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.

Nighat Dad

Board Member, The Oversight Board, United Kingdom

Lawyer and the Founder of Digital Rights Foundation which works to help Pakistani women fight against online harassment. Campaigner for online freedom and contributed to a law against acid attacks. Specializes in family law and cyber law and was named one of TIME magazine's next generation leaders. In 2016, awarded the Atlantic Council Digital Freedom Award and Dutch Government's Human Rights Tulip award. TED Fellow in 2016 and spoke at the TED Global stage.

Komal Dadlani

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Lab4U, Chile

Komal Dadlani is a Biochemist with an MSc from the University of Chile. In 2013 she started Lab4U to democratize science and change the way science is taught with a lab in the pocket. Today Lab4U is present in Latin American and the US with more than 120,000 students using Lab4Physics, their first product. Komal has been a recipient of the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards 2015, Toyota Mother of Invention Award 2017, MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35 Leaders in LatAm 2018, Ashoka Fellow and internationally recognized by The New York Times, Forbes, People Magazine, and the BBC for her work at Lab4U as a top female entrepreneur.

Sofana Dahlan

Founder and Managing Partner, Sofana Rabea Dahlan Law Firm, Saudi Arabia

Sofana Dahlan is an accomplished Saudi lawyer and social entrepreneur. She holds the prized distinction of being the first female lawyer to be permitted to practice law in Saudi Arabia and has served as a legal consultant in different parts of the Arab world including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

Dahlan practices in areas such as corporate and commercial law, intellectual property, arbitration, mediation, litigation and mergers and acquisitions with a special focus on creative industries. She is an effective negotiator and has achieved notable success in helping her clients resolve their conflicts and reach settlements through mediation.

Currently, Dahlan is involved with the Saudi Bar Association as the first female to serve on the Fee Assessment Committee. She has regularly engaged and sat on the board of various entities, such as Khadija Bint Khuwailid Centre and Namaa Almunawara, to advise on corporate governance matters, crises and special situations.

Her time in the private sector has also been dedicated to setting up many social enterprises that focus on developing the creative industries in the region. She is the founder of Tashkeil – a Saudi-based social enterprise that incubates, accelerates and promotes creative entrepreneurs. She is also the founder of Kayanspace – a membership-based environment for creative professionals, entrepreneurs and freelancers along with the Saudi National Creative Initiative (SNCI) - a collaborative creative knowledge transfer platform.

Dahlan has also served in the public sector as the Vice Governor for Entrepreneurship Advancement at the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority of Saudi Arabia from 2016 to 2017, making her the first Saudi female senior economic policymaker.
Dahlan is an avid advocate of cultural, heritage and socially oriented issues. She has spoken at public platforms such as TEDx, BOLDtalks Women, World Economic Forum, MITEF Enterprise Forum and Estoril Conferences and has penned numerous articles on topics such as women’s rights, social values, and interreligious dialogue.

She has completed an undergraduate degree in Law (LLB) from Cairo University and a postgraduate degree in Islamic Law from the Higher Institute of Islamic Studies in Egypt along with an MBA from the American University of Technology.

Dahlan participated in the Harvard Executive program Leading for the Future: The Arab Region in a Changing World in 2011 and has obtained executive degrees in Global Leadership and Public Policy from Harvard University in 2015, Art of Successful Negotiations from Harvard University (Law School) in 2017, Transformational Leadership from the University of Oxford in 2018 and Public Leadership from Apolitical Academy in 2021.

Mehmet Gürcan Daimagüler

Special Adviser, Tropical General Investments Group, Nigeria

Lawyer and Public Policy Expert based in Germany. PhD in Philosophy, JD, University of Bonn; MPA, Harvard University. Expert on renewable energy technologies. 1997-2005, Member of Federal Board, Free Democratic Party of Germany; currently, Partner, Thomsen Partner Law Firm, Berlin. World Fellow, Yale University. Lucius N. Littauer Fellow, Harvard University. Member of the Advisory Board, Yale World Fellows Program

Matt Dalio

Founder and Chair, Endless OS, USA

Matt Dalio is Founder and Chair of Endless, a collection of affiliated companies and initiatives focused on building and supporting technology that drives social impact. Prior, he launched The Issue, an online media venture aimed at curating the best of the blogosphere. After merging The Issue into PBS's world news programme, he joined Harbor Point, one of the East Coast's largest urban renewal projects to revitalize the waterfront of Stamford, Connecticut. Dalio also holds positions on the boards of the Half The Sky Foundation and China Care Foundation, which he founded at the age of 16 to offer orphaned children a brighter future. For his work, Dalio was honoured as one of Oprah Winfrey’s People Changing the Lives of Children Around the World, was one of Teen People's 20 Teens Who Will Change the World, and is the youngest recipient of the Fulbright Award for furthering peace and international understanding. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Winston Damarillo

