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.

Sofia Elizondo

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Brightseed, USA

Sofia Elizondo is a biotech entrepreneur. She is co-founder and COO of Brightseed, an AI company that discovers bioactive molecules for health based in San Francisco. Brightseed makes proactive, precision health a reality by using pioneering advancements in machine learning to identify bioactive molecules in nature. Brightseed has commercialized novel bioactives in gut health and has a pipeline with nutritional and therapeutic applications across a dozen health areas. It been selected as a Technology Pioneer by the WEF and awarded distinctions by Forbes, Nutritional Outlook, R&D World, Rabobank, FastCompany, Nutra Ingredients and Nutritional Business Journal.

Sofia has helped build multimillion-dollar companies and brands in the consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and technology industries. Before Brightseed, Sofia led the commercialization of plant-based protein products, including the novel mung bean protein isolate. She began her career at the Boston Consulting Group and was also a founding member of the BCG Henderson Institute; the consulting firm's think tank on the future of business innovation. She also served as a Special Advisor to the United Nations supporting their work with the private sector. Her decades of leadership now enable Brightseed's mission to illuminate nature to restore human health.

Sofia's accolades include Top 40 Under 40, San Francisco Business Times; WEF Young Global Leader; 100 Women of Influence, Entrepreneur Magazine; EXTRAORDINARY leaders in Health, Newsweek; Top 100 Female Founders, Inc. Magazine; Women in AI Award, VentureBeat. She has spoken at conferences ranging from nutrition industry with the American Nutrition Association to artificial intelligence and global affairs with the Milken Global Institute and JP Morgan Tech Revolution. Sofia holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jonathan Fantini Porter

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Partnership for Central America, USA

Jonathan Fantini Porter is a government official and executive in the private and social sectors. He currently serves as CEO of the public-private Partnership for Central America and previously held leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, The White House, U.S. Congress, and McKinsey & Company.

Under his tenure, the Partnership raised $4.2 billion in foreign direct investment, procurement, and lending in 18 months for projects in the region and delivered programs to 5 million individuals across environmental, social, and governance programs to address the economic roots of migration in frontier and emerging markets. The Partnership has been cited by the President of Microsoft, Administrator of USAID Samantha Power, and the President of the World Bank as a case study on how to mobilize private sector investments for public-private economic development partnerships.

Jonathan previously served as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company; advisor on national security and private sector engagement to the Presidential transition of Joe Biden; a White House advisor on transnational security during the Presidency of Barack Obama; as a senior congressional aide in the U.S. Congress; and Chief of Staff in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he oversaw management operations of a $6 billion homeland security budget supporting 22,000 personnel in 48 countries.

He was named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and has served on advisory bodies to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, World Economic Forum, Amnesty International, and as a consulting fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Jonathan is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Georgetown University and was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship. He speaks Spanish, French, and German.

Laure Forgeron

Chief Underwriting Officer Casualty, Swiss Re America Holding Corporation, USA

Laure is a Managing Director at Swiss Re and leader of the single risk business in EMEA. Leading a team of nearly 100 colleagues and managing premium income of USD1bn, she is the youngest Managing Director of this leading Global Risk carrier. Together with her team, she is fully engaged to deliver on Swiss Re's purpose to make the world more resilient. Beyond work, Laure is committed to empowering the disadvantaged. She is involved in initiatives to promote diversity, including being a champion for women in STEM, supporting entrepreneurship in Africa and Chair of philanthropy committee of the Swiss Re Foundation in Switzerland. She is the happy mother of three young children and lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Jocelyn Formsma

Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Friendship Centres, Canada

Jocelyn Formsma is the CEO of the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC), a lawyer, Board Member of the Indigenous Bar Association, advisor to the Ontario Indigenous Youth Partnership Project, and recently appointed as a Board of Trustee of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.

