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.

Naif Sheshah

Assistant Deputy Governor for Planning and Development; Chief Digital Officer, Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), Saudi Arabia

Naif Sheshah, serves as the Assistant Deputy Governor for Planning and Development & Chief Digital Officer at the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST), In addition to his role as the Chief Transformational Office at the Saudi Space Commission. He also has a wealth of corporate strategy experience and a reputation for developing and implementing complex technology business process solutions in demanding environments. Prior to his current role, Naif was the General Manager of Planning and Development & Acting General Manager of Postal and Logistics Services. Particular highlights of his time at the CST include spearheading the formulation of the organizational strategy for the year 2019-2023, playing a prominent role to develop the Saudi ICT sector strategy, and leading a team that was twice awarded the EFQM’s certificate of Institutional Commitment to Excellence. A strategic thinker who combines extensive corporate experience, an entrepreneurial spirit, and unique academic insight, Naif’s career has crosscuts with multiple sectors such as healthcare, education, aviation, telecommunications, and petrochemicals industries, where in due time he has demonstrated a strong track record helping to steer forward-thinking businesses through periods of significant growth, change, and improvement. Naif Sheshah is a graduate of INSEAD’s Management Acceleration Program and holds a master’s degree in Business Process Management from the Queensland University of Technology, in addition to a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. He sits on the board at the National Information Technology Academy, and for several years acted as ambassador for ADAA, the Kingdom’s center of excellence for performance measurement.

Ihor Shevchenko

Leader, Successful Ukraine Party, Ukraine

Leader of the Successful Ukraine Party, Director of the Institute for State Efficiency, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine (2014-2015), Presidential Candidate (2019), Attorney-at-Law, admitted in Ukraine and the State of New York (US)

Experience: Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine; Managing Partner, Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners, a law firm; Founder and President Emeritus, Ukrainian Bar Association; Founder, Forum of Young Ukrainian Leaders. Education: BA, School of International Law, Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University, Ukraine; LLM, University of Minnesota, US; studies at Yale and Harvard universities. Expertise and interests: politics, law, healthy lifestyle.

Lutfey Siddiqi

Chief Advisor’s Special Envoy on International Affairs, Bangladesh Government, Bangladesh

Special Envoy with the ministerial rank of advisor.
Visiting Professor-in-Practice at London School of Economics. Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore. Distinguished Fellow at Policy Research Institute, Bangladesh. Previously Global Head of Emerging Markets for FX Rates & Credit (FRC) UBS Investment Bank. Advisory Board, LSE Systemic Risk, LSE IDEAS, Singapore NUS Centre for Governance & Sustainability. Fmr. Governing Board: UWC Atlantic, ShareAction, NCC London. WEF Young Global leader, Global Futures Council.

Jagmeet Singh

Leader, Canada's New Democrats, New Democratic Party of Canada, Canada

Jagmeet Singh was born in Scarborough, Ontario and spent some time growing up on Canada's East coast before moving back to Southern Ontario. As a kid, he often felt on the margins and left out. That made him more determined to be himself. That’s why he grew up to defend the rights of others to be seen and heard for themselves. Jagmeet went to law school to stack his tool box to fight the powerful forces of poverty and racism. As a lawyer, he knew he could help those with little power and money to assert their own rights. He campaigned with anti-poverty groups and immigrant and refugee organizations for changes that would make people’s lives better. As a young man, his father became ill and he had to step up to care for his family. He experienced precarity and understood how important it is to have people around who care and can help. That’s just one of the reasons why he wants to help others. Jagmeet decided to run for office because too many government choices were hurting people, rather than helping them get ahead. As an MPP, Jagmeet took on auto insurance companies to end the exploitation of people. He fought for fair coverage at a fair price. Jagmeet also fought for workers at temporary job agencies so that they could get the security they deserve. He was tenacious about convincing the government to commit to ending arbitrary street checks or ‘carding’. As Leader of Canada’s NDP, Jagmeet believes that how we pay for and deliver services to Canadians must work everyone.

Virginijus Sinkevicius

Member of the European Parliament, European Parliament, Belgium

Virginijus Sinkevičius has been the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries since 2019. He was formerly the Minister of Economy of Lithuania (2017-2019). Before becoming the Minister of Economy, Sinkevičius led the Economic Committee of the Parliament of Lithuania. Sinkevičius was elected to Parliament in October 2016. Before that, he was a Team Lead for Regulatory Affairs at Invest Lithuania. Prior to joining Invest Lithuania, Sinkevičius was Managing Editor at the US Office of The Lithuanian Tribune in Washington D.C. Sinkevičius holds a BA in International Relations and Affairs from Aberystwyth University and a Master’s degree in European International Affairs from Maastricht University.

