EXTERNAL KEYNOTE DIALOGUE PARTNERS
Arranged in alphabetical order
DIALOGUE PARTNERS
The Virtue of Relations programme is based around the principle of dialogue and internal exchange between the participants themselves (in-house dialogue partners), as well as renowned decision-makers from industry, politics, science, culture and society (external dialogue partners).
In their diversity, the participants and experts both represent the different sectors, specialisations and organisational forms and reflect the wide spectrum of challenges and opinions that decision-makers have to tackle at national and international level.
Our dialogue partners not only share their specialist expertise with the participants but also bring a personal perspective – insights from major successes and bitter failures, as well as how their leadership expertise has grown with their life experience.
International Business
Culture, Science, Society & International Organisations
International Business
Andrea ABT
Non-Executive Board Member
Energy Technology Holdings LLC and Gerresheimer AG
Andrea Abt is focused on an international portfolio of non-executive and supervisory board positions in public and private companies. She has served on audit, remuneration, ethics and compliance and nomination committees of company boards in a wide range of industries from packaging in the pharma industry through distribution in the building sector to oil and gas services, mining and manufacturing.
Andrea brings an independent international perspective, challenging strategy, process and performance in an open and constructive way, benefitting both from her extensive operational executive and non-executive experience.
Before her non-executive career, Andrea spent almost 30 years in international management and leadership roles in a wide variety of challenging environments in the Daimler-Benz and Siemens groups: building organizations, consolidating, turning them around in the areas of transportation (rail and aerospace), logistics, IT and more traditional manufacturing businesses. Her background includes leading teams in sales, services, as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Supply Chain Management of global organizations ranging up to 9 billion € purchasing volume.
Stefan BORGAS
President & Chief Executive Officer
RHI Magnesita
Stefan Borgas was appointed RHI Magnesita President and CEO in December 2016.
He led as CEO the RHI AG from December 2016 until October 2017. Prior to that, he was president and CEO at Israel Chemicals Ltd.
Between 2004 and 2012, he was CEO at Lonza Group. In his early career, he worked at BASF Group, where he held various management positions.
Stefan was elected as President of the World Refractories Association for a two-year term in January 2018.
Stefan has a business administration degree from the University Saarbrücken and an MBA from the University of St.Gallen-HSG.
External appointments: Non-Executive Director of AFYREN and owner of SB Industry LLC.
Verónica Pascual BOÉ
CEO
ASTI TechGroup
Verónica Pascual Boé, ASTI TechGroup CEO, is Aerospace Engineer by Universidad Politécnica (Madrid), MBA by CDI (Paris) and Exec. Master in Positive Leadership & Strategy (EXMPLS) by IE Business School. She also has several postgraduate studies in INSEAD, Standford and Harvard Business School. She speaks 5 languages and has been leaving in 6 countries.
Relying on a solid international technology and management education, Verónica began her international career in a multinational leading company in the construction sector (Paris, London). In 2004 she joined the family business, ASTI, through different positions within the company. At the end of 2006 she became CEO and in 2008 she bought the company by acquisition of 100% of its shares, a turning point that marked a new path and direction for the business. Currently, she leads a group of Companies linked to the digital transformation, headed by ASTI Mobile Robotics Group.
Mrs Pascual is also a member of the worldwide prestigious high potential entrepreneur network, Endeavor. She has been President of the Industry 4.0 Commission and Vice-President of Skills Development of AMETIC, Spanish Association for Electronics, Information and Communications Technologies, Telecommunications and Digital Content Companies from 2016 to 2018. She is a member of the Board of Directors of different listed compagnies (Telefónica and GAM) and of the Social Council of the University of Burgos, Caixabank Castilla y León and Advisory Council of ImagingBank.
Ann CAIRNS
Executive Vice Chair
Mastercard
In her role as Executive Vice Chair, Ann represents Mastercard around the world, focusing on inclusion, diversity and innovation. She plays the important role of senior ambassador and executive leader and sits as part of the company’s global management committee. Prior to her current appointment, Ann was President of International Markets responsible for the management of all Mastercard customer-related activities in over 200 countries.
Ann brings more than 20 years’ experience working in senior management positions across Europe and the U.S. Prior to joining Mastercard in 2011, Ann was head of the Financial Services Group with Alvarez & Marsal, CEO of Transaction Banking at ABN-AMRO and held senior positions at Citigroup.
Ann is currently chair of ICE Clear Europe, owned by the Fortune 500 company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). She is also global chair of the 30% Club and the chair of the Financial Alliance for Women. In addition, Ann is the lead non-executive board member for the UK government’s department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and is a member of the UK government’s AI Council. She has a Pure Mathematics degree and honorary doctorate from Sheffield University and a M.Sc. with research into medical statistics and honorary doctorate from Newcastle University.
Reina Irene Mejía CHACÒN
Executive Vice President
Inter-American Development Bank
Reina Irene Mejía Chacón, a Honduran citizen, serves as Interim President of the IDB as of September 26, under the direction of the Board of Executive Directors, until a new President is elected, and is the Executive Vice President since December 16, 2020.
