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.

Jennifer (Jen) Auerbach-Rodriguez

Managing Director, Merrill Lynch, USA

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.

Ronit Avni

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Localized, USA

Ronit Avni is an entrepreneur and Peabody award-winning producer operating at the intersection of tech, media, workforce development, green jobs and social impact. She is founder and CEO of Localized, a career tech platform that connects university students and fresh graduates in emerging markets with industry experts to guide them and employers to hire them. The platform is focused on careers of the future from AI to carbon analysis. The strongest global companies including Google, PayPal, Amazon, Unilever and Cisco and the world’s leading educational institutions across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America use Localized.

Ronit is spearheading a pilot partnership to train and place fresh graduates across MEA in carbon and ESG analyst roles. Her team hosts the largest Green Talent Forum for students and recent graduates worldwide.

Previously, Ronit founded and led the media organization, Just Vision, which creates documentary films, news analysis and public education campaigns. She has won dozens of media prizes including the Puma Creative Impact Award, and her team’s work was featured in nearly every major news outlet and viewed by tens of millions of people on TV, online and in influential settings from TED to the United Nations.

Named a Young Global Leader through the World Economic Forum in 2009, Ronit sits on the jury of the Global Teacher Prize. She recently published a chapter in both the Routledge International Handbook of Diaspora Diplomacy and the IOM’s The Future of Diasporas entitled Using Technology to Channel Diaspora Knowledge Remittances at Scale. Ronit is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s current Global Future Council (GFC) on the Future of Job Creation

Born and raised in Montreal, Ronit began her career at WITNESS.org, which advises activists and technology companies on the ethical and strategic uses of video and digital technology for human rights. She co-edited the book, “Video for Change - A Guide for Advocacy and Activism” with WITNESS and now sits on the WITNESS Advisory Council.

Zubaida Bai

President and Chief Executive Officer, Grameen Foundation, USA

Zubaida Bai is President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, headquartered in Washington, DC.

Bai is a social entrepreneur and women's health advocate with more than 18 years in the social impact space. She is the founder of ayzh®, a social enterprise that designs vital healthcare products to improve the health and happiness of women and girls across their reproductive lives. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, she was the managing director of social ventures at CARE International.

Bai has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Maternal Health Champion by Ashoka, a TED Fellow/ Speaker, and named United Nations SDG 3 Pioneer by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). She is a Visiting Social Innovator with Harvard University’s Social Innovation Change Initiative (SICI) and a member of the Governing Body at SEMA (Shaping Equitable Market Access) for Reproductive Health.

She holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Colorado State University. She was also conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Claremont Graduate University in 2018 for her ability to work at the intersection of various sectors seamlessly, and to energetically bring her unique insights and fresh perspective to the table.

Moritz Baier-Lentz

Partner and Head of Gaming & Interactive Media, Lightspeed Venture Partners, USA

Moritz Baier-Lentz is a Partner and the Head of Gaming at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a globally leading venture capital firm with over $29 billion in capital under management and more than 500 investments across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Moritz loves to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs and has served as an investor, board member, and advisor to founders who led the creation of games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Wild Rift, Apex Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, StarCraft II, and Warcraft III.

Previously, Moritz was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he founded and led the firm's global gaming practice, and a #1 ranked professional video gamer among 13 million players of Blizzard's Diablo II. He was recognized among the ‘30 Under 30’ (Forbes), ‘40 Under 40’ (Capital), 'Young Leaders' (Atlantik-Brücke), and 'Young Global Leaders' (World Economic Forum). Moritz holds an M.B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, where he graduated with distinction (Arjay Miller Scholar).

In his personal time, Moritz is an avid Ironman and ultramarathon athlete, including the 250 km Marathon des Sables and the World Marathon Challenge (7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days).

Priyanka Bakaya

Commercialization Adviser, US Department of Energy, USA

Priyanka Bakaya is a climate technology commercialization advisor who has been recognized on the Forbes 30 under 30 List, the Fortune 40 Under 40: Ones to Watch List, Conscious Company's Top 30 Social Entrepreneurs List, is a Cartier Women's Initiative Award Laureate, and is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She is a graduate of MIT Sloan and Stanford University with Honors and has completed Executive Education at Harvard's Kennedy School and Princeton's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.

Bakaya currently serves as an advisor on Technology to Market Commercialization to the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). She began her career in finance and venture capital, and currently serves on the Impact Committee of the Circular Innovation Fund. She brings extensive experience as a climate tech entrepeneur and coaches founders on the topics of entrepreneurship and sustainability through MIT Bootcamps. She has been invited as a keynote speaker and panelist at dozens of global conferences across six continents; presenting at events such as Fortune Brainstorm Green, Sustainable Brands, Global Entrepreneurship Summit, TEDx, and more.

