From Entrepreneurs to Scientists: Meet the 2022 Class of Young Global Leaders

Published
20 Apr 2022
2022
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Sam Werthmuller, Public Engagement, public.affairs@weforum.org

  • The World Economic Forum today unveils the world’s most promising 110 Young Global Leaders under the age of 40, involved in activities from green energy and health equity to refugee rights and education reform
  • They join the Forum of Young Global Leaders, whose members have gone on to become Nobel Prize recipients, heads of state, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and Grammy Award winners
  • Discover the new Young Global Leader (YGL) class on www.wef.ch/ygl22

Geneva, Switzerland, 20 April 2022 – The world’s most driven researchers, innovative entrepreneurs, activists and promising political leaders between the ages of 30 and 40 are today joining the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Class of 2022.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders was founded in 2005 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, to help shape future leaders who are equipped to both take responsibility for creating a more sustainable and inclusive world, and to address its increasingly complex and interrelated challenges. Today, there are over 1,400 members and alumni from more than 120 countries. Notable members include prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada of Costa Rica, entrepreneurs Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Rhea Mazumdar Singhal, peace activist Victor Ochen, and economist Esther Duflo.

YGLs are active in today’s most exciting and dynamic fields and focus on impact. In the past year, YGLs have made bold commitments to restore 21 million hectares of deforested and degraded land in India, have come together to establish the first corporate movement for clean air to create healthy communities around the world, and have even launched a $1 billion gender fund to advance global equity and women’s leadership.

The class of 2022 is gender equal and has representatives from 42 countries. Members will take part in a three-year leadership development programme that will help them reach their next level of impact. The programme offers executive education courses, expeditions and opportunities to collaborate and test ideas with a trusted network of peers.

“The leaders celebrated today have demonstrated exceptional ingenuity and vision across their fields. While they represent diverse sectors, regions and issue areas, they are united in their commitment to lead towards a more inclusive and sustainable world,” said Mariah Levin, Head of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.

Meet the 2022 YGL Class

Academia/Think-tank

  • Amal Enan, Chief Investment Officer, American University in Cairo, United States of America
  • Danae Kyriakopoulou, Senior Policy Fellow, Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
  • James Kwame Mensah, Senior Lecturer, University of Ghana, Ghana
  • Jinxing Zheng, Division Head, Professor, Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, People's Republic of China
  • Kaitlyn Sadtler, Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and Chief of the Section for Immunoengineering, National Institutes of Health, United States of America
  • Philip Meissner, Founder and Director, European Center for Digital Competitiveness, Germany
  • Wai-Lung (Billy) Ng, Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
  • Yoichi Ochiai, Associate Professor, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Arts, Culture & Sports

  • Daniel Feldman, Founder & Architect, Zona Industrial Taller de Arquitectura, Colombia
  • Inna Modja, Land Ambassador, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Portugal
  • Manasi Joshi, Athlete, Sports Authority of India, India
  • Sumayya Vally, Founder and Principal, Counterspace, South Africa
  • Wissam Joubran, Composer, Performer, Luthier, Le Trio Joubran, Palestinian Territories

