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Successful leader in the telecommunications and digital industries in the Middle East and North Africa and has worked extensively in Europe, Africa, India and Pakistan.

Graduate of Harvard College in Economics (BA, cum laude) and Columbia University (PhD), and has taught in both institutions as well as the American University of Beirut.

Partner in THX Ventures, a venture-building partnership, since 2024, and advisor to a number of technology companies.

Member of the Board of Trustees, Lebanese American University (LAU).

Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer and then Chief Strategy Officer (International) for e& Group (formerly Etisalat), 2010-2023, a UAE-based telecommunications and technology company, one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world, with operations in twenty countries, 180 million subscribers, and market capitalization of $38 billion.

Chairman of the Chief Policy and Regulatory Officers’ Group at GSMA, an association of the world’s telecommunications operators, 2014-2016.

Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Republic of Lebanon, 2007-2010. It was the first independent regulatory authority established in Lebanon which set a new standard in transparency and efficiency in managing public affairs, generally, and telecommunications, specifically, and which issued all the telecommunications regulations and licenses and designed a competitive and transparent auction for the privatization and licensing of the mobile operators in 2008.

Chairman of the Global Symposium for Regulators, International Telecommunications Union, 2009.

Advisor to the World Bank on privatization and private participation in infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa, 2000-2003. Executed projects in ten countries.

Founding member of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) in 1996 and board member of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), 2006-2009.

Director of Research, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, 1995-1997.

Author of books and articles on public finances and financial reforms in Lebanon, 1997 and 1998, and on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, 1997.

Advisor to governments and investors in private infrastructure projects, including the operations and maintenance of the container terminal of the Port of Beirut, 2002-2004, and the policy and regulations for the liberalization and regulation of civil aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in 2004.

Recipient of many academic awards from Harvard University, Columbia University, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.

Oksana Ferchuk is a Ukrainian politician serving as minister of digital transformation since 2026. From 2025 to 2026, she served as deputy minister of defence for digital transformation. Ferchuk is a native of Simferopol, Crimea. In 1997, she graduated from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Following her graduation, she worked as a manager in the private sector. In 2022, she was appointed as an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

María Luisa Hayem Brevé has over 22 years of experience in trade, financial inclusion, and economic development strategies. She began her career as Counselor of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2003. From 2009 to 2016, she worked for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and subsequently, joined the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) in Washington, D.C., where she led initiatives to expand access to financial products and services among underserved populations in Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa.

In 2019, she became the Minister of Economy of El Salvador, where she leads, coordinates, and monitors Government ́s efforts to create a favorable business climate to increase private and public investment; boost exports; promote innovation and technology adoption to enhance productivity; and facilitate the creation of more and better jobs.

María Luisa holds a master's degree in Law and Diplomacy, with a focus on Economic Development and International Business, from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (USA). She earned her bachelor ́s degree in Economics and Business from the Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios (ESEN) (El Salvador). She also completed a Certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University (USA), and holds a French Language Diploma from La Sorbonne (France). Her ongoing and executive education includes the Digital Transformation Program: From AI and IoT to Cloud, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity from MIT Professional Education, as well as the Certificate in High Impact Communication from INCAE Business School.

Hon. William Kabogo Gitau, EGH is the pioneer Governor of Kiambu County, a role in which he dedicated his visionary leadership and business acumen, leading to the recognition of the County as the second-best performing county in revenue collection in the Financial Year 2016-2017.

Prior to being elected Governor, Hon. Kabogo had served as Member of Parliament for Juja Constituency for two terms, Chief Executive Officer for Toto Industries, and an auditor in the Office of the Auditor General. While in Parliament, Hon. Kabogo was ranked fifth nationally for effective utilization of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocations.

Hon. Kabogo holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com) degree in Accounting and Finance from Punjab University in India. He has additional certifications in accounting and audit.

Amb. Reeker served more than 30 years as a U.S. diplomat including as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia (2019-21). He was interim Ambassador in London (2021-22), Policy Advisor to U.S. European Command, Ambassador to North Macedonia and State Deputy Spokesman. He is currently Senior Advisor at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group and Distinguished Fellow for Europe and Transatlantic Relations at the Wilson Center. He has degrees from Yale University and Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Kenneth R. Weinstein is Japan Chair at Hudson Institute. He is also Founding Chair and CEO of the Indo-Pacific Forum (IPF), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting connectivity, resilience, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, which he co-founded in 2022 with the late Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.

