����VR��Ƶ

Kim Williams has had a long involvement in the arts, entertainment and media industries in Australia and internationally.

In addition to his role as chair of the board of ����VR��Ƶ Founders Share Company, he is currently chair of the boards of The Upper Hunter Economic Development Corporation, VidCorp, and the Richard Gill School and Co-chair of the State Library of NSW Foundation. He is also a current board member of Myer Family Investments; Executive Channel International; the University of Western Sydney Foundation; The Whitlam Institute and Australian Schools Plus.

Kim has previously held numerous Board Chair positions including at the Australian Film Finance Corporation, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Musica Viva Australia; and the Sydney Opera House Trust.

Kim has held various executive leadership positions since the 1970s, including as chief executive at each of News Corp Australia, FOXTEL, Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment and Musica Viva Australia. Mr. Williams was the chief executive of the subscription broadcaster FOXTEL for the decade up until November 2011. At FOXTEL he pioneered many of the major digital broadcast innovations in Australia and received the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Subscription Television Association (ASTRA) for his diverse contributions.

He was appointed as a member in the Order of Australia in June 2006 for his services to the arts and public policy formulation in the film and television industries. His first book, Rules of Engagement, was published by Melbourne University Press in 2014.

Until recently, Ory was the Managing Director, Omidyar Network and Luminate Group in Africa, both part of The Omidyar Group.

She serves on the Board of Directors of several organisations including the ����VR��Ƶ Founders Share Company, East African Breweries Limited, the Board of Trustees of the Van Leer Group and is the Chair of the Stanbic Bank Foundation. She is also an Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) Fellow and has in the past served as advisory board member to Twiga Foods, Global Witness, Amnesty International Africa and Endeavor Kenya among other organisations.

Prior to this, Ory was Google’s policy and strategy manager for Africa. Ory was also at the forefront of developing technology innovation as a founding member of Ushahidi. She was the organization’s Executive Director from inception until December 2010. Ory is also the co-founder of Mzalendo, a website that tracks the performance of Kenyan MPs. In 2011 Ory was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and one of Africa's most Powerful Women by Forbes Magazine. In 2014 she was named Time 100's most influential people in the world.

Ory earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A in political science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ron Close has led a distinguished career as a senior executive at several companies, from smaller start-ups to large corporations.

Most recently, he served as the CEO of Pelmorex Media (The Weather Network). He was also Executive Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Ivey School of Business and at MaRS Discovery District. He has been a director on several boards including Pelmorex, The Globe and Mail, Canada Media Fund, CTVglobemedia, MaRS Discovery District and MaRS Innovation. In addition to his role as a Trustee of ����VR��Ƶ Founders Share Company, he currently serves as a director of Maple Leaf Foods and is President of RGC & Associates Inc., an executive advisory firm.

Mr. Close holds an HBA degree from the Ivey School of Business. He is past-Chairman of the Ivey Entrepreneurship Council , Ability Online, the Toronto Chapter of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and is a current member of World Presidents Organization (WPO).

Linda Robinson has had a long career in the financial services industry spanning 30 years at Fidelity International. She held a number of senior roles including Chief Risk Officer and Head of Fund Accounting and Investment Services Operations for UK and Continental Europe. She was a Director of Fidelity Investments Services Ltd and a Pension Trustee for the FIL UK Pension Plan. In addition to these business responsibilities she was also the chair of the company’s Kent Corporate Fund Raising Committee.

Linda embarked on a non-executive career in 2018 and is currently a Pension Trustee for the PA Pension Fund, Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee for Smith and Williamson Fund Administration Ltd as well as a non-executive Director for Smith and Williamson Administration Ltd. Linda is also the Honorary Treasurer for the Edenbridge and Oxted Agricultural Show, a charity and company established to provide education on the countryside, agriculture and horticulture way of life and the activities that thrive in that environment.

Linda was educated at Tonbridge Grammar School and De Montfort University ( LLB). She has a keen interest in all equestrian activities and is a coach/instructor for a local branch of the Riding for the Disabled Association, a UK based charity that is focused on providing horse riding lessons to people with development and physical disabilities.

Pawel Dangel is an independent business advisor and coach. He is currently a Member of the Advisory Council for the Department of Liberal Arts at the University of Warsaw and most recently held the role of Artistic Director at Theatre Ateneum, one of Warsaw’s leading dramatic theatres from 2017 to 2020.

