Who we are

Ms. Neo Gim Huay is Managing Director, Centre for Nature and Climate at the World Economic Forum. Before joining the Forum, she held various Managing Director roles in Temasek, including Climate Change Strategy, Sustainability and Enterprise Development. Temasek is an investment company, headquartered in Singapore with a net portfolio value of approx. USD$280 billion in 2020. Gim Huay was responsible for seeding new businesses as well as working with Temasek’s existing portfolio of companies to develop strategy and build new capabilities. She also spearheaded Temasek’s sustainability strategy and initiatives across the organisation and within the community. Prior to joining Temasek, Gim Huay was a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Co in the Lagos, New York and San Francisco offices. She also served in the Singapore Public Service as an Administrative Officer, with stints in the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Singapore Embassy in the United States. Gim Huay holds a Masters in Business Administration (Arjay Miller Scholar) from Stanford University and a Masters of Engineering (Distinction) and Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honors) from Cambridge University. She was selected as an Eisenhower Fellow in 2015.

Career

Juergen Voegele, Ph.D., assumed the position of Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank on April 1, 2020. In this role, he oversees the work of Global Practices and thematic groups that bring together the best expertise from across the World Bank Group and from partners, to help countries tackle their most complex challenges in the area of sustainable development. The practices and groups under his responsibility include Agriculture and Food; Climate Change; Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy; Environmental and Social Framework Implementation Unit; Social Development; Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land; and Water.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Voegele was Global Director of the World Bank’s Climate Change Group and Senior Director of the World Bank’s Agriculture and Food Global Practice. Dr. Voegele is chair of the CGIAR System Council Board, which oversees agricultural research programs tackling poverty, food and nutrition security, and improved natural resource management around the world. Since 2016, Dr. Voegele has served as co-chair of the Global Future Councils of the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the EAT Foundation Advisory Board since May 2017.

Since joining the World Bank in 1991, Dr. Voegele has held several assignments, chairing the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Board as well as the Environment Sector Board, leading the Agriculture Unit in China, the Agriculture and Rural Development Unit of the Europe and Central Asia Region, and the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank (later recast as the Agriculture and Environmental Services Department). Career highlights include his leadership of the acclaimed Loess Plateau watershed management project in China and managing a multi-sectoral team that disbursed more than $1 billion for 70 projects in response to the global Avian influenza crisis. Those latter efforts were replicated during the 2008 global food crisis.

Dr. Voegele holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics and a Master’s in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Hohenheim, in Germany.

Career

Akinwumi Adesina is the eighth elected President of the African Development Bank Group. He was elected to the position on May 28, 2015 by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Mr. Adesina took office at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan on September 1, 2015 and will serve an initial five-year term.

Mr. Adesina is a distinguished development economist and agricultural development expert with 25 years of international experience. He is the first Nigerian to serve as President of the Bank Group.

Mr. Adesina served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015, during which time he implemented bold policy reforms in the fertilizer sector and pursued innovative agricultural investment programs to expand opportunities for the private sector.

Mr. Adesina was previously Vice President of Policy and Partnerships at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. He was also Associate Director of Food Security at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, where he worked for a decade (1998 – 2008) in senior leadership positions, including as Regional Office Director and Representative for Southern Africa.

Mr. Adesina was Principal Economist and Social Science Research Coordinator at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Principal Economist and Coordinator of the West Africa Rice Economics Task Force at the West Africa Rice Development Association, and an Assistant Principal Economist at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. From 2008 to 2010, he was the President of the African Association of Agricultural Economists.

Mr. Adesina has received a number of global awards for his leadership and work in agriculture. In 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed him as one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals, along with Bill Gates, the Spanish Prime Minister, and the President of Rwanda. Mr. Adesina was named Person of the Year by Forbes Africa magazine in 2013.

Education

• 1988: won the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship, which launched his international career in global agricultural development
• 1988: Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, Purdue University (United States)
  • Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Award
• 1981: first-class honors bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, University of Ife (Nigeria)

Read or download his full bio here »

Asif Saleh is the executive director of BRAC Bangladesh. He brings with him a diverse multi-sectoral experience in senior leadership roles in private, public and non-government sectors, with a proven track record of effectively managing interfaces of development programming, operational and financial sustainability and building effective partnerships, both within and outside BRAC.