Prior to founding the IPF, Dr. Weinstein served for fifteen years as CEO of Hudson Institute. Weinstein led Hudson to transformative growth, with the Institute making signature policy contributions towards global security.

Weinstein has served by presidential appointment on federal commissions under four different U.S. presidents, including as Chair of the US Agency for Global Media, and its affiliated organizations, most notably Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Weinstein speaks fluent French and German and has done live television interviews in French and German. He holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, a post-graduate degree (D.E.A) in Soviet Studies from Sciences Po, and a B.A. in General Studies in the Humanities from the University of Chicago.

In March 2020, he was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, receiving unanimous bipartisan support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September 2020 before his nomination expired at the end of the 116th Congress.

In September 2025, Weinstein was named Ombudsman for CBS News.

Eng. Mohamed BEN AMOR has over 30 years of experience, specializing in Information and Communication Technologies. He was elected Director-General of the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization in 2016. Before this position, he has successively occupied the post of Special Advisor to many Tunisian Ministers between 2011 and 2016. He was an expert to many international development institutions and was a board member of ITU and ARABSAT. Eng. Ben Amor holds a Master’s diploma in International Project Management from the "Conservatoire National d’Arts et des Métiers", CNAM - Paris (France), and a Diploma of Engineer from the Naval Academy (Tunisia).

H.E. Deemah AlYahya is a tech diplomat and digital economy expert serving as Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), the intergovernmental organization dedicated to accelerating the inclusive growth of the digital economy. For more than two decades, she has turned digital policy into measurable results across government, industry and multilateral institutions. Elected in April 2021 as the DCO’s founding Secretary-General, she became the first Saudi woman to lead an international organization. In April 2025, Member States unanimously reappointed her to a second four-year term. Under her leadership, the DCO has grown from five founding Member States to 24, representing nearly one billion people, and is advancing a four-year agenda focused on digital economic resilience and social prosperity. She has convened the DCO General Assembly in Riyadh, Manama, Amman and Kuwait City, bringing ministers, CEOs and partners together to set the organization’s direction. At the Fifth General Assembly in Kuwait in February 2026, Member States adopted the Kuwait Declaration on Responsible AI for Global Digital Prosperity, committing to concrete action on inclusive and trusted digital transformation in the age of artificial intelligence.

Glen S. Fukushima is a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, where he is writing a book on the ties between Silicon Valley and Japan. He also serves in Washington, DC as Vice Chair of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

From 1990 to 2012, he was a senior business executive based in Asia and was elected President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Prior to his business career, he served as Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the Executive Office of the President.

He was educated in the United States at Stanford University, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School and in Japan at Keio University and the University of Tokyo as a Fulbright Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at Sophia University, Kyoto University, and Waseda University.

As Chairman of Georgia&'s Innovation and Technology Agency, Avtandil Kasradze is dedicated to driving sustainable growth and development through the strategic deployment of cutting-edge technologies. Under his stewardship, the agency has launched numerous initiatives to support startups, attract foreign investment, prioritize technological directions, and promote digital literacy across the country. Avtandil is dedicated to promoting technology and innovation as key drivers of economic growth and prosperity in Georgia. Avtandil’s career spans over two decades, during which he has held various positions in Government, NGOs and International Organizations.

Matthew Kaminski is an award-winning journalist and media executive. He is a cofounder and former editor in chief of POLITICO, and the chair of Middle East Broadcasting Networks. He is also editor at large at the Arsenal, a media startup focused on the defense industry, and a senior advisor at the AI firms Domyn and Evident. He serves on the board of directors of CEPA, a Washington think tank, Independence Avenue Media and WORLD.MINDS, a Zurich-based leadership network. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Over a decade at POLITICO, Matt helped build the company into a global media powerhosie. He co-founded POLITICO Europe in 2014, and from 2019 was Editor in Chief of POLITICO in Washington. POLITICO Europe, a separate entity, quickly established itself as the most influential publication on EU affairs – and one of the most successful media startups of the digital era. During his tenure in Washington, he oversaw a period of unprecedented growth and journalistic impact for the company. Its reporting on the pandemic, its “scoop of the century” on the Supreme Court’s draft ruling to overturn abortion rights and its political coverage was recognized by the George Polk, Pulitzer and other awards. Matt led the newsroom through the publication’s sale to Axel Springer in late 2021, in the biggest digital media deal ever.

