's clients have included The Rise Fund and Overture Partners, and she has advised clients through Global Gateway Advisors, MDMD, and Wells Narrative Group.
Ellen has held top communications roles at Etsy, where she led Communications, Values and Alignment, at Hilton Worldwide, as the Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Communications and Corporate Responsibility, and at The Carlyle Group, where she was the Vice President and Director of Communications for the Americas. She began her career in the agency world, with positions at Brunswick Group, Gavin Anderson & Company, and Abernathy MacGregor Frank. Ellen graduated with high honours from the University of California, Berkeley.
Ellen has been a member of the NEXUS Impact Society since 2022.
Sophia Hamblin Wang
Sophia Hamblin Wang is Co-Founder and COO of MCi Carbon, a technology platform that transforms CO2 into building materials and products for advanced manufacturing. MCi Carbon recently announced more than US$10M investment from RHI Magnesita, Mizuho Bank and Itochu Corporation, alongside a $14.6M Australian Government Grant to build a Demonstration Plant. Currently in construction, the 'Myrtle' MCi Carbon Plant will lock away more than 1,000t of CO2 p/a into low carbon embodied materials.
Sophia is one of few female executives in the emerging carbon capture and utilization (CCU) industry and was recently awarded Best Clean Energy Startup at the NZTC COP26 Pitch Battle in Glasgow 2021. She was awarded The Australian National University Young Alumna of the Year 2023.
Ms Hamblin Wang is also a Co-Founding Director of the advocacy group CO2 Value Australia. A strong circular economy and diversity advocate, Hamblin Wang has been featured at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, World Economic Forum Pioneers of Change Summit 2020 and UN Youth Climate Summit, TEDx, The New York Times and TIME Magazine.
Gordon Hughes
Graduate, Queensland Conservatorium; first Australian to receive a Licentiate degree in Percussion Performance, Trinity College, London; MBA (Distinction) GBS, specializing in Sustainable Enterprise. Active performer, conductor and lecturer. Founder and Managing Director, Rhythmscape Publishing, the leading percussion publisher in the Asia-Pacific region. Young Australian of the Year nominee; youngest associate composer elected to the Australian Music Centre.
Rory Hunter
Rory Hunter is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of multiple award-winning, sustainable property companies across Australia and South-East Asia. He brings a planet-conscious and people-centred approach to projects including his latest venture - Model, which he founded in 2022 and presently steers as CEO.
Model is a new, Australian build-to-rent group with a purpose to cultivate places where there is no compromise between taking care of ourselves, each other, and the planet. Built on the pillars of climate action, community building and design innovation, Model delivers thoughtfully designed, secure, connected, carbon neutral homes where health and wellbeing are at the core of the everyday experience.
Model’s design and philosophy is informed by Rory’s experience as an accomplished hotelier, developer and community builder. This includes establishing and leading SoHo Partners, a group dedicated to creating carbon neutral, mid-rise residential developments. He was also the Founder and CEO of the Song Saa Collective (2005-2021), a mission-driven real estate group, which developed a range of hotels, residential and master planned communities including the award-winning, ethical luxury resort Song Saa Private Island and 230 hectare Song Saa Reserve.
Rory also founded the Song Saa Foundation in 2013 - an independent NGO dedicated to preserving Cambodia's marine environment. A highlight of the foundation includes creating the country's first ever Marine National Park in partnership with Monaco's Prince Albert. The project’s success saw Rory receive the 2013 National Geographic - Leader in Sustainable Tourism award.
Rory has a deep commitment to improving the ways in which his industry operates and is dedicated to driving meaningful change for the future. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Global Board Member of the Young Presidents’ Organization Sports and Outdoors Network (2023-2024), member of the Property Council of Australia’s Sustainable Development Committee (2023-2024) and has spoken at prominent conferences including the G20 and Davos.
Rory is a Harvard Business School graduate and studied the Sustainability and Resilience program at Stanford University. In 2019, he participated in the Harvard Kennedy School’s Global Leadership and Public Policy program. He also holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney.
Outside of work, he dedicates his time to causes and pursuits he’s passionate about. This includes volunteering as a crisis support worker with Lifeline as well as seeking out new athletic challenges. In 2020, he sailed solo, non-stop from Hong Kong to Australia, completing the journey in 37 days. In 2015, he completed one of the world’s toughest endurance races - the New Zealand Coast to Coast - finishing in 17 hours. His happy places include skiing in the mountains or being on the ocean.