Mr. Saleh has been deeply anchored in driving the strategic direction of BRAC. He joined the organization in 2011, and took up an increasingly important role in leading advocacy for social change, information technology, communications and social innovation. He has been instrumental in BRAC’s concentration on emerging development challenges in the areas of urban poverty, youth skills development, inclusive growth and migration. As the senior director of the empowerment program cluster, he led BRAC’s new programmatic areas, namely, the urban development program, human rights and legal aid services, skills development program and migration program. He also led the development of BRAC’s five-year strategic plan in 2016.

Prior to joining BRAC, Mr. Saleh worked as a policy specialist for the Access to Information (A2i) Programme at the Prime Minister’s Office. As part of the Government’s Digital Bangladesh initiative, he led the policy effort to expand affordable broadband connectivity across Bangladesh and devised the Government’s m-governance strategy. He was also a key part of the Union Digital Centre team that created digital service centers in every union in Bangladesh. Since then, he has actively promoted the role of technology and frugal innovation in the development sector. He spent 12 years in Goldman Sachs in different fin-tech roles and institutional client sales in New York and London, ending his term there as an Executive Director. He has also worked in Glaxo Wellcome, IBM and Nortel.

Mr. Saleh is the founder of Drishtipat, a global organization with chapters across the globe focusing on human and economic rights of Bangladeshis. He was recognized for his work by Asia Society’s Asia 21 program in 2008, the Bangladeshi American Foundation in 2007, and was selected as an Asia 21 Fellow in 2012. He was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2013.

Mr. Saleh is an active member in a range of international networks and alliances, advocating inclusive achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. He is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Millions Learning International Advisory Group, Brookings Institute, which addresses the question of how to scale quality education for all children and youth. He is also a member of the South Africa-based Innovation Edge, an institution promoting early childhood development.

Mr. Saleh chairs BRAC IT Services Limited, co-chairs BRAC Net, and is on the Board of BRAC Bank, and edotco Bangladesh Ltd. He is also a board member of multiple non-profits, including Institute of Informatics and Development, and Maya.
Mr. Saleh holds a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MBA in management and marketing from the Stern School of Business, New York University.

Career

Dr. Frank Rijsberman leads the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in supporting governments’ transition toward a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. With over 30 years’ experience addressing the challenges of environmental sustainability and poverty reduction with leading international organizations and philanthropic foundations, Dr. Rijsberman was appointed as the Director-General of the Institute on October 1, 2016.

Since assuming his position, Dr. Rijsberman has engaged with senior international stakeholders to drive the green growth agenda and help mobilize finance for climate action and sustainable development. As an advocate for sustainable development, he is focused on supporting GGGI Member and partner governments to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and achieve their Sustainable Development Goal targets. Dr. Rijsberman’s priorities are to support collaborative NDC implementation among GGGI Members, as outlined under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and assist its Member governments in greening their investment to deliver inclusive, pro-poor green growth, as well as climate action.

Prior to joining GGGI, Dr. Rijsberman served as Chief Executive Officer of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Consortium. In this role, he led CGIAR’s transformation from 15 independent research centers toward a single integrated organization. This included a process of cultural and institutional change toward results-based management, including the development of the Consortium’s 2016 – 2030 Strategy and new portfolio of research programs for 2017 to 2022, building an integrated organization and governance structure, and developing its policies and procedures to ensure accountability.

From 2010 to 2012, Dr. Rijsberman was the first Director of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he developed a strategy to help achieve universal access to sustainable sanitation services using radical new technologies and innovative market-based mechanisms.

Dr. Rijsberman also has worked as Program Director at Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, where he led grantmaking in the public health initiative and was responsible for programs and partnerships in health, disaster response, geo-informatics, and climate-change adaptation.

Before working at Google, Dr. Rijsberman was Director-General of the International Water Management Institute, an international research institute headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Education

• BS and MSc in Civil Engineering, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
• Ph.D. in water resources management and planning, Colorado State University (United States)

Career

Dr. Grethel Aguilar assumed office as Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in October 2023.

