World-renowned keynote speakers
G-STIC Conference October 2021

H.E. António Guterres
Secretary-General

Plenary
17/01/2022
Presenting Opening remarks during the High-level opening session: setting the scene session.

H.E. Peter Thomson
Special Envoy for the Ocean

Oceans Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Keynote presentation during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.
24/10/2021
Presenting Closing during the Artificial islands and sustainable blue growth session.
In 2017, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres appointed Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, with the aim of galvanising concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the 2017 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference. This includes maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Thomson leads the UN’s advocacy and public outreach efforts inside and outside of the UN system, ensuring that the many positive outcomes of the 2017 Ocean Conference, including the over 1,500 voluntary commitments, are analysed and implemented. He also works with civil society, the scientific community, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, to coalesce and encourage their activities in support of the implementation of SDG 14.
Thomson has distinguished experience in diplomatic services and is familiar with the work of the United Nations, including from his role as Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN and President of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, during which time he provided visionary leadership in guiding the preparation of The 2017 Ocean Conference.
Elected President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority’s 2011-2012 session and President of the Council of the Authority’s 2015-2016 session, Thomson chaired the Group of 77 and China (2013) and served as President of the Executive Board of UN Development Programme/UN Population Fund/UN Office for Programme Support (UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS) from 2014 to 2015. As a civil servant in the Government of Fiji, he has devoted many years of his life to working in the fields of rural development and foreign affairs.

H.E. Amani Abou-Zeid
Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy

Climate Energy Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Role of NDCs in concerted efforts to achieve climate goals session.
Amani Abou-Zeid is the newly elected Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission (AUC). She is in charge of sectors covering Energy, Transport, Tourism and ICT. Prior to joining the AUC, Abou-Zeid has served for more than 30 years in leadership roles at top-tier international organisations, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNDP and USAID, with a focus on infrastructure and energy programmes.
Over her career, Abou-Zeid has amassed a rare mix of experience from across Africa, France, UK and Canada. She has managed large and complex development programmes, including the largest operations portfolio of the African Development Bank (AfDB). An Egyptian national, Abou-Zeid speaks French, English, Arabic and Spanish. She is a trained telecommunications engineer with an MBA in project management from the French University for African Development (Université Senghor), a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Social and Economic Development from University of Manchester, UK. She also has a degree in Arts from Université Sorbonne-Paris IV.
Abou-Zeid has received numerous international awards and recognition for her leadership and excellence, including the honour of “Officier de l’Ordre de Wissam Alaouite” from His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco and being recognised as a World Young Leader by the European Union.

H.E. Lazarus Chakwera
President

Climate Energy Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting during the High-level governmental session: shaping a post-pandemic world session.
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Role of NDCs in concerted efforts to achieve climate goals session.
26/10/2021
Presenting during the Closing session: dialogue with the G-STIC co-hosts and strategic partners session.
Lazarus Chakwera is a Malawian theologian and politician who has been President of Malawi since June 2020. In addition to the Presidency, he is also self-appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Defence. Mr Chakwera has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013, and was previously Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly following highly controversial elections held on 21 May 2019, which were overturned by the Constitutional Court. He was appointed chairman of SADC on 17 August at the SADC 41st Annual Summit held on 9 August to 19 august in Lilongwe, Malawi. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 14 May 2013.

H.E. Mohammed Hassain Abdullahi
Minister of State

Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting during the High-level governmental session: shaping a post-pandemic world session.
Mohammed Hassain Abdullahi is a Federal Minister of State for the Ministry of Science &Technology, Federal Republic of Nigeria. He trained as a lawyer at Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991 after completing his studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. He is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, as well as a Founding Partner of Messrs Hammart & Co, Solicitors & Advocates, Abuja.
Until his appointment in 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari to serve in a Ministerial capacity and Cabinet-Member, Mohammed Hassain Abdullahi was the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Nasarawa State (2017-2019).

H.E. Jan Jambon
Minister-President

Water Oceans Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting during the High-level governmental session: shaping a post-pandemic world session.
24/10/2021
Presenting Closing remarks during the Valuing water: Flanders’ approach to prioritising water session.
24/10/2021
Presenting Opening during the Artificial islands and sustainable blue growth session.
Since September 2018, Jan Jambon has been the Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy, Culture, IT and Facilities. Before that, he was a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and the Interior of Belgium.
Jan Jambon began his professional career as a Systems Engineer and Account Manager at IBM, where he worked from 1984 to 1992. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the University of Antwerp.

H.E. Prakash Javadekar (TBC)
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Plenary
Prakash Keshav Javadekar is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and currently serving as the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
Javadekar was elected to the upper house Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra in 2008, and re-elected from Madhya Pradesh in 2014.
Following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Indian General Election, he was appointed Minister State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is also a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, and briefly held the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting.

H.E. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Union Minister for Jal Shakti

Water Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Nature-based solutions session.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is an Indian politician from Rajasthan who is currently serving as Union Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Jal Shakti. He is a member of parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha.
Shekhawat began his political career in student politics in 1992, when he was elected as president of the Student Union at JNVU University, gaining more votes than previously achieved by any other Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad supporter. Shekhawat was appointed as National General Secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha, the farmers’ wing of the Bharatiya Janta Party. He was also a member of the Rajasthan State Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Shekhawat was elected as a member of parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, with the highest ever winning margin (4,10,051 votes) from the constituency of Jodhpur. One of his major achievements during his tenure as an MP has been the expansion of Jodhpur Airport, a demand that had continuously been raised during the last 18 years.
On 3 September 2017, he was appointed as Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Shekhawat became the Minister of Jal Shakti on 31 May 2019.

