Ana is working with Professor Jonathan Michie on a three-year research project in Kellogg’s Centre for Mutual & Co-owned Business. The project is researching the potential of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) and other forms of state capital to direct investments towards cooperative models, employee-owned businesses, and social enterprises, which tend to be aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and objectives for achieving net zero emissions.

The project is researching the potential for a shift in global investment strategies to champion a long-term, patient capital investment approach. Such a strategy promises not only financial sustainability for future generations but also contributes to an equitable and environmentally sustainable future. This research calls for a global political effort centred around informed decision-making and education, positioning SWFs as pivotal players in the drive towards sustainable development and climate action.

Carina is a Senior Associate at the Centre For Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative. She has a background in UX design, urbanism, social equity, and public health. 

Over the last few years, Carina worked with several groups in New Haven to more thoughtfully communicate with and serve those experiencing homelessness. Carina has also worked on city innovation and social equity programming as a summer intern at Living Cities. Prior to this work, she conducted qualitative research on the intersection of housing security and health management at Yale’s School of Public Health. 

Carina graduated from Yale University with a BA in Architecture and Urbanism.

Charlie Angelakos

Charlie Angelakos is Vice President, Global External Affairs and Sustainability at McCain Foods Limited. In this role, Charlie leads the company’s external communication, public affairs and sustainability strategy across 160 countries.  

Before joining McCain, Charlie worked at Labatt Breweries of Canada for 18 years, most recently as Vice President, Legal and Corporate Affairs. He also spent time in Canadian politics, working as an advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

David Nicholson - Chief Climate Officer, Mercy Corps 
In 2022, David Nicholson was named the first-ever Chief Climate Officer at Mercy Corps. In this role, he leads the development and implementation of strategic initiatives to integrate bold climate action into all facets of Mercy Corps operations and programming.

Over his 12 years at Mercy Corps, David has been instrumental in the organization's transformation into a sustainability leader. He draws on his diverse background spanning carbon-finance project development in Uganda, climate and energy consulting at DAI, and green business program development in Colombia to help Mercy Corps partner with communities to build long-term climate resilience.

David has a BSc in Business Management from the University of Southampton in the UK, and an MA in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University, MA.

Entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working in the food & agriculture industry. Quick learner, passionate about farmer welfare, deeply interested in sustainability and solving climate change. Skilled in establishing businesses/projects and managing operations. Strong community and social services professional with an MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Land Economy from University of Cambridge.

Dr Denis Phares - President and CEO Dragonfly Energy Corp

Dr. Denis Phares leads with a passion for making the planet more sustainable. As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dragonfly Energy Corp., he focuses on developing revolutionary technologies that will change the way we store and harness renewable energy. As a visionary leader, Phares has helped grow Dragonfly Energy and its brand, Battle Born Batteries, into one of the leading Li-Ion products on the market while also leading a world class R&D team in the advancement of groundbreaking technologies and manufacturing processes.

After establishing himself as a tenured professor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California, Phares left academia to found Dragonfly Energy in 2012. 

Jay’s new book — The Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush — was published in August 2024.  An expert on U.S. energy and environmental policy, Hakes served as Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration during the Clinton administration and as Director for Research and Policy for President Obama’s BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Commission.  He also directed the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta for thirteen years. He is the author of numerous articles and two previous books on U.S. energy and environmental history.
     

Jim Sullivan - Global Head of Product Management, Sustainability, SAP

Jim is responsible for ensuring SAP’s vision to ‘help the world run better and improve people’s lives’ empowers our customers to solve some of the world’s biggest planetary challenges via SAP’s collaborative network and technology solutions. Jim has a decades-long focus on sustainable business strategy and believes that the strongest value chains of the future will be those that are regenerative, circular, as well as inclusive. Jim is an internationally recognized expert on policies and measures to combat climate change and is an avid backcountry skier and musician with multiple albums to his credit.

John Lang - Net Zero Tracker Lead

John runs the Net Zero Tracker, an international consortium project spearheaded by ECIU, and specialises in communicating climate science and policy to the public.