Dr. Aguilar brings with her more than 25 years of experience in conservation and sustainable development, having worked extensively on developing and applying environmental law and policy in collaboration with governments and civil society. In particular, she is deeply passionate about the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

Through her work in field projects, Dr. Aguilar has helped communities access clean water, advocated for environmental justice, assisted indigenous peoples in obtaining rights to their natural resources, and championed gender equality in environmental governance.

Before serving as IUCN Director-General, Dr. Aguilar held the position of Deputy Director General – Regions and Outposted Offices, starting in 2021. Prior to this, she was IUCN Acting Director General (2019-20), and Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, a role she took on in 2005. Prior to joining the IUCN, she was a member of the Costa Rican Environmental Law Center, then worked as a consultant for organizations such as the Central American Commission for Environment and Development, United Nations Environment Programme, and various governments.

Dr. Aguilar, a Costa Rican national, has authored multiple publications in the fields of environmental law and policy. She served as the 2018 Dorothy S. McCluskey Visiting Fellow in Conservation at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Education

2001: Doctor of Law, University of Alicante (Spain)

• Outstanding cum laude

Jai Shroff is the Group CEO of UPL Limited. He is a well-recognized global leader in the Chemical & Agri-Inputs industry with over 30 years experience in India and internationally.

UPL group is focused on strengthening the food security in over 130 countries by offering world class technologies and solutions for sustainable agriculture production. Under Jai’s leadership, UPL has been one of the fastest growing agri-input companies in the world with strong presence in the Seeds, Plant Nutrition, Crop protection and Post harvest food preservation value chains. He has driven the transformation of UPL from a largely domestic player to a truly global Indian multinational organization. UPL has a global workforce comprising of more than 25 different nationalities. It operates 35 manufacturing plants in India, Asia, Europe, Latin and North America and serve the farming community across the globe.

Jai’s vision for UPL is to endeavour to continually provide smart, affordable and profitable solutions to the global farming community with a strong focus on Innovation, Research and Excellence by “Doing Things Better’.

Jai believes in the power of collaboration and inter-sectoral partnerships. He is actively involved in the global development agenda, including the World Economic Forum’s Grow Africa and Grow Asia initiatives, IFPRI’s Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security Initiative, WBCSD, Chicago Council, IGD and ICAR.

Career

Before becoming CEO on May 1, 2017, James Quincey led all of the company’s operating units worldwide as President and Chief Operating Officer from August 2015.

From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Quincey served as President of The Coca-Cola Company’s Europe Group, which is comprised of 38 countries including the Member States of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association countries, and the Balkans. Under his leadership, the Europe Group, the company’s most profitable operating group, strategically expanded its brand portfolio and improved execution across the geography. These actions helped drive solid topline growth and expanded the company’s leading market share position in total non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages despite the volatile and prolonged macroeconomic challenges in the region.

Mr. Quincey also played an instrumental role in leading the merger of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetranke AG to form Coca-Cola European Partners Plc., which is now the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler based on net revenues.

Prior to Mr. Quincey’s role as head of the Europe Group, he served as President of the Northwest Europe and Nordics business unit from 2008 to 2012. Among Mr. Quincey’s many accomplishments during this time was his leadership during the acquisition of innocent juice in 2009. innocent is now sold in more than 14 countries and is well on its way to becoming one of the company’s brands that generates more than US$ 1 billion in annual revenue.

From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Quincey was President of the Mexico Division. During his tenure in Mexico, he grew market share for the Coca-Cola brand and expanded the company’s portfolio with the re-launch of Coca-Cola Zero and the acquisition of Jugos de Valle, one of the company’s US$-21 billion brands that is now sold in 16 countries.