As Acting President, she is the institution's legal representative and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), responsible for the Bank’s day-to-day business and manages its operations and administration. She also chairs the Board of Executive Directors of IDB Invest, the private-sector arm of the IDB Group, and the Donors Committee of IDB Lab, the Bank’s laboratory for innovative development projects.
In her role as Executive Vice President (EVP), she is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the IDB and oversees the quality control and risk management of all Bank operations. She serves as chair of Management committees responsible for the Bank’s operational activities and provides oversight and direction to the Vice Presidents and all other senior staff.
Prior to joining the IDB, she spent nearly 25 years at Citibank Honduras, serving as CEO and Corporate and Investment Bank Head since 2013. She also served as President of the Boards of Citi Crédito and Citi Inmobiliaria, and as Secretary of the Board of Banco de Honduras, since 2014. In 2017, she became Secretary of the Board of Grupo Financiero Citibank Costa Rica.
Among several roles prior to her appointment as CEO, Ms. Mejía served as Institutional Clients Group Director for Honduras and Nicaragua as well as Corporate Business and Public Sector Head. During her tenure at Citibank, she was a central actor in all major corporate transactions, supporting all clients. Ms. Mejía also served as President of the Honduran American Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean (AACCLA) in the years before joining the IDB. Among positions in her early career, she was General Manager of FUNDES Honduras, a consultancy firm specializing in the development of MSMEs.
In addition, Ms. Mejía has held Board positions or senior roles at several other financial and educational institutions in Honduras and has been active in a range of women’s business-leadership initiatives. She also founded and worked for more than a decade as treasurer of the Honduras chapter of Operation Smile, which has helped more than 5,000 children by providing surgeries to correct cleft lip and palate.
In 2021 and 2018, she was selected by Forbes Centroamérica among the women leaders who are making a difference at the national and international levels in the field of business, multilateral organizations, science, and sports.
Strategy and Business magazine named Ms. Mejía one of the most influential women in the region in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from Southern Illinois University.
Alain DEHAZE
CEO
Adecco Group
Alain Dehaze (born 1963) is a Belgian business executive who has served till July 2022 as the CEO of The Adecco Group having previously worked as the Adecco Regional Chief for Northern Europe and France, he joined The Adecco Group in September 2015.
He began his executive career with Henkel and ISS, moving through positions continent-wide. In 2000 he became the Belgium's chief for USG People and in 2002 he was made the CEO of Solvus, a Human Resources consultancy. In 2005 he became the COO of USG People, and before joining Adecco in 2009, he worked as the CEO of the medican technology company Humares.
He graduated from the ICHEC Brussels Management School
Since 2017 he has been a member of the Global Commission on the Future of Work of the ILO (International Labor Organization).
Alain Dehaze is an advocate of a new social contract that would help bridge the skills gap and take advantage of automation and robotization. To that end, employees would be incentivized to learn new skills throughout their working life as life-long contracts are expected to become less and less common
Amadou DIALLO
CEO Middle East & Africe
DHL Forwarding
Since June 2017 Amadou Diallo is CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Middle East & Africa. He is the founder of Saloodo! GmbH.
He was previously CEO DHL Freight, CEO Africa and South Asia Pacific DHL Global Forwarding and prior to this Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Post DHL Logistics Divisions and Managing Director for the integration of Exel and DHL.
Mr. Diallo has more than 25 years of experience in the tourism, banking, express and logistics industries.
He is Senegalese and is fluent in several languages including English, German, French, Fulani, Wolof and Spanish.
Mr. Diallo is Chairman of Amref in Germany and in the boards of Welthungerhilfe, Africa 2.0, Schiller International University
Sabine U. DIETRICH
Non-Executive Board Member
Commerzbank AG
Ms. Dietrich is Non-Executive Board Member of Commerzbank AG, Germany and former Executive Board Member of BP Europe SE.
She leads the Board Committee of Digital Transformation and is Member of it ESG Committee.
Sabine U. Dietrich was until December 2015 Member of the Executive Board of BP Europa SE with responsability for the Divisons Marine Fuels, Air BP and the Management of all European Real Estate Portfolio.
She lead also the Group Risk Management and Etics & Compliance Departments.
After graduating as engineer in 1991, she entered the petrol station business at BP in order to build up the petrol station network in the new federal states (former Eastern Germany).
This was followed by an international career at BP: After positions at the European headquarters in Brussels and in business development in Vietnam, she was Marketing Manager responsible for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. After further positions, including the integration of BP/Veba/Aral, as Deputy Managing Director / Commercial & Asset Manager for Eastern Europe and international activities in India (Leader Innovation / Business Development) and Great Britain (SVP / Global Liability Management) for the BP Group.
In 2011, Sabine Dietrich assumed responsibility for the areas of "Safety & Operational Risk" and "Compliance and Ethics" for seven countries in Europe.
Other Functions:
She also holds Non-Executive Board positions by MVV Energie AG (Mannheim/Germany), Hansen & Rosenthal KGaA (Hamburg/Germany) and Lux Immersive Museum (Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam)
Since 2016 Ms. Dietrich is Member of the Board of Trusties of the European Academy for Diversity in Politics and Business
Since January 2014 member of the decision-making body and auditor at "Die Seenotretter" (German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons) Bremen.
