On January 20 th 2021, John F. Kerry was sworn in as the United States’ first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the first-ever Principal to sit on the National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change. President Biden announced Kerry would have a seat at every table around the world as he combats the climate crisis to meet the existential threat that we face. In recent years…
Type: Expert
Melissa Johns is an Advisor in the World Bank’s Global Indicators Group. She manages operations for the group and is the co-creator of the Global Indicators of Regulatory Governance. Previously, Johns led regulatory reform projects in more than 10 countries and managed a team with operational engagements spanning 40 countries. Johns holds a Juris Doctorate from Stanford University and a Bachelor…
Type: Expert
Elias Bou Saab was previously mayor of Dhour Shweir municipality in the Metn region of Mount Lebanon. He resigned in 2013 to present his candidacy for parliamentary elections. But the vote never took place. Citing political instability, the current Parliament is serving a second term after extending its own mandate till 2017. Bou Saab is close to the Free Patriotic Movement of General Michel Aoun…
Type: Expert
Stephen Sackur, the presenter of HARDtalk, BBC World News' flagship current affairs interview programme, has been a journalist with BBC News since 1986. He has interviewed presidents, prime ministers and leading personalities from all over the world over the past decade. In November 2010, Stephen was awarded the "International TV Personality of the Year Award" by the Association of International…
Type: Expert
Hon. Samantar is a long time human rights activist. This is her second tenure as Minister in Somalia. She has during her time at this current ministry worked hard to launch the National Gender Policy formulation process, aiming to ensure that gender equality is set firmly as government policy. Her Excellency, is now in the process of implementing the Somali National Human Rights Roadmap, which is…
Type: Expert
Paul Polman has been Chief Executive Officer of Unilever since 2009. Under his leadership Unilever has set out an ambitious vision to decouple its growth from overall environmental footprint and increase its positive social impact. Paul actively seeks cooperation with other companies to implement sustainable business strategies and drive systemic change. He is Chairman of the World Business…
Type: Expert
Rose Zheng is a tax professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. She also works for World Health Organization as a tax consultant and she is the director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Tobacco and Economics in Beijing.
Type: Expert
Philip J. Cook, Ph.D., is a Professor of Public Policy, Economics and Sociology at Duke University. He completed his PhD in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973. He has extensive research interests in alcohol and tobacco control, crime prevention, firearms violence, education policy, and the causes and consequences of growing income inequality. He has served on a number of…
Type: Expert
George Akerlof is University Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University. In 2001 he was co-recipient of the Prize in Economic Sciences in honor of Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Committee cited Akerlof’s 1970 paper, “The Market for ‘Lemons,’” which for the first time described the role of asymmetric information in causing market perversity. Dr. Akerlof has also pioneered…
Type: Expert
Vanessa Houlder has worked as a journalist on the Financial Times since 1988 writing about companies, the property industry, technology, management, environment, economics and taxation. For the past decade she has written extensively about tax policy, in the UK and internationally. Awards include the LexisNexis tax writer of the year and prizes for investigative journalism from the Overseas Press…
Type: Expert