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.

Eugene Chung

Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Penrose Studios, USA

Eugene Chung is a globally recognized Blockchain Metaverse influencer, filmmaker and investor as well as Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Penrose Studios. His latest work, “Arden's Wake", won the first Lion awarded for Best VR at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. Previously, he was Head of Film and Media and Co-Founder of Story Studio at Oculus VR, which was later acquired by Facebook for $2 billion. Prior to Oculus, he was in production at Pixar Animation Studios, a private equity investor at Warburg Pincus and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Chung earned his BSc degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar.

Claire Cormier Thielke

Asia CIO, ProLogis, USA

Claire Cormier Thielke is Asia CIO for ProLogis. Formerly, she was Country Head of Hines Greater China, one of the country’s largest international real estate developers; she formerly served as Chief Operating Officer of Investment Management for Hines, overseeing new product development and global fund operations for the firm's 39 investment vehicles active across 24 geographies. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Zillow Group, the world's largest online real estate marketplace, and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows. Ms. Cormier Thielke earned her undergraduate degree in Urban Planning, MA in Construction Management and a Degree of Engineer from Stanford University. She is member of Stanford University’s adjunct faculty, teaching on the intersection of technology, institutional investment and real assets. She has also written numerous scholarly contributions on green building, city planning, adaptive reuse and urban revitalization.

Alexis Crow

Partner; Global Head, Geopolitical Investing, PwC, USA

Dr Alexis Crow is Partner and Global Head of PwC’s Geopolitical Investing practice. A global economist who focuses on geopolitics and long-term investing, she works with the world’s leading companies and private investors to understand and navigate key macroeconomic dynamics impacting their business, strategy, and capital allocation decisions. In her remit, she covers Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and North America. Dr Crow is a public speaker and frequent contributor to leading global financial publications and media outlets, including the Financial Times, the New York Times, Bloomberg, BBC, BBC Arabic, France 24, CNN, and the Washington Post. Her research is focused on topics including financial stability, the future of trade and globalisation, global energy markets, and investing in real assets, technology, and the future of the consumer.

Prior to joining PwC, she taught at the London School of Economics; led a major policy research project at London UK-based think-tank Chatham House; and served as Managing Director at New York-based G2 Investment Group, where she was responsible for developing investment strategies for the firm and for providing counsel on geopolitical issues.

In addition to her role in PwC, Dr Crow is a Senior Fellow at Columbia Business School, and also with Observer Research Foundation in India, She serves as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Geopolitics, and is a Young Global Leader in the World Economic Forum.

She holds an MA Hons First Class from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and an MSc and a PhD from the London
School of Economics, and is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

Alejo Czerwonko

Chief Investment Officer, Emerging Markets, Americas, UBS AG, USA

Alejo is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, based in New York. In this capacity, Alejo leads a team of analysts focusing on emerging economies, influencing the allocation of billions of dollars of the firm's assets under management. As a member of two management forums at UBS, he helps set the strategic direction of the business. Alejo is also a professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches on capital markets in developing economies. Outside of business and academia, Alejo helps shape the policy debate impacting emerging markets through his involvement with leading global think tanks. He has been named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program and a Millennium Leadership Fellow by the Atlantic Council. He frequently appears on Bloomberg Television, CNBC, and CNN, and regularly contributes to financial publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal. Alejo earned a PhD in economics from Columbia University. He also holds degrees in economics and finance from Tilburg University and Universidad del CEMA.

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.

Rebecca Darwent

Founder, Rebecca Darwent Global, Canada

Rebecca Darwent is an internationally recognized expert in philanthropy and community-led initiatives. Her viral TED Talk, “How to fund real change in your community”, has had over 1 million views, inspiring positive social impact through collaborative approaches. With a diverse background spanning philanthropic advising, consulting and global partnerships, Darwent brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to all endeavours. She has led multimillion-dollar investments in equity, health and education and is currently Senior Advisor to Philanthropy Together, focusing on raising awareness and funding for collaborative funds, specifically those that are community-led. As Co-Founder of the Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC), Darwent spearheaded fundraising, community engagement and advocacy that resulted in a historic $200 million capital transfer to FFBC by the Canadian government. Under her leadership, an additional $25 million was raised for FFBC from private, public and corporate foundation partners. Darwent has served as Director of Global Partnerships at Singularity University, overseeing tech and education programmes across five continents. She also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Children and Youth Services, who was additionally responsible for the Anti-Racism Directorate in the Ontario provincial government. She is a dedicated volunteer, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the FFBC, Forward Global Canada and Laidlaw Foundation. She has been recognized as a Women Leaders for the World Fellow and honoured as a Canadian Millennium Laureate.

Alberto de Belaunde

Program Adviser, Global Advocacy, OutRight Action International, USA

Alberto de Belaunde (he/him) is the Program Adviser - Global Advocacy at OutRight. He is a lawyer with a master's degree in environmental management and postgraduate studies in public policy. He was the second openly gay congressman in the history of Peru. In 2019, he was awarded the Victory Institute Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award for his work on behalf of the LGBT+ community. In 2021 he was part of the Yale World Fellowship. He has published two books, one of them about openly LGBTQ+ authorities in Latin America.