Christophe DUMONT
President & CEO
Bayer Argentina & Cono Sur
Senior management executive with more than 30 years proven track record of accomplishments in current and legacy companies, ranging from strategic planning to commercial operations.
Extensive experience leading operations, strategic portfolio management, company integration and re-structuring projects at global level and in emerging markets of Central / Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Strong bottom-line orientation, problem solving and decision making abilities always striving to achieve sustainable growth while consistently developing talents.
Tami ERWIN
CEO & Executive Vice President
Verizon Business
Tami Erwin is executive vice president and CEO of Verizon Business, a global leader in 5G technology serving 97% of Fortune 500 companies. She is widely recognized for her strategic impact, marketing and operations focus, technical savvy, and passion for people.
As CEO of Verizon Business, a $30B+ business with over 26,000 employees that would be among the Fortune 100 if it was a separate entity, she and her team help businesses, governments and communities reimagine their employee, supply chain and end-customer experiences. As the shift to digital accelerates, Verizon Business is paving the way into a new 5G era of technology-led disruption and innovation.
Throughout her career, Tami has earned a reputation for building a world-class culture of customer-centricity and business performance. Prior to her current role, Tami played a crucial role in the evolution and growth of Verizon’s wireline and wireless business segments. She was the head of operations for Verizon Wireless, and led Verizon Fios, the nation’s largest residential and commercial fiber network. In those roles, she guided the growth of the company’s principal networks to record levels, delivering industry-leading experiences to consumer and business
customers.
Tami is a brand builder known for competitive turnarounds and market-moving strategies. Earlier in her career, she was Chief Marketing Officer of Verizon Wireless and led Verizon Wireless’ west region, taking it from fourth place to first place.
Corporate and charitable leadership Tami leads by example in advocating for equality, inclusion and accessibility for all. She is passionate about technology’s role in improving the ways that we live, learn, work and play and is a leader on the importance of responsible business.
Personally, she has a long history of championing engagement and development programs that help women and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) grow their skills and networks. She’s the proud advisor of Verizon’s Veterans employee resource group that provides programs and resources to our more than 10,0000 veterans, active reservists and military families, and carries a passion for the impact of STEAM education on changing the trajectory of people’s lives.
Martina FLÖEL
Non-Executive Board Member
SASOL, NESTE
Dr Flöel holds a MSc in Chemistry from the University of Frankfurt and a PhD in Chemistry from the Technische Universität München (University of Munich).
With 30 years experience in the chemicals industry in roles covering chemical and process research and development, technical innovations, technologies, operations and industrial supply chain, she is a seasoned industrial leader.
She concluded her executive leadership career as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of OXEA Holdings 2007-2016. Dr. Flöel was Vice President Oxo Chemicals, Celanese Chemicals 2000–2003, Plant Manager Böhlen, Celanese Chemicals 1998–2000. Prior to 1998 she had various managerial and directorial positions in the Hoechst Group
She has been Independent Member of the Non-Executive Board of SASOL Group (South Africa) and Member of its Remuneration Committee, Safety, Social and Ethics Committee and Capital Investment and Digital Committee
She serves also as Independent Non-Executive Member on the Board of NESTE Corporation (Finland)
Additionally, she serves on the Board of Carl Bechem GmbH / Germany
Aluisio Ragazzi FONSECA
Member of Global Executive Management Board
President for Latin America Region
AMCOR Group
Since July,2018 up to now, Aluisio Ragazzi Fonseca has been part of the Global Management Team of Amcor (13 Billion USD Package Company) and is Business Group President for Latin America region, based in Weston, FL, USA.
In this position he has 20 Plants under his responsibility and 1 Bi USD of Sales, 6,000 employees.
Before that he spent 22 years in Tetra Pak, being the last 5 years in Chicago as responsible for all Processing and Projects Division for the all Americas region, and responsible for integrating NA and Latam, and some M&A.
Before that he spent 2,5 yrs as HR for Latam, implementing a new Strategic HR based in Sao Paulo.
Before that he was President of Tetra Pak in the Andean region, based in Bogota, Colombia, for 6 years. His mission was to integrate and create this Andean region. During this period, he had to deal with Venezuela and the Hugo Chavez government.
Before that he was VP in Brazil in different positions.
He has been Head of Avery Dennison for 3 years, period when they acquired a competitor in Argentina.
During his 35 years of professional experience, he had different opportunities to face business challenges, embrace change and always learn and adapt to these different environments, expanding my business and cultural diversity.
Mr. Fonseca likes to play tennis and make a wonderful and flavoured barbecue for family and friends.
Andrew FRYE
Senior Vice President
President Asia & Pacific
Baxter
Andrew Frye is president, Patient Support Systems/Global Surgical Solutions and Enterprise Connectivity.
Until September 2022 Andrew was Asia Pacific President of Baxter Healthcare based in Singapore and responsible for all markets including China and India.