Dr. Giulia Ajmone Marsan is an internationally recognised expert in innovation strategy and ecosystem development. Her work spans Africa, ASEAN, the European Union, the Indo-Pacific, MENA, North America, and Latin America, and includes collaborations with Chambers of Commerce and Industry Associations, the OECD, UN agencies, the European Commission, the G20, and multilateral development banks. Giulia is currently writing The Ecosystem Handbook: How to Lead and Scale Innovation Ecosystems in the Digital Age, which is scheduled for publication in 2027.

Giulia is the Secretary General of United Afro Experts for Innovation (UAEFI), a newly established platform dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across emerging and frontier markets. Until 2026, Giulia served as Head of Startups and Digital Inclusion at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Prior to her roles at UAEFI and ERIA, she worked as an Innovation Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France.

Mark is a long serving member of the UK's Houses of Parliament. He is a former member of UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee, overseeing the work of MI6, MI5, Defence Intelligence, National Cyber Force, and GCHQ.

He is a former Vice President of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly and also served as OSCE PA Special Representative for Southeast Europe and is currently Special Representative to the Arctic and High North. He is a member of King Charles III's Privy Council. He is also a former member of Strategeast's International Advisory Board.

Axel Voss has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009. He is the coordinator and spokesperson for the EPP Group on the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), with expertise in AI, digital policy and European data protection. He was the European Parliament's rapporteur on the landmark reform of EU copyright law. On behalf of the European People's Party (EPP) Group, he has also served as rapporteur on the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the AI Act and the European Supply Chain Act. In the current parliamentary term, he is the EPP's rapporteur on the AI Omnibus and on the new European company form, EU Inc.

Kohei Itoh is the President of Keio University. He graduated from Keio University and received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum physics. He serves as the Program Director of Quantum Information Technology in the MEXT Quantum Leap Flagship Program (Q-LEAP) and as Chair of the Japanese Government’s Expert Panel on Quantum Technology Innovation. He is also the founder of the IBM Quantum Network Hub at Keio University and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United States-Japan Foundation.

TANIGUCHI, Tomohiko is Chair of Nippon Kaigi, a leading conservative advocacy organisation in Japan, and serves as a Specially Appointed Professor at the University of Tsukuba and Special Adviser to the Fujitsu Future Studies Center. For fifteen years, he worked with the late Prime Minister ABE, Shinzo as his foreign-policy speechwriter, contributing to speeches including “Confluence of the Two Seas” in India, the 2015 speech to the U.S. Congress and the 2016 Pearl Harbor remarks. A former journalist and Fulbright Visiting Fellow at Princeton, he is a frequent commentator on BBC, CNN and CNA.

Prof. Akiko Yamanaka serves as Special Advisor to the President of ERIA( the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia). She served as an Elected Member of the Parliament and Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan as well as Special Ambassador for Peacebuilding and Special Ambassador for Awareness of the World Tsunami as well as the President of International Tsunami Disaster Prevention Society.

She pursued her academic career as a Visiting Professor of the Graduate School of Hokkaido University, United Nations University as well as Bi-Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge University. She pursued her studies at St. Antony’s College of University of Oxford in UK and Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies of Harvard University, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Brookings Institute in Washington DC in USA as well as Chatham House in UK. Her professional fields are Political Science such as Human Security, Preventive Diplomacy and Intercultural Studies.

She has published many books such as “Think, or Sink: Preventive State Theory”, “The 23 Most Fabulous Women in the World” and “Reaching for Balance” etc.

Natalia Denikeieva is Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and a policy leader specialising in digital economy development and technology ecosystem building.

With more than 15 years of experience across technology, business, investment, and public policy, Natalia has been working on some of Ukraine’s most complex transformations, including technology-sector development and the reform of gambling regulation.