Mohamed Alhosani
CEO of Consultancy, Research and Innovation

Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Statements from strategic partners in the United Arab Emirates during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.
Mohamed Alhosani is the CEO of Consultancy, Research & Innovation at Bee’ah. He is responsible for the delivery of environmental consulting services; environmental monitoring including water, soil and air monitoring; carbon footprint mapping; management of agencies; and research and development of new, innovative services. He was also appointed the CEO of Bee’ah KSA in 2021, and is leading Bee’ah’s expansion efforts in the Kingdom and oversees all of Bee’ah’s operations in KSA to ensure service excellence.
Prior to assuming his present role, Mohamed was the Managing Director of Tandeef, Bee’ah’s Waste Collection & Public Cleansing Division. In this role, he oversaw Tandeef’s operations including Collection, Public Cleansing, Commercial Operations, Fleet Management and Control, the Workshops, as well as their respective stores.
Mohamed joined Bee’ah in June 2008 as Health, Safety and Environment Manager. In 2009, he was promoted to Senior Environment Manager, before joining the Operations Department as Senior Operations Manager in 2010. After gaining extensive experience in the Operations Department, Mohamed took on a wider role as Director of Sales and New Product Development. This position included management of commercial services and material sales, as well as the waste transfer processes and disposal of waste collected in Sharjah, and the East Coast and Central Region of the emirate. His main responsibilities as Director also included future facilities planning, overseeing the operations of Sharjah’s six landfills, and the implementation of sustainable waste management practices. Following his excellent performance, he was then appointed as the Director of Waste Transfer and Disposal Technology, and subsequently as the Managing Director of Tandeef.
With over 13 years in fire safety engineering before arriving at Bee’ah, Mohamed began his career in the UAE Armed Forces, as a Fire Protection Engineer reviewing the fire safety systems and equipment. Mohamed then worked at the Sharjah Municipality where he headed the Fire Unit for the Sharjah Civil Defence.

Inger Andersen (TBC)
Executive Director
Circular Economy ICT Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting Opening speech: introducing the GACERE initiative during the Integrating local approaches for global sustainable development session.
24/10/2021
Presenting Opening speech: introducing the GACERE initiative during the Integrating local approaches for global sustainable development session.

Thulani Dlamini
CEO
Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Opening remarks by the co-hosts during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.

Isabelle Durant
Deputy Secretary-General

Plenary
26/10/2021
Presenting Harnessing frontier technologies for inclusive and sustainable development during the Catching technological waves: innovation with equity (hosted by UNCTAD) session.
Isabelle Durant, from Belgium, became UNCTAD’s Acting Secretary-General in February 2021, having served as Deputy Secretary-General since July 2017. Ever since joining UNCTAD, Durant has relentlessly contributed to making international trade greener and more inclusive, as well as being an advocate for gender equality.
Durant has been heavily involved in the UN’s socio-economic response to the coronavirus crisis and has led UNCTAD’s work in this area, covering a broad range of interrelated issues including finance, technology, investment and sustainable development.
A former Deputy Prime Minister and Member of the Belgian Senate, as well as Vice President of the European parliament, Durant possesses solid experience in public affairs, intergovernmental processes and providing concrete assistance to countries. She is well known for her acute skills in empowering people, addressing vulnerabilities at local and national levels and supporting governments towards achieving good governance and sustainable policies.
Durant also served as Minister for Transport and Energy in Belgium between 1999 and 2003, when she oversaw mobility, infrastructure, energy and sustainable development policies. This position meant she was part of the government-of-the-time which chaired the presidency of the European Union (EU) and, in particular, the presidency of the EU Council of Transport Ministers.
As Vice President of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2014, Durant chaired various permanent delegations such as that of EU-African, Caribbean and Pacific countries following the Cotonou Agreement, as well as other economic partnership agreements.
Durant also possesses a wealth of knowledge about relations with civil society representatives and the private sector, notably as the Vice President responsible for relations between the European Parliament and the civil society.
As a Belgian Senator from 2003 to 2009, Durant served on the committees for foreign affairs and social affairs and participated in many election observation missions, including to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt and Tunisia.
She also served as a senior expert on local governance in Algeria in 2015 and 2016. In addition, she participated in or headed EU parliamentarian delegations to Iran, Myanmar and Haiti.
Immediately prior to becoming Deputy Head of UNCTAD, Durant was a member of the Brussels capital region’s parliament and of the Economic Affairs Committee. Within the framework of a large reform of regional economic tools, she was especially involved in innovation, sharing and the circular economy.
Isabelle Durant holds a master’s degree in economic and social policy from Belgium’s Universite Catholique de Louvain.

Dirk Fransaer
Managing Director
Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Welcome by the host during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Closing remarks from the co-hosts during the Closing session: dialogue with the G-STIC co-hosts and strategic partners session.
26/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Dialogue on sustainable development with the G-STIC co-hosts and invited guests during the Closing session: dialogue with the G-STIC co-hosts and strategic partners session.
17/01/2022
Presenting Welcome by the co-hosts during the High-level opening session: setting the scene session.
19/01/2022
Presenting Closing remarks during the High-level closing session session.

Paulo Gadelha
Former President, Coordinator Strategy for 2030 Agenda

Health Plenary
17/01/2022, 14:30 - 16:00 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Technological solutions to address health crises and its impacts session.
24/10/2021
Presenting Opening remarks by the co-hosts during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Closing remarks from the co-hosts during the Closing session: dialogue with the G-STIC co-hosts and strategic partners session.
26/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Dialogue on sustainable development with the G-STIC co-hosts and invited guests during the Closing session: dialogue with the G-STIC co-hosts and strategic partners session.
17/01/2022
Presenting Welcome by the co-hosts during the High-level opening session: setting the scene session.
19/01/2022
Presenting Closing remarks during the High-level closing session session.
As coordinator of the Fiocruz Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Gadelha is in charge of promoting strategic engagement between Fiocruz and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His background includes studies of the application of technology in public health, healthcare models, and enhancing Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) for the SDGs.
Gadelha served as president of Fiocruz from 2009 to 2016, leading scientific achievements in biomedical sciences, generation of scientific and technological knowledge, and health and social development promotion. Between 2016 and 2021, Dr. Gadelha was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as a member of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (UN-TFM) ‘10-Member Group’ to provide expertise and support to the UN Inter-agency Task Team (IATT) on STI for the SDGs.
Previously, he founded and directed the “Casa de Oswaldo Cruz,” a Fiocruz institute dedicated to the sociology and history of science and health. Dr. Gadelha also served as a member of the National Health Council’s Science and Technology Intersectoral Commission. As President of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health, he chaired the 11th World Congress on Public Health. In 2017, with UN/DESA, he chaired the efforts of Fiocruz in organizing the 1st Consultation on Health and STI in the 2030 Agenda’s implementation.