Frye joined Baxter in 2017 where he served as senior vice president and president, APAC, until 2022, when he assumed leadership of the Patient
Support Systems/Global Surgical Solutions and Enterprise Connectivity business units. He was previously employed at DKSH Holdings Ltd., where he served as Global Head of Healthcare from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he oversaw a portfolio of pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter and device products across 13 countries. He also served as vice president of Business Development from 2011 to 2014 for DKSH Healthcare. Earlier in his career, he held a number of commercial roles with increasing responsibility at Abbott Laboratories' Pharmaceutical and Nutrition divisions.
Frye received a bachelor's degree in psychobiology from the University of Southern California and master’s degree in marketing from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California.
Mark GARRETT
CEO and Chairman
Marquard & Bahls, OMV, Axalta
Mark Garrett was appointed Marquard & Bahls CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board in August 2018.
He has enjoyed a long career in the chemical industry starting with Ciba-Geigy, then DuPont and finally Ciba Speciality Chemicals where he was Executive Vice President Water and Paper Treatment and a member of the Executive Committee before joining Borealis. At Borealis, Mark Garrett was CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board for 11 years. In 2018 he was awarded the Grand Silver Medal of Honor with star by the Austrian government for his contribution to the Austrian economy.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Melbourne in Australia and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Information Systems from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He was born in Melbourne in 1962, and has Australian and Swiss dual citizenship. He currently lives in Hamburg, Germany, is married and has three children.
Mark Garrett is Chairman of the Boards of Directors at Axalta Coating Systems and OWV in Austria as well member of the Board of Umicore NV/SA.
Caspar HERZBERG
President
Schneider Electric
Middle East & Africa
Caspar manages SE’s operations in 70+ countries, with more than 10,000 employees across Middle East & Africa including Central Asia and Turkey. Schneider Electric serves its customers with integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software in Power Management and in Industrial Automation Systems. His responsibilities include all aspects of SE’s business.
Prior to joining Schneider, Caspar Herzberg was the Vice President of Cisco Consulting Services for Asia Pacific, China and Japan. He previously held various executive positions within Cisco and Accenture in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
With 20 years’ experience in the industry, Caspar is recognized as a thought leader for Smart Cities, Digital Transformation and IoT, pioneering the digital platform for the New Economic Cities in Saudi Arabia, Songdo in South Korea and the economic powerhouse of Chongqing in China.
He is the published author of the book ‘Smart Cities, Digital Nations’ (Roundtree Press 2017). Ranked among the Top 100 executives in the Arab World by Forbes in 2017 and 2018, he is on the Board of Trustees of the NewCities Foundation and served as an advisor on the city of Chongqing Mayor’s
International Economic Advisory Council in the People’s Republic of China.
Caspar served as an officer in the German Army and holds a Master of Science in International Politics from SOAS, University of London, and a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Modern Middle Eastern Studies from St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford. He grew up in Egypt and speaks fluent Arabic, German, French and English.
Marco van KALLEVEEN
CEO
DKV Mobility Group
Marco is CEO of DKV Mobility Services, which offers B2B mobility services with annual revenues of €9 billion, has 250,000 customers, and presence in 42 countries.
Before that, Marco was COO and member of the managing board of LeasePlan Corporation where he was responsible for the European Business. Prior to that, he was on the management board of TNT Express, where he led the successful turnaround of the Domestic Businesses Division, which spanned 30,000 FTE in Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy and the UK.
Marco was also SVP at Bain Capital in London, and partner at McKinsey & Company where he specialised in major transformations in various sectors from the Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam offices.
Marco holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MSc in Business Economics from Erasmus University (EUR).
Jane KARUKU
CEO & Managing Director
EABL Group
Ms. Jane Karuku is the Group Managing Director and CEO at East African Breweries Limited (EABL PLC). As the EABL Group MD & CEO, she is among the most senior women leaders in East Africa, driving East and Central Africa’s largest manufacturing business to greater heights with iconic brands such as Tusker, Bell, Serengeti, Senator, Guinness and Johnnie Walker.
Ms. Karuku is a dynamic business leader, with strong management experience spanning over 25 years in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and non-governmental organisations. Her expansive experience straddles strategy development, operational management, marketing as well as organisational change management.
Ms. Karuku has previously held several board positions including, the Chair of the Vision 2030 Delivery Board, Barclays Bank (now ABSA Kenya), and a Trustee of USIU university Kenya.
She has been recognized and awarded for her contribution to the country’s social and economic development by the President of Kenya. She has been awarded the Presidential Order of Service, Uzalendo Award in May 2020 and the Moran of Golden Heart (MGH) award in December 2020.
Adrian KATZEW
CEO
Zuma Energia
Adrian is a consolidated global leader in the renewable energy industry. He is a passionate entrepreneur, committed to opening new markets, setting up ambitious projects, and finding innovative ways to guarantee banking conditions for wind and solar projects around the world.