Mr. Quincey joined the company in Atlanta in 1996 as Director of Learning Strategy for the Latin America Group. He went on to serve in a series of operational roles of increased responsibility in Latin America, leading to his appointment as President of the South Latin Division in 2003. During his time in South Latin, Mr. Quincey was instrumental in developing and executing a successful brand, pack, price, and channel strategy, which has now been replicated in various forms throughout Coca-Cola’s global system.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Mr. Quincey was a Partner in strategy consulting at The Kalchas Group, a spin-off from Bain & Company and McKinsey.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering, University of Liverpool (England)

James P. Scriven is the CEO of IDB Invest, the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, with a portfolio of $13.1 billion in assets under management and 385 clients in 25 countries. IDB Invest is a multilateral development bank focus on providing innovative financial solutions and advisory services for its clients, while achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean. A dual Argentine/British citizen, Mr. Scriven was previously Vice President of Corporate Risk and Sustainability at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in addition to other leadership positions. Before joining the IFC, Mr. Scriven was Chief Financial Officer of Banco Hipotecario in Argentina. During the past two decades, he has concentrated his efforts on promoting the role of the private sector in development. Mr. Scriven holds a Master´s degree in Finance from Universidad del Centro de Estudios Macroeconómicos of Argentina, and a degree in Business Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. To learn more, follow @JamesPScriven and linkedin.com/in/james-p-scriven.

Bereciartua is a former Secretary of Infrastructure and Water of Argentina from 2017 to 2019. He was responsible for one of the main federal investment areas (water supply and sanitation, adaptation to climate change, expansion of the agricultural frontier, and large-scale infrastructure including dams and aqueducts) and the implementation of national water policies. 

Prior to that, he was Undersecretary of Water Resources of Argentina (2015 to 2017); President of the Water Planning Agency of the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (2015-2019), in charge of defining the water supply and sanitation service for 14 million people; and Director of Infrastructure of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (2007-2009).  

Bereciartua is a Professor at the University of Buenos Aires and former Dean at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the EIT Climate KIC and a member of the Steering Committee at the International Symposium on Next Generation Infrastructures (ISNGI). 

Among other degrees, Bereciartua has a M.Sc. in Engineering and Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, California, USA. He graduated with honors in Civil, Hydraulic, and Transportation Engineering from the Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Argentina. He has a MBA from the Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bereciartua is a Yale World Fellow. 

Mr Senzo Mchunu is the Minister of Water and Sanitation, a position he started from 5 August 2021. He was Minister of Public Service and Administration of the Republic of South Africa from 30 May 2019 to 5 August 2021.

Mr. Tibor Tóth is State Secretary, responsible for Macroeconomics and International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, he is the Chairman of the National Council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Alternate Governor of the World Bank Group, the Governor in the Board of Governors of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and also member of the EFC.

He graduated from the University of Miskolc in 1996 and obtained degrees both at the Faculty of Economics, and at the College of Foreign Trade. After graduation, he worked as a tax advisor and later as a senior advisor at Arthur Andersen.

For eight years he held senior positions at the ABN Amro Bank and at Citibank before he became the Deputy CEO of the KDB Bank (Europe) Zrt., between 2005 and 2021. During this sixteen years, at the beginning he was the Head of Corporate Banking, Corporate and Retail Banking Head, the Executive Vice President then the Member of the Board of Directors.

In 2021 he was appointed as M&A Director at Biggeorge/Otthon Centrum.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Usha Rao-Monari of India as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Mourad Wahba of Egypt for his commitment as Associate Administrator ad interim and 30 years of service in the United Nations.  He also wishes to extend his appreciation to Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia for his long-standing career at the United Nations and for his significant contributions to the development agenda as UNDP’s Associate Administrator.

As Senior Adviser to Blackstone’s Infrastructure Group, Ms. Rao-Monari is an investment professional with almost 30 years of investment experience, particularly in the infrastructure area.  She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone portfolio company, and held several senior positions, notably as Director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group.  She currently serves on the Boards of a number organizations in the field of sustainable development and has held a number of Board and advisory positions in the areas of water, natural capital, biodiversity and environment.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Finance, School of International and Public Affairs/School of Business, Columbia University, New York, a Master’s degree in Management Studies, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, India and a B.A. Honors Economics, Delhi University, New Delhi.

