Katharina Amann is an Allianz executive with more than 11 years of general management experience in top-tier strategy consulting, product management and digital business development, specializing in insurance and mobility and their beneficial impact on society. She leads the German Automotive Business of Allianz and is CEO of Allianz subsidiary Volkswagen Autoversicherung AG. Amann has managed P&Ls of up to €400 million and large teams comprising more than 150 members. She strives for societal impact, focusing on a safe and sustainable future of mobility as her core ambition. By connecting the insurance and mobility industry, she creates innovation that not only serves customer needs but also increases safety and sustainability on the road. Amann introduced the first insurance tariff reflecting ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) in the German market.

2003, Master's and Diploma (Hons) in Law, University of National and World Economy, Sofia; 2010, graduate, Harvard Business School, Boston; finance management; certificates in regional policy and management of the European Union structural funds and European policy. Formerly: lawyer; CEO, international companies in the real estate and infrastructure sectors; at the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, the European Commission and the European Parliament; Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works; Adviser to the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works; Member of the Managing Board, National Road Infrastructure Agency; Adviser to the President of the Republic, in charge of European regional cooperation, transport and environment, as well as other international and European issues. Former Co-Chair and Founder, Bulgarian-Romanian Committee for inland waterway transport and connectivity of the common BG-RO Danube region. Chairwoman, non-profit foundation Friends of Sport, dealing with the integration of disabled children through sport. 2014, Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communication. In 2019 became political coordinator for Sofia district in our PP Gerb, responsible for all the political and election campaigns.in May 2018 was awarded by the Italian President with Stella d’Italia medal-the highest award for foreigners. Minister of tourism 2014-2020; Member of Parliament (2017 - 2022)

Yalda Aoukar is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bracket Capital, a leading private markets investor based in Los Angeles, which she co-launched in 2017. Bracket Capital pursues a value-driven strategy in growth and late-stage technology companies via primary and secondary transactions. Aoukar is also President of Bracket Foundation, the philanthropic venture arm of Bracket Capital. She is a fierce advocate of technology for social good, particularly as it relates to solving the world’s most pressing challenges. Since inception, Bracket Foundation has been striving to make the internet safer for children by combating online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Aoukar is a champion of women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship in venture capital and other financial sectors where women are traditionally underrepresented. She sits on the board of the UN’s A.I. for Safer Children initiative, which she helped to establish, as well as the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Accelerator. Aoukar holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a degree in Economics from the American University of Beirut.

Steve Arora is a highly accomplished executive in the global Reinsurance industry with a career spanning over two decades at key organizations such as AXIS Re and Swiss Re. Appointed CEO of AXIS Re in 2018 and later CEO of AXIS ILS in 2021, he executed a comprehensive transformation of the business, manifesting in an optimized portfolio following the implementation of various strategic measures. Under his leadership, client satisfaction improved significantly, coupled with a rise in employee engagement. Before joining AXIS, Steve had an 18-year tenure at Swiss Re, where he held prominent roles and contributed to robust commercial success. He has garnered global experience across six countries and earned recognition as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. A graduate of esteemed executive programs from universities such as Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge, Steve is renowned for his inspiring and engaging leadership and structured delivery and execution. Steve has lived in USA, Saudi Arabia, Germany, UK, Japan, and Switzerland.

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.

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.

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.

CEO of The Conduit Oslo. Former Special Adviser to the President/Management of BI Norwegian Business School (Jan 2018 - Jan 2023). Former State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (Oct 2013- Jan 2018). As State Secretary she was responsible for international/bilateral relations and trade policy, export financing, industrial research and innovation, the maritime industries including shipping and the travel and tourism industry. She was responsible for the following policy papers:

Industry White Paper (chapters covering RD&I, competence),
Ocean Strategy,
Maritime Strategy,
Bioeconomy Strategy,
The National Entrepreneurship Plan,
Tourism White Paper
and the Export Strategy.

Entrepreneur. Has served on the board of several organizations working with diversity management and intercultural communication.

Dr Dawood Azami is an award winning senior journalist and academic with a quarter century of working experience. As a Multi-Media Editor in the BBC World Service (London), he leads a team of journalists in covering international news and current affairs.
Dawood is also an Associate Fellow at The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London, contributing to research and analysis of geopolitical and international security and development issues.
He also served as the BBC World Service Bureau Chief and Editor in Kabul, Afghanistan (2010-2011) where he was responsible for the editorial management of the Bureau and leading a large team of journalists and supporting staff.
He was a Visiting Lecturer/Scholar at the University of Westminster (London) and The Ohio State University (USA) teaching on both BA (Globalization, Power and International Governance) & MA modules (International Politics of Resources) as well as Culture and Politics in the greater Middle East.
Dawood obtained his Ph.D. in the field of Politics and International Relations/Security. His PhD looked at conflict and state (un)building and investigated the impact of drugs on the strength, motivation and ideology of insurgent groups in four countries – Afghanistan (Taliban), Colombia (FARC), Turkey (PKK) and Sri Lanka (LTTE).
He also holds three Master's in various fields including Politics, International Relations, International Security, Science, Law and Diplomacy.
He has won several national and international awards and prizes. In 2009, he won the BBC’s “Global Reith Award for Outstanding Contribution”, the biggest and lifetime achievement award in the BBC. He was selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum, Geneva, in 2011. In 2012, he was selected as a Young Leader in Europe under the first pan- European programme of leadership called ’40 under 40’. In 2015, he was given "Journalist of the Mediterranean (Giornalisti del Mediterraneo)" Award in Italy.
He has visited more than 30 countries and participated as a speaker in more than a hundred international conferences/seminars on a wide range of topics including politics, security, international relations, media and governance.
He is also a member of a number of international academic and professional initiatives.
Dawood speaks five languages (Pashto, Dari/Persian, Urdu/Hindi, and English) and has a working knowledge of Arabic and Turkish. He paints and practices calligraphy and writes poems and short stories in three languages.

Gina Badenoch, Founder, Capaxia/OQS
Young Global Leader, United Kingdom
Social entrepreneur and photographer

Gina’s Dream is to reduce inequality, enabling social and economic mobility by building a more inclusive society.
Creating experiences that change mindsets where the greatest prejudices exist between talent, potential and companies.
She has been working with Global organizations to promote a work-inclusive environment that increases inclusive leadership and diversity as an asset.

In 2006, founded Ojos que Sienten, 13 years ago she saw potential where others saw limitation by teaching photography to blind people, offering a tool that allows them to connect with the visual world.
In 2012, founded Capaxia, taking learnings from working with blind people developed a highly successful new approach to lower the impact of our bias designing an inclusive, empathetic and human centered recruitment and development of talent model called: First I hear you then I see you, based on implementing blind interviews, back-to-back, by which recruiting officers can go beyond their own unconscious biases and identify the true potential of future employees for a better match to job roles, better development of their talent and potential within organizations and ultimately promotion to roles that are satisfying to them and benefit their employers. Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum. Ashoka Fellow. World Economic Forum. Ashoka Fellow. Awarded by the Queen of Great Britain a British Empire Medal (BEM) among other recongnisions.

Former Mayor of Geneva and member of Swiss Parliament | Swiss lawyer