He began his career at Banco Santander in Spain, ultimately becoming the global leader of the Energy Project and Acquisitions Finance group at the bank. He later led reference energy projects at Vestas for Mexico, Central America and Caribbean, such as the first financing of a CSP plant in the US (Nevada Solar One), and the construction of the first wind farms in Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Mexico.
As founder and CEO of Zuma, Adrian transformed a startup company into the leading Mexican independent power producer of renewable energy. With the support of a highly-experienced team, he has taken 800 MW wind and solar portfolio from a development stage all the way to construction in only two years.
Adrian has led breakthrough initiatives to promote high level technical discussions to solve implementation problems in the power sector and the increasing adoption of renewable energy in Mexico.
Martina KOEDERITZ
Member of the Supervisory Board
Robert Bosch Group
From April 2019 to December 2020 Martina Koederitz led the Industrial US market of IBM Group. Before this position she was IBM Global Industry Managing Director, Industrial and Automotive. From April 2013 to January 2018 she was General Manager of IBM Germany, Austria and Switzerland and thus responsible for the DACH region. Previously, she was member of the board and Vice President Sales IBM Germany and since 2011 General Manager of IBM.
From 2009 to 2010, Martina worked as Vice President General Business & Channel, IMT Germany, which comprises hardware, software and services solutions and the collaboration with business partners. Before, she filled the position of Vice President IBM Systems and Technology Group (STG) in IMT Germany.
Martina Koederitz started her career at IBM in 1987 as system consultant and was appointed to Sales Manager in Financial Services Sector after holding several positions in systems consultancy and sales management within IBM. Since 1999, she held the position of Business Unit Executive and was responsible for the sales organization of the cooperative financial services network. In 2003, Martina Koederitz was appointed to Vice President of IBM zSeries Sales EMEA and since 2006 she worked as Vice President of System z Sales in Germany. After that, she worked as a Client Advocacy Executive in the office of then IBM CEO Sam Palmisano in Armonk, New York.
Martina holds a degree in Business Administration (BA). She was member of the Innogy supervisory board from 2016-2019, additionally she is member of the Robert Bosch GmbH supervisory board since April 2019. During her time as General Manager of IBM Germany, Austria and Switzerland she was member in numerous organisation, including the Steering Committee of the German Industry association (BDI) and the IT association BITKOM. In September 2015 she was honored with the Mestemacher Award Manager of the Year.
Udo LANGE
President
Healthcare, Logistics and Americas International
FedEx Express
Dr. Udo Lange is President Healthcare, Logistics and Americas International @ FedEx Express.
He is responsible for the leadership & strategy of the enterprise wide healthcare business as well as FedEx Logistics and FedEx Custom Critical.
He is also part of the FedEx Express leadership team with responsibilities for global clearance transformation, Americas International and Latin America & Caribbean. The 5 businesses that he leads employ more than 45.000 team members in +80 countries spanning 6 continents.
Dr. Lange serves also on the Strategic Management Committee of FedEx Corp., which sets the strategic direction for the FedEx enterprise.
Until March 2023 Dr. Lange was president and chief executive officer of Memphis-based FedEx Logistics, an integrated global logistics organization providing supply chain, air and ocean cargo, trade, customs brokerage, and managed transportation solutions. In this role, he was responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of FedEx Logistics.
Dr. Lange has over 20 years of experience in the international trade industry, with expertise in global freight forwarding, customs brokerage and logistics. He joined FedEx in 2015, beginning his tenure with the company as the chief operations officer for FedEx Logistics and president and chief executive officer of FedEx Trade Networks, a company under FedEx Logistics.
In June 2020, Dr. Lange was named as one of the “Top 10 Logistics Leaders” globally by Supply Chain Digital, a leading source of news for the industry. He currently serves as a member of the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force and has been involved in the task force's Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) group.
Dr. Lange also serves as a supervisory board member at the e-commerce startup The Freightos Group and serves as a Board Member for the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S., Inc. In addition, he is on the Board of Trustees of “Operation Finale,” an exhibition in Germany about the capture of Nazi Adolf Eichmann.
Dr. Lange holds a Ph.D. in economic science from the University of Duisburg and a master's degree in business administration and mechanical engineering from the University of Kaiserslautern. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. Locally, Dr. Lange serves on the Board of Directors for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
Clarissa LINS
Non-Executive Board Member
Arcelor Mittal Group
Mrs Clarissa Lins is a senior executive with consolidated experience in strategy, sustainability, and corporate governance.
With a distinguished education background in economy, she worked on relevant projects in the public sector at the beginning of her career - she was part of Brazil’s Ministry of Finance team that produced the economic stabilization program known as the Real Plan in 1994, under President Cardoso.
She also served as an Advisor to the President of Brazil’s BNDES Development Bank, participating in the structuring of the country’s large-scale privatization projects from 1995 to 1999. She was head of Corporate Strategy at Petrobras from 1999 to 2002, when the state-owned oil and gas company shifted its strategy and improved its corporate governance practices while doing an IPO in the NYSE.
