Ban Ki-moon

8th Secretary-General of the United Nations & Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean diplomat who was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNSG) from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming UNSG, Mr. Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. As the eighth UNSG, Ban Ki-moon's priorities were to mobilize world leaders around a set of new global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy, and water. He led the efforts for the landmark Paris Climate Agreement and, under his leadership, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda were created.

Monika Froehler

Chief Executive Officer, Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens

Monika Froehler is CEO of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and is a passionate change maker, advocate, founder and speaker. She was entrusted to create the BKMC after working at the UN in Geneva, NY and Vienna, the EU, the Austrian Foreign Ministry and in field missions around the globe. She is passionate about the implementation of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. Throughout her career she managed to support hundreds of women, young people and communities all over the globe e.g. working in Africa and Latin America to ban landmines; working to improve hospital care in rural Central Asia and Africa; assisting in eco-friendly city planning in Asia and bettering the living conditions of women in the Middle East and West-Africa.

Sir Lenny Henry

Actor, writer, comedian and philanthropist; Co-founder of Comic Relief

Sir Lenny has risen from being a cult star on children’s television to becoming one of Britain’s best known television performers, as well as a writer, philanthropist and award-winning stage actor. Lenny’s recent acting screen credits include The Witcher: Blood Origin, Rings of Power, Broadchurch, The Syndicate and the biographic film Danny and The Human Zoo. In theatre, Lenny has starred in The Comedy of Errors at The National, Fences at the Duchess Theatre and The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui at the Donmar Warehouse.

As a co-founder and public face of Comic Relief he has played a central role in the charity raising over £1 billion since 1985. Lenny is a leading advocate for diversity in the arts and has established a centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University, written two books on the topic and co-hosted the podcast Black British Lives Matter. He was awarded a Knighthood in 2015 for services to drama and charity and was a Trustee of the National Theatre from 2016 to 2023.

Dan Pallotta

Author, Activist, Founder of Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and the multi-day AIDS Rides

Dan Pallotta is a pioneering voice in social impact and nonprofit innovation. His TED Talk on philanthropy is among the most viewed of all time, helping spark a global conversation about how we evaluate nonprofit effectiveness. He created the Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and AIDS Rides, raising over $500 million, and authored Uncharitable, now a major documentary film. A founding thought partner of TED’s Audacious Project, he’s influenced over $1 billion in philanthropic funding. Dan speaks globally on reimagining charity and is reshaping how we think about purpose, impact, and the business of doing good.

Sarah, Duchess of York

Author, Philanthropist, Founding Ambassador of Youth Impact Council

Sarah, Duchess of York, has dedicated over three decades to advocating for underserved women, children, and communities globally. Her philanthropic journey spans continents. Now, more than ever, she understands the urgency with which we must act to ensure a better future for both people and our planet. Underpinning her passion for social impact is her heartfelt belief that youth are the solution, and that we must do more to work with and for the next generation of changemakers. In her role as the Founding Ambassador of the Youth Impact Council, the Duchess is dedicated to accelerating tomorrow’s youth leaders today. The Youth Impact Council opens lines of communication across generations. The Duchess is committed to listening and learning from the next generation, and she will focus on amplifying the work of youth leaders and entrepreneurs.

Wendy Chen

Venture Builder, Advisor to Family Offices and Co-Founder of Yun Impact

Wendy Chen is a venture builder and advisor to family offices at the intersection of impact investing and philanthropy. She has held senior roles at leading global firms, including overseeing capital markets across the Americas for Fosun International’s $100 billion+ portfolio, and leading the $8.5 billion SPAC IPO of Pagaya Technologies. A former investment banker at Barclays, Wendy has advised CEOs and CFOs on IPOs and strategic financing. Today, as Co-Founder and CEO of Yun Impact, she helps visionary investors, entrepreneurs and family offices scale solutions that deliver both purpose and profit.

Sabrina Dhowre Elba

CEO, Actress and Activist; Co-founder of the Elba Hope Foundation

Sabrina Dhowre Elba is a CEO, Actress and Activist.. Born in Montreal, Canada and of Somali Descent, she is passionate about gender equality and promoting the empowerment of women and girls worldwide, and was appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador for IFAD in April 2020.

An advocate for human rights and food security, Sabrina has been a keynote speaker at leading global events and also works with various civil society organizations including Farm Africa, as a co-chair for the European Board for Global Citizen, a board member on environmental issues for Conservation International, an ambassador for mothers2mothers and a patron for S.T.O.R.M. Domestic Violence Charity.