Jan Goossens
CEO

Water Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion during the Valuing water: a global perspective session.
25/10/2021
Presenting The untapped potential of wastewater during the Valuing water: a global perspective session.
Jan Goossens has been Aquafin’s CEO since the end of 2016. With over 1,000 dedicated employees, Aquafin operates more than 300 wastewater treatment units throughout Flanders, as well as managing and financing the continued expansion of the Flemish Region’s sewer infrastructure and water treatment capacity. Backed by in-house research, the company is also diversifying into large-scale energy, heat and nutrient recovery from wastewater. Another current key activity is the development of integrated stormwater plans to help municipalities counter the increasing effects of climate change, such as drought and flooding.
With a PhD in analytical chemistry, Jan Goossens began his professional career at BASF, where he was involved with both the plastic (nylon) and fertiliser businesses, holding several management positions in HR, sales and operations. He went on to become Managing Director of Marpobel, an industrial water treatment facility in the Port of Antwerp, and Managing Director of Industrial Services, a Dutch maintenance provider to the Chemical, Energy and Offshore Industry. Jan has also been a guest professor at Ghent University for 15 years, where he currently serves as a guest lecturer on water management.

Kim Kyoung-Woong
Director

Plenary
Kyoung-Woong Kim received his PhD from the Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He is a Professor of Environmental Geochemistry at the School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering since 1997 and Director of International Environmental Research Institute (IERI) at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in the Republic of Korea.
He is interested in the remediation of contaminated soil/groundwater and has donated many GDM (Gravity Driven Membrane) water filtration systems.
Kim has published more than 220 papers within the international SCI journal and received numerous awards, such as Prime Minister Commendation for Scientific Achievement.
He is currently editorial board member at several international journals including Scientific Reports and Environmental Geochemical & Health.

Dumisani Mthembu (TBC)
Senior Specialist Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Department of Science and Innovation

Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting during the High-level governmental session: shaping a post-pandemic world session.
Dumisani Mthembu has specialised in nature conservation, protected area management, biodiversity conservation management and marine resource management. In 2004, Dr Mthembu joined government in water resource management and regulation with a specific focus on commercial afforestation licensing and management and later focused on maritime and marine environmental protection. Dr Mthembu is a former Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs responsible for environmental impact management.
Since 2012, Mthembu has been employed as a Senior Specialist responsible for Multilateral Environmental Agreements and represent government in international negotiations; particularly climate change negotiations, with a specific focus on technology development and transfer. Dr Mthembu is also responsible for multilateral cooperation through engagements with various multilateral organisations.
Mthembu holds a PhD in Environmental Management, Masters degree from the University of Natal (South Africa) in Environment and Development and a Master of Management degree in Public and Development Management from the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa). Mthembu also holds a National Diploma and B Tech degree in Nature Conservation respectively.

Hussain Mohammed Al Mahmoudi
CEO

Entrepreneurship Plenary
24/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the SDGs-driven entrepreneurship ecosystems contributing to the mission economy session.
24/10/2021
Presenting Statements from strategic partners in the United Arab Emirates during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.
Hussain serves a dual role as the CEO of the American University of Sharjah Enterprises (AUSE) and as the CEO of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP). Both these entities were established through royal decree by the Ruler of Sharjah, who also directly appointed Hussain to these responsibilities in order to create collaborative long-term relationships between industry, academia and the public sector, fostering an ecosystem of enterprise and innovation.
Previously, Hussain served as the Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a Member of the UAE Chamber Federation, and GCC Chambers for 8 years. He was responsible for the overall management and operations of the Chamber including the provision of services to its members. In this role, he launched several strategic economic initiatives for Sharjah such as the SME Act, Sharjah Export Centre, Sharjah Commercial Arbitration Centre, and the Sharjah Business Forum.
Hussain has held leadership roles at leading regional and international companies such as the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and several Dubai Holding entities. He currently serves as honorary board member of both, the Tatweer Forum and of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and as chairman of the Emirates Business Council for Sustainable Development.
He also serves as a board member of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa). Hussain possesses an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BA in Economics and Communications from Seattle Pacific University in the US.

Rose Mwebaza
Director

Climate Energy Plenary
25/10/2021, 15:45 - 17:15 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation session.
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Role of NDCs in concerted efforts to achieve climate goals session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Opening remarks during the Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Closing remarks during the Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Welcome during the Ensuring a climate resilient recovery after COVID-19 (hosted by CTCN) session.
26/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Dialogue on sustainable development with the G-STIC co-hosts and invited guests during the Closing session: dialogue with the G-STIC co-hosts and strategic partners session.
Rose Mwebaza is the Director of the CTCN and brings 20 years’ experience providing policy advice on a wide range of climate change, environment and sustainable development issues. She has previously served as Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank and held leadership positions within the UN Development Programme. Mwebaza was a Lecturer at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, for 10 years, serving as the Head of Department for Commercial Law and Deputy Dean of the Law School.
Mwebaza holds a PhD in environment and natural resource governance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, a master’s degree in international comparative law (with a Certificate of Academic Excellence) from the University of Florida, U.S.A and a bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B, Hons.) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Edvaldo Nogueira
Mayor of Aracaju

Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.
Edvaldo Nogueira is the current President of Brazil’s National Front of Mayors (FNP), having formerly served as its Vice President, General Secretary and Vice President of Relations with Forums and Networks.
An affiliate of Brazil’s Democratic Labour Party, he has been elected Mayor of Aracaju, capital of the state of Sergipe on the northeast coast, four times – in 2006, 2008, 2016 and 2020 – and twice as Deputy Mayor.
Edvaldo Nogueira’s efforts have been instrumental in making Aracaju the capital of quality of life in Brazil. He is noted as being outstanding in areas such as planned management and financial organisation for structural works relating to sanitation and urban mobility, for social initiatives such as the construction of houses, schools and health units and for innovative initiatives that combine technology and sustainability, such as the Aracaju Public Private Partnership for Public Lighting.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
SDG Advocate

Circular Economy Climate Entrepreneurship ICT Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Inclusivity and digital technologies in support of the coexistence of humanity with nature during the Democratisation of technology: indigenous values & the future of digitalisation session.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an environmental activist and member of Chad’s pastoralist Mbororo community, a UN Sustainable Development Goal Advocate and Conservation International Senior Fellow.
Hindou began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at age 16, founding the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) to introduce new income revenue activities for women and collaborative tools such as 3D participatory mapping to build sustainable ecosystems management and reduction of nature-based resource conflicts. Her vision is to grow support for both traditional knowledge and science to improve resilience to climate change especially for rural communities.