Clarissa moved her focus more specifically towards Sustainability in 2004, when she joined the FBDS - Fundação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development). In 2013 she founded the consultancy Catavento, advising corporations in the areas of strategy and sustainability. Clarissa was the President of the Brazilian Institute of Petroleum and Gas (IBP) from November 2019 till March 2021, after serving as Executive Director for more than 3 years. She serves on Boards and Committees of leading companies operating in Brazil - including Suzano's Sustainability Committee (the world’s largest producer of market pulp), the Board of Directors of Votorantim Cimentos and the Vibra Energia Board of Directors where she has been a member since April 2022.
Other companies in which she has held relevant Board / Committee positions include Shell, Vale and Petrobras.
Sven Otto LITTORIN
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Beowulf Mining
Mr. Littorin has been apointed as Chairmen oft he Board of Directors of Beouwulf Mining in 2021. He was Sweden’s Minister for Employment in 2006-2010.
In 2002-06 the Secretary General of the Moderate Party. During the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, Mr.. Littorin was President of the Council of Ministers in its EPSCO formation. Earlier in his career he was Special Advisor to the Swedish Minister for Fiscal and Financial Affairs.
Mr. Littorin is a co-founder of Venture Catalyst company Momentor AB and of real estate development company Serio Group and has served on many boards of small and medium sized companies. He is also a co-founder of the Innovation for Jobs Summits, Palo Alto, USA.
At present, Mr. Littorin lives in the United Arab Emirates and is an advisor to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in Saudi Arabia. In addition, he is Chairman of the Emirati Swedish Business Council. He also serves on the advisory boards of QuadFi Inc., a Canadian student pier-to-pier lending platform and of Afripods, a leading platform for podcasts in Africa.
He holds a B. Sc. in Economics and Business from Lund University and has been a visiting Scholar at Stanford University in the US.
Carlos LÓPEZ-ABADIA
Chief Executive Officer
Atento
Carlos López Abadía is a seasoned expert in the technology and consultancy arena, boasting over 30 years working in the sector. Mr López Abadía joined Atento in January 2019 as CEO and serves on its board of directors.
Prior to joining Atento Mr. López-Abadía worked as Director General at DXC Technology as General Manager of DXC's Global Consulting Business. In this role he reported to the CEO and had full P&L responsibility for the sales, development and delivery of DXC's Consulting offering. Before this, a previous role at DXC saw him in the position of General Manager, leading a $2.5B global business which included industry sectors such as Natural Resources, High Tech, Utilities, Retail, Consumer Goods and Transportation.
Mr. López Abadía previously worked for financial services giant Misys (now Finastra). In this role, he managed the transformation of services and the software support business leading a global network for service provision based in the main financial and localization offshore centres in what was a $300M global services business.
Earlier on in his career Mr. López Abadía worked at Accenture as Managing Director and was responsible for all Accenture business held with BT globally. Previously to that he held leadership positions at McKinsey&Co and AT&T.
Mr. Lopéz Abadía holds an MS in Physics from the Universidad del País Vasco and an MSEE in Artificial Intelligence from Purdue University. He was also granted an MBA from the Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Priscillah MABELANE
Executive Vice President
SASOL Group
Ms Priscillah Mabelane is Executive Vice President, Energy Business, based in Johannesburg, South Africa and is responsible for upstream and downstream gas activities as well as distribution, marketing and sales of liquid fuels in Southern Africa. She is leading strategy formulation for the Energy Business which will support and steer a stakeholder-centric approach in spurring sustainable growth. In addition, she is responsible for securing new gas supply and delivering renewable energy solutions to support Sasol’s climate change roadmap efforts.
She was appointed to Sasol’s Group Executive Committee in September 2020 when she joined from BP Southern Africa (BPSA), where she was Chief Executive Officer. Directly prior she was Retail Operations Director for BP UK’s retail business and preceding this she was BPSA’s Chief Financial Officer for four years.
Priscillah has broad international leadership experience and a solid corporate track record of successfully leading and enabling transformation in large functions and operations in both United Kingdom and South Africa. She has served as Non-Executive Director on the Board of South Africa-based Standard Bank Group Limited and Vodacom (Pty) Ltd.
Simone MENNE
Non Executive Board Member
BMW, Henkel, DHL, JCI, Russell Reynolds
Simone Menne started her career for ITT, later joining Deutsche Lufthansa. In 2012, Ms. Menne was appointed CFO and stayed in this position till 2015.
She worked as CFO at Boehringer Ingelheim from 2016 to 2017.
In both companies she was responsible for the foundation of the digital lab.
Ms. Menne serves as non-executive board member for BMW, Henkel, Deutsche Post DHL, JCI and Russell Reynolds. She also owns an art gallery in Kiel, Germany.
Karoly PATAKI
Founder & CEO
Gravitas
Karoly Pataki is Founder and CEO of Gravitas, the CEO Advisory and Sparring Partner Firm, based in Vienna Austria.
He has a long career in the industry sector starting with Robert Bosch in Hungary as CFO in 1992 then Dunapack Group in Hungary as deputy Managing Director in 1997 followed by various senior positions in the paper and packaging industry. From 1998 to 2000 he hold the position of General Manager of Eurobox in Poland and from 2000 to 2002 he was a Member of the Board of Rodina Bulgaria. He has also held advisory and supervisory board mandates in packing firms in Rumania, the Ukraine and Austria.