Sabrina’s commitment to diversity, equality, and sustainability is reflected in her skincare brand, S’ABLE Labs, which she co-founded alongside her husband, Idris, to shine a light on the needs of melanin-rich skin. The inclusive range features responsibly sourced ingredients, with a focus on African botanicals, in collaboration with smallholder farmers from across the continent.

In 2023, Sabrina was a recipient of a TIME100 Impact award, and was awarded The Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum. Sabrina also recently received an Honourable Mention alongside Idris Elba at the United Nations SDG Action Campaign Awards.

Sanda Ojiambo

Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations; CEO & Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact

Ms Sanda Ojiambo was appointed Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Global Compact by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in April 2022. She has held the position of CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact since June 2020. Ojiambo has led the organization through transformative times, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she launched a new strategy to enhance the global impact of businesses upholding the Ten Principles and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and supportive ecosystems.

Ojiambo's leadership has been marked by her dedication to increasing business engagement with UN partners to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under her guidance, the UN Global Compact has expanded significantly, with membership nearly doubling to over 20,000 companies. She has spearheaded the establishment of regional hubs in Abuja, Dubai, Panama City, and Bangkok, bringing the UN Global Compact closer to businesses worldwide.

Esther Stanhope

Event Host
TEDx Speaker, Author, Personal Impact Expert

Keynote and TEDx Speaker, known as “The Impact Guru,’ Esther Stanhope has interviewed and worked with Hollywood stars (Madonna, George Clooney) and other ‘big’ personalities (three British Prime Ministers) and knows exactly how to get the best performance out of talent. A former “Live” BBC producer, she knows how to help you shine on camera and in person. She uses her 28 years of ‘personal impact’ expertise to help global organisations (Deloitte, Barclays, A & Shearman, Allianz, the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge & Harvard USA) communicate better in business, win pitches, to increase their presence & impact.

Dr Márcia Balisciano

Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, RELX

  Márcia is founding Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility at RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics, decision tools and events with 36,500+ people and operations in 40 countries. Driving practice that ensures recognition for RELX as a sustainability leader, the company is currently 2^nd in Sustainalytics’ ranking of the media sector among more than 300 global sector peers and holds a AAA ESG rating for a ninth consecutive year with MSCI. 

Michael Sheldrick

Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Relations Officer, Global Citizen

Michael Sheldrick is a policy entrepreneur and a driving force behind the efforts of Global Citizen to end extreme poverty. As a Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact, and Government Affairs Officer, he leads the organization's campaigns to mobilize support from governments, businesses, and foundations. He is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World (Wiley: April 2024).

Nathan Chappell MBA, MNA, CFRE

Chief AI Officer, Virtuous

Nathan Chappell is a thought leader, public speaker, author, and AI inventor, recognized globally as an expert on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and generosity. Nathan serves as Chief AI Officer at Virtuous Software where he supports AI integration to help nonprofit organizations amplify mission at scale. In 2018, Nathan founded Fundraising.AI, a global advocacy organization for Responsible and Beneficial AI in the nonprofit sector.

Moderators and Panellists

Justin Webb

Journalist & Broadcaster; Host of the BBC’s Today show

Youngsuk 'YS' Chi

Director of Corporate Affairs, RELX and Chair, Elsevier

Dr. Githinji Gitahi

Group CEO

Amref Health Africa

Hugh Jones

CEO

RX Global

Haywood Talcove

Chief Executive Officer for Government

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Ylann Schemm

Executive Director, Elsevier Foundation & VP Corporate Responsibility, Elsevier

Ian P. McDougall

President

The LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation

Philippa Scarlett

Head of Worldwide Government Affairs and Public Policy

RELX

Katrina Crossley

Chief Executive

International Law Book Facility

Clodagh Connolly

Global Director

Business for Societal Impact (B4SI)

Teresa Njoroge

Founder and CEO

Clean Start Africa

Valentina Isakina

EVP and Chief Strategy Officer

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Dr. Angela Chaudhuri

CEO

Swasti

Margaret Osborne

Interim Executive Director

The Private Sector Humanitarian Alliance (PSHA)

Andy Dewis

Founder & CEO

Pineapple Sustainable Partnerships

Mabel McKeown

Head of Partnership Development

Save The Children

Danna Ingleton

Executive Director

HURIDOCS

Emma Cherniavsky

Founding CEO

UK for UNHCR

Alexis Steadman

Global Community Manager

RELX

Tom Harrison

Programme Director

TPI The Partnering Initiative

Alasdair Stuart

Senior Advisor

BBC Media Action