H.E. Jairam Ramesh
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

Climate Energy Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation session.
Jairam Ramesh is a well-known economist, government official and senior pioneer of the Indian National Congress. He is a member of parliament representing Andhra Pradesh state, a position he has held since June 2004.
In 2011, Jairam Ramesh was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers of India and appointed Minister of Rural Development and Minister of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Between May 2009 and July 2011, he was Minister of State at the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Ramesh has been a columnist for The Business Standard, Business Today, The Telegraph, The Times and India Today, and has also anchored a number of popular television programmes on business and the economy. In addition, Jairam Ramesh is the author of the books: “Making Sense of Chindia: Reflections on China and India” (2005), “Mobilising Technology for World Development” (Co-editor, 1979), “To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story” (2015) and “Old History, New Geography” (2016).

Carlos Roberto Martins Rodrigues Sobrinho
Secretary of Health

Health Plenary
Carlos Roberto Martins Rodrigues Sobrinho is the Secretary of Health for the State of Ceará, Brazil. He became a Doctor of Medicine at the Federal University of Ceará (1990) and has a PhD in cardiology from the University of São Paulo (2001). He is also an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, where he works in Cardiology and is mainly focused on the autonomic nervous system, cardiopulmonary system and Chagas disease.
Carlos coordinates the Health Innovation Districts of Porangabussu, Eusébio and Quxeramobim. His responsibilities include incorporating technology into the way the health system and hospitals are managed, as well as the construction of the University of Ceará State Hospital (UECE) to ensure care, research and innovation are properly integrated.

Okechukwu Ukwuoma
Director-General
Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Opening remarks by the co-hosts during the High-level plenary opening session: setting the scene session.

Secretary-General

Special Envoy for the Ocean

Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy

President

Minister of State

Minister-President

Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Union Minister for Jal Shakti

CEO of Consultancy, Research and Innovation

Executive Director

CEO

Deputy Secretary-General

Managing Director

Former President, Coordinator Strategy for 2030 Agenda

CEO

CEO

Director

Senior Specialist Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Department of Science and Innovation

CEO

Director

Mayor of Aracaju

SDG Advocate

Mayor

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

Secretary of Health

Director-General
TOP EXPERTS
G-STIC Conference October 2021

Kay Van Damme
Researcher & Nature Specialist

Plenary
26/10/2021
Presenting Supporting the SDGs in practice: Enhancing climate change resilience of biodiversity and local communities through improving culture-nature linkages in the Socotra Archipelago ecosystems (Yemen) during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Q&A and panel discussion during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
Kay Van Damme is a zoologist, active in biological/biodiversity research in mainly (sub)tropical areas. Since 1999, he has been involved in research and biodiversity conservation and climate change resilience through green solutions in the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen). He was the scientific coordinator of the most recent UNEP-GEF biodiversity/conservation project for Socotra (Phase 1) and is currently co-coordinating the ongoing Frankincense Tree replantation project in Socotra, working with local communities.
Kay Van Damme is the author of over 80 scientific publications and has coordinated the scientific aspects of large-scale awareness campaigns (connect2socotra) for the importance of biodiversity in Socotra and associated challenges, in cooperation with UNESCO.
Van Damme’s current research mainly focuses on freshwater biodiversity (including research on zooplankton as model organisms) and water resource issues in Socotra. This is complemented with research on general conservation and raising awareness of the need for it, together with research on and replantation of Socotra’s endangered endemic trees which are crucial for increasing climate change resilience. (These plants are also of high importance to local communities for livelihoods and local cultural connections).
Kay Van Damme works at the fascinating intersection where cutting-edge science, international collaborations, biodiversity conservation, capacity building and awareness meet. He translates science into a more basically understandable form for global debates and initiates research projects focused on overcoming challenging conditions to improve both the conservation of nature and human livelihoods.

Robert Spruijt
Head Sustainable Finance EMEA

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the Broadcasting: the sustainable future of corporates session.
Robert is heading the Sustainable Finance business for ING in the EMEA region. The Sustainable Finance team is covering sustainable lending, Sustainable Structured Finance, supports Debt Capital Markets on the Green/ Social & Sustainable Bonds structuring and supports the Sustainable Investments team.
Robert started his career in carbon trading and energy derivatives. Thereafter he moved into renewable energy financing, where together with a local team he set up the business in India and thereafter in the wider Asia- Pacific region. Robert joined ING in 2016 in the Energy Sector team and stepped into his current role in 2019.
Robert holds a MSc in Business Administration (Major: Finance & Investments) from the Rotterdam School of Management/ Erasmus University and a BSc in Process Engineering from the Utrecht School of Technology.

Steven Vanonckelen
Expert Partnerships at Department of Environment and Spatial Planning

Plenary
26/10/2021
Presenting Reconnecting the landscape in Flanders during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Q&A and panel discussion during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
Steven Vanonckelen is passionate about the link between people, businesses (economy) and environment (ecology). He is proficient in the application and coordination of European projects, where cross-border and multidisciplinary partnerships are key. He is responsible for integrated knowledge sharing within the Department of Environment and partnerships with companies, regional administrations, educational institutions and civil society organisations.
Vanonckelen is coordinator of the €50 million Flemish Action Programme for Ecological Defragmentation project and Green Deal business and biodiversity projects. He is also involved in strategic planning of EU projects and SDGs.

Jan De Jaeck
Sustainable Finance Lead Belgium, Luxembourg and Nordic

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the Broadcasting: the sustainable future of corporates session.
Jan De Jaeck is leading the Sustainable Finance business for Belux & Nordics. ING’s Sustainable Finance team provides multiple responsible financial solutions: in the loan market (a.o. Green Loans, Sustainability-Linked Loans), in the Debt Capital Markets (supporting on green / social / sustainable structuring) and offers Sustainability-Linked working capital & financial market products.
Jan started his career within the waste management industry and joined ING begin 1999. He has a broad experience as senior relationship manager for Corporate Clients in Belgium (Food, Beverages & Personal care sector).
From 2007 onwards, Jan became Global Relationship Manager for Corporate Clients across the Nordic countries, focused on Finland, and complemented with Baltic region in 2017. He started as Sustainable Finance specialist early 2019.
Jan is a client focused senior banker with a passion for sustainability, and a drive to be a step ahead. Jan De Jaeck holds a Master of Economics (EHSAL – Brussels) and Master of Management degree. (VLEKHO – Brussels).