Chief Executive Officer, Talino Ventures, USA

CEO of Talino Ventures, a Global Venture Builder

Rose Damen

Managing Director, Damen Yachting, Netherlands

Rose Damen is a Young Global Leader and the Managing Director of Damen Yachting. She has grown this division from luxury yachts into a business that inspires its clients to explore adventurously and also responsibly. Rose introduced a sustainability agenda to Damen Yachting, while supporting broader projects to protect the oceans. She is an advocate for gender balance and diversity. A graduate of INSEAD, Rose has prior experience as an investment research analyst in the UK and NGO coordinator in Sri Lanka. She serves on an number of non-profit boards, including those focused on the arts.

Akim Daouda

Chief Executive Officer, Gabonese Sovereign Wealth Fund (FGIS), Gabon

Chief Executive Officer of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Gabonese Republic. The mission of the fund is to transfer wealth across generations by transforming finite resources into sustainable financial assets. Passionate about unlocking value for the region and bridging inequalities; oversees the SWF’s full portfolio of more than 100 investments spanning several sectors. Also articulates the fund investment strategy and provides high-level leadership. Works closely with government leaders and ministries, as well as private sector champions on issues related to economic development, industrial growth and transformation. 2017, joined the “Choiseul 100 Africa” list by Institut Choiseul. Ranked among Young African Business Leaders under the age of 40 who are expected to play a major and transformative role in the continent's economic development.

Bernice Dapaah

Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Bamboo Bikes, Ghana

Executive Director of the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative, leading the initiative to develop from a project idea to a social enterprise that has won several international awards, including the 2013 UNFCCC Momentum For Change Light House Activity Award (Women For Results Category), World Business and Development Award 2012, UN Habitat/Dubai International Best Practice Award 2012, Samsung/Generations For Peace Impact Award 2012, GIZ Impact Business Award 2011, and UNEP SEED Initiative Award 2010. 2013, named a Vital Voices Lead Fellow; won the 2013 International Women Alliance World of Difference Award. Member of the Advisory Board, World Intellectual Property Organization GREEN, Switzerland. Graduate, Christian Service University, Ghana.

Lucy d'Arville

Partner, Bain International Inc., Australia

A rising leader in Australian business focused on transforming health care, d'Arville's work with large payer and provider organisations has had a significant impact in creating more customer-centric and efficient operations. She is also passionate about having an impact in the social sector. This includes leading Bain Australia's social impact practice, supporting OzHarvest in their efforts to reduce food waste and co-leading Bain's collaboration with Social Ventures Australia and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute on Restacking the Odds to tackle intergenerational disadvantage.

Patricia Ellen da Silva

Partner; Head, Brazil Office, SYSTEMIQ, United Kingdom

Currently Systemiq Managing Partner in Brazil and vó-founder of Aya Coalition. Former Secretary of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Labour of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum, 2016 in recognition of achievements on digital innovation, education and economic development in government. Lectures on Leadership and Digital Innovation at the Master of Public Management Program of the Center for Public Leadership (CLP). MPA, Harvard Kennedy School; MBA, INSEAD. Chief Executive Officer of Optum Brazil until 2018; previously Partner at McKinsey & Company for nearly 18 years. Focused on public sector challenges, led projects in education, health, economic development, with special focus on digital government innovation. Co-Founder of Movimento Agora!, which seeks to modernize public policy provision and management by promoting social engagement, to build a more humane and sustainable country.

Vera Daves de Sousa

Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance of Angola, Angola

Vera Esperança dos Santos Daves de Sousa, was born in Luanda and has a degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Angola (UCAN). She is the first woman rising to the post of Minister of Finance in Angola. Before her appointment she was Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury. Her curriculum includes the Course on Banking Techniques and Practices by the Institute for Banking Training and Derivatives and Bond Markets Course in ICAP (Portugal). She started the career at Sonangol ESSA. After she worked at Banco Privado Atlântico as Head of Research and Products Office. From 2014 to 2016 she has the position of Executive Director of the Capital Market Commission (CMC) where became from September 2016 to October 2017 the Chairman of the Capital Market Commission. She was engaged in teaching Financial Markets at the Executive MBA promoted by the Catholic Business School Alliance and teacher of Public Finance and Economic Integration at Catholic University of Angola (UCAN) - Faculty of Economics. Vera Daves de Sousa also played the role of Economic commentator in various media. She was the co-author of a book on Public Finance. Her hobbies are dance, yoga and reading.