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.

Niklas Adalberth

Founder and Executive Chairman, Norrsken Foundation, Sweden

Niklas Adalberth, the unicorn entrepreneur behind payment start-up Klarna, donated $125 million to found the Norrsken Foundation, a tech-for-good ecosystem for social impact entrepreneurs daring to tackle societies biggest challenges. Norrsken currently houses 125+ companies in Europe's largest impact hub in Stockholm and is opening up Africas largest hub for entrepreneurs in Kigali Rwanda. Norrsken Foundation have also launched different impact funds in Europe and Africa.

Lamya Al Haj

Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Lamya Al Haj holds a PhD in Structural and Molecular Biology from UCL and an MSc in Environmental Science and Technology from UNSW. She is a researcher on biodiesel alternatives to oil, and an Associate Professor at the Sultan Qaboos University. Lamya founded a speakers' platform in GCC region “Jalasat Mulhimoon” to showcase role models and inspire younger generations. She has spoken at conferences and corporate events including Harvard and IMD Middle East Alumni conferences on leadership. She was recently selected as a judge for an MIT based competition “Innovators under 35” organized by MIT Technology Review. She is the founder of “Coach4Change” where she worked alongside and supported senior government officials, CEOs, business leaders and boards around the country. She received numerous awards & recognitions including the “Boban Marcovic Prize in Environmental Science”, The “Gulf Intelligence - Occidental Award”, “National Research Award”, “Omani Woman Award 2019” for her innovation, and the prestigious “L’Oréal UNESCO award for women in science- Middle east fellowship award”- 2018. She is featured in the book "100 most successful Omani woman" and more recently classified as top 20 most inspiring persons in Oman by TAS ICON awards. She is also a Fellow at The World Academy of Science (TWAS 2019-2023 affiliate) and a YGL class 2020.
Her passion is in the fields of disruptive education, R&D, youth empowerment and community service.

Faisal Alibrahim

Minister of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia

Faisal F. Alibrahim is the Minister of Economy and Planning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Alibrahim is also the Supervisor of the Secretariat of the Council of Economic and Development
Affairs (CEDA) and a member of the council. His Excellency also chairs the Board of Directors of
the General Authority for Statistics.

Alibrahim is a member of several governmental committees such as the Finance Committee, the
Strategic Management Committee, the CEDA Standing Committee, the Supreme National
Investment Council, the Supreme National Council for Industry, the Supreme Transportation and
Logistics Committee, the Large Companies Investment Committee, the National Incentives
Committee, the Privatization Program Committee, the Financial Sector Development Program
Committee, and the National Transformation Program Committee. HE also serves on several
boards including the Public Investment Fund, National Development Fund, the Royal Commission
for Riyadh City, the General Organization for Social Insurance, the Local Content and Government
Procurement Authority, the National Center for Performance Management, and the Cultural
Development Fund. His Excellency served as secretary/second secretary of the Aramco IPO
Committees. He was also chairman of the Executive Committee and member of the Supervisory
Committee for the Kingdom’s participation in EXPO 2020 Dubai which has received multiple
awards and recognitions.

Previously, Alibrahim served as Vice Minister of Economy and Planning and prior to that held key
positions at Saudi Aramco including head of mergers and acquisitions, project manager of King
Salman International Complex for Maritime Services and Industries, project manager for the Vela-
Bahri merger, the largest transaction in Saudi at that time, and Vice President of Aramco
Development Company.

Alibrahim holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, a bachelor’s degree in economics, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a Minor in
Management Information Systems from the Pennsylvania State University. HE is a World Economic
Forum Young Global Leader and member of the UCLA Health International Advisory Board.

Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi

Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates

His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi is the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Minister in charge of Talent Attraction and Retention. As Minister, he is responsible for leading the development and expansion of the country’s non-oil foreign trade, enhancing national polices and measures to promote foreign direct investment in the UAE, and implementing initiatives to attract and retain strategic global talent in the UAE.

H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi is also the former Minister of Climate Change and Environment for the UAE, where he was instrumental in elevating the UAE’s global presence and contributions in climate mitigation and adaptation. Over the course of H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi’s career, he has led and contributed to shaping international policy and legal frameworks in areas including energy, environment, and sustainable development. H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi’s considerable expertise, dynamic leadership, and track record for driving the formation of global alliances have been fundamental to his success in delivering on his various mandates and in furthering the UAE’s efforts on economic growth and diversification.

In 2020, H.E. was Dr. Al Zeyoudi was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader for his outstanding international efforts in the field of environment and climate. H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi holds a B.S. in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa, two Masters degrees from the New York Institute of Technology and the British University in Dubai, and completed his PhD at the Skema Business School in France.

Bernardo Asuaje

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Grupo Attia (Colombia), Colombia

Bernardo is a vibrant young entrepreneur with a strong sense of purpose in a local industry dominated by large traditional real estate developers. In a country of more than 6 million senior citizens, Bernardo has undertaken the task of designing and building projects that can provide high-quality residences, care and wellness programs for the elderly and has shown signs of always being on the cusp of innovation for social integration in urbanism.

Cherrie Atilano

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Agrea, Philippines

Cherrie Atilano has 26 years of experience in sustainable food systems and inclusive agribusiness as an advocate of women and youth in agriculture, agri-technology, malnutrition eradication and the responsible production and consumption for the future of food. She is a multi-awarded entrepreneur and ambassador on agricultural issues.