Sabine Content
Director Corporate and Stakeholder Engagement

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Panel debate during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Advance action on the SDGs through corporate reporting with the GRI Standards during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
As Director of Corporate & Stakeholder Engagement at Global Reporting Initiative, Sabine Content is responsible for all global corporate engagement, as well as raising awareness and building relationships between GRI and key partner organisations and stakeholders. This includes the GRI Community Program, GRI’s core network of supporters, made up of over 500 organisations in more than 70 countries.
The Corporate & Stakeholder Engagement department brings together a worldwide network of companies and organisations committed to GRI’s mission of empowering decision makers everywhere through its sustainability standards and multi-stakeholder network, to take action towards a more sustainable economy and world.
Sabine is from the Netherlands and before joining GRI she spent over 15 years in the international apparel and textiles industry. It was this work that motivated her to contribute to a world where creating financial value goes hand-in-hand with safeguarding the environment and societies.

Alexandre Pouille
Vice President Finance Europe

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the Broadcasting: the sustainable future of corporates session.
Alexandre Pouille is now serving as Zone Europe CFO for Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s leading brewer. Alex started as a global management trainee in 2011 and has grown within the organization serving in various functions within the group’s Finance and Commercial functions. Today, Alex is responsible for the group’s Financial Planning & Analysis, Control, Tax, Merger and Acquisition, and finance transformation teams for a geographic scope covering from the Canary Islands to the west, Siberia to the east, and passing through Dubai. Prior to joining AB InBev, Alexandre was a national debate champion in the USA and is still active in supporting high school and university debate initiatives. Alexandre holds a Masters of Accounting degree from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA.

Shamika N. Sirimanne
Director, Technology and Logistics Division

Plenary
26/10/2021
Presenting Technology and Innovation Report 2021 during the Catching technological waves: innovation with equity (hosted by UNCTAD) session.
Shamika N. Sirimanne is the Director of UNCTAD’s Technology and Logistics Division. She leads UNCTAD’s trade logistics programme, which includes its work on trade facilitation, sustainable and resilient freight transport, port management, e-commerce and the digital economy. She also supervises UNCTAD’s largest technical cooperation programme, ASYCUDA, the Automated System for Customs Data.
Shamika N. Sirimanne also serves as the Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development, which is the UN’s focal point for STI policy dialogue.
Sirimanne has extensive experience in development policy, research and technical cooperation, which she has gained from international organisations, national governments, think tanks and universities. She served as Director of the ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), where she spearheaded major regional cooperation programmes. Among these are the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway initiative for seamless broadband connectivity, the Regional Drought Mechanism for monitoring and early warning of drought through space applications, and the United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade, UNNExT.
During her tenure with ESCAP, Sirimanne also headed the trade facilitation programme and led both the macroeconomic policy work and ESCAP’s flagship publication, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific. Prior to that, Ms. Sirimanne was with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), where she led the economic policy team and the Economic Report on Africa, ECA’s flagship publication. She has also worked for the Canadian Department of Finance and the World Bank.
Sirimanne has a PhD in economics.

Noah Faase
Head of Global Treasury

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the Broadcasting: the sustainable future of corporates session.
Noah Faase is a Treasury expert currently leading AB InBev’s Global Treasury team out of Leuven, Belgium. In addition to funding, trading, risk, & cash management, ABI’s Global Treasury engages in the full breath of the business including supporting the company’s ESG agenda. A seasoned Commodity Trading and Risk Management professional with a demonstrated history of success across asset classes, Noah is a specialist in Corporate Finance and enterprise risk management. A penchant for financial markets and the number systems that underpin them, Faase has directed his career towards opportunities to combine high level finance with Sustainability. Noah is enthusiastic about his work and about partnering with ABI to grow and learn and drive the Sustainability agenda forward, particularly in the Lending and Derivatives space. Noah has a Masters in Social and Applied Ethics and a Bachelors in Applied Mathematics.

Shipra Narang Suri
Chief, Urban Practices Branch

Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting Opening remarks during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Closing remarks during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.
Abdulla Shipra Narang Suri is an urban planner with a PhD in Post-War Recovery Studies from the University of York, UK. Shipra has a keen interest and extensive experience in issues of urban planning and management, good urban governance and indicators, livability and sustainability of cities, urban safety, as well as post-conflict/ post-disaster recovery. She is also the co-Chair of the World Urban Campaign, a platform that brings together a large array of global organisations to advocate for sustainable urbanisation.
Shipra has worked with the United Nations, specifically, UN-HABITAT, UNDP, and UNESCO, for over sixteen years, and is currently based in Delhi. She has recently concluded a year-long assignment in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) where she led a country-wide project on local governance for UNDP Myanmar. She has worked in Asia, Africa, South Eastern Europe and the Middle-East. She is an Associate (Visiting Fellow) at the Department of Politics, University of York (U.K.), and has also lectured at several universities in India, Europe and the US.
She is an Editor of the international journal ‘CITY’, and a member of a global think tank on ‘Livable Cities’ set up by Philips. Shipra has been involved in the development and execution of a variety of development, research and training projects and programmes, is a regular public speaker at national and international fora, and has several publications to her credit.

Norliza Hashim
CEO

Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.
Norliza Hashim is the Chief Executive of Urbanice Malaysia, a Centre of Excellence for Community Well-being and Urban Sustainability run by Malayia’s Ministry of Housing and Local Government. In this role, she leads a team that focusses on the implementation of sustainable urbanisation policies in cities and regions. This is achieved through shared knowledge platforms, innovative urban solutions, development research and collaborative partnership.
Norliza led the Local Secretariat team for World Urban Forum 9, which was hosted by Malaysia in 2018. WUF 9 is the world’s premier forum for addressing various urban challenges. Hashim’s key role was to work alongside UN-Habitat in implementing the New Urban Agenda, an initiative that builds on the Cities for All agenda for ensuring inclusive and sustainable cities, especially considering the rapid current pace of urbanisation.
Hashim is a professional town planner with wide experience across the discipline’s spectrum, including the development of plans and blueprints that have contributed towards Malaysia’s nation building. She led several teams of experts during the development of the Low Carbon Cities Assessment Framework for the Ministry of Environment and Water, and is also the Director of the Malaysian Institute of Planners’ Low Carbon Cities and Sustainability Centre.
Norliza is passionate about promoting the sustainability agenda and providing innovative solutions that contribute towards better quality of life and urban environments, for cities and nations as a whole. She sits on the Leadership Council for Sustainable Development Solutions Network Malaysia and several other sustainability-related organisations.

Els van Doesburg

Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.