From 2004 to 2008, he was CFO of the european leading paper and packaging group, Prinzhorn Holding, and subsequently until 2012, Member of the Board of Dunapack Packaging.
In 2012, Karoly Pataki moved to the human resources services sector and became responsible for the CEE and SEE region as a Member of the Board of the Trenkwalder Group. From 2013, he headed the Trenkwalder Group as CEO and Chairman of the Board.
Karoly Pataki is Member of Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs) in London and Member of the Senate of Economy in Vienna.
Gilberto PERALTA
President
Airbus Brasil
Gilberto Peralta joined GE in 1980 as a process engineer at GE Aviation-Celma, in Petrópolis, Brazil. He then took several roles with GE Aviation int eh Customer Support organization. He lived in Italy and the United States, before becoming in 2003, GE Aviation’s Vice President for the company’s Airbus program in France.
In 2006, Peralta was appointed GE Capital Aviation Services’ General Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, based out of São Paulo, Brazil.
In addition to this role, he was appointed President & CEO of GE Brazil in August 2013, leading key strategic growth initiatives for the company and expanding GE´s historical partnership with the country. GE Brazil had 19 sites for 6 of the businesses present in Brazil with 12,000 employees.
He accumulated both executive positions until June 2017.
In April 2018, Peralta retired from GE. Participated in various boards of trade associations, including the Chairman of the board of ABDIB, Economic Committee FIESP and executive board member at MEI/CNI.
In August 2018 he was appointed board member of Azul Airlines. In July 2020 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Helibras. Peralta joined Ascensus Group board of directors in July 2020. In September 2020, he was hired as President of Airbus Brasil.
Peralta is graduated both in Civil and Mechanical Engineering from the Catholic University of Petropolis, Brazil. Also done all the managerial training/courses of GE University.”
Rafael SCHVARTZMAN
Regional Vice President, Europe
IATA
Rafael advocates for the interest of IATA´s members and strengthening relationships with aviation stakeholders across the Europe and Central Asia region.
Rafael joined the IATA in 2005 as Country Manager for Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay and has held various positions in the association since then.
Rafael`s aviation experience also includes a decade in DHL in the Americas and experience working for a range of air transport companies in South america.
Rafael holds a Master in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE Business school and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of the Pacific. He has lived in numerous countries including Argentina, Ecuador, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. He speaks Spanish and English.
Aamer SHEIKH
CEO
PepsiCO Middle East
Aamer Sheikh is the CEO of the Middle East Business Unit at PepsiCo. The Middle East Business Unit is an operating cluster within PepsiCo Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA). This newly formed cluster brings snacks and nutrition (Quaker) businesses together with the franchise beverages businesses.
Aamer serves as the Co-Chair of the US-Saudi Business Council (US Chamber), member of the Multinational Companies’ Business Group (MCBG) Regional Presidents Forum as well as other distinguished associations.
In 2021, he was ranked among the top 15 leaders in MENA by Forbes for spearheading regional success for PepsiCo.
Prior to his current role, Aamer recently served as the President and General Manager for MENA and Pakistan.
Aamer joined the PepsiCo family in 1999 in Pakistan in the Finance function and since then assumed several leadership roles in Pakistan, UAE, and the United States.
In 2017, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer for PepsiCo’s Asia Middle East & North Africa Sector (AMENA) - designated with leadership of the company’s financial operations in 40+ countries, covering Beverages, Snacks and Nutrition businesses, including 10 Joint Ventures.
Other leadership roles included; Chief Financial Officer for Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2008, SVP for Planning and Transformation for Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA) in 2014 and SVP for Commercial Finance for Frito Lay North America in 2016.
Prior to his time at PepsiCo, Aamer held multiple finance roles including five years in the USA, working as an auditor for Ernst & Young and The Walt Disney Company and leading the Finance Function for Unisys for 3 years in Pakistan.
Aamer is a CPA and holds a BBA in public accounting from Loyola University of Chicago. He has also attended several executive education courses at Harvard and Wharton School of Business.
