Meet the Young Global Leaders Class of 2026

Apr 16, 2026

The Young Global Leaders Class of 2026 are reshaping the world in uncertain times Image: World Economic Forum

Kulé Galma

Lead, Event Editorial, Programming and Communications, YGL Foundation, World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum announces its 2026 class of Young Global Leaders, a cohort of under-40 leaders across sectors and regions.
The group includes public leaders, entrepreneurs, technologists and artists from more than 50 countries.
They join a global community focused on leadership development, collaboration and impact across key global challenges.

The defining challenges of this decade are matched by an unprecedented opportunity: a new generation of leaders ready to innovate, drive growth and build resilience across societies.

Around the world, next-generation leaders are bringing fresh perspectives, adaptability and a willingness to lead in uncertainty. Yet as the pace and complexity of change accelerate, the systems designed to support leadership have not fully kept up.

For more than 20 years, the World Economic Forum, through the Forum of Young Global Leaders, has sought to address this gap. Since 2004, it has brought together accomplished leaders under 40 not just to recognize their achievements but to invest in their continued development over time.

Each year, new Young Global Leaders are selected, creating a steady flow of talent across regions and disciplines.

Today, the community includes more than 1,400 members from over 120 countries, among them former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and entrepreneur Mathieu Flamini.

The Class of 2026 continues this effort. This year’s cohort includes Olympic champions Thea LaFond and Kirani James, technologist and AI entrepreneur Nick Frosst and business leader Isha Ambani, alongside more than 100 others across technology to the arts.

The community they are joining has a track record of turning intent into impact. Over the years, Young Global Leaders have helped deploy AI systems that now monitor nearly 12 million hectares* for wildfires across three continents.

They have supported the creation of the first private-sector coalition focused on clean air and expanded digital skills programmes reaching over 550,000 learners,* including girls in refugee camps.

Over the next three years, the Class of 2026 will take part in a structured leadership programme, including executive education, immersive experiences and global convenings aligned with the Forum’s mission to move the state of the world forward.

(*Impact figures are based on self-reported data provided by Young Global Leaders).

Meet the Young Global Leaders Class of 2026

Academia

Dr Paulo Savaget, Associate Professor of Engineering (Engineering Entrepreneurship), Oxford University, United Kingdom.
Philippa Sigl-Glöckner, Founding Director, Dezernat Zukunft, Germany.
Cristina Elena Martinez Pinto, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PIT Policy Lab, Mexico.
Prof. Dr Sally Nuamah, Professor of Political Science, Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Ghana.
Dr Jawad Fares, Neurosurgeon-Scientist, Northwestern University, United States of America.
Prof. Dr Song Ma, Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship, Yale University, USA.

Arts, culture and sport

Baroness Celine van Till, Athlete and Speaker, Lead 2 Progress SA, Switzerland.
Paola Longoria, Athlete, Congress in Mexico, Mexico.
Thea LaFond, Dominican Track and Field Athlete, International Olympic Committee, Dominica.
Kirani James, Olympic Athlete, Independent Professional Athlete, Grenada.
Rewa Udoji, Visual Artist, Art by REWA, Nigeria.
Kemi Lala Akindoju, Founder and Filmmaker, The Make It Happen Production Company ltd, Nigeria.

Business

Tomas Okmanas, Co-Founder, Nord Security, Lithuania.
Linnéa Kornehed Falck, Founder and Executive Board Member, Einride, Sweden.
Cosmin Ghita, Chief Executive Officer, SN Nuclearelectrica SA, Romania.
Fabian von Heimburg, Head of European Operations, Primavera Capital Group, Germany.
Vero Baumann, Head of Digital Banking and Reporting, UBS Switzerland AG, Switzerland.
Cilia Indahl, Chief Executive Officer, EQT Foundation, Sweden.
Gil Ofer, Founder and Managing Partner, QP Ventures, United Kingdom.
Sabine Spittler, Senior Partner and Managing Director, Kearney, Germany.
Frederik Blachetta, Chief Technology, Data & Innovation Officer, Managing Director, Bundesdruckerei, Germany.
Farzin Mirshahi, Managing Director, Group Strategy and Head of Strategic Analytics, HSBC plc, United Kingdom.
Elisabeth Burda Furtwängler, General Partner and Member of the Board of Directors, Hubert Burda Media Holding KG, Germany.
Samantha Anderson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DePoly, Switzerland.
Angela Acosta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Morado, Colombia.
Antonia Rojas, Co Founder and Managing Partner, Attom Capital, Mexico.
Lucia Valencia-Dongo Quintanilla, Managing Director of Innovation and Strategy, Intercorp Education, Peru.
Amalia Toro, McKinsey Partner and Panama Office Managing Partner, McKinsey and Company, Panama.
Juan Pablo Ortega, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, YUNO, USA.
Blake Cecil, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates, LP, United States of America.
Caitlyn Pace, Swiss Re Head Casualty, US and EMEA Globals, Swiss Re, United States of America.
Ramsey Baker, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group, United States of America.
Lili Buffett, Vice President of Investors Relations, Power Sustainable, United States of America.
Kelsi Doran, Vice President, People, Policy and Purpose Strategy, Cisco Systems, United States of America.
Nick Frosst, Co-Founder, Cohere, Canada.
Phil Chow, Chief Executive Officer, Humanitas AI, United States of America.
Timothy Latimer, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Fervo Energy, Inc., USA.
Sabina Ceric, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs and Co., United States of America.
Annie Medaglia, Partner, Bain and Company, United States of America.
Steven Wongsoredjo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Super, Indonesia.
Huy Nghiem, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Finhay Vietnam JSC, Viet Nam.
Jirayut "Topp" Srupsrisopa, Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co., Ltd., Thailand.
Vy Le Hoang Uyen, Founding Partner, Do Ventures, Viet Nam.
Vissoth Nam, Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia Cambodia, Cambodia.
Dwi Lestari Pramesti (Mesty Ariotedjo), Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tentang Anak, Indonesia.
Theodoric Chew, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Intellect, Singapore.
Jennifer Zhang, Co-Founder, Wiz Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore.
Nche Wadike, Chief Executive Officer, Victory Farms, Kenya Ltd, Kenya.
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management, Nigeria.
Vimbai Masiyiwa, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Batoka Africa, United Kingdom.
Jessica Finn, Client Partner, Industry Lead for Australian Government and Health, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Australia.
Aïda Diouf, Africa Executive Director, Camusat Group, Morocco.
Kadijah Amoah, Chief Executive Officer, Pecan Energies Ghana Limited, Ghana.
Khaled Sharbatly, Chief Executive Officer, Desert Technologies, Saudi Arabia.
Ameve Sharma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kapiva, India.
Yazeed Almubarak, Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, Saudi Arabia.
Mina Hamoodi, Head of Healthcare, Mubadala Investment Company, United Arab Emirates.
Mostafa Amin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Breadfast, Egypt.
Kenza Skali Lami, Executive Vice President Customization Business Unit, OCP Nutricorps, Morocco.
Nada Al Saeed, Chief of Strategy, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bahrain.
Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, India.
Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder, CoinDCX, India.
Abhishek Bansal, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Shadowfax Technologies Limited, India.
Natsuki Sugai, Founder and Managing Partner, UNLEASH Capital Partners, India.
Henning Frederic Rath, Chief Executive Officer, Enervenue Inc., People's Republic of China.
Lee Seung-Yoon, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Story, Republic of Korea.
Eric Tse S Y, Chief Executive Officer, Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited, People's Republic of China.
Cynthia Chen, Chairlady, Executive Director & President, Pulnovo Medical, People's Republic of China.
Arthur Law, Managing Principal and Co-Founder, Storefriendly Self Storage Group Asia, Hong Kong SAR.
Hyungwoo Ryu, Chief Strategy Officer and Board Director, Ourhome Co., Ltd, Republic of Korea.
Kazuhiro Yamashita, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yamashita, Ltd, Japan.
Dan Wu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hero Games, People's Republic of China.
Chan Lin, Chief Commercial Officer, Feishu, People's Republic of China.