Sandra Piesik
Director
Plenary
24/10/2021, 16:00 - 17:20 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Democratisation of technology: indigenous values & the future of digitalisation session.
19/01/2022, 10:00 - 11:15 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Democratisation of technology: living the change in a post-pandemic world session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Partners and co-creators during the Democratisation of technology: understanding young people session.
24/10/2021
Presenting The democratisation of technology and the indigenous values of nature during the Democratisation of technology: indigenous values & the future of digitalisation session.
18/01/2022
Presenting Territorial integration and regionalization as future trends for MENA’s cities during the Circular and sustainable construction from an international perspective session.

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan
Global Chair, 2021 IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Leveraging a global network of technologists (hosted by IEEE) session.
Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan is a globally renowned technologist, best known for his technological innovations in addressing global humanitarian and sustainable development challenges. He is a seasoned technology and business leader with over 16 years of experience in Top 500 Fortune companies.
Throughout his career, Veeraraghavan has led business-critical strategic programmes and successfully delivered cutting-edge technologies in areas of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Understanding, cloud computing, enterprise systems, infrastructure technologies, assistive and sustainable technologies. Sampath served as an expert in the 2020 Broadband Commission working group on school connectivity co-chaired by UNESCO, UNICEF and ITU to drive “GIGA,” a Global School Connectivity Initiative.
Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan is the founder and president of “The Brahmam”, a humanitarian programme delivering next-generation social innovations to achieve SDGs and benefit marginalised communities all over the world. He spent over a decade launching large-scale transformational global initiatives that brought together academic institutions, industry leaders and government agencies to address pressing challenges faced by children with disabilities, impoverished women and students from marginalised communities in developing nations.
Sampath is the Global Chair of the 2021 IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (IEEE HAC). (The USA-based IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is of the world’s largest technical professional organisations.) In this role, he spearheads the global strategy and portfolio of sustainable development and humanitarian engineering programmes, aimed at delivering impactful programmes which engage and benefit 400K+ IEEE members at grass roots level in 160 countries. He is credited with launching several novel global programmes in humanitarian engineering which successfully inspired and engaged students and young professionals in sustainable development activities.
Sampath was Global Chair (2019-2020) of the IEEE Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technologies (SIGHT), which achieved record-breaking growth through high-impact, technology-driven sustainable programmes benefiting members in 119+ countries. He is the founding chair for the IEEE SIGHT day (2020) and SIGHT week (2019), a global programme that showcases the impactful IEEE technology-based humanitarian programmes. He currently leads the IEEE Standards 2021 Corporate Sustainability Working Group. As an active IEEE and IEEE-HKN member, Sampath has spearheaded more than 20+ global committees and has made significant contributions in advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.
Sampath is accredited with numerous global awards and media mentions for his leadership excellence and technological innovations in addressing global sustainable development challenges. He was recently honoured with the top global accolade “2020 IEEE Theodore W. Hissey Professional Award”. He has delivered 250+ invited talks at international forums, premier technology conferences and industry panels organised by UN, IEEE, ITU, World IoT forum and leading universities around the globe. He has authored and published 30+ research publications and thought leadership articles in leading global conferences, journals and magazines. His technological innovations and leadership excellence have been featured in cover stories of global media such as IEEE TV, IEEE spectrum, USA today, E-week, AI-news and IEEE transmitter, The Bridge and ACM-News.
Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA (2010), and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Anna University, India (2005). He currently works as a senior technology and programme management leader in the conversational Artificial Intelligence industry, where he spearheads a portfolio of science and engineering programmes to advance spoken language innovations.

Smt. D. Thara
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs

Water Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting during the High-level governmental session: shaping a post-pandemic world session.
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Factors and barriers for promoting the uptake of Nature Based Solutions for water security during the Nature-based solutions session.
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Nature-based solutions session.
Thara has been working as an IAS Officer since 1995. She has been working in the State of Gujarat since 1997 and has a versatile experience in various cities of Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Kheda, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surendranagar in various Departments. She has worked as a District Development Officer in the cities of Vadodara and Surendranagar for a period of 2 years in Land Revenue Management and District Administration and Development Administration. She also has experience as a Collector in Land Revenue Management & District Administration Departments in the cities of Kheda for a period of 1 year and Ahmedabad for a period of 3 years.
Thara has also worked as the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for approximately 2 years. During this period, she has worked on a number of JNNURM Projects. She has been one of the pioneers of the BRTS Project which was a very essential project of the city. She has also initiated the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021 as Chief Executive Authority, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) in 2008.
During her tenure as Chief Executive Authority, AUDA, the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021, Ahmedabad was completed and also the First Revised Draft Development Plan of Gandhinagar as the CEA, GUDA was completed. With her focused vision and great leadership qualities, a number of new concepts and ideas were incorporated in the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021. Few of them included the Central Business District, Transit Oriented Zone and Residential Affordable Housing Zone and also the preparation of Local Area Plans for such projects. She has been the Chief Executive Authority of AUDA and Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad. During her tenure, Ahmedabad was made and executed as a Smart City. Water Management and Security was the focus area. 7.5 lac people were given surface water in one year. 4 STPs were initiated and sewage treatment gap is being completely addressed.
She was working as Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Gandhinagar since 24/06/2016. After that she had joined Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as Joint Secretary on 29/07/2019.

Leen Govaerts
Unit Manager Smart Energy & Built Environment
Climate Energy Plenary
18/01/2022, 10:00 - 11:30 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Circular and sustainable construction from an international perspective session.
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Role of NDCs in concerted efforts to achieve climate goals session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Key findings of the deep dive session on data scarcity during the Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Q&A and panel discussion during the Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation session.

Ken Stauffer
Chair

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Leveraging a global network of technologists (hosted by IEEE) session.
Ken Stauffer was born and raised in Tanzania, East Africa. He has spent 30+ years in the telecommunications industry, having begun his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, NJ, after receiving his MSEE from Polytechnic University in New York City. At Bell Laboratories, Ken worked in Data Services Performance where he and the team designed a system called Packet-ASPEN to measure performance in packet networks and to establish Data Applications Labs.
Stauffer later moved to the International Operations Group to design and deploy AT&T’s Global Network Management Center in NYC, and to deploy the Centers in Europe alongside a Pan-European Frame Relay network. For AT&T’s Global Strategy and Business Development Group, Ken developed business and technical models for WORLDPARTNERS2, participated in the creation of CONCERT, the AT&T/BT Joint Venture, and managed AT&T’s business relationship with Japan Telecom in Japan.
Ken left AT&T in 2000 to become an entrepreneur as part of a management team founding EPIK Communications – a $450M start-up in Florida. He designed EPIK’s advanced services strategy, created both the Product Innovation Group and EPIK Labs, implemented a suite of “enlightened” IP and Ethernet products, and served as EPIK’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Technology Officer. He also led a team to create the vision for “The NAP of the Americas” in Miami, which was sold in 2011 to Verizon for $1.4B.
In Jan 2003, Ken formed Technology Assurance Labs to provide consulting, design and testing services to venture capital groups, network equipment manufacturers and service providers. In 2010, Technology Assurance Labs began developing RFID products for the rail industry and IoT products for the propane and natural gas industry.
Ken Stauffer also founded Cypress Equipment, a product sales company.
Ken is a Life Senior Member of IEEE and co-founded the IEEE Entrepreneurship Initiative in 2015. He is currently chair of IEEE Entrepreneurship and chair of the Vaughn College Board of Trustees in NYC.

