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.

Vasudha Vats

Vice-President, Pfizer, USA

Vasudha Vats has grown several multi-billion dollar businesses in pharma and currently manages one of the highest selling small molecule medicines in the world. Her mission is to not only help patients by delivering high-quality medical therapies, but also to improve care delivery across the entire patient experience. As a leader in healthcare, she has forged and led partnerships across the industry to deliver better outcomes for patients, including patient advocacy groups like the American Diabetes Association, technology (Fitbit), pharmacy (CVS and Walgreens), and government (National Institutes of Health). She is an advocate of supporting emerging thinkers to fuel future societal improvement, actively mentoring emerging biotechnology firms with the New York City Entrepreneurship Lab and having helped to co-found the Chandini Foundation, a charity designed to provide underprivileged youths in developing nations with mentoring support to become ethical, impactful and entrepreneurially minded leaders.

Ayesha Vera-Yu

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK), USA

CEO and Co-Founder of Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK) which co-invests with rural communities in the developing world on securing food, health, kids' schooling and their self-sustaining future.

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic that triggered acute hunger among farmers and fisherfolk who feed the world, Ayesha steered ARK to pivot its award-winning and the world’s only self-sustaining, 5-cent school lunch to a food security program that benefited everyone in the community.

ARK's Feed Back is a community-based vegetable exchange that is solving hunger in just 5 weeks. It creates a path for families to source food from their backyards, exchange excess produce with their neighbors, and sell to their own community, nearby villages and towns. It enables communities to work together, be food secure and resilient. It launches new entrepreneurs and new local, regenerative and equitable food systems. In the past 2 years, 35 communities across 6 provinces partnered on Feed Back. Together, we have secured 8,607 families captured 105% of at-risk families transformed over 76,000* lives.

Prior to ARK, Ayesha was Director at BNP Paribas where for 11 years she was involved in leverage finance, acquisition finance and loan syndications. She also restructured a farm in the Philippines making it the first one in the province to be organic, and to offer fair employment, revenue share, healthcare and continuing education to farmers/employees. Expertise - management, industry and business credit analysis, restructuring, natural farming, sustainable systems, social ventures.

Sir Mark Vlasic

Executive Producer, Blood and Treasure, CBS Television Studios, USA

Mark V. Vlasic is a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Law & Public Policy at Georgetown University, a Senior Fellow at Massey College, a Senior Advisor to Techstars, and maintains a boutique law practice focused on international law, private diplomacy, human rights, hostage negotiations, cultural heritage, interfaith engagement, and strategic philanthropy. A former pro bono advisor to the Director-General of UNESCO on “blood antiquities” issues, he is an Executive Producer with CBS Studios and Propagate Content, as his international work inspired the lead character “Danny” on the action-adventure social impact series BLOOD & TREASURE on CBS, Paramount, and Amazon Prime. He is also an Executive Producer of ERASE THE NATION, a film about the destruction of cultural heritage, including religious heritage, in Ukraine.

As public sector specialist at the World Bank Group, Mark served as the first head of operations of the StAR Secretariat, a joint United Nations-World Bank presidential initiative to help developing countries recover stolen assets from past dictators.

Before joining the Bank, he served as a White House Fellow/special assistant to the Secretary of Defense and advisor to the President’s Special Envoy to Sudan, and was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service by Secretary Robert Gates.

Prior to his government service, Mark practiced law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and served on the Slobodan Milosevic and Srebrenica genocide prosecution trial teams at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. A member of the U.S. Delegation to the Pan Am 103 “Lockerbie” terrorist bombing trial in the Netherlands, he has taught the Iraqi judges that tried Saddam Hussein, served as Legal Advisor to the Clooney Foundation for Justice, provided commentary to BBC, CNN, FOX, CBS and NPR, and is published widely.

Mark studied business, theology and government at Georgetown University while on an Army ROTC scholarship, and received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Georgetown Law Center. He holds Certificates in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law, conducted post-doctorate research at Universiteit Leiden as a NAF-Fulbright Scholar to the Netherlands, and completed the World Economic Forum's executive leadership programs at Oxford and Harvard.

As a U.S. Army officer, he has been attached to Capitol Hill and the Defense Attaché Office at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

Knighted by both the Vatican and Ethiopian Crown, and commissioned a Kentucky Colonel, Mark is a Fellow with the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations, a member of the Bars of California, the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of the United States, and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Named a Global Peace Fellow by the Public International Law & Policy Group and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Mark is a founding co-chair of the WEF YGL SDG Advisory Council and Chairman of the Los Angeles Police Department Leadership Advisory Board, and serves on the advisory boards of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Artemis Climate Partners, the Center on Sanctions & Illicit Finance and the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and is an inaugural member of the WEF’s Faith in Action Advisory Board.

Hitesh Wadhwa

Enterprise Technology and Business Leader, Google Cloud, Google, USA

Hitesh holds a distinguished position as a seasoned leader in Enterprise Technology, Sales, and Business at Google within the United States. In his role, he leads growth and adoption of Google Cloud with large enterprises in Central US. His responsibilities are centered around elevating Technology, particularly in the domains of AI, web3, Cloud, Quantum Computing, and more, to the forefront of large-scale Enterprises and their associated communities. He is also a GenAI Ambassador at Google.

