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.

Drue Kataoka

Founder, Drue Kataoka Studios, USA

Technology Artist Drue Kataoka is known for creating interactive and engaging artworks with significant social impact using cutting edge technologies like virtual reality, brainwaves (EEG), and mobile platforms. Drue’s painting Up! has been featured in the first zero gravity art exhibit at the International Space Station. Drue is sought after for her intricate mirror-polished steel sculptures, cast with ancient metal-working techniques, and shaped with free form organic expression only recently made possible with virtual reality.

Drue’s piece “400,000 Is Not a Number” helped shine a light on the backlog of 400,000 untested rape kits waiting for justice, and her “Touch Our Future” digital tapestry drew the attention & participation of dozens of Nobel Laureates and heads of state to help reduce infant mortality.

Only 24 hours after its creation, Drue’s portrait of British M.P. and humanitarian Jo Cox flooded social media, newswires and TV. Drue’s posters were carried by tens of thousands of people in Trafalgar Square, Batley, Dublin, Buenos Aires, New York, Washington DC, and many other cities, as a symbol of our shared humanity.

Named a Young Global Leader & Cultural Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Drue was invited to give a solo exhibition at the WEF in Davos. Drue was also a featured speaker at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016.

Celebrating American women's "firsts," Drue’s iconic image Now Is The Time was launched around the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign. The only artwork officially unveiled at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Recent work has been featured on CNN, Returs, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, CNBC, CBS and ABC, and in Stanford Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News and others.

Graduate of Stanford University. Reacipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute Award for her extensive community service along with Secretary George Shultz.

Matthew Katz

Global Head, Data Science, Blackstone Group, USA

Matthew Katz is a Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of Data Science for Blackstone. He leads Blackstone’s team of data scientists and in this capacity partners with management teams and operators to accelerate growth across Blackstone’s portfolio companies by leveraging data science. He and his team additionally work closely with Blackstone’s investment teams to provide a differentiated viewpoint through advanced analytics during the investment process.
Before joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. Katz was a Vice President at Point72 Asset Management where he focused on data science and investing. He began his career at Credit Suisse.
Mr. Katz graduated with honors from Princeton University. He serves on the advisory board of Virginia Tech’s Academy of Data Science and is on the Blackstone Charitable Foundation Leadership Council.

Brian Kaufmann

Head, Private Equity; Portfolio Manager; Member of the Management Committee, Viking Global Investors, USA

Mr. Kaufmann is the Head of Private Equity and a Portfolio Manager for Viking Global Investors, LP, a global investment firm that manages over $40 billion. He is also a member of the firm's Management Committee. From 2010 to 2016, Mr. Kaufmann was a public equity Portfolio Manager and Investment Analyst responsible for investment ideas in the healthcare and life sciences sector. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Kaufmann was an Associate at TA Associates, where he was responsible for originating, researching and executing private equity investments in the healthcare and business services sectors. From 2003 to 2005, he was an Investment Banking Analyst in Merrill Lynch's Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Mr. Kaufmann is a graduate of Harvard Business School, where he received an MBA and was a Baker Scholar, and of Cornell University, where he received a B.S. in applied economics and business management, magna cum laude. In 2021, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Piia-Noora Kauppi

Partner, Odgers Berndtson, Finland

Partner, Odgers Berndtson. Member of the Board of Directors, UPM Kymmene plc & Gofore plc. Member of the Trilateral Commission. Member of the Board of Trustees of Helsinki Deaconess Institute. Managing Director of Finance Finland 2009 - 2022. Member of the European Parliament 1999–2008, Head of the Finnish Delegation in the EPP-ED Group 2004–2008. President of the European Banking Industry Committee EBIC 2010-2011. Chairman of the European Banking Federation Executive Committee 2014-2015.
Mrs Kauppi is married to Mr. Jussi Antero Järvinen (Partner, KPMG Finland) with four children, born in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2017. On her freetime she loves skiing, running and triathlon.

Tunde Kehinde

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lidya Holdings, Inc, Nigeria

Tunde Kehinde is the co-founder of Lidya: a digital fintech lender with operations in Africa and Europe, which allows SMEs in fast-growing economies to access financing and build a credit score within 24 hours. Tunde is a seasoned entrepreneur and was the co-founder of Jumia Nigeria, Africa’s first unicorn (publicly listed on the NYSE) and Africa Courier Express, an eCommerce delivery company. Tunde has prior experience as a business development executive with Diageo in London and as an investment banking professional with Wachovia Securities in North Carolina and New York City. Tunde holds a degree in Finance with honours from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Manish Kejriwal

Managing Partner and Founder, Kedaara Capital, India

1991, BA, Dartmouth (Economics and Engineering); 1995, MBA, Harvard (Baker Scholar). 1991-2004, Partner, McKinsey & Co. 2004-11, Senior Managing Director, Temasek Holdings. Member, Global IC & MC. Since 2011, Founder & Managing Partner, Kedaara Capital. India focused Private Equity GP with US$3.6 billion AUM. Formerly with World Bank and Goldman Sachs. Member of the Board: Bajaj; Bharti Airtel, Mindspace; Governing Boards: United World Colleges; Ashoka University. Member: YPO, EO. Harvard Alumni Board. Member: SEBI Committee; CII Co-chair of National Committee on PE.