Ms. Neo Gim Huay is Managing Director, Centre for Nature and Climate at the World Economic Forum. Before joining the Forum, she held various Managing Director roles in Temasek, including Climate Change Strategy, Sustainability and Enterprise Development. Temasek is an investment company, headquartered in Singapore with a net portfolio value of approx. USD$280 billion in 2020. Gim Huay was responsible for seeding new businesses as well as working with Temasek’s existing portfolio of companies to develop strategy and build new capabilities. She also spearheaded Temasek’s sustainability strategy and initiatives across the organisation and within the community. Prior to joining Temasek, Gim Huay was a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Co in the Lagos, New York and San Francisco offices. She also served in the Singapore Public Service as an Administrative Officer, with stints in the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Singapore Embassy in the United States. Gim Huay holds a Masters in Business Administration (Arjay Miller Scholar) from Stanford University and a Masters of Engineering (Distinction) and Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honors) from Cambridge University. She was selected as an Eisenhower Fellow in 2015.

Mr. Saroj Kumar Jha is the Global Director for the World Bank Group’s Water Global Practice (GP).  In his current assignment, Mr Jha is  a core member of the GP’s senior management team, which drives the policy direction of the GP, oversees a portfolio of $24 billion in water-related investments, analytical work, multi-donor trust funds and global partnerships. Mr Jha supports an integrated approach to water security and inclusive service delivery, accelerated climate action and food security through Bank’s Global Water Strategy, and providing policy advice and operational support in response to specific country needs.

Before this appointment, Mr. Jha was World Bank’s Regional Director of the Middle East Department, Senior Director for the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Global Practice at the World Bank Group, the World Bank’s Regional Director for Central Asia based in Almaty. In addition, Mr. Jha served as the Bank’s Global Manager for the Disaster Risk Management Practice and as Head of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), which he founded in 2006.

Mr. Jha, an Indian national, joined the World Bank in 2005 as a Senior Infrastructure Specialist in the Sustainable Development Network, after working for the Government of India (1990-2005) and United Nations agencies (1999-2004) as a senior executive in the field of public sector management, infrastructure financing, natural resources management, natural disaster prevention, and environmental sustainability.

Prior to joining 2030 WRG, Michael “Mike” John Webster was Executive Director of the Water and Sanitation Directorate in the City of Cape Town. In this position, he headed the water and wastewater utility responsible for the full water cycle, from “source to tap” and back to the environment.

The utility serves the 4.7 million people of Cape Town through 660,000 water and sewer connections and 20,000 km of pipeline. It has 5,100 staff, an annual operating budget of over USD 500 million, and an annual capital budget of USD 200 million.

Over the past five years, Mike led the City’s response to the 2015-17 drought that almost resulted in “day zero,” by implementing a strategy to achieve water security for the future. Under Mike’s leadership, the City implemented a series of reforms in sanitation, financial sustainability, and customer services; and created a modern fit-for-purpose water utility. This turn-around culminated in Cape Town becoming the first city in Africa to be recognized as a member of the Leading Utilities of the World network, the gold standard of water and wastewater utility performance.

Prior to joining the City, Mike worked for the World Bank for 16 years as a water and sanitation specialist based in Washington, DC. He joined the Bank through the Young Professionals Program and worked in operations in South Asia, Europe and Central Asia, and Africa with field assignments in India and Zimbabwe. Mike was Task Team Leader for 23 investment operations in water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, municipal services, rural infrastructure, environmental protection, and urban upgrading, as well as a number of analytical and advisory services.

Mike graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Cape Town and went on to do an MSc in engineering at Loughborough University and a Master in Public Policy at Princeton University.

Harshal Sonawane is Head of Sustainability at UPL SAS Limited, based at the Mumbai headquarters. He holds a Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech.) in Agriculture Biotechnology and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing with 16 years’ experience in the field of sustainable agriculture solutions and food security.

He has been associated with UPL for the last 14 years, working in Sales, Strategic Marketing, and as Crop Manager, Portfolio Lead, etc. across India. Since April 2023, he has been leading Sustainability at UPL SAS, where he has been working on ESG documentation, drought mitigation technologies, and climate-smart initiatives. He has also been developing and driving sustainable crop programs by creating consortia with farmers and like-minded enterprises to improve farm productivity with end-to-end sustainable interventions endorsed by recognized registries. Additionally, he has been building farmers’ resilience and community well-being, ensuring food security as well as digitalization and traceability for sustainable sourcing, and reducing environmental footprints of water, fertilizers, electricity, etc.