Business

  • Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai, President and Chief Executive Officer, Milaha Group, Qatar
  • Anderson Tanoto, Managing Director, RGE Pte Ltd, Singapore
  • Anne-Laure Malauzat, Partner, Middle East, Bain & Company, United Arab Emirates
  • Bicheng Han, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BrainCo, United States of America
  • Carlo Perez-Arizti, Partner, Baker McKenzie, Mexico
  • Caroline Blanch Israel, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group, Australia
  • Christer Kjos, Chief Executive Officer, Canica Holding AG, Switzerland
  • Christy Lei Sun, Chief Marketing Officer and Founding Partner, Yatsen Global, People's Republic of China
  • Claire Cormier Thielke, Country Head, Hines Greater China, Hines Asia Pacific, Hong Kong SAR, China
  • Daniel Zhang Xianming, Vice President, Broad Group, People's Republic of China
  • Dominic Wadongo, Group Head of Operational Risk, Equity Group Holdings Plc, Kenya
  • Enass Abo-Hamed, Chief Executive Officer, H2GO Power Ltd., United Kingdom
  • Esha Mansingh, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations, Imperial Logistics Limited, South Africa
  • Esra Eczacıbaşı Coşkun, Member of the Board of Directors and Group Digital Transformation Coordinator, Eczacıbaşı Holding, Turkey
  • Eugene Chung, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Penrose Studios Inc., United States of America
  • Eva Otieno, Principal, Africa Strategy, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Ltd, Kenya
  • Fares Bugshan, Chief Executive Officer, Bugshan Investment, Saudi Arabia
  • Frederic Hoffmann, Board Member, MAVA Fondation pour la Nature, Switzerland
  • Ioana Patriniche, Managing Director / Head of Investor Relations, Deutsche Bank AG, United Kingdom
  • Jennifer (Jen) Auerbach-Rodriguez, Managing Director - MLWM Strategic Growth Markets, Merrill Lynch, United States of America
  • John R. Tyson, Executive Vice-President; Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer, Tyson Foods Inc., United States of America
  • Joud Abdel Majeid, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, BlackRock Inc., United States of America
  • Kim Hallwood, Head of Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Bank Canada, Canada
  • Lesley Ndlovu, Chief Executive Officer, African Risk Capacity "ARC" Ltd, South Africa
  • Margot Edelman, General Manager, Daniel J. Edelman, Inc, United States of America
  • Mariana Vasconcelos, Chief Executive Officer, Agrosmart SA, Brazil
  • Mark Stoffels, Managing Director, Connected Care North America, Philips, United States of America
  • Matthew Katz, Global Head of Data Science, Blackstone, United States of America
  • Mayank Singhal, Global Head of Private Equity and Venture Capital, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), United Arab Emirates
  • Miku Hirano, Chief Executive Officer, Cinnamon AI, Japan
  • Mmaki Jantjies, Head of Innovation, Telkom SA SOC Limited, South Africa
  • Mohammed Alghanim, Group Chief Executive Officer, Hamad S. Al-Ghanim Group, Kuwait
  • Noor Boodai, Chief Executive Officer, TenX, Kuwait
  • Ola Doudin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BitOasis, United Arab Emirates
  • Orenzo (Perry) Hollowell, Head of Global Equities and Sustainable Investing, CFI Partners, United States of America
  • Peng Shen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shuidi Company, People's Republic of China
  • Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Edelweiss Mutual Fund, India
  • Ritesh Malik, Founder, Innov8 Coworking, India
  • Sarah Rawson, Regional Head of Business Management EMEA, Swiss Re Services Limited, United Kingdom
  • Sharam Gulzad, Chief Executive Officer/Founder/Investor, Gulzad Group, Afghanistan
  • Siwan (Swan) Lu, Principal, Zurich Global Ventures, Switzerland
  • Sophia Hamblin Wang, Chief Operating Officer, Mineral Carbonation International (MCi), Australia
  • Soraya Djermoun, Entrepreneur, Author, Geopolitical expert, Terza, Algeria
  • Steve Suryadinata, Managing Director, BSA Land, Indonesia
  • Suhail Sameer, Chief Executive Officer, Resilient Innovation Private Limited (BharatPe), India
  • Usman Ahmed, Head of Global Public Policy and Research, Paypal, Inc., United States of America
  • Venetia Bell, Group Chief Sustainability Officer; Head, Strategy, Gulf International Bank BSC (GIB), United Kingdom
  • Vineeta Singh, Chief Executive Officer, SUGAR Cosmetics, India
  • Yashovardhan Lohia, Executive Director and Chief Sustainability Officer, Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, Thailand
  • Yeoh Keong Hann, Executive Director, YTL Power Generation, Malaysia
  • Yichen Shen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lightelligence, United States of America
  • Yousef Yousef, Chief Executive Officer, LG Sonic B.V., Netherlands
  • Yuito Yamada, Partner, McKinsey & Company, Japan
  • Zou Shasha, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AHA Entertainment, People's Republic of China
  • Zuriel Naiker, Managing Director, Sales and Distribution, Africa, Marsh & McLennan Companies, South Africa