Bibiana Andrea Cuartas Torres
Deputy Director of Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions

Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion during the The role of technology and innovation in localising the SDGs session.
Bibiana Cuartas is a management engineer with a master’s degree in systems engineering from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and has completed a specialised course in energy projects at the School of Engineering within the University of Antioquia (EIA).
Cuartas has worked in the Colombian electricity sector for more than 10 years. These include 5 years in consulting and research, developing projects for government entities and private sector companies. During this time, she participated in the development of pre-feasibility studies, financial evaluation and the licensing process for small hydroelectric power plant projects.
From 2017 to 2019, Cuartas was part of the Regulatory Affairs team of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, where she participated in defining the public policy that would allow non-conventional renewable energy technologies to be deployed in the country. She also participated in designing the first and second renewable energy auctions, as well as in the regulation of the Fund for Renewable Energies and Non-conventional Energy Efficiency (FENOGE).
Since February 2020, Bibiana Cuartas has been Deputy Director of Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions at IPSE, an entity attached to the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Here, she leads the structuring, evaluation and feasibility of energy solutions for areas which are not connected to the country’s national interconnected system. Her role also includes leading expansion of electricity coverage, defining diesel replacement projects and improving service provision in these areas of the country.

Marco van der Ree
former Chief Development Officer
Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021, 15:45 - 17:15 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Closing during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Overview during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.

Ajay Poddar
Chief Scientist

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Leveraging a global network of technologists (hosted by IEEE) session.
Ajay Poddar is an IEEE Fellow, an Electronics & Communication Engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology Calicut, India, and a Master of Technology in RADAR & Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. He also holds a doctorate (Dr.-Ing.) from Technical University Berlin, Germany, and a post-doctorate (Dr.-Ing. habil) from Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany.
Poddar has received over a dozen awards for scientific and technological innovations and meritorious services, holds over 3 dozen patents, has published 300+ scientific papers in journals and conferences and co-authored 4 technical books/chapters. From 1991 to 2001, he worked as a senior scientist in DRDO and was a visiting professor at the University of Pune, India. He is currently the Chief Scientist at Synergy Microwave, NJ, USA, where he is responsible for design/development of signal generation/processing electronics, opto-electronics, RF-MEMS and Metamaterial- Electronics for industry, medical and space applications. He is also serving as a visiting professor at the University of Oradea, Romania, the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, India, and is a guest lecturer at Technical University Munich, Germany.
Poddar received the 2015 IEEE IFCS Cady Award, in recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions to a host of frequency generating and frequency-controlled electronics and timing devices for industrial, medical and space applications. He is also the recipient of the 2018 IEEE MGA Innovation Award for his dedicated volunteering service to members, chapters and humanitarian projects, the 2015 IEEE R1 Award for “Outstanding Scientific Contributions, Leadership and Service”, and the 2009 IEEE R1 Award for “Outstanding Leadership and Contributions in the Research, Design and Development of Microwave Systems”. Additionally, Poddar is included in the list entitled “Divine Innovation: 10 Technologies Changing the Future of Passive and Control Components” (Cover page, Microwave Journal, November 2011).
Poddar was elected as an AdCom member of IEEE AP-S in 2018 and IEEE MTT-S in 2019, for 3-year terms, by a 10,000-strong eligible electorate from each society. As chair of the Global Chapter Activity Committee, Dr. Poddar has created more than 100 chapters worldwide in the last 10 years to connect outreach regions for the benefit of members and local communities. Dr. Poddar has been actively involved with IEEE SIGHT/HAC, IEEE sister societies and IEEE MGA activities, including charitable services for addressing inequality, especially in underserved communities. These engagements have served to broaden his experience as a leader and mentor, as well as a proactive volunteer who is able to inspire students, researchers and young professionals.
Poddar has been involved in helping underprivileged and underserved communities for more than 30 years. His wide-ranging experience of technical work and collaboration with industry, academic institutions and research organisations is helping to engage pre-university, undergraduate and graduate students, young professionals and local communities in connecting with these communities, sharing knowledge and assisting educational attainment to promote equality and help reduce poverty.

Katie Hoard
Global Director Sustainability & ESG

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Panel debate during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the Broadcasting: the sustainable future of corporates session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Building a company to last – the role of sustainability reporting during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
Katie Hoard is AB InBev’s Global Senior Director of Sustainability and ESG based in Leuven, Belgium. In her role, she works closely with AB InBev’s Global Finance team on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) engagement and engages across teams in the organization to lead the company’s ESG disclosure. Additionally, Katie is responsible for the global strategy to achieve the company’s Smart Agriculture 2025 Goal, working with Procurement and Supply teams to build resilient, responsible agricultural supply chains globally through partnerships and the development of innovative solutions.
Prior to joining AB InBev, Katie worked in politics and commodities regulation in Washington, DC. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Finance from the University of Arkansas, a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.

Davar Ardalan
Founder
Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Cultural values and shared assets. Contextual technological intelligence for the future during the Democratisation of technology: indigenous values & the future of digitalisation session.

Fernando Guarin
Distinguished Member of Technical Staff

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Leveraging a global network of technologists (hosted by IEEE) session.
Fernando Guarín is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Global Foundries in East Fishkill, New York, where he is currently leading the team qualifying GlobalFoundries RF 5G technology offerings. This follows his retirement from IBM’s SRDC after 27 years as a Senior Member of Technical Staff in 2016.
From 1980 until 1988, Guarín worked in the Military and Aerospace Operations division of National Semiconductor Corporation. In 1988, he joined IBM’s microelectronics division, where he worked in reliability physics and modeling of Advanced Bipolar, CMOS and Silicon Germanium BiCMOS technologies.
Fernando Guarín is an IEEE Life Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Electron Device Society EDS, where he has served in many capacities including member of the IEEE’s EDS Board of Governors, chair of the EDS Education Committee and EDS Secretary. He was also the EDS President 2018-2019.
Guarín earned his BSEE from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, his M.S.E.E. degree from the University of Arizona (USA), and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, NY (USA). He has been actively working in microelectronic reliability for 40 years.