In her current role, she shapes the policies and institutional frameworks needed for technology companies to emerge, scale, and compete globally. Her portfolio spans enabling regulation, access to capital, talent development, and international markets, with a particular focus on hardware, dual-use technologies, robotics, investment attraction, and the global promotion of Ukraine’s technology sector.

Central to Natalia’s work is the effort to build comprehensive ecosystem infrastructure for Ukraine’s innovation economy and implement the country’s national innovation strategy WINWIN. The strategy sets the direction for developing new technology markets, strengthening Ukraine’s innovation capacity and sovereignty, and supporting Ukrainian companies as they scale globally.

Building a digital economy amid war and profound uncertainty has given Natalia practical insight into how governments can strengthen technological capacity under pressure. This experience informs policy approaches relevant to other countries seeking to develop resilient innovation ecosystems and compete in the global technology economy.

Bolor-Erdene is founder and CEO of AI Academy International, an award-winning AI education institution with 25,000+ learners trained across 7 countries. Its National AI Campaign has trained 1,000 AI teachers now bringing AI into 900+ schools nationwide. As Mongolia's founding Vice Minister of Digital Development, she led the Digital Nation plan and e-Mongolia, digitalizing 1,500+ government services. Raised in the Mongolian countryside, she founded GirlsCode and AI For Women 100x100. She is a WEF Young Global Leader, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and TIME Next Generation Leader.

Quint Simon serves as Vice President of Public Policy, Asia Pacific (APAC) for Amazon Web Services (AWS). Based in Tokyo, Japan, she leads policy strategy across Asia-Pacific. Her responsibilities include negotiating policy outcomes on corporate investment, data center and energy infrastructure expansion, AI, data governance, cybersecurity, privacy, and trade—areas that enable AWS to deliver reliable, secure, and scalable cloud services to customers worldwide. Quint represents the company at the highest levels of government and industry across all AWS business portfolios in the region. She brings deep expertise in high-risk business decisions involving large-scale capital investments and complex stakeholder engagement programs. Her leadership supports AWS's ability to meet growing demand for cloud computing and AI services from enterprise customers, governments, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises. She serves on the board of the US-ASEAN Business Council and regularly represents AWS at major global forums, including APEC Summits, G7/G20/B20 meetings, Singapore International Cyber Week, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. She is a press-certified Amazon spokesperson and has been featured in leading regional media. She is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

Mark was appointed Vice President of Public Sector for the merged companies of Coursera and Udemy in June 2026. Coursera and Udemy are leading global online learning and skills-development platforms, helping individuals, universities, and organisations build the knowledge and capabilities needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world. In May 2026, Coursera and Udemy completed their merger, bringing together more than 290 million learners, 18,000 enterprise customers, and 95,000 content creators to create one of the world's most comprehensive skills platforms for the AI era.

Prior to joining Coursera as Vice President of EMEA, Mark was the regional business leader for Education at Microsoft in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), leading a team of approximately 250 people dedicated to helping institutions transform education through the efficient and effective use of information technology. He was accountable for all operations in the EMEA region across Higher Education and K-12 institutions, Ministries of Education, and Libraries and Museums.

Mark joined Microsoft UK in 1988 to establish its Education division. In 1990, he was awarded the Microsoft UK President's Award in recognition of his work serving education institutions throughout the UK. He went on to lead teams for Microsoft across Enterprise, Small Business, Home & Retail, Channel Infrastructure, and Public Sector, and was appointed to the Microsoft UK Board of Directors in 2000. Mark spent two years living in Seattle, Washington, while leading Microsoft's worldwide Education division, before returning to the UK to provide education leadership across the EMEA region. In September 2005, he received the Microsoft Achievement Award for sustained, high-level contributions to Microsoft's leadership in education.

After 35 years at Microsoft, Mark left the company in 2023 to become an advisor to the EdTech industry — part of his lifelong mission to help transform schools and universities through the effective and efficient use of digital technology and AI. He has continued in this advisory role since 2024. Before joining Microsoft, Mark spent eight years with UK technology partner Micro Facilities, having first worked there part-time while at college.