Valerie Keller

Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, IMAGINE, United Kingdom

Imagine Co-Founder and CEO, Valerie helps leaders use their power for good. With deep expertise in transformation, she helps global corporations become purpose-led and future-fit -- and convenes cross-sector coalitions to accelerate tipping points for humanity’s Global Goals. Valerie is an Associate Fellow of the University of Oxford Saïd Business School where she directs executive education programs. Founder of Veritas and of Beacon Institute, she served as EY Global Markets Executive Director and CEO of US-based social enterprises addressing homelessness, healthcare and housing. She was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and serves on the Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Leadership Board.

Conrod Kelly

Managing Director, MSD, USA

Conrod Kelly is an award-winning marketer and industry leader, as well as a published author and sought-after speaker. Conrod’s tenure at Merck includes commercial leadership of the Diabetes, Anesthesia, Surgery, and Alzheimer’s Franchises. He is currently serving as Merck’s first Executive Director of Health Equity, leveraging data, digital solutions, partnerships, and policy frameworks to improve health outcomes and driving sustainable business and societal value. Prior to joining Merck, Conrod held roles at Johnson & Johnson in diabetes and GlaxoSmithKline in vaccines. In 2020, Conrod was recognized by Medical Marketing & Media’s inaugural 40 Under 40 in Healthcare. His work on the film A Touch of Sugar was a finalist for 33 industry awards and winner of 15. He also received the United Nations SDG Media Award and Top Black in Healthcare Award from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Conrod serves on the SDOH Taskforce and the Global Futures Council at the World Economic Forum. He received his MBA and BS from Florida A & M University and has continued his executive education at The Wharton School at UPenn and Duke University.

Ibram X Kendi

Director, Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University, USA

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a National Book Award-winning author of fifteen books for adults and children, including nine New York Times bestsellers—five of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor.

Dr. Kendi is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest author to win that award. He also authored the international bestseller, How to Be an Antiracist, which was described in the New York Times as “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.” Dr. Kendi’s other bestsellers include How to Raise an Antiracist; Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, co-edited with Keisha Blain; How to Be a (Young) Antiracist, co-authored with Nic Stone; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant.

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo

Regionalization & Just Transition Director; Special Adviser, UN Climate change High Level Champions, Botswana

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo's career spans trade & investment, finance & development, and public policy. She is the Regionalisation Director, and Special Advisor to the UN Climate Change High Level Champions.
Kenewendo served as a Specially Elected Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana. She serves in various corporate and philanthropic boards including as Chairperson of Bank Gaborone, Non-Executive Director of the Africa Free Trade Area adjustment Fund Corporation and the Africa Center for Economic Transformation.
She also advises governments and international institutions on trade and economic development policy.

Kenewendo has served the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Advisory group on the gender architecture of the UN and group on Financing for Development.
She is also a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Trade Advisory Group, Global Future Council on Global Public Goods in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and a WEF Young Global Leader. She is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Global Development.

She is frequently named among Africa's Most Influential People by various publications. In 2022 she was named among Prestigious Time magazine’s TIME100 Next Honorees highlighting 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.

Teresa K. Kennedy

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Power Living Enterprises, USA

Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Power Living Enterprises, training people in a conscious approach to wellness and success. She has produced hundreds of virtual/in-person mindfulness-based programmes with organizations such as Bloomberg Media and National Institutes of Health. She is also co-founder of Inner Dignity, a nonprofit using arts and media to empower and build mental resilience within the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) community. An advocate for human potential, she led the Young PWR Brokers, teaching self-esteem skills to girls; founded the Ta Yoga House, first yoga studio in Harlem, NY; and was biographer for yoga master Tao Porchon-Lynch, co-authoring two award-winning books and curating 66 one-of-a-kind events in 10 countries including the United Nations and World Government Summit in Dubai. She is a National Spokesperson for the American Heart Association and created Elder Dignity to transform views on aging and reform the adult guardianship system in the U.S. She produced the social impact video, The Deception of Protection (2019), moderated the #FreeBritney Symposium, and advised the #FreePeterMax campaign. She testified at the New York Senate Guardianship Roundtable Public Hearing and spoke at the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee, among other forums. Early career, she founded VH1 Interactive and VH1@Work Radio and was Vice-President of Business Development & Operations for MTV Networks where she managed a 200-person operation and launched six digital cable networks. At 20 years old, Kennedy consulted with Fortune 500 companies and wrote case studies at Harvard Business School. She has been in media, including CNN and Oprah's book Live Your Best Life! Kennedy has a dual BA in Sociology and Studio Art from Wellesley College, an MBA from Harvard, a PhD in World Religions, and executive education in Global Leadership and Public Policy. An American, she was born in Ghana, started school in Australia and studied design in Italy.

Niki Kerameus

Niki K. Kerameus started her career as a lawyer on major litigations, such as Enron and the AOL-Time Warner. While in Government, she has served on committees dealing with e-goverment, constitutional reform, education and youth.