Before joining Google, Hitesh's career encompassed a pivotal role at Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the 'Principal, Enterprise Business' for a rapidly expanding region, where he orchestrated strategies to expand AWS adoption within substantial and medium-sized organizations.

Prior to his tenure at AWS, he occupied the position of Vice President at Tech Mahindra, the IT division of the Mahindra group. In this capacity, he orchestrated a range of strategic engagements and undertakings within the Telco, Media & Entertainment (CME) sector, leading to a noteworthy growth of Tech Mahindra's business by over $100 million through both organic and inorganic means. Hitesh played an instrumental part in Tech Mahindra's CME vertical, a business segment generating more than $2.5 billion annually. He was selected twice for the company's highly competitive "Shadow Board" program, an exclusive initiative where only six individuals out of over 130,000 employees are chosen each year to shadow the board of directors. As a Shadow Board member, he administered several impactful programs spanning digital transformation, diversity, culture, and sustainability.

Over the course of his extensive 17+ years of professional journey at the intersection of Technology and Business, Hitesh has demonstrated adept leadership in team management, business expansion, strategic endeavors, and effective management of Fortune 500 client relationships. Noteworthy clients include AT&T, USAA, Facebook, Verizon, Oracle, UnitedHealth Group, WarnerMedia, Rakuten, and iHeartMedia, among others.

Hitesh's enthusiasm for Technology is profound, driven by his belief in its potential to address significant global challenges when employed judiciously. In 2021, he was named as a 'Young Global Leader' (YGL) by the World Economic Forum
https://www.weforum.org/press/2021/03/ygl-class-2021/

He has also been chosen by Forbes for "Forbes Business Development Council", an invitation-only organization for Senior-Level Sales and Business Development Executives

Beyond his professional pursuits, he nurtures a penchant for fine Coffee and Bourbon. During his leisure moments, he cherishes quality time with his family - his wife and two children. Presently, he resides in Austin, Texas, USA.

David Alexander Walcott

Founder and Managing Partner, Novamed, USA

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.

Tiffany Xingyu Wang

Chief Trust and Marketing Officer, OpenWeb, USA

An award-winning marketer and social entrepreneur, Tiffany Xingyu Wang’s deep technological understanding, digital trust stewardship and marketing prowess have positioned her at the nexus of the future of media, corporate ethics and the emerging community economy.

She currently serves as the Chief Marketing & Trust Officer of OpenWeb – a role that reflects her leadership in the field. The leading community engagement platform powers over 3,000 publishers and brands and is leading the way in creating trusting spaces for healthy conversations and diverse, engaged communities in the Web3 era. At OpenWeb, Tiffany Xingyu oversees marketing as well as the entire trust and safety P&L and is working closely with the company’s vast partner networks to scale market-leading best practices.

Tiffany Xingyu is also the President and Co-founder of Oasis Consortium. As part of the nonprofit created to define a digital sustainability model for businesses, she launched first-of-their-kind User Safety Standards for Web3, minting industry-backed consensus on digital safety early in the Web3 revolution and earning interest from TIME, MIT Technology Review and more. The momentum continues with over 20 platforms, including Roblox, Pandora, Grindr, Fandom, The Meet Group and Together Labs, pledging to the standards.

Tiffany Xingyu’s pioneering approach to marketing, innovation and advocacy serves as a model for future leaders looking to drive positive change at a global scale. She’s democratizing access to critical digital trust and safety knowledge through a first-of-its-kind LinkedIn Learning course for brand leaders. Active with global organizations that are elevating the dialogue around the future of media and the web, she is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program, the Atlantic Council’s Trust & Safety Taskforce and a board member of AdCouncil.

Prior to joining OpenWeb, Wang was the Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Spectrum Labs, a leading contextual AI platform that keeps over 1 billion users safe online. She also holds two USPTO patents in machine learning applications for marketing.

Tiffany Xingyu stays abreast of blockchain and quantum computing technologies through investments and advisory board roles. She’s also a venture partner at Tribe, a Singapore government-backed blockchain accelerator, where she leads investor relations in the US.

Her leadership continues to be acknowledged within the industry and the global business community. She was recently on the cover of Adweek’s first edition of 2023 in the “Year of the Tenacious CMO” feature and her work has been highlighted in leading publications including Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Digiday, and VentureBeat. With further recognition from Forbes’ Most Entrepreneurial CMO List and the CMO Club’s Most Innovative Awards under her belt, Tiffany Xingyu has solidified her reputation as one of the seminal innovators of her generation.