Mark's philanthropy is focused on skills and learning. In 2008, he built a secondary school in Mauta village on Mfangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya, and has since sponsored graduating African students through university. He also founded Digital Pipeline, a UK-registered charity aimed at empowering communities through access to technology, serving as its chairman for several years. More recently, he has been funding the development of a gorilla research centre in Bwindi, Uganda.

Dr. Jess Conser is a Partner at Korn Ferry, where she advises leaders and organisations on human + AI transformation. Her work focuses on redesigning work, aligning leadership and workforce capability, and translating AI ambition into measurable value.

With more than 17 years of industry experience spanning leadership, workforce strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and innovation, Jess has worked with global organisations navigating complex shifts in strategy, technology and ways of working. Today, she takes an evidence-based approach to help leaders understand how work happens, identify where human + AI ways of working can create meaningful impact, and build the capabilities needed for the future.

As Chief Impact Officer at Maginative, she co-developed an organisational AI maturity framework and a LinkedIn Learning course that helps leaders build responsible, enterprise-wide AI literacy. She is a Senior Fellow with Diplomatic Courier’s World in 2050 and contributes to global conversations on AI, education and the future of work, including at WISE, UNGA, WEF and Web Summit. Jess serves as Board Chair at CIMBA in Italy and has taught executive education and MBA courses at Ithaca College and Business School Lausanne. She holds a PhD in Organizational Performance and Change.

Jess lives in Zurich with her two children and enjoys new cultures. Together, they have visited 37 countries, with many more to experience.

Matei Mihalca advises Sakana AI, the Tokyo-based AI frontier lab, on strategy. He is the founder of Forward Partners, which applies machine learning to understanding the dynamics and economic value of innovation. Earlier, he established the Tokyo and Hong Kong offices of AQR Capital Management and held roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Macquarie, and CITIC Capital, having begun his career as the Taiwan semiconductors analyst at Merrill Lynch. He holds an MA in East Asian Studies from Harvard, where he was also a doctoral student focusing on contemporary China. The World Economic Forum named Matei a "New Asian Leader" in 2003.

Tala Al Jabri is a founder, VC investor, and board member. Tala is the Managing Partner of Wyld VC, a fund focused on backing the world's best founders building the future AI economy. She has been actively investing for nearly a decade and has backed 20+ companies including Perplexity, Saronic, Starcloud, Tabby, among others. She has advised some of the leading VCs, including a16z. Previously, she was a Partner at HOF Capital and an investor at SoftBank Vision Fund.

Tala was named Arabian Business' Woman of the Year in Finance in 2022 in KSA. She serves as a board member of many organizations including at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business and Government, McGill Ventures, and the Middle East VC Association. She obtained her MBA from The Wharton Schoolc MPA from Harvard University and undergraduate degree in finance at McGill University.

Chris Burry is Founder and CEO of the Global Innovation Dojo, CEO of the US Market Access Center, and Global Ambassador at UC Berkeley's Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. He has founded nine technology companies, with three exits including one unicorn, and has run founder programs in Japan since 2011 with JETRO, Stanford, Sendai and Fukuoka. His research shows that governments have spent twenty-five years funding startup ecosystems and measuring the wrong thing. The real constraint is not capital or infrastructure. It is the capability of the founding team.

Peter Vesterbacka is a global entrepreneur from Finland. Branded communities co-created and initiated by Peter include the HP Bazaar, Mobile Monday, Slush and Startup Sauna to name a few. He was the Mighty Eagle at Angry Birds for many years taking that brand to unprecedented heights. In 2011 Time Magazine named Peter one of the 100 most influential people on the planet.

Valery Vavilov is the Chief Executive Officer, founder and Chairman of the Bitfury Group – the world’s leading emerging technologies company. Valery’s entrepreneurial experience and passion for blockchain led him to found the company in 2011, when blockchain was just beginning to capture the world’s attention and imagination. A native Latvian who experienced first-hand the challenges resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Valery was inspired by the technology and saw an opportunity to build technological solutions that could improve the lives of people all over the world. Valery focused first on the hardware solutions that would ensure security and trust in the Bitcoin Blockchain, leading Bitfury to develop eight generations of cutting-edge chips and state-of-the-art data center designs. Under his leadership, the company has expanded its focus to provide custom-designed software and advanced hardware in cryptocurrency, blockchain and artificial intelligence, all while maintaining its position as one of the major public Bitcoin Blockchain security and transaction providers. Prior to founding Bitfury, Valery spent more than 15 years in a variety of technical and leadership positions.