Civil society

Killian Daly, Executive Director, EnergyTag, Belgium.
María Florencia Alamos Grau, Founder and Executive Director, Fundación KIRI, Chile.
Laura Krolikowski Sanchez Oller, Chief Executive Officer, VélezReyes+, Brazil.
Gabriela Arrastua, Chief Operations Officer, TECHO, Argentina.
Katy Knight, President and Chief Executive Officer, Siegel Family Endowment, USA.
Sara Minkara, Former US Special Advisor on International Disability Rights and Chief Executive Officer, Sara Minkara, LLC, United States of America.
Donnya Piggott, Founder, GoldenEggs & Pink Coconuts, United States of America.
Gary Bencheghib, Co-Founder, Yayasan Sungai Watch Indonesia, Indonesia.
Hatim Eltayeb, Chief Executive Officer, African Leadership Academy, South Africa.
Musa Kika, Executive Director, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, Gambia.
Suhani Jalota, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Myna Mahila Foundation, India.
Trisha Shetty, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SheSays, France

Media

Claire Atkin, Chief Executive Officer, Check My Ads, United States of America.
Shayan Mahmud, Managing Partner, Eikon7, Pakistan.

Government

Verena Hubertz, Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building, Government of Germany, Germany.
Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports, Government of Portugal, Portugal.
Matias Marttinen, Minister for Employment of Finland, Government of Finland, Finland.
H.E. Ms Kerryne Z James, Minister of Climate Resilience, the Environment, and Renewable Energy, Government of Grenada, United States of America.
Minister Isalean Phillip, Minister of Social Development, Gender Affairs, Youth Empowerment Ageing and Disabilities, Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Dominic Smith, Minister of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence, Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago.
Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri, Vice Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesia.
Dr Stephen Modise, Minister of Health, Government of Botswana, Botswana.
Jay Shah, Chairman, International Cricket Council, India.
The Hon. Arfiya Eri, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Government of Japan, Japan.

Social entrepreneurship

Rhiana Spring, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Spring ACT, Switzerland.
Ferdinand Grapperhaus, Chief Executive Officer, Next Sense Group B.V., Netherlands.
Dana Shukirbayeva, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Forest Hero Ltd, Kazakhstan.
Mr Taha Bawa, Chief Executive Officer, Goodwall, Switzerland.
Joao Abreu, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ImpulsoGov, Brazil.
Giovanna Abramo, Delgado, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Plenna, Mexico.
Thalita Gelenske Cunha, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Blend Edu, Brazil.
Keely Cat-Wells, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Making Space, United States of America.
Aubrey Ottenstein, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hilltop, United States of America.
Carlo Chen-Delantar, Partner and Head of Sustainability, Gobi Partners, Philippines.
Alyssa Amor Gibbons, Founder and Director, futureCITY[x], Barbados.
Kevin Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Tri Sector Associates Ltd, Singapore.
Liyana Sulaiman, Co Founder and Chief Product Technology Officer, Pollen Tech Pte. Ltd, Singapore.
Dr Ipshita Mandal-Johnson, Tech Bio Thinker Builder, Mandal-Johnson Ltd, New Zealand.
Charlot Magayi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya.
Dr Edmond Clint Fernandes, Founder, CHD Group, India.
Aniket Doegar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Pvt Ltd, India.
Supriya Paul, Co-Founder, Josh Talks Private Limited, India.
Vriko Yu, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Archireef Limited, United Arab Emirates.

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