Deborah Patricia WRIGHT
Non-Executive Board Member
Banco Santander Brasil
Ms. Wright holds a Business Administration degree from the São Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP-FGV). She started her career in 1980 at Kibon’s Marketing Department, where she remained until 1989. In 1989, she joined Unilever as Marketing Manager and worked in the food division. In 1991, she returned to Kibon as Marketing Director, and becoming Commercial Vice President in 1994. In 1995 she became the General Manager of Kraft Suchard Foods. In 1997, she reached the position of General Manager of Kibon. At ICI/Paints, she was the General Manager for Tintas Coral Brasil from 1997 to 1999, and subsequently the Regional Manager for ICI. She was also General Officer at Parmalat Brasil in 1999, and Chief Executive Officer of Pão de Açúcar’s Group Internet Division from 2000 to 2001. From 2002 to 2007, she was Corporate Vice President/Commercial Vice President in the area of Sales and Corporate Marketing of the Abril Group. From 2009 to 2010, she was Chief Executive Officer/Country Manager of Ipsos Brasil, a market research firm. She has been acting as a Board Member since 2001. From 2001 to 2005 she served on the Board of the São Paulo American Graded School. From 2005 to 2006 she was a Board Member of CONAR (Brazilian National self-regulatory Board of Advertising). From 2008 to 2009 she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Samaritano Hospital in São Paulo. From 2008 to 2014 she was Board Member for Lojas Renner, a Brazilian publically traded company, specializing in Apparel retail, as well as Chairwoman of their Sustainability Committee from 2012 to 2014. From 2013 to 2016, she was member of the Advisory Board for Eurofarma, 4th largest Brazilian pharmaceutical company, still privately owned and not listed on stock exchange. Currently she is associated with the following entities: Brazilian subsidiary of WCD Group (Women Corporate Directors), of which she co-founded in 2010; She is the coordinator of the IBGC (Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance) Strategy Commission; Amcham's Strategic Corporate Governance Forum; and she is an ambassador of the 30% Club and WOB (Women on Boards) and has been involved in advocacy for gender diversity for over a decade.
Melda Yasar CEBE
Managing Director
Middle East, Africa & Turkey
Kraft Heinz
Melda is recognized among the Top 50 Most Influential CEOs in the Middle East. She is currently the Managing Director for Kraft Heinz Middle East Africa & Turkey. Kraft Heinz is one of the top five global food and beverage company and is aspiring to accelerate growth in the international markets like the Middle East.
Prior to her role in Kraft Heinz, Melda has worked in marketing, sales and commercial roles across different categories such as health care, cosmetics, household care and baby in Procter & Gamble and Gillette Company.
Her passion is to develop iconic brands with diverse teams. She is a true believer that diverse teams are smarter and perform better. Hence she is a strong advocate for Diversity & Inclusion, participating in a number of open platforms, including the LEAD network as both member and mentor, discussing ways in which we may remove the various bias’s which exist in today’s society.
Culture, Science, Society & International Organisations
Michelle BACHELET
High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNO
On September 1, 2018 Michelle Bachelet assumed her functions as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was established in 1993 and Ms. Bachelet is the seventh Commissioner.
Ms. Bachelet was elected President of Chile on two occasions (2006 – 2010 and 2014 – 2018). She was the first female president of Chile. She served as Health Minister (2000-2002) as well as Chile’s and Latin America’s first female Defense Minister (2002 – 2004).
Since the early 1990s, Ms. Bachelet has worked closely with many international organizations. In 2010 she chaired the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, a joint International Labor Organization (ILO) and World Health Organization (WHO) initiative, which sought to promote social policies to stimulate economic growth and social cohesion.
In 2011, she was named the first Director of UN Women, an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of women and girls internationally. Economic empowerment and ending violence against women were two of her priorities during her tenure. She has recently pledged to be a Gender Champion, committing to advance gender equality in OHCHR and in international fora.
After finishing her second term in March 2018, she was named Chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, an alliance of more than 1000 organizations in 192 countries from the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health communities. As Co-Chair of the High-Level Steering Group for Every Woman Every Child, Ms. Bachelet launched Every Woman Every Child Latin America and the Caribbean, the first platform for tailored, regional implementation of the EWEC Global Strategy.
Michelle Bachelet has a Medical Degree in Surgery, with a specialization in Pediatrics and Public Health. She also studied military strategy at Chile's National Academy of Strategy and Policy and at the Inter-American Defense College in the United States.
Brigitte BIERLEIN
Federal Chancellor
2019-2020
Austria
Dr. Brigitte Bierlein was the first female Federal Chancelor of Austria and the first female President of Constitutional Court of Austria.
From 1 January 2003 to 22 February 2018 Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Austria, Between 2001-2003 President of the Austrian Association of Public Prosecutors; Member of the Executive Committee of the IAP (International Association of Prosecutors)
Mrs. Bierlein is a highly professional and experienced lawyer specialized in criminal and prosecution law for 30 years. She was Member of the board of the Austrian Association of Public Prosecutors between 1995-2001 and Solicitor General at the Procurator General’ Office with the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice 1990-1995
In 1971 she was awarded JD at the University of Vienna
Sabine SEIDLER
Rector
Vienna University of Technology
Prof. Dr. Seidler, born in 1961 in Germany.
She ist he first female Rector of TU Wien, and President of the University Conference of Austria.
Prof. Seidler studied materials science at the technical university Leuna-Merseburg. Her main research interests are in the field of polymer testing, fracture mechanics and structure-property correlations in polymers.
In 1996, Sabine Seidler moved to Vienna to complete her post-doctoral qualification (habilitation) in Materials Science and became Full Professor of Non-metallic Materials at the Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, TU Wien. Since 2011, she is elected Rector of TU Wien.
She is Member of the Supervisory Board of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Member of the Nomination Advisory Board of the B&C Private Foundation, Non-Executive Board Member at AMAG.
Since 2018 Prof. Seidler is Presidential Council Member at Austrian Standards and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Natural History Museum Vienna.
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