Vilas Dhar

President and Trustee, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, USA

Vilas Dhar is a leading global voice on equity in a tech-enabled world and serves as President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a 21st century $1.5 billion philanthropy advancing AI and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all.
As a prominent scholar and civil society advocate on artificial intelligence policy and human outcomes, Vilas serves as the US Government Nominated Expert to the Global Partnership on AI, as a member of the OECD Expert Working Group on AI Futures, on the Global Future Council on AI at the World Economic Forum, on the Advisory Council at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), as Expert Contributor to OECD.AI, and as Co-Chair of the Global AI Action Alliance at the World Economic Forum.
Beyond matters of AI policy, Vilas serves as an active civic contributor, serving on the Board of Directors at AccessLex, as Advisor to MIT SOLVE, Director of the Network of Engaged International Donors, on the Board of Directors at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and as a Trustee of the Christensen Fund. He has been named a Young Global Leader and Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, and has previously served as a Senior Fellow of the Berggruen Institute, the Gleitsman Fellow on Social Change at Harvard University, Practitioner Resident on Artificial Intelligence at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Illinois.
Vilas holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and dual Bachelor's degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois. His doctoral dissertation at the University of Birmingham (in progress) drives novel approaches to economic and policy infrastructure for a data enabled society to support and empower vulnerable populations.

Roopa Dhatt

Executive Director, Women in Global Health, USA

Dr. Roopa Dhatt is a passionate advocate for gender equality in global health and a leading voice in the movement to correct the gender imbalance in global health leadership. She is also a practicing Internal Medicine physician in Washington, D.C. Dr. Dhatt is particularly committed to addressing issues of power, privilege, and intersectionality that keep many women from global health leadership roles and to opening up spaces for the voices of these women to be heard. Determined to build a movement to transform women’s leadership opportunities in health, Dr. Dhatt co-founded Women in Global Health in 2015. Today, Women in Global Health has 47 chapters, 100,000 supporters in more than 100 countries, and continues to grow. Dr. Dhatt, the Executive Director, the global team, and its network of chapters drive change by mobilizing a diverse group of emerging women health leaders, advocating for governments and global health leaders to meet commitments made, and holding those leaders to account. Dr. Dhatt has worked in global health for nearly 15 years, collaborating with 120+ countries. She holds numerous advisory and board roles. She advises global health institutions on matters of the health workforce, gender equity, and universal health coverage. Dr. Dhatt was recognized in the Gender Equality Top 100, the most influential people in global policy. She was on the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. She is a former W7 Germany Advisor and a current W7 Japan Advisor on advocating feminist agendas to the G7 governments (2023), a member of the Global Council on SDG3, a member of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Scientific Advisory Board, and is a member of the Virchow Prize Committee. She was invited as a public delegate to the historic U.S. Delegation to the United Nations 65th Commission of Status of Women Meeting in March 2021, which was led by Vice President Kamala Harris. She has published in the Lancet, British Medical Journal (BMJ), Devex, and Forbes and has been interviewed in National Geographic, Nature, NPR, EuroNews, and numerous other channels.

Porter Diehl

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Bridgewater Associates, USA

Porter joined Bridgewater in 2009 and is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. He partners with the CEO to set and drive the strategic goals and oversee the day-to-day management of the firm. Previously, Porter was Lead of Portfolio Analytics, working closely with our co-CIOs to evolve our portfolio construction process, evaluate and manage investment risks, and design investment strategies for clients. His work has included evolving our risk controls and event risk strategy, researching how to best combine beta and alpha, and systemizing our portfolio construction and trade generation logic. He is a member of the firm's Commercial and Business Strategy Committee, co-chair of the Operating Committee, and a Partner. Porter is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Abdigani Diriye

Head, Machine Learning, Atacana Group Inc, USA

Dr. Abdigani Diriye is a technology leader and entrepreneur who is having an impact in the AI and Fintech fields. Dr. Abdigani is Head of Machine Learning at Atacana Group Inc. and has held positions in industry and academia at Amazon, IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and Carnegie Mellon University where he led the development and deployment of machine learning-based systems and voice technologies to millions of people in the Middle East and Africa. Dr. Abdigani has commercialized various technologies and published over 50 papers and patents and holds a Ph.D. in computer science from University College London and an Executive MBA from INSEAD.

In acknowledgement to his contribution to innovation, Dr. Abdigani is a recipient of a TED Fellowship, Next Einstein Forum Fellowship, and NSF Fellowship and has been selected by MIT Technology Review, Quartz, and Institut Choiseul as one of the leading innovators and global leaders. Dr. Abdigani contributes to the research community and sits on the program committee of several Special Interest Groups and conferences including SIGIR, CHIIR, RecSys, and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

Margot Edelman

General Manager, Edelman, USA

Margot Edelman is the third generation in her family business, Edelman PR, and leads the New York office for the company. In her role as General Manager, she advises tech giants and industry disruptors alike on how to build trust and reputation.