Career

James Dalton is the Director and Coordinator of Global Initiatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Water Programme. He has worked on water resources management issues for the last twenty years. Prior to joining the IUCN, Mr. Dalton worked at the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission in Fiji, where he was the Integrated Water Resources Management Adviser to Pacific Island governments. Prior to this, he was a water management and development consultant for ITAD Water, based in the United Kingdom but working internationally. Mr. Dalton spent years working for consecutive Department for International Development Senior Water Advisers in London as a consultant adviser.

Mr. Dalton has worked in over 25 countries worldwide, with extended periods working in the Pacific Islands, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Middle East, East Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Education

Doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering focusing on groundwater management in the Aral Sea Basin

BA in History, Tufts University; Master’s in Political Science, Institute for Political Studies, Université de Bordeaux; MA in International Law and Diplomacy, Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy. Formerly, with US Embassy, Paris. Since 1997, with Coca-Cola, including roles in Atlanta, Cairo, Hong Kong and Washington DC.

Bereciartua is a former Secretary of Infrastructure and Water of Argentina from 2017 to 2019. He was responsible for one of the main federal investment areas (water supply and sanitation, adaptation to climate change, expansion of the agricultural frontier, and large-scale infrastructure including dams and aqueducts) and the implementation of national water policies. 

Prior to that, he was Undersecretary of Water Resources of Argentina (2015 to 2017); President of the Water Planning Agency of the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (2015-2019), in charge of defining the water supply and sanitation service for 14 million people; and Director of Infrastructure of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (2007-2009).  

Bereciartua is a Professor at the University of Buenos Aires and former Dean at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the EIT Climate KIC and a member of the Steering Committee at the International Symposium on Next Generation Infrastructures (ISNGI). 

Among other degrees, Bereciartua has a M.Sc. in Engineering and Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, California, USA. He graduated with honors in Civil, Hydraulic, and Transportation Engineering from the Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Argentina. He has a MBA from the Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bereciartua is a Yale World Fellow. 

Sumeet Thakur is Global Head of Water, Waste, and Cities at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank. His focus is on emerging market investments and policy advice at the interface of infrastructure, energy, climate, and the environment. His present and prior roles involve senior-level client relationship management and strategic oversight of geographically dispersed, multi-disciplinary global teams undertaking debt/equity investments in corporate and project finance settings. Sumeet also is a Board Member for companies in Asia and Africa, focusing on energy and telecommunications.

Thomas leads climate and environment within Unilever’s Global Sustainability Team.  Thomas led the development of Unilever’s new climate and nature strategy, launched in June 2020, which included a recommitment to 1.5 degree aligned Science-Based Targets, a new Net Zero by 2039 commitment and the launch of a €1bn Climate & Nature fund, and led the development of Unilever’s Climate Transition Action Plan which was approved with a 99.59% vote in favour at Unilever’s 2021 AGM. 

Thomas joined Unilever in 1999, abandoning the finance and IT graduate scheme in 2002 to take a role in UK Social & Environmental Affairs. After 6 years in Unilever’s UK business, Thomas joined the environmental policy think tank Green Alliance on secondment as Deputy Director. Thomas re-joined Unilever in 2010 as Global External Affairs Director and was part of the team that launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, subsequently founding the Unilever Global Advocacy team to drive transformational change on systemic issues such as recycling, public health and sustainable agriculture. 

During that time, he supported former Unilever CEO, Paul Polman in his roles as Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and a member of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda.  He was part of the Dutch delegation to COP21 and was part of the virtual team that choreographed the business input to the historic Paris Climate Summit.

Thomas currently serves as a Trustee Director of the Unilever UK Pension Fund, Board member of Climate Catalyst – a campaign group, a Senior Associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and on advisory boards for We Mean Business and Climate Home News.

Thomas read Philosophy and Modern Languages at Durham University, and holds an Advanced Diploma in Sustainability and Post-Graduate Certificate in Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainable Development from Cambridge University Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and a Masters in Development Management from the Open University. He is currently studying for an MSt in Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Society at Cambridge University.  Thomas is a Chartered Management Accountant and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 

He is married to Sarah, a British diplomat, and they live with their three children near Cambridge.