With extensive experience in financial services and the insurance industry, Mr. Dangel served as CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Allianz Insurance Group of Companies in Poland from 1997 to 2013. Prior to his role at Allianz, he was Vice President of the Management Board, Sales and Marketing Director of Nationale-Nederlanden Polska (ING Group) from 1994 to 1997.

Mr. Dangel has also held a number of non-executive positions over the years including as a Member of the Supervisory Board for Pramerica Life Insurance from 2014 to 2017 and a Member of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Bank Pekao SA from 1999 to 2015. In addition, he served in non-executive positions at the Polish Chamber of Insurance, Allianz Pension Fund Company, Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, Member of the Chapter of Orders (nominated by the President of the Republic of Poland) and Polish National Sales Awards.

Mr. Dangel has a strong interest and background in theatre, having worked as a theatre producer, director, broadcaster and lecturer across Poland and in London for the Rose Bruford College of Speech & Drama, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Riverside Studios, The Polish Speaking Theatre, BBC Radio and Radio Free Europe. He holds a Masters of Arts, Directing and Theatre Production from the State Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow (GITIS).

Anne Bouverot is Chairperson of Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris, a leading science and humanities higher-education institution. She also chairs the board of independent European wireless telecommunications infrastructure company Cellnex Telecom and is a senior advisor to TowerBrook Capital Partners.

Ms. Bouverot previously was CEO of Morpho, a world leader in security and identity solutions, employing more than 8,600 people in 55 countries. Prior to Morpho, she spent four years as Director General of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, the international association of mobile network operators. She began her career as an IT project manager with Telmex in Mexico before spending 20 years with Orange in various positions.

She graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris in mathematics and holds a master's in telecommunications engineering and a doctorate in artificial intelligence (AI). She has received the awards of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite and Officier de la Légion d’Honneur.

In 2018, she co-founded Fondation Abeona, which is dedicated to the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence. In September 2023, she was appointed co-chair of the French Government’s Commission on AI. 

Aiko Doden is Special Affairs Commentator on international affairs and Senior Director at NHK World TV. She has expertise in reporting on a wide range of issues from hard security to human security.

Ms Doden currently presents “NHK World Newsline In Depth” and comments on global affairs with a focus on sustainable growth, global health, gender, education, and human rights. She is a popular face on TV having anchored key news program as “NHK News at 9 PM”, “NHK World Network” and “NHK Asian Voices”. She was a correspondent based in Thailand covering ASEAN countries extensively with over 50 visits to Myanmar.

In three decades in journalism, her work has taken her from Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami evacuation shelters to international summit meetings and from covering the release of Aung San Suu Kyi to interviewing Malala Yousafzai. Most recently her interviews to Yuval Noah Harari, Jacques Attali, Audrey Tang, and Denis Mukwege were featured in the “Crisis Interviews: Looking beyond Pandemic” on NHK.

She is a member of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Development Projects Accountability Committee and the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO. She is also on the board of governors of UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, and sits on the board of trustees at The International House of Japan. She is a member of International Institute of Strategic Studies, UK.

She holds an MA in international affairs from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a BA in foreign studies from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. She spent her childhood in London, UK. 

Murilo Portugal has had a lengthy career in the Brazilian public and private sectors and in international organizations. From 1980 to 1984, he was an adviser at the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President of Brazil and from 1990 to 1992 he was Chief Economic Advisor at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil. From 1992 to 1996, he was Secretary of the National Treasury and participated in the implementation of the Real Plan of economic stabilization. He served in the Ministry of Finance, as Deputy Finance Minister from 2005 to 2006.

From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Portugal served as an Executive Director at the World Bank Group. Between 1998 and 2011, he served as an Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and later as Deputy Managing Director. As Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, his portfolio included overseeing the Fund relations with 81 developed countries, emerging market countries and developing countries in all 5 continents, overseeing topics such as financial standards and codes, statistics, budget, personnel, technical assistant, Fund relations with international organizations, organization of the Annual Meetings, and chairing the Board meetings on these countries and topics.

Mr. Portugal served as President of the Brazilian Federation of Banks and on the boards of Banco do Brazil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Electrobras and IRB Brazil RE.

He holds degrees in law and economics by the Fluminense Federal University in Brazil, and the Universities of Cambridge and Manchester in the United Kingdom. 

Nikiwe Bikitsha is a media and communications professional with 25 years of experience in South Africa. She has worked in various media, including radio, television, and digital media. She currently advises corporates and multilateral organizations on strategic communications and content creation.

