Dr. Solomon Assefa is a Founder and Partner at C1 Ventures, focused on building and scaling ventures that tackle industry decarbonization through science and innovation. He leverages his vast R&D and management experience to foster innovation and direct investments into ventures that accelerate breakthrough science and technologies to market to enable environmental sustainability. He applies his deep expertise to identify and turbocharge startups at the cutting edge of science and technology, particularly those focused on decarbonizing industries. He works closely with scientist entrepreneurs from the development of innovations to successful market launches, demonstrating the firm’s dedication to combining technological progress with environmental responsibility.

Dr. Assefa holds a BS, MSc, and PhD from MIT, and two decades of scientific and executive leadership. As a Vice President at IBM Research, he was instrumental in leading global R&D efforts, commercialization of technologies, and management of hundreds of research scientists worldwide. Furthermore, he was responsible for spearheading IBM’s strategy on climate and sustainability, including the launch of products for enterprise clients, a global research agenda focused on innovations to tackle climate change, and partnerships spanning universities, companies, governments, multi-lateral agencies, and non-profits. Dr. Assefa’s achievements include authoring over 150 peer-reviewed articles and holding more than 70 patents. He has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and honored by the Africa America Institute for his notable contributions to science, technology, and innovation.

Rima Assi is a Senior Partner with the Middle East Office of McKinsey & Company and Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Abu Dhabi office. Rima advises leading governments in the Middle East on public finance to drive large-scale social and economic transformation, and is a major champion for women’s empowerment across the region. Rima is a key speaker on the power of gender parity at several fora including the Global Women’s Forum Dubai and GITEX Tech conference. She has authored several articles on the power of gender parity in Newsweek Middle East and more recently on more powerful approaches to ensuring value in public finances.

Bernardo is a vibrant young entrepreneur with a strong sense of purpose in a local industry dominated by large traditional real estate developers. In a country of more than 6 million senior citizens, Bernardo has undertaken the task of designing and building projects that can provide high-quality residences, care and wellness programs for the elderly and has shown signs of always being on the cusp of innovation for social integration in urbanism.

Cherrie Atilano has 26 years of experience in sustainable food systems and inclusive agribusiness as an advocate of women and youth in agriculture, agri-technology, malnutrition eradication and the responsible production and consumption for the future of food. She is a multi-awarded entrepreneur and ambassador on agricultural issues.

Launched Farmerline to create lasting wealth for farmers and local agribusinesses everywhere. Leads the company's vision and strategic partnerships with over 3,000 partners across 48 countries. The company has served and digitalized 1.7 million farmers in the last decade. TIME Magazine recognized its Mergdata platform as one of the 100 Best Inventions of 2019. Recipient of honours and awards, including from the International Monetary Fund, named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, CBNC Africa Young Business Leader Award, and Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst.

A renaissance artist for modern times, Auerbach allows her artistic impulse to guide the genre of expression; whatever the medium - art, literature, or music - all of her work is interconnected as part of a cohesive and comprehensive artistic worldview.
Auerbach's large-scale works have been produced in major theaters on every continent, including the Hamburg State Opera, Vienna's Theater an der Wien, New York's Lincoln Center, the National Ballet of Canada, the National Ballet of China, the Royal Danish Theater, the Nuremberg State Theater, the Finnish National Theater, Moscow's Stanislavsky Theater, the Nederlands Dans Theater, and the San Francisco Ballet.
Auerbach has been drawing and painting all her life as part of her creative process. 2009, after a devastating fire destroyed her studio in New York, she began sculpting prolifically. Her paintings and photographs have been included in several exhibitions, and in 2013, she had her first solo photography show in Norway. Her creations are in private collections, have sold at auctions, been reproduced in magazines, and used on the covers of CDs and books. She has published three books of poetry in Russian, and her first book in English, "Excess of Being," was published in 2015.
Auerbach was born in Chelyabinsk at the gateway of Siberia. She received parallel graduate and post-graduate degrees from the Juilliard School and the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media. Her awards include the Hindemith Prize, two Golden Masks, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, the German Radio Prize, and the ECHO Classic Award.