Ms. Formsma is a member of the Moose Cree First Nation in Northern Ontario, Canada and currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Ottawa. Ms. Formsma has over 20 years of work and volunteer experience building strong relationships and advocacy on behalf of Indigenous peoples. She is called to the Bar of Ontario and has worked as a lawyer for a First Nations-owned law firm. In previous roles, Jocelyn was appointed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance's Task Force on Women and the Economy, is past Chairperson of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, volunteered in community radio, and was a Board Member of the National Indian Child Welfare Association.

As CEO, Ms. Formsma brings her legal training and passion for Access to Justice to her work with Indigenous peoples in urban environments and the Friendship Centre Movement towards innovative, positive, and effective systemic change for Indigenous peoples.

Camille François

Chief Innovation Officer, Graphika, USA

Camille François is an authority on digital safety and security, specializing in cyber conflict, online harms and artificial intelligence. For the past decade she has advised governments and parliamentary committees on both sides of the Atlantic – from investigating Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election on behalf of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, to leading the French government’s 2022 inquiry into the economic opportunities and social challenges presented by the metaverse. In 2023, President Emmanuel Macron of France appointed François to steer a national consultative assembly (États Généraux) on information and society. She is Senior Director for Trust & Safety at Niantic, an augmented reality company, where she built and now leads the trust and safety function.

François was previously Chief Innovation Officer at Graphika, overseeing investigations, analysis and research in cybersecurity and disinformation networks. As a leading figure in trust and safety, she has pioneered methodological advances. She is a faculty member at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches trust and safety, and heads a programme on artificial intelligence and democracy. François has been recognized as a TIME 100 NEXT and MIT Tech Review 35 Under 35 honouree in 2019 for her contributions to making digital technologies safer and more trustworthy.

Marissa Giustina

Research Scientist and Quantum Electronics Engineer, Google, USA

Marissa Giustina is a staff research scientist and quantum electronics engineer. She developed and deployed superconducting device packaging that enabled Google’s unprecedentedly capable “quantum supreme” Sycamore processor. As head of device packaging and co-author of the team’s roadmap, Giustina is responsible for both research and engineering developments in the device integration that lies at the heart of the quantum computing hardware system. Giustina studied engineering at Dartmouth College with a focus on electrical and materials engineering, moving to foundational research in experimental quantum physics at Uni of Vienna. For her PhD (advised by quantum pioneer Anton Zeilinger), she designed and built a 60-meter-long precision apparatus, leading a local team and collaborating with senior scientists at five institutions to settle a 50-year outstanding challenge in the foundations of quantum mechanics. Giustina joined Google in 2016. As Google Quantum AI’s first female scientist, she helped grow the team to ~150 members. She is a highly sought-after speaker: as Senior Technical Spokesperson for Policy Engagements, she represents Google to prominent global academic, government, and media audiences. She prioritizes meeting students, especially from underrepresented backgrounds, undertaking one-on-one mentorships. Giustina featured in Fortune’s 40 Under 40, and Future 50. She served on US National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee as its youngest member (2020-22)

Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty

Senior Vice-President, Delivery, Uber Technologies, USA

As Senior Vice President for Delivery, and member of the management board, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty oversees the company's on-demand delivery efforts, including the Uber Eats app, which operates in more than 6,000 cities around the world. Prior to this role, he served as the Vice President for Uber's ride-hailing business outside of North America. After spending time at Goldman Sachs, starting a hedge fund at the age of 26, and harnessing a big urge to build something, Pierre joined Uber as the General Manager of France in 2012, launching Paris, Uber’s first international city. As one of the earliest members of the team, he scaled Uber across Europe before taking on the challenge of international expansion. He now brings his experience and expertise to Uber Eats. As a business leader, Pierre champions diversity and inclusion, and has become a driving force to empower women within and outside Uber. Pierre is an Executive Sponsor of the Women of Uber Employee Resource Group and a strong proponent of new ways to attract and retain female talent at Uber. He is a French citizen and lives in Amsterdam with his wife and two sons.

