Opening Plenary

Speakers

• Richard Branson

  Speaker

  Founder, Virgin Unite

  Sir Richard Branson is Founder of the Virgin Group. Virgin is one of the world’s most irresistible brands, with more than 100 companies worldwide and approximately 60,000 employees in over 50 countries. Branson has found entrepreneurial ways to provoke positive change in the world. In 2004 he established Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, which strives to make business a force for good.

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• Arif Naqvi

  Speaker

  Founder & Group Chief Executive, The Abraaj Group

  Arif Naqvi is the Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Abraaj Group which he established in 2002. Under his leadership, The Abraaj Group has emerged as a leading investor in growth markets with US$ 7.5 billion in assets under management and returning c. US$ 4 billion to investors. With over 25 years’ experience of investing in public and private companies, Mr. Naqvi has led the Group’s involvement in some of the most notable private equity transactions in growth markets over the last decade. Mr. Naqvi has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Oslo Business for Peace Award, the highest form of recognition given to individual business leaders for fostering peace and stability through creating shared value between business and society, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, a prominent civilian honor awarded by the Government of Pakistan. Mr. Naqvi is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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• Marcus Bleasdale

  Speaker

  Managing Director, Wilstar Social Impact

  Marcus is the Managing Director of Wilstar the non-profit social impact investing arm of Aweco AS a Norwegian asset management company owned by the Arne Wilhelmsen family. His work there has focused on financing social entrepreneurs and assisting them in a sustainable change to create a better world. With a proven ability to oversee major philanthropic and social impact investment operations, He has a passion for social and environmental impact, climate change advisory, and social advocacy tactics. Marcus has also worked, together with Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership to engage understanding around climate challenges and innovative solutions for a better world. Marcus is also one of the worlds leading documentary photographers and a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine. He uses his work to influence decision-makers and policymakers around the world. His work on Human Rights and Conflict has been shown at the US Senate, The US House of Representatives, The United Nations and the Houses of Parliament in the UK and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

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• Mindy Lubber

  Moderator

  CEO & President, Ceres

  Mindy Lubber is the CEO and President of the sustainability nonprofit Ceres. She has been at the helm since 2003, and under her leadership, the organization and its powerful networks and global initiatives have grown significantly in size and influence. As a global thought leader, Lubber has inspired capital market leaders including some of the world’s largest institutional investors and corporate boards and executives to factor responsible investment and business practices into their overall strategies. She regularly speaks to high-level global and national policymakers on the need for stronger climate policies that accelerate the transition to a more just and resilient economy. Prior to Ceres, Lubber served as a Regional Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also founded Green Century Capital Management and served as the director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group. She resides in the Boston area.

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• Stephan Chambers

  Speaker

  Director, The Marshall Institute, London School of Economics

  Stephan Chambers is the inaugural director of the Marshall Institute at LSE and founder of the 100x Impact Accelerator which launched in January 2023 to create social ventures at scale. He is Professor in Practice at the Department of Management at LSE and Course Director for the Executive Masters in Social Business and Entrepreneurship. From 2000 to 2014 he directed the University of Oxford’s MBA and was the founding Director of Oxford University's Executive MBA programme. Before joining the Marshall Institute Stephan Chambers was the Co-Founder of the Skoll World Forum, Chair of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Director of International Strategy at Saїd Business School, Oxford University. He is currently Senior Research Fellow at Lincoln College

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• Sir Ronald Cohen

  Speaker

  President, GSG Impact

  Sir Ronald Cohen is co-founder President of the GSG Impact, co-founder Chair of The Portland Trust, and the recently-created International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI). He is also a former co-founder Chair of Bridges Fund Management, Better Society Capital, and Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) at Harvard Business School and a co-founder Director of Social Finance UK, USA, and Israel.

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• Jeff Skoll

  Speaker

  Founder & Chairman, Jeff Skoll Group

  Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Skoll Foundation Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Participant Media Founder of Capricorn Investment Group Co-founder and GP of the RISE Fund First fulltime employee and President of eBay

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