John has worked in tourism for more than 30 years, mostly in emerging markets where he specializes in tourism development and tourism investment generation. His experience extends across the developing world – in Africa, Asia Latin America and the Caribbean, South Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He has spent many years working in tourism in the Pacific Islands advising governments on tourism…
Type: Expert
Ms. Ellingson has been the Director-General for the Office of Tourism, Arts and Culture (OTAC) since 2010. She is a former diplomat who served as Second Secretary at the PNG Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia in the early 1980s. Ms. Ellingson is a strong advocate for women’s empowerment through education, business, networking, technology and innovation, and is a supporter for the Women in Leadership…
Type: Expert
Daniel Spitzer is Chairman & CEO of Mountain Hazelnuts Group, a major agri-business that is planting 10 million hazelnut trees on deforested mountain slopes in Bhutan. The Company’s mission is to generate strong financial returns while creating sustainable income for 15% of Bhutan’s population, while addressing the country’s key social and environmental issues. Since 1993, Daniel has…
Type: Expert
Ms. Shari Spiegel is Chief of the Policy Analysis & Development Branch in the Financing for Development Office (FfDO) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations (UN-DESA). She previously served as the Executive Director of IPD, a think-tank at Columbia University founded by Nobel Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz. Ms. Spiegel has extensive private sector experience,…
Type: Expert
Tom Arnold is the Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA). Since September 2014, he has also served as Interim Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Tom is a former CEO of Concern Worldwide, Ireland's largest humanitarian organisation. Appointed as CEO in October 2001, he led the organisation through a period of growth in budgets,…
Type: Expert
Sean Whelan is the Economics Correspondent of RTE News, a post he has held since the end of 2009. Prior to that he spent 10 years in Brussels as the stations Europe editor, reporting in the evolution of the EU treaties, the launch of the single currency and a wide variety of stories from across the continent, including migration, terrorism and globalization. In the nineties he was a roving…
Type: Expert
Ana Helena Chacón is the Vice President of Costa Rica. Through the Social Council and the Innovation and Human Talent Council of the Presidency, she coordinates Ministries and public institutions in their effort to reduce poverty and achieve social development. Vice President Chacón has held positions in both private and public institutions, where she consistently defended human rights. She…
Type: Expert
Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira of the Republic of Rwanda is the Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UN-HABITAT. In this role, she has been providing critical leadership to promote sustainable cities and human settlements globally engaging widely with governmental and non-governmental actors. Among her many important responsibilities, Dr. Kacyira is supporting Dr. Clos in…
Type: Expert
Dr. Jan Mischke is a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey’s business and economics research arm, based in Zurich. He joined MGI in 2010 to lead its work on competitiveness and growth in Europe, and on infrastructure broadly defined on a global basis. In addition to in-depth analyses of more than 10 countries and a series of reports on Europe, he has led global efforts on…
Type: Expert
Mr. Sriram Kalyanaraman joined as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of National Housing Bank on 13th July, 2015. He started his career with Sundaram Finance. In Standarad Chartered Bank he created and was heading the home loan business as GM – Mortgages and Auto and moved on to Deutsche Bank. Mr. Kalyanaraman established Deutsche Bank retail lending and SME portfolio in the…
Type: Expert