Jennifer Auerbach-Rodriguez is Managing Director, Head of Acquisition, Strategic Growth and Retention at Bank of America. Making managing director at 34 at one of the largest financial services firms in the world, she is a passionate advocate for advancing women and people of colour in traditionally male-dominated industries. Auerbach-Rodriguez has served on numerous councils and networks throughout her tenure, including as the Executive Sponsor for the Women's Exchange, the Merrill Lynch Diversity and Inclusion Council and the Hispanic Latino Advisory Council. She is the recipient of a number of honours, including the 2016 Women’s Bond Club Rising Star Award, and 2016 Global Diversity & Inclusion Award by Bank of America. She was also recognized by the Paradigm for Parity coalition as one of 19 trailblazing women for breaking down barriers to help achieve true equality and full representation in corporate offices, and by Crain’s New York Business as one of 2020’s Rising Stars in Banking & Finance. Auerbach-Rodriguez holds a BA from Dartmouth College in Philosophy and an MBA from the Columbia Business School.

Ida Auken is the former Minister for the Environment in Denmark (2011-2014). She is a Member of the Danish Parliament (2007-) for The Social Democratic Party. Ida Auken held the position of President of the European Environment Council and was Head of the EU Delegation at the Rio+20 conference, where the UN Sustainable Development Goals were agreed. Ida Auken was nominated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and has also been elected as one of the 40 most promising young leaders in Europe. With her 15 years of experience in the Danish Parliament, Ida Auken has been key in fostering the green transition in Denmark. She was one of the architects of the Danish Climate Law that has one of the world’s most ambitious climate change targets and recently she introduced the paradigm shift in the approach to offshore wind by establishing energy islands. Ida Auken is the author of several books and in May 2022 “Believe it – climate, hope and vigour” was published.

BSc in Public Administration, University of Abuja. Over five years of experience advocating for the betterment of persons with disabilities. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Seed Foundation, Nigeria. President, Disabled Sports Club - Abuja, President, Women on Wheels Multipurpose Cooperative Society. Vice-President, Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association, Nigeria Chapter. Assistant National Coordinator, Network of Women with Disabilities. Board Member, Potters Gallery Initiative.

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.

Politician, Our Ocean Conference 2024 Coordinator, Member of the Hellenic Parliament and Chair of the Environment Committee of the Hellenic Parliament, Chair of the Mediterranean Parliamentarians on Sustainable Development, Director of the European Institute of Law, Science & Technology, Attorney at Law, specialized in International Environment, Energy, Water and Climate Change Law and Finance.

Gwenaelle Avice Huet has been Schneider Electric’s Executive Vice President of Europe Operations since September 4, 2023 and serves on its Executive Committee. She is responsible for Schneider Electric’s full business portfolio across Europe Operations, representing the company’s contribution to the development of the EU’s agenda to accelerate Europe’s green and digital transformation.

Gwenaelle joined Schneider Electric in 2021 as Senior-Vice President of Corporate Strategy, before entering the Executive Committee as Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer.

Before joining Schneider Electric, Gwenaelle worked at ENGIE (formerly GDF SUEZ) in various roles, from Senior Vice-President of European and Regulatory affairs, to leading the Renewables energy business. In her last role, she was on the Executive Committee of ENGIE, serving as the Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE North America and in charge of the Global Business Line on Renewable Energies.

Gwenaelle started her career at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the French Atomic Energy Commission on nuclear energy before joining the World Bank in Washington D.C. as a consultant. She also worked for the service of the French Prime Minister within the General Secretary of European affairs with responsibility for energy and competitiveness matters, and as the advisor on energy and climate change for various ministers.

Gwenaelle also serves on the Board of Air France – KLM. She holds a degree in Physics and Chemistry from the Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, a post-graduate diploma in Molecular Chemistry from France’s Ecole Polytechnique and an engineering degree from the Corps des Ponts et Chaussées. She has also been nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She is based in Europe.