David Skilling

Founding Director, Landfall Strategy Group BV, Netherlands

Dr David Skilling is the founding Director of Landfall Strategy Group, an economic and policy advisory firm based in the Netherlands and Singapore. David advises governments, companies, and financial institutions in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe on the impact of global macro, globalisation, and geopolitics, from a small advanced economy perspective. David writes regularly on global economic and political issues, including in a column in Singapore's Straits Times as well as in the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Project Syndicate, and Nikkei Asian Review. David has recently served as a Senior Advisor to the McKinsey Centre for Government; as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs & Trade in New Zealand; and as a Fellow at Singapore’s Civil Service College. Previously, David was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in Singapore, as well as being a Senior Fellow with the McKinsey Global Institute. Prior to joining McKinsey at the start of 2009, David was the founding Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute, a privately funded, non-partisan think-tank. Until 2003, he was a Principal Advisor at the New Zealand Treasury, where he worked primarily on economic growth issues. David has a PhD in Public Policy and a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University, as well as a Master's of Commerce (Hons) in Economics from the University of Auckland.

Alexander Stubb

President of Finland, Office of the President of the Republic of Finland, Finland

President of the Republic of Finland 2024-ongoing. PhD in International Politics, London School of Economics. Formerly: 2004-08, Member of the European Parliament; 2008-11, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland; 2008-14, Minister of Foreign Affairs; 2014-15, Prime Minister of Finland; 2015-16, Minister of Finance; Adviser to the President of the European Commission; Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges; Counsellor and Researcher, Permanent Representation of Finland to the European Union; Researcher, Academy of Finland and Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Since March 2011, Member of the Finnish Parliament. Since June 2011, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade of Finland. Since August 2017, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank. Has participated in several EU intergovernmental conferences as Member of the Finnish government's delegation. Has published 11 books and numerous academic articles on the European Union; regular columnist for several papers.

Federico Sturzenegger

Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation of Argentina, Argentina

Degree in Economics, Universidad Nacional de La Plata; PhD in Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Former: Chief Economist, YPF; Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Los Angeles; Professor and Dean, Business School, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT); Visiting Professor of Public Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Started career in the public sphere as Secretary of Economic Policy of the Republic of Argentina; then President, Banco Ciudad of Buenos Aires; then Congressman in the Chamber of Deputies. Currently, Governor of the Central Bank of Argentina. Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum. Author of books on economic issues and various academic papers on international finance and macro-economic topics. Recipient, Konex award, for contribution to economic theory.

Omar Sultan Al Olama

Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama was appointed Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work of the United Arab Emirates in 2020. He joined the government in 2017 as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, where he was responsible for enhancing government performance by investing the latest technologies and tools of artificial intelligence and applying them in various sectors. Al Olama is also the Managing Director of the World Government Summit in the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, and Deputy Director of the Future Department at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, where he contributed to the preparation of the UAE Centennial 2071 strategy and the UAE 4th Industrial Revolution Strategy. Al Olama has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the American University of Dubai, and a Diploma in Project Management and Excellence from the American University of Sharjah.

Angela Tanoesoedibjo

Vice-Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia, Indonesia

Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman

Former Minister of Water Supply, Government of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman is Cabinet Minister for Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development in Sri Lanka. He is also General-Secretary of the Ceylon Workers Congress, that works towards the upliftment of historically marginalized plantation worker communities. Thondaman is also one of the youngest MPs elected in Sri Lanka, in 2020, aged 25. In his previous portfolio as State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure, he worked relentlessly to create a conducive environment for plantation workers, ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions and adequate benefits. As Minister for Water Supply, he has been spearheading ambitious reforms in the water sector to increase access to safe and affordable drinking water, create a climate resilience roadmap for water services and a transparent pricing formula that protects the most vulnerable in society. He continues to advocate for the rights of all marginalized people in Sri Lanka, especially workers, women, ethnic minorities and the LGBT+ community. In 2022, he became one of the first MPs to openly support the rights of the LGBT+ community. He is also known for his passion for art, culture and sport. Thondaman has a certification in Criminology from the London School of Economics and an LLB from Northumbria University.

Irene Tinagli

Member of the European Parliament, European Union, European Parliament, Belgium

Irene Tinagli is an economist, serving as an advisor for firms and governments on innovation and labor policies. From Feb 2013 to March 2018 she was a member of the Italian Parliament and of the permanent Committee on Labor and Employment. Previously she was an Academic, teaching and conducting research at the University Carlos III in Madrid. Her research focused on policies for innovation, creativity and regional development, studying and benchmarking hundreds of cities and regions worldwide. Her work on the creative potential of cities and regions has been featured in international journals such as Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times. She served as an Expert on Creativity and Innovation for the European Commission and consulted for the United Nations (UNDESA) as well as for several national and regional governments. She has been a columnist for the Italian newspaper La Stampa and is a published author. She received her PhD and Master's of Science in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.