A New Zealand qualified lawyer, John also runs the e-nvironmentalist, a climate communication blog; Consult Climate, a sustainability consultancy; and Kiwis in Climate, a non-partisan group of international New Zealanders involved in climate and related fields.

He holds a Master of Laws in policy and earth science from UCL, and undergraduate degrees in history and law from the University of Otago.

Environmental Defense Fund - Senior Director, Business, Food and Forests

As senior director, Katie works to catalyse the food and agriculture industry to set ambitious climate goals and implement strategies for improving environmental outcomes at scale. Katie has nearly a decade of experience advising companies like Walmart and Danone on how to reduce the climate impacts of their global supply chains, with a particular focus on reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions, and stopping tropical deforestation. 

Katie has a Masters of Environmental Management degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

Founder & Chief Blogger, GreenSportsBlog; Founder, EcoAthletes; President, LBS Green Solutions.

While working in high level roles in sports marketing, communications, and advertising sales, Lew Blaustein became passionate about the environment and climate change as a patriotic reaction to the 9/11 attacks. 

Blaustein married his passion for sports and the environment with the launch of

GreenSportsBlog in 2013. Since then, it has become a must-read for the Green-Sports community.

Convinced that the sports world needs to do more to fight climate change, Blausteinlaunched EcoAthletes in April 2020 with the mission to “inspire and coach athletes totake and lead climate action”. The nonprofit does so by providing its growing globalroster of 170+ EcoAthletes Champions — pros, Olympians, and NCAA student athletes— with the tools to advance from “climate curious” to “climate leader” so they can sparkthe #ClimateComeback.

Michael spends his time projecting scenarios for decarbonization 40-80 years into the future, and assisting executives, Boards and investors to pick wisely today. Whether it's refueling aviation, grid storage, vehicle-to-grid, or hydrogen demand, his work is based on fundamentals of physics, economics and human nature, and informed by the decarbonization requirements and innovations of multiple domains. His leadership positions in North America, Asia and Latin America enhanced his global point of view. He publishes regularly in multiple outlets on innovation, business, technology and policy. 

Dr. Valerie Thomas is the Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems and a Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, holding joint appointments in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the School of Public Policy. 

She specializes inenergy efficiency, sustainability, and technology policy, with research spanning low-carbon fuels, carbon capture, and greenhouse gas

emissions reduction. 

A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society, Dr. Thomas has over 80 technical publications. She previously worked at Princeton University and Carnegie Mellon University, contributingto environmental and policy studies. 

Dr. Thomas holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Cornell University. At Georgia Tech, she teaches courses in energy technology, sustainability, and engineering economics.

Ralph Loura
SustainableIT.Org Board Chair, SustainableIT.org; Former SVP CIO, Lumentum

CTO / CIO / CDO / Advisor
Accomplished Thought Leader who provides support, guidance and strategy to businesses and boards. Brings the strong combination of IT expertise and business acumen. Deep experience in technology and management at some of the world’s most iconic brands

Chief Technology Officer - Business leader with significant business transformation and technology enablement experience in driving growth and productivity improvements in both large and mid-sized enterprises. Broad experience across Tech, e-Commerce and CPG business models.
Strong record of success in creating robust Technology organizations. Proven ability in adapting/maturing technology organizations to solve business issues while managing costs and risks.

Viktor Meier is the cofounder and CEO of Glice®, a company that has developed zero energy ice for a more sustainable ice skating experience. Glice® rinks are being used globally in over 100 countries, from cold climates in Iceland to the sunny beaches of the Maldives, enabling ice skating in places and times previously thought impossible.

Viktor grew up in Switzerland surrounded by nature. His commitment to conserving our environment was deeply influenced by the Chernobyl disaster. His journey from diplomat-in-training to eco-innovator is truly inspiring.

Viktor’s vision doesn't stop at recreation. He believes innovation is our best path toward a sustainable future. By showing kids these advancements, we inspire the next generation to tackle climate change creatively.

Co-founder Mitti Labs