He has received his M.S. degree in Computer Science from Riga’s Transport & Telecommunication University in Latvia and has completed the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Among other leadership initiatives, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Fourth Industrial Revolution Council on Blockchain.

Andrea is an expert and international leader in industrial network security, artificial intelligence and machine learning. He co-founded Nozomi Networks in 2013 with the goal of delivering a next-generation cybersecurity and operational visibility solution for industrial control networks. As CEO, Andrea is focused on extending Nozomi’s global dominance in innovation and technical leadership in an era defined by AI. It’s a commitment that’s fueled by Carcano’s dedication to delivering exceptional customer outcomes.

He earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Università degli Studi dell’Insubria focused on developing software that detected intrusions to critical infrastructure control systems. His Master’s in Computer Science from the same institution involved creating malware designed to take advantage of the lack of security in some SCADA protocols and analyzing the consequences. Andrea has published a number of academic papers, including one describing an early example of malware targeting SCADA systems.

Garri is dedicated to a future where humans have more healthy, fulfilling years with their loved ones. In service of this mission, in 2021 he co-founded the Longevity Science Foundation, a global nonprofit funding early-stage research on extending the healthy human lifespan.

Garri is also the managing partner and co-founder of LongeVC, a venture capital firm investing in visionary biotech and longevity.

Garri has embraced a new opportunity to extend his impact by joining as an executive board member at the Sheba Longevity Center, contributing to their pioneering efforts in longevity research and innovation.

Garri also joins promising startups as an advisor and angel investor, with several successful exits across biotech and emerging tech companies, including Insilico Medicine, Deep Longevity, and Basepaws.

He is sought-after for his biotech and web3 experience, advising enterprises like Cointelegraph, PsyMed Ventures, the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society, and more. He is also a member of the Longevity Biotechnology Association.

Prof. Dr. Zenebe Uraguchi is an economist and Director of the Cecchini Institute at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH-HAFL), Switzerland. His work focuses on inclusive, sustainable, and scalable development, examining how digital transformation, climate change, demographic shifts, and fragility reshape economies and development pathways. Drawing on experience across 25 countries, he advises governments and development organizations, collaborates extensively with private-sector enterprises, and serves on several boards. His forthcoming book, African Capitalisms through Evolutionary Economics, examines Africa’s diverse economic trajectories in relation to the historical development of Western Europe and the growth of East Asia, particularly Japan.

Dr. Idlbi is a senior expert in Digital Transformation, AI Governance, Emerging Technologies and Innovation Policy, Knowledge Society, and Digital and Open Government. She is currently working as an advisor/consultant for ARISPA, Arab ICT Organization (AICTO) and the UN. She is also a member of the advisory board of Global Knowledge Index Advisory Committee, 01Gov, Startup Syria and founding member of Women in STEM Network.

She has more than 20 years of experience with the United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) from September 2004 to January 2025. She occupied several senior positions at UN-ESCWA. Her latest position was the Director of Statistics, Information Society, and Technology. Her work covered various sectors related to digital transformation, AI and Emerging Technologies, Digital and Open Government, ICT Policy, ICT Applications for Development.

She also led many regional initiatives related to cyber legislation for building a knowledge society, the regional profile of information society in the Arab region, digital Arabic content, and fostering open government for achieving the 2030 Development Agenda. Furthermore, she led for 5 years various activities related to Innovation policy for sustainable development and Innovation for promoting entrepreneurship among Arab youth and women.

Before joining ESCWA, from 2002 to 2004, she was Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Communications and Technology (MCT) in her home country Syria. During this period, she supervised Information and Communication Technology and International Cooperation activities. She also participated in the formulation of the National ICT Strategy for Social and Economic Development.