Ms. Bikitsha has served on the Nelson Mandela Foundation's Board of Trustees and the Deloitte Africa board, as well as being a member of the Deloitte Global board’s advisory council. She has also been a member of the President of South Africa's National Planning Commission, where she has contributed her expertise on issues such as transformation, communications, and reputation. 

Yuen Yuen Ang is the Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University, where she is based in Washington, D.C. A leading expert on China's political economy and its relations with the U.S. and the world, Ang has received numerous accolades for her scholarship and public engagement, including the inaugural Theda Skocpol Prize and book awards in economics, sociology, and political economy. Apolitical named her among the world's "100 Most Influential Academics in Government.” She also teaches at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, in Beijing. 

Her two award-winning books, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap and China’s Gilded Age, chronicle China's rise from poverty to imbalanced, risky growth, which Ang likens to the 19th-century American Gilded Age. Besides writing for premier outlets such as Foreign Affairs and Project Syndicate, media outlets have profiled Ang in America, China, Europe, and worldwide. The host described her interview on Freakonomics, comparing American and Chinese capitalism, as "one of the most powerful and fascinating pieces we’ve done in some time.” As a Singapore native, a U.S.-based faculty, and a China expert, Ang's multicultural background drives her to communicate with diverse audiences in humanizing ways. Rejecting popular assumptions about the "clash of civilizations," Ang underscores the fundamental similarities of people across cultures in her research and writing. 

Dr. Naushad Forbes is the Co - Chairman of Forbes Marshall, India's leading Steam Engineering and Control Instrumentation firm. He chairs the Steam Engineering Companies within the group. He is Chairman, Ananta Aspen Centre and was President of CII for 2016 – 17. He is the Chairman of Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research in Pune. He received his Bachelors, Masters and PhD Degrees from Stanford University, and was presented the Degree of Doctor honoris causa by the University of Edinburgh.

Ambassador Froman is president of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He previously served as vice chairman and president of strategic growth at Mastercard, chairman of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and a distinguished fellow at CFR. Ambassador Froman served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the U.S. trade representative from June 2013 to January 2017. From January 2009 to June 2013, Froman served at the White House as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs, where he was responsible for coordinating policy on international trade, finance, energy, climate change, and development issues.

Before joining the Obama administration, Froman served in several roles at Citigroup, including chief executive officer of its international insurance business, chief operating officer of its alternative investments business, and head of its infrastructure investment business. He also has served as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund. Froman received a bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Tim Gardam is Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation, a major funder of independent social science research in the UK. At Nuffield, he has established the Ada Lovelace Institute, an independent body that examines the global impact of digital technologies and AI on people and societies. After a career in television and broadcast journalism at the BBC and as Director of Programmes at Channel 4, he was the Principal of St Anne’s College Oxford from 2004 to 2016, where he was a founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. From 2008 to 2015, he was a board member of the UK Communications regulator, Ofcom, where he chaired the Content Standards Board. He is a non-executive director of Wessex Water and a member of council at the University of Birmingham. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the UK and, in 2024, was awarded a CBE for services to journalism and education.

Ann Marie Lipinksi, a former long term editor of the Chicago Tribune, is curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, a position she assumed in 2011. The Nieman Foundation for Journalism is home to an international fellowship program and an innovative group of publications about journalism, including Nieman Lab, Nieman Reports and Nieman Storyboard. Lipinski was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the class of 1990 and served as co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize board from 2011-2012. Lipinski is a trustee of the Poynter Institute for journalism and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan.

Sharmila Nebhrajani is Chairman of the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, responsible for producing evidence-based guidance to support the clinical and cost effectiveness of medical interventions in the UK’s National Health Service. She served as chief executive of Wilton Park, an executive agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and for 15 years as Chief Operating Officer of BBC New Media and Technology. She currently sits on the boards of a range of listed companies as well as Oxford University and the Lord Chamberlain’s Committee of the UK Royal Family. Nebhrajani received an MA in Physiological Sciences, Medicine, from Oxford University, is a World Fellow at Yale and was awarded an OBE by the late Queen for services to medical research.

Dr. Stephen Toope is President and Chief Executive Officer at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, a Canadian-based global research organization that brings together teams of top researchers from around the world to address important and complex questions. Previously, he served as the 346th Vice- Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, the first non-UK national to hold the post and before that was the 12th president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia. Dr. Toope received his BA and MA in History and Literature from Harvard University and a PhD in International Law from Trinity College.