Nadja Picard
Partner and Global Reporting Leader

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Panel debate during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
Nadja Picard is a German CPA and tax advisor and is PwC’s Global Head of Reporting. With an initial focus on ESG, she focuses on enhancing the corporate reporting of PwC’s clients beyond financial reporting to meet investor and stakeholder demands, including appropriate assurance responses. She also drives PwC’s related service offerings and thought leadership.
Nadja continues to advise companies on Capital Markets Transactions, especially Initial Public Offering and has extensive experience in German and cross-border transactions in the US, UK and HK / China.

Stan Chen
CEO & Co-Founder

Circular Economy ICT Plenary
24/10/2021
Presenting Integrity of platform based social and economic models during the Democratisation of technology: indigenous values & the future of digitalisation session.
25/10/2021
Presenting Distributed Ledger Technology for transparency and accountability in the recycling system during the Digital technologies for urban mining session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Technical expert during the Democratisation of technology: understanding young people session.
An eco-entrepreneur, Stan’s passion for sustainability along with 20+ years of experience in the recycling industry has provided the knowledge needed to design and develop ever-innovative solutions for the recycling industry, the economy, and the environment.

Susan Kathy Land
2021 IEEE President & CEO

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Presenting during the Leveraging a global network of technologists (hosted by IEEE) session.
Susan Kathy Land is a Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency. She has more than 30 years of industry experience in the application of software engineering methodologies, the management of information systems, and leadership of software development teams.
Kathy served as the 2018 Vice President, IEEE Technical Activities. She also served two additional terms on the IEEE Board of Directors as Division VIII Director/Delegate in 2011 and 2012 and as Division V Director/Delegate in 2014 and 2015. She was President of the IEEE Computer Society in 2009. Kathy was a member of the IEEE-USA Board of Directors in 2013 and 2016.
Kathy has been an active member of the IEEE Standards Association for more than 20 years and served as the Computer Society Vice President for Standards in 2004. She was the recipient of the 2007 IEEE Standards Medallion.
An IEEE Fellow, Kathy is the author and co-author of a number of texts and publications supporting software engineering principles and the practical application of software process methodologies. She is an IEEE-HKN Member and IEEE Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Award recipient.

Titus Fossgard-Moser
Head of Environment and Reporting

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Panel debate during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
25/10/2021
Presenting What gets measured gets done during the Corporate sustainability reporting: enabling business strategies for the SDGs session.
Titus is presently Head of Environment and Reporting at Equinor. Previous to this he was Head of Safety and Sustainability for Equinor’s international Exploration business and has held a number of other sustainability leadership roles. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from McGill University.

Steven Krekels
Unit Manager Remote Sensing
Plenary
18/01/2022, 11:45 - 13:15 GST (Dubai)
Chairing the Accelerating the adoption of Natural Capital Accounting session.
24/10/2021
Presenting during the High-level governmental session: shaping a post-pandemic world session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Let’s count on space to monitor and measure biodiversity during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Q&A and panel discussion during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.

Sean Kidney
CEO

Entrepreneurship Plenary
25/10/2021
Joining panel discussion Debate during the Broadcasting: the sustainable future of corporates session.
Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO that works to mobilise global capital for climate action. Projects include a green bond definitions and certification scheme with $34 trillion of assets represented on its Board, working with the Chinese central bank on growing green bonds in China, market development programmes in Brazil, Mexico, ASEAN and Africa, and market tracking services for the green bonds industry.
Sean is a member of the European Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance and was a member of its predecessors, the 2017 EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He is also a member of green finance committees in China, India, Mexico and Kazakhstan, as well as being a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London.

Ranjit Barthakur
Founder & President

Plenary
26/10/2021
Presenting Rural futures in the Eastern Himalayas: Biodiversity for Natural Capital during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
26/10/2021
Presenting Q&A and panel discussion during the The potential of biodiversity for achieving the SDGs session.
Ranjit Barthakur is an ardent social entrepreneur, with a special interest in improving health and education, and preserving culture and environment across the Eastern Himalayas. He is the chief architect of the vision behind NaturenomicsTM – developed in collaboration with Globally Managed Services (GMS), and has co-founded several initiatives in the same vein. Through NaturenomicsTM, Ranjit and his team at the Balipara Foundation have developed Rural Futures, a vision for enhancing community-based conservation and social mobility through natural capital regeneration.
As the Founder & President of the Balipara Foundation, an organization focused on Eastern Himalayas, he has worked towards achieving ecological neutrality and building knowledge on the region. Through his role as Chairman of FICCI’s North East Advisory Council, he has contributed to the growth and development of the North East. He has been instrumental in developing a series of five volumes of Naturenomics™ defining the interdependence between ecology and economics.
He is currently a member of the governing board for ATREE, one of South Asia’s leading conservation and environmental cross-disciplinary research organizations.
A member of the Advisory Council of British Asian Trust, he works towards developing catalytic grassroots solutions for uplifting the disadvantaged population of South Asia.
Ranjit Barthakur is currently also a member of the Governing Board for the Centre for Microfinance & Livelihood, an organisation focused on researching, formulating and facilitating the implementation of Public Private Partnerships in Northeast India.

Head of Environment and Reporting

Unit Manager Remote Sensing

CEO

Founder & President

Researcher & Nature Specialist

Head Sustainable Finance EMEA

Expert Partnerships at Department of Environment and Spatial Planning

Sustainable Finance Lead Belgium, Luxembourg and Nordic

Director Corporate and Stakeholder Engagement

Vice President Finance Europe

Director, Technology and Logistics Division

Head of Global Treasury

Chief, Urban Practices Branch

CEO


Director

Global Chair, 2021 IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs

Unit Manager Smart Energy & Built Environment

Chair

Deputy Director of Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions

former Chief Development Officer

Chief Scientist

Global Director Sustainability & ESG

Founder

Distinguished Member of Technical Staff

Partner and Global Reporting Leader

CEO & Co-Founder

2021 IEEE President & CEO