Dr. Idlebi worked at the Higher Institute of Applied Science & Technology (HIAST) in Damascus/Syria for more than 8 years as college professor, and she was the manager of cooperative projects between the European Union and HIAST. Moreover, she was a Board Member of the Syrian Computer Society (SCS) from 1997 to 2002 and she led the professional training programs at SCS and the national program for ICT training.

Dr. Nibal Idlebi has an engineering degree from “Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité (Supelec)”, a “Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies (DEA) from ENSIMAG and a Ph.D in computer science from Nancy 1 University in France with a specialization in Parallel Processing and Distributed Systems.

Joe Wang is Vice President for Global Affairs at the Special Competitive Studies Project, where he also leads the International Strategy Forum, SCSP’s global young leaders fellowship. He previously served as Senior Advisor at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

A former career civil servant at the U.S. Department of State, Joe has also served in senior roles covering sanctions policy and European and Eurasian affairs, including as Director for Russia and Deputy Senior Director for Europe and Russia on the White House/National Security Council staff.

Len Khodorkovsky is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Digital Strategy and Senior Advisor to both the U.S. Special Representative for Iran and the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. Praised by The Jerusalem Post as “The State Department’s secret weapon,” he has written extensively on U.S. foreign policy and frequently appears as a foreign policy analyst on global news programs. Before his government service, Khodorkovsky was a senior executive in advertising, marketing, and public affairs leading high-stakes U.S. and international campaigns for Fortune 100 companies.

Erik Brattberg is Managing Partner of Brzezinski Global Strategies, LLC, a boutique advisory firm based in Washington, DC focusing on Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe.

A recognized expert on Europe and transatlantic relations, Erik previously served as Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group and before that as Director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the co-founder of a VC-funded cybersecurity startup firm.

He has written articles for numerous outlets, including Washington Post, Financial Times, Politico, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs, contributed to several books and publications, and is a frequent commentator in major U.S. and international media. He received an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Max began his career in London an international M&A lawyer before earning an MBA from INSEAD. He was part of the founding team of Origami, a pioneering Japanese fintech that advised the Japanese Government and was acquired in 2020. He is an angel investor in companies including Bending Spoons, and independently advises leading global brands and businesses. Max is currently Founder of Kammui Inc., a platform for luxury regenerative tourism in Japan, and is featured regularly in the media, including Forbes and Japan Times.

Dr. Shane Szarkowski is Editor-in-Chief of Diplomatic Courier and Executive Director of World in 2050. He serves on the advisory boards of the Amal Alliance and the Smithsonian Science Education Institute’s Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking (NESST).

Shane wrote his PhD on the intersection of history, sovereign identity, and intervention in Afghanistan. He has designed and taught undergraduate courses on the intersection of theory, philosophy, terrorism, and law. Current areas of professional interest include state failure and intervention, identity politics, and the impact of exponential change on individual and societal well being.

Shane previously held positions as Associate Director (Energy) at Bulletin Intelligence, Editor in Chief at Charged Affairs, and Policy Editor at PRIME Research.

A Marine Corps veteran, Shane’s service triggered an interest in culture and conflict resolution. It also gave him a taste for travel, having lived in 9 countries (and counting).

Yasuhito Uchiki joined Meiji Life Insurance in 1993. He served as a manager in the IT Systems Department from 2008, and in 2014 transferred to the International Business Department as a manager, during which time he studied abroad at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and in 2018 was appointed Group Manager of the Systems Operations Group within the IT Systems Department. In 2021, he became Director and Executive Officer of Meiji Yasuda System Technology, a subsidiary of the company. He was appointed General Manager of the Service Development Department in 2023, and since 2025 has served as General Manager of the Digital Strategy Department.

After graduating from Sophia University, Sayuri Daimon joined The Japan Times as a reporter, covering a broad range of topics, including politics and the economy. In 2013, she became the first woman in the 117-year history of The Japan Times to head its Editorial and Digital departments, overseeing the newsroom while serving as an executive officer. After serving as an editorial writer, she left the company in September 2020 to pursue an independent career.

She is currently a freelance journalist and serves as a visiting professor at Showa Women's University and a lecturer at the University of Tokyo. She is also a regular commentator on Nippon Television's morning program DayDay, appearing on Mondays and Fridays, and serves as an editorial adviser to the news site JStories. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Foreign Press Center Japan.