Angela Baker

Chief Sustainability Officer, Qualcomm, USA

Angela Baker is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Qualcomm where she oversees all corporate responsibility and ESG programming. This includes the company's climate strategy and net-zero emissions by 2040 goal as well as several other ESG 2025 targets. She also manages all social impact programs, including Wireless Reach, a strategic initiative that brings wireless technology to under-served communities globally. Wireless Reach invests in projects that foster entrepreneurship, aid in public safety, enhance the delivery of health care, enrich teaching and learning and improve environmental sustainability. To date, Wireless Reach has partnered with hundreds of organizations on programs in over 40 countries and has reached over 20 million beneficiaries. The team also includes strategic corporate giving around Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs.

Previously, she served as an advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton in the Office of Innovation at the United States Department of State, where she worked on foreign policy goals connected to the 21st Century Statecraft agenda through bilateral and multilateral engagement with strategic partners on technology and development issues. Specifically, she was part of a team that designed and implemented “Techcamp” – an ongoing program that connects civil society across the globe with new and emerging technology resources to solve real world challenges and build digital capacity - in over 30 countries.

Prior to working in the Obama Administration, Baker worked for an international advocacy firm in Seattle, WA, where she helped to create nongovernmental organizations focused on helping those in need.

Baker has worked in several countries spanning five continents. She has a Master’s Degree in International Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and sits on the board of Running Start, an organization that works to bring more young women to politics and leadership roles. She serves on the Advisory Committee on Public Issues for the Ad Council, working on the some of society's most pressing social issues. She has also been named to the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society 2016 Rising Talents Program.

Miranda A. Ballentine

CEO, Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, USA

BSc (Hons) in Neuro-Psychology, Colorado State University; MBA, George Washington University. Former: Vice-President, Investor Analysis and Chief Operating Officer, David Gardiner & Associates; Director, Sustainability, Global Renewable Energy and Sustainable Facilities, Walmart Stores, developing strategies to reach goal to be supplied by 100% renewable energy. Then Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Installations, Environment, and Energy), a 4-star civilian equivalent position; integral member of the Air Force’s top executive team; responsible for the oversight, formulation, and execution of plans, policies, programmes and budgets for: 170 Air Force installations; a $9 billion annual energy budget; a $4.5 billion annual construction budget; environmental conservation, restoration & compliance programmes for nine million acres of land, 200 miles of coast line, 600,000 acres of forestland, and 270,000 acres of wetlands; safety and occupational health for 660,000 employees; and programme execution by 50,000 engineers around the world. September 2017, joined the Rocky Mountain Institute; currently, Managing Director, Business Renewables Center, driving innovation in advanced energy to improve national security, drive economic gains, and solve climate challenges. RMI's BRC serves over 200 members, who have collectively completed over 8,000 renewable energy deals. Public speaker.

Daniella Ballou-Aares

Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Now Project, USA

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Now Project, an organization of business professionals committed to renewing American democracy. Former Partner and current Adviser, Dalberg; was member of the founding team that grew the firm from a start-up to the leading global group of social impact businesses with 25 offices across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Until 2017, served in the Obama Administration for five years as Senior Adviser for Development to Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry; focused on modernizing the US government’s approach to frontier markets by boosting private capital and infrastructure investments; was instrumental in securing a 193-country agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals. Young Global Leader and member of its Advisory Council, World Economic Forum. Member, Council on Foreign Relations. Former Consultant, Bain & Company; advised financial services, private equity, telecom, healthcare and consumer product firms in the US, UK and South Africa. BSc in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Cornell University; MBA, Harvard Business School; MPA, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

H.R.H. Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the USA, Embassy of Saudi Arabia, USA

Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud was appointed Ambassador to the
United States on February 23, 2019, by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman
bin Abdulaziz. She is the first woman in the country’s history to serve in the role of Ambassador.
She presented her credentials to President Donald Trump on July 8, 2019.
In Saudi Arabia, Princess Reema focused on private sector initiatives and the empowerment of
women in the Kingdom. From 2007 until 2015, Princess Reema was the Chief Executive Officer
of Alfa International Company Limited - Harvey Nichols Riyadh, a multi-brand luxury retail
company, during which she commissioned a study on Obstacles for Women in the Workplace,
which set the tone for female inclusion in retail and resulted in opening the first workplace
nursery. In 2013, she founded Alf Khair, a social enterprise aimed at elevating the professional
capital of Saudi women through a curriculum developed to enable financial self-sufficiency.
In 2016, Princess Reema left the private sector to begin a career of public service as Vice
President of Women’s Affairs at the Saudi General Sports Authority where she developed
policies and programs that benefited women and children throughout Saudi Arabia. After a
successful year, she was promoted to Deputy of Development and Planning in January 2018. In
October 2018, she was also appointed President of the Mass Participation Federation, making
her the first woman to lead a multi-sports federation in the Kingdom, a role that she occupied
until her appointment as Saudi Ambassador to the United States.
As part of her philanthropic work, Princess Reema became a founding member of the Zahra
Breast Cancer Awareness Association in 2007, which set a Guinness World Record by forming
the World’s Largest Human Awareness Ribbon at Princess Noura University in Riyadh in 2015.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in Museum Studies from George Washington University and an
honorary doctorate from Marymount University.
Princess Reema has served as a member of the World Bank’s advisory council for the Women
Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative since 2017. She has been a member of the Saudi Arabian
Olympic Committee since 2017-2019 and a member of the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) Women in Sports Commission since 2018. She is also a member of the IOC Brisbane
2032 Coordination Commission.
Princess Reema also serves as the Head of the Executive Committee for the Fashion
Commission at the Ministry of Culture, and as an Honorary Chairman of the Saudi Special
Olympics. Princess Reema is a member of the Voting Council for the RBG Awards. She also
serves as a Board Member for Panthera’s Conservation Council and the Future Investment
Initiative.