Kate Brandt

Chief Sustainability Officer, Google, USA

Kate Brandt credits her time in government for shaping her perspective that partnerships between the public and private sector are key to solving broad, systemic challenges like clean energy and climate change. Kate currently serves as Google's Chief Sustainability Officer, leading sustainability across Google's worldwide operations, products and supply chain. Previously, she served in the White House as the country's first Federal Chief Sustainability Officer where she helped create an executive order that will cut greenhouse-gas emissions by over 40% in the next decade.

Matthew Caruana Galizia

Director, Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Malta

Advances the causes of transparency, anti-corruption, freedom of speech and access to information. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose work on the Panama Papers uncovered the hidden infrastructure and global scale of offshore tax havens.

Jesús "Chuy" Cepeda

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, OS City, Mexico

Jesús “Chuy” Cepeda uses web3 identity to build better public sector experiences in Latin America. He earned his PhD in Artificial Intelligence in 2012 and foresaw the immense power that AI would hold within a decade. Recognizing the risks to personal privacy and democracies, since 2017 he started implementing blockchain-based projects in Latin American governments, exploring the transformative potential of decentralization and serving it into the urgent need to upgrade our institutions. After the pandemic, he has delved into the world-changing capabilities of web3 digital identity and govtech, confident that this combination can become a foundational gateway to digital trust, economic growth and strengthened democracies. Chuy is widely recognized as one of the Agile 50, the most influential individuals driving government revolution. Additionally, he has been featured as an Ethereum Foundation Fellow for his active contributions to onboarding the next billion into web3, and he has been honored as a WEF Young Global Leader.

Cham Krasna

Chief Executive Officer, SOMA Group, Cambodia

Krasna Cham is the first female Chief Executive Officer of the Soma Group, believing private sector to be an effective means to influence development in Cambodia and acting as an active proponent of gender equality and female leadership in the corporate sector of ASEAN. She represents a new generation of leadership in Cambodia and is outspoken on female representation in the corporate world. As CEO of one of Cambodia’s leading locally owned companies, Krasna manages the corporate direction and strategy of the group aiming at high impact sector toward the development of Cambodia.

Pamela Chan

Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Lingotto Investment Management LLP, United Kingdom

Pam Chan, Managing Director, is Chief Investment Officer and Head of Direct Private Opportunities (DPO) at BlackRock. She is Chair of the Direct Private Opportunities Investment Committee and Chair for the BlackRock Impact Opportunities (BIO) Fund Internal Investment Committee. She is also a member of BlackRock's firmwide Global Operating Committee, the Alternatives Executive Committee, BlackRock's Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Steering Committee and the BIO Executive Investment Committee. Ms. Chan's service with the firm began in 2012. She co-founded Alternative Solutions (predecessor group to Direct Private Opportunities) in 2013 and prior to becoming CIO of that group, she served as a senior portfolio manager and primary deputy to the CIO. Prior to joining BlackRock, Ms. Chan worked as a senior research analyst for the Financial Stability Board, as a Senior Investment Associate at Bridgewater and as a member of the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co., first as an investment banker and subsequently, in their Capital Markets group, focused on private placements and structured finance. Ms. Chan was recognized in 2020 by the World Economic Forum ("WEF") as a Young Global Leader and presented at Davos in 2022. Additionally, she is a member of the WEF's Women in Finance community and has been appointed to the Global Future Council on the Future of Responsible Investing. She was previously nominated as a WEF Global Shaper in 2012, serving as curator for the New York City hub in 2014. She currently co-chairs the Harvard College Schools and Scholarship Committee of New York City and has previously served on the Board of the Harvard Club of New York Foundation and the Harvard Business School Alumni Board. She is also an incoming member of the Board for the HBS Club of New York. She serves on the Boards of Forbright, Inc. and Macro Media, Inc. She has previously served as a Board member for Home Partners of America. She is also a member of Extraordinary Women on Boards and Chief. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a joint concentration in Philosophy and Government and, earned an MBA with high honors from Harvard Business School. She loves to golf and enjoys reading, mega-former pilates and contemporary art (including creating some pieces of her own). She currently lives in Nomad with the two Texan loves of her life (Allen, her partner, and Socrates, their very charismatic and curious beagle).

Sarah Chen-Spellings

Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Beyond The Billion (launched as The Billion Dollar Fund for Women), USA

Based in Washington DC, award-winning investor & entrepreneur Sarah Chen is Co-Founder of Beyond The Billion (launched as The Billion Dollar Fund for Women), the world's first and largest global consortium of over 100 venture funds and limited partner investors that have pledged to invest beyond $1B towards women-founded companies. To date, the consortium has deployed $638M and counting into close to 800 female-founded companies, of which 14 were recognized as unicorns. Previously, she was on the pioneer team of a corporate venture capital unit within a $13B publicly traded Asian conglomerate, investing in later-stage biotechnology companies. Since then, she has been at the forefront of multi-million cross border investments, structuring and executing commercialization plans with her portfolio companies.

Determined to see more women at the helm, she sits on multiple boards, including 131 & Counting, a bipartisan effort to fete the unprecedented number of women serving in the House and Senate, encouraging more women to run for office in the US; and Lean In Malaysia, which she co-founded, a platform accelerating women into leadership in Muslim- majority Malaysia. Named Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and Forbes Under 30 VC, Chen is a recognized speaker, strategist and commentator on venture capital, startups and women in leadership, having been featured on Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, Der Spiegel and at the United Nations, and is a celebrated host on the show and podcast #BillionDollarMoves backed by the Hubspot Podcast Network. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Laws, LL.B (Hons.) from King’s College London.

To find out more: www.beyondthebillion.com
@sarahchenglobal on all handles; www.sarah-chen.com