Civil Society

  • Alaa Murabit, Director, Health (PAC), UN High-Level Commissioner & SDG Advocate, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada
  • Boju Zhang, Secretary General, Ginkgo Foundation, People's Republic of China
  • Clarissa Delgado, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Teach For the Philippines, Philippines
  • Françoise Moudouthe, Chief Executive Officer, African Women's Development Fund, Ghana
  • Freshta Karim, Founding Director, Charmaghz Cultural and Services Organization, United Kingdom
  • Ilwad Elman, Chief Operating Officer, Elman Peace HRC, Somalia
  • Irina Lachowski, Chief Executive Officer, RenovaBR, Brazil
  • Jessica Beckerman, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Muso, United States of America
  • Joy Buolamwini, Founder and Executive Director, Algorithmic Justice League, United States of America
  • Luana Génot, Executive Director, Brazilian Identities Institute, Brazil
  • Matt Dalio, Founder and Chair, Endless OS, United States of America
  • Sun Xuemei, Chairperson, Beijing All in One Public Welfare Foundation, People's Republic of China
  • Vilas Dhar, President and Trustee, The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, United States of America
  • Zoya Lytvyn, Head, Osvitoria, Ukraine

Media

  • Juan Carlos Rincón, Editor of the Opinion Section, El Espectador, Colombia
  • Tom Mustill, Director, Gripping Films Ltd, United Kingdom

Public Figure

  • Bárbara Luiza Coutinho do Nascimento, State Prosecutor, Rio de Janeiro State Prosecutor's Office, Brazil
  • Bolor-Erdene Battsenge, State Secretary, Ministry of Digital Development, Mongolia
  • Colin Allred, Member of Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, United States of America
  • Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament, European Parliament, Belgium
  • Freddy Castro, Chief Executive Officer, Banca de las Oportunidades, Colombia
  • Hamad AlMahmeed, Undersecretary for Research & Projects, Prime Minister’s Office, Bahrain
  • James Mnyupe, Presidential Economic Adviser; Green Hydrogen Commissioner, Office of the President of Namibia, Namibia
  • Maria Eugenia del Castillo Cabrera, Envoy of the Vicepresident of the Dominican Republic, The Presidency of the Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic
  • Mark Boris Andrijani, Minister of Digital Transformation, Government Office for Digital Transformation of Slovenia, Slovenia
  • Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Government of Ukraine, Ukraine
  • Naif Shesha, Chief Strategy Officer, Saudi Space Commission, Saudi Arabia
  • Natalie Black, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, Department for International Trade, Singapore
  • Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work of the United Arab Emirates, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates
  • Raghav Chadha, Member of Parliament, State of Punjab, India
  • Saad Hayat Tamman, Member – Strategic Reforms and Implementation Unit, Office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pakistan
  • Safiya Al-Jabry, Executive Director, Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion Service (SMEPS), Yemen
  • Sahar Albazar, Parliament Member & Deputy Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, Egyptian Parliament, Egypt
  • Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Government of Canada, Canada

Social Entrepreneur

  • Badruun Gardi, Co-Founder and Chairman, GerHub, Mongolia
  • Jaideep Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), India
  • Kiah Williams, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine - SIRUM, United States of America
  • Luhui Yan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Carbonstop, People's Republic of China
  • Mia Perdomo, Co-Founder and CEO, Aequales, Colombia
  • Nasreen Ali Mohamed, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cherehani Africa, Kenya
  • Sara Saeed Khurram, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sehat Kahani, Pakistan
  • Yanqing (Kenny) Cai, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bottle Dream, People's Republic of China

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All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.

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