Rye Barcott

Co-Founder and CEO, With Honor, USA

Rye Barcott is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan political nonprofit that fights polarization in Congress with principled veteran leadership. He has built his career in service and entrepreneurship by building bridges across often difficult divides. While in service in the Marines, he co-founded the non-governmental youth leadership and public health organization CFK Africa headquartered in the Kibera informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya. The memoir he wrote for students, It Happened on the Way to War, juxtaposes military service in the Marine Corps and social entrepreneurship. Dartmouth awarded Barcott an honorary doctorate in humane letters following its release.

After serving in the Marines in Iraq, Bosnia, and the Horn of Africa, Barcott earned his MBA and MPA at Harvard as a Center for Public Leadership Social Entrepreneurship Fellow. Prior to cofounding With Honor with David Gergen, he co-founded and led the solar power investment firm Double Time Capital, and previously served as Special Advisor to the CEO of Duke Energy, where he started and led a clean energy investment team. Barcott serves on the boards of the CFK Africa, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, NDI, Veterans Bridge Home, and the U.S. Institute for Peace. He was a YGL class of 2011.

Elena Barmakova

Chairman of the Board, Fontvieille Capital Inc., USA

Elena Barmakova is Chairman of the Board of Fontvieille Capital, a USA-based financial firm that specializes in strategic advising to family offices and ultra high net worth individuals, offers sports investments, real estate investments, as well as advising companies in identifying and structuring international strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Elena Barmakova has over 20 years of international capital market experience in the successful arrangement and development of special situations and cross-border opportunities. Ms. Barmakova is a world-renowned expert and business pioneer, who is internationally recognized for her accomplishments in the highly specialized investment banking spheres. She has worked with venture capital, investment banking firms and leading banking institutions in the USA, Switzerland and Monaco. Ms. Barmakova has a Master's Degree in Finance and Economics and is licensed to transact financial securities and real estate.
Ms. Barmakova was a professional basketball player in Russia and she holds a degree from the Institute of Physical Culture as well as was awarded a diploma for her "Extraordinary Achievements in Sports”.
Elena was one of the finalists and participants in the “Miss USSR” beauty contest, “Best Model of the World” and similar events. She was engaged in media outlets and fashion representations in support of these efforts internationally with various designer brands. Ms. Barmakova is Founder of LenaLoren™ fashion brand.
Elena Barmakova is a member of the WEF Alumni Young Global Leaders. She has completed the YGL executive education program Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century at the John F. Kennedy School of Harvard University.
Since 2017, Elena has been developing sport projects in Europe and Middle East to maximise the commercial opportunity that exists in sports, from the investment model behind Football Clubs, Basketball Clubs, motorsports.
In 2019 Ms. Barmakova was an Advisor to Monaco's Sport Foundation (under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco).
Ms. Barmakova is residing in USA and Monaco, Elena is fond of yachting.

Maria Bartiromo

Anchor; Editor, Global Markets, Fox Business Network, USA

Graduate, New York University. January 2014, joined Fox Business Network (FBN); currently, Anchor and Global Markets Editor. Anchors "Mornings with Maria" on FBN and "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News Channel. She is also the anchor for FBN’s weekly primetime investing program "Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street". Has covered business and the economy for more than 30 years and was one of the building blocks of business cable network CNBC. First journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Author of several books, including: "The Cost: Trump, China and American Revival"; "The Weekend That Changed Wall Street"; "The 10 Laws of Enduring Success". Recipient of numerous awards, including: News and Documentary Emmy for Bailout Talks Collapse programme (2008); second Emmy for documentary Inside The Mind of Google (2009); Gracie Award for Greenspan: Power, Money & the American Dream; named one of the 50 Faces That Shaped the Decade, Financial Times (2009); inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame Class of 2011 for impact on the cable industry.