Megan Greenfield

Partner, McKinsey & Company, USA

Megan Greenfield, Ph.D., Partner with McKinsey & Company, is a recognized leader in healthcare, COVID-19 economic recovery, and advancing equity in the workplace. Megan works with healthcare companies across the value chain on how to drive growth. She helped design one of the first state-level COVID-19 economic recovery plans in the United States, building a framework that has been adopted by states, cities, and organizations nationwide. Megan is a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and researches ways for employers to understand gender and racial bias within their companies (processes, benefits, etc.) so they can make changes to support their diverse employees. Megan has led numerous DEI executive meetings, authored several white papers, and is leading many DEI initiatives within McKinsey. Megan received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in chemical and biological engineering and she holds a B.S. degree from the California Institute of Technology, where she majored in chemical engineering. Megan is a WEF Young Global Leader (Class of 2021) and on the Board of Advisors of the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts.

Cyrus Habib

Priest, Society of Jesus (Jesuits), USA

2016, elected Lieutenant Governor, at the age of 35. Had previously served in the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, as Democratic Whip and a member of the Democratic leadership team. As Lt. Governor, he is President of the State Senate, serves as Acting Governor whenever the governor leaves the state, and oversees an agency whose key issues include economic development, trade, and higher education. Currently, Co-Chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. A three-time cancer survivor, has been fully blind since age eight. Parents immigrated to the US from Iran; the first and only Iranian-American to hold statewide elected office in the United States. Graduate, Columbia University, Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and Yale Law School. Former Editor, Yale Law Journal. Practiced law at Perkins Coie and served as Distinguished Lawmaker in Residence at Seattle University Law School. Truman Scholar, Soros Fellow, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kim Hallwood

Head, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Bank Canada, HSBC, Canada

Kim Hallwood is a sustainability professional who is passionate about using business as a catalyst for positive, long-lasting change. As a member of HSBC Bank Canada’s Executive Committee and HSBC’s global Corporate Sustainability Executive Committee, Kim shapes the development and leads the local execution of a sustainability strategy for one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations. Under her leadership, the bank has been consistently recognized as one of Canada’s best corporate citizens and is actively managing the risks and opportunities presented by the transition to a low carbon economy. Kim has served as Director on the HSBC Global Asset Management (Canada) Board since 2020.
Kim is a World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global Leader. Kim has been recognized among BIV’s 500 most influential business leaders in British Columbia, WXN’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and Canada's Clean50 Emerging Leaders. She is Executive Sponsor of the bank’s national Balance Network which supports the recruitment, development, advancement and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Kim holds an MBA (Distinction) and various professional sustainability certifications.

Bicheng Han

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BrainCo, USA

Bicheng Han is the founder and CEO of BrainCo. He is dedicated in the research and application using the technology of non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI). Bicheng found BrainCo in 2015, while he was pursuing his PhD degree at Harvard Center for Brain Science. The company has now grown into a world-leading brain-computer interface (BCI) company and the first unicorn among all BCI companies in the world. Their technology has been applied in multiple fields to help people with different needs, from neurological diseases like ADHD, Alzheimers, and Autism, to prostheses that help people with disabilities regain control over their body. For his work in BCI, he was awarded the “MIT Tech Review China 35 Innovators under 35”. Their product was selected as “Best inventions of the year” by TIME magazine.

Rebecca M. Heller

Executive Director, International Refugee Assistance Project, USA

Rebecca Heller is Director of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and is a clinical lecturer at Yale Law School. Here inspiring humanitarian work includes advocating for refugees to claim their rights and find resettlement. Heller has received numerous awards in recognition of her work, including The Charles Bronfman Prize, a Skadden Fellowship, an Echoing Green Fellowship, a Gruber Human Rights Fellowship and a Dartmouth College Martin Luther King Jr. Emerging Leader in Social Justice Award. She was also named one of the Christian Science Monitor’s 30 under 30 change-makers and is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.