Nolan Watson

President and Chief Executive Officer, Sandstorm Gold Ltd, Canada

President and CEO, Sandstorm Gold, a NYSE American-listed company with a market capitalization of $1.1 billion. Founder and President, Nations Cry, a registered charity building and operating schools in Sierra Leone, Africa. By the age of 26, was the youngest CFO of any NYSE-listed company in the world. Recognized as one of the "Top-40-Under-40", Canada and "CEO of the Year". In addition, Nolan is the youngest "Fellow" of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and he has been recognized as one of the "Most Motivated" Chartered Financial Analysts in the World by CFA Magazine. Nolan is a regular contributor on various radio programs, television programs, and government conferences on topics ranging from mining, to environmental sustainability and he has been seen on CNBC, Fox Business News, BBC, BNN and CNBC Europe among others.

Adam Werbach

Head of Digital and Unscripted, Kapital Entertainment, USA

Adam Werbach is a media sustainability leader working at the intersection of technology, business and politics. He recently joined Kapital Entertainment as head of Digital and Unscripted Television and is creating shows across major networks and streamers. Previously, he developed the sustainable shopping customer experience as the Global Lead for Sustainable Shopping at Amazon.com. After a YGL journey, he founded Trove (formerly Yerdle), the re-commerce company that manages resale for Patagonia, Nordstrom's, Eileen Fisher, Arc'Teryx, and REI. He previously founded Act Now, which was acquired by Saatchi & Saatchi and the Publicis Groupe, after he helped Walmart launch its sustainability efforts. At age 23, Werbach was elected President of the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization in the US, after helping pass the legislation to create Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks in California. He spent almost ten years producing an indie-rock documentary film entitled "This is Noise Pop," which was named one of the top five music documentaries of the year by Rolling Stone Magazine, even though it was only shown once. Werbach lives between San Francisco and Bolinas, California with his wife Lyn and their three kids, Mila, Pearl and Simon.

Raylene Whitford

Director, Canative Energy, Canada

Raylene Whitford is a Cree-Métis iskewew (woman) from Treaty 6 territory in Canada. The first in her family to graduate from university, Whitford began her career as a chartered accountant with KPMG in London. She has held leadership roles in various organizations around the world, including in a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, delivering a $40 billion capital efficiency project for an integrated energy company in the Middle East, and working with Indigenous businesses in Ecuador. In 2019, Whitford returned to Canada specifically to advance Indigenous participation in the energy transition. She is a member of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board and Chairman of TC Energy's Indigenous Advisory Council. She is also Founder of INDIGI-X, a global exchange connecting Indigenous leaders in Canada, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ted Wiley

Co-Founder and President, Form Energy Inc, USA

Ted Wiley is the Co-founder and President of Form Energy (formerly Baseload Renewables), a startup company developing ultra-low cost, long duration energy storage to enable a 100% renewable energy future. Previously, Ted was president and of McDonough Innovation, a consulting and product development company focused on helping companies implement cradle to cradle and circular economy principles developed by William McDonough. Prior to McDonough Innovation Ted was a co-founder of and head of product at Aquion Energy, a start-up that manufactures sustainable, cost-effective batteries for stationary energy storage applications. Prior to Aquion, Wiley was a Senior Associate at Hudson Clean Energy Partners where he worked on biofuels and solar investments. Before Hudson, he served as a captain in the US Army. As a platoon leader for the 1-23 Infantry Battalion, he spent a year in Iraq leading combat missions and helping to organize the country's first free elections. Wiley earned a BSc in Physics at Seattle University and an MBA from Harvard Business School with concentrations in clean technology entrepreneurship.

will.i.am

Founder and President, i.am Angel Foundation, USA

Creative innovator, Futurist, entertainer, producer, technology investor, and Founder & CEO, FYI.AI. Member: World Economic Forum Fourth Industrial Revolution Advisory Committee. Honorary Fellow, Institutions of Engineering and Technology. Recipient: James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award (2023), TIME 100 IMPACT Award (2022), seven Grammy Awards; Emmy; CLIO; World Economic Forum Crystal Award (2016).

As an advocate for STEAM education, started i.am Angel Foundation, which uses project-based learning modules to deliver STEAM education for at-risk youth via dedicated STEM Academy preparatory schools, after-school tutoring and enrichment activities within the US. At-risk students participate in project-based learning modules for robotics, coding, app development, geographic information system mapping, and study Mandarin Chinese. The i.am Angel Foundation recently teamed with the Los Angeles Unified School District, America's second-largest state-run public school system to offer robotics clubs as an official after-school activity, with capacity to serve 12,000+students. Keeping child safety and protection at the forefront in the US as pertains to school and community shootings that urgently require gun safety law reform, Co-Executive Producer, "Parkland Rising", a documentary film about the students and families that survived a mass school shooting and their journey as advocates for US gun safety reform. Interests: promoting the health and planetary benefits of a plant-based (Vegan) diet; alternative energy-powered cars.

Kiah Williams

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine - SIRUM, USA

Kiah Williams is Co-Founder and Managing Director of SIRUM, a non-profit social enterprise that drives the future of healthcare by connecting people with surplus medications. Prior to SIRUM, Williams helped create the Alliance Healthcare Initiative, a public-private partnership spearheaded by the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation that engaged Fortune 500 companies to expand healthcare benefits for 2 million children. Her work at SIRUM has been recognized by Forbes 30-Under-30 and Marie Claire's America's 50 Most Influential Women. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University.