During her tenure at The Japan Times, Daimon studied journalism and American politics at Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow. While on childcare leave, she was invited to conduct research at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia. From 2014 to 2020, she participated in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos as a media leader. In 2016, she received the Forbes JAPAN Japan Women Award for Leader of Innovation.

She is the author of The Japan Times News Desk: Information Power for Women Living in a Global Society (The Japan Times) and Global Strategy Discussed at Harvard University (Kobunsha), and has co-authored several other books on journalism and international affairs.

Kazuto Suzuki is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan. He graduated from the Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England.

He has worked as an Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008, and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020.

He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He has been the President of the Japan Association of International Security and Trade. He currently serves as Member of the Council for Japan’s Growth Strategy, Council and The Advisory Panel to Comprehensively Discuss Defense Capabilities as National Strength.

Hiroyuki Akita is a Commentator of Nikkei. He regularly writes commentaries and columns, analysis mainly on foreign & international security affairs. He joined Nikkei in 1987 and worked at Political News Department between 1998-2002 where he covered Japanese foreign & security policies, domestic politics. He was Senior & Editorial Staff Writer from 2009 till 2017, and he also worked at “Leader Writing Team ” of the Financial Times in London in 2016.

He was Beijing Correspondent (1994-1998) and Washington Chief Correspondent (2002-2006). In Beijing, he reported major news events such as death of Deng Xiaoping, Hong Kong handover to China. In Washington DC, he covered White House & Pentagon, State Department during Bush administration.

He graduated from Jiyu Gakuen College in 1987 and Boston University (M.A.). From 2006 to 2007, he was an associate of US-Japan Program at Harvard University, where he conducted a research on US-China-Japan relations. In March 2019, he won the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist Award, a prize for outstanding reporting of international affairs. He is an author of two books in Japanese: “Anryu (Power Game of US-China-Japan)”(2008), “Ranryu (Strategic Competition of US-Japan and China)”(2016).

Masato Seko is the Executive Director of The Tokyo Foundation, with responsibility for Global Engagement. His current work includes shaping the strategic evolution of Sylff, one of the world’s largest decentralized fellowship programs, built over nearly four decades as a global network spanning 70 universities across five continents. This role will also extend to developing a research agenda on philanthropy, drawing on extensive experience in the field to explore how philanthropic capital and institutions can respond more strategically to complex global challenges.

He has nearly two decades of experience in international program design and non-traditional security, spanning peacebuilding and migration/demography, within a private philanthropic foundation, with a career-long focus on maximizing the strategic impact of philanthropy. At The Nippon Foundation, this focus centered on directing the launch and management of the Asia Philanthropy Congress (APHIC), a platform designed to shape the future of philanthropy and foster regenerative solutions.

Within this framework of impact and ecosystem enhancement, past operational experience involved directing targeted interventions across diverse fields. These past initiatives included regenerative agriculture promotion in Africa, Japanese Diaspora (Nikkei) collaboration, talent cultivation, peace mediation, and disability inclusion.

As a startup advisor, Sam has advised several US agentic AI companies disrupting sectors including healthcare (Doctronic), audit (AIBOR), architecture (InstantUrban), and translation (TransGull). Sam also advises two promising deep-tech companies developing next-generation technologies for AI data-center infrastructure: solid-state transformers (Arete) and air-cooling (CB Nano). INFORICH, the creator of ChargeSPOT, a popular mobile battery-sharing network, and the first company Sam ever advised, went public in Japan in 2022. Previously, Sam was an executive leading international initiatives at Origami, Japan’s pioneering QR-payments company. In 2012, Sam helped launch Foodpanda in Taiwan on behalf of Rocket Internet.

Sung Eun Park is a Managing Director of Asia Alternatives and is based in the Firm’s Hong Kong office. Ms. Park is on the Firm’s Investment Committee and co-leads Asia Alternatives’ investments in Korea and Japan. Ms. Park is primarily responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence, deal execution and portfolio management of private equity fund investments and direct co-investments in Japan and Korea. Ms. Park also co-leads the Firm’s Special Situations and Secondaries and is an integral member of Asia Alternatives’ market research team.

Ms. Park holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Seoul National University.