Andrew Mitchell was educated at Rugby and Jesus College, Cambridge. He was an officer in the first Royal Tank Regiment, servicing with the United Nations military forces in Cyprus. Prior to entering Parliament, he worked for Lazard in London. As the MP for Gelding from 1987 to 1997, he served in John Major's Government including in the Whips' Office during the notorious Maastricht debates. Re-elected to the House of Commons for Royal Sutton Coldfield in 2001, he served as Secretary of State for International Development from 2012 to 2012 and as Chief Whip in 2012. He is an active member of the house of commons and a fierce defender of his constituents. 

He is also a fellow at Cambridge University, Harvard University and an honorary professor at the University of Birmingham. He lives in London and in the Midlands with his wife Sharon, with whom he has two daughters, Hannah and Rosie. In 2022, he returned to government and to the Cabinet as Deputy Foreign Secretary and minister for Development and for Africa. He was the British Governor of the World Bank and the African Development Bank and his prize winning book “Beyond a Fringe - Tales from a Reformed Establishment Lackey" was published in 2021.
 

Robbie Stamp (BA Hons Cantab.) is Chief Executive at Bioss International. Mr Stamp works at the intersection of the governance of human institutions and complex adaptive systems especially now in relation to the governance of Artificial Intelligence. He is especially interested in the power dynamics that underlie much of the current discourse about AI Ethics. 

Mr Stamp chairs DemocracyNext, an NGO supporting Sortition based Citizen Assemblies. He is on the International Advisory Board of Past International which promotes and preserves Africa’s paleontological heritage, and promotes research and education about shared origins, diversity and stewardship. He sits on the BSI's National Standing Committee on AI, which is SC42 (for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fans, that is no accident!), where he contributed to ISO recommendations on Board Governance and AI and is contributing to a paper for the IEEE on AI and Power. 

He is the founder of AI Goosebumps Club, thought experiments about AI, which lead towards a philosophy of AI and our emerging relationship with it. 

David Howarth is Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and former Head of the University’s Department of Land Economy. Prof Howarth’s research has covered both private law and public law and he is especially interested in issues of legal design (e.g. Law as Engineering: Thinking about what lawyers do (Elgar, 2014)). He teaches constitutional law, legislation, private law, comparative environmental law and law and economics, having previously taught company law, labour law and environmental policy. From 2012 to 2016 he founded and directed the University’s MPhil in Public Policy. He has been a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge since 1985.

Outside the University, Prof Howarth served as MP for Cambridge (2005-2010) having previously served as a Cambridge City Councillor for 17 years, for three of which he was Leader of the Council. From 2010 to 2018 he was a UK Electoral Commissioner. He became an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple in November 2018.

Kun-Chin Lin is a Professor of Military and Security Studies at the US Space Force and Adjunct Professor at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University. His research interests are the political economy of China, Eurasian geopolitics, and the space industrial policies of American security partners. He has published extensively on maritime powers in Asia, Chinese energy and transport infrastructure policies, and Asian regionalism and global governance.

Dr Lin was a University Lecturer in Politics and Tun Suffian College Lecturer and Fellow at the Gonville & Caius College, and directed the Centre for Rising Powers and the Centre on Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge. His research has been supported by the British Academy, Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Korea Foundation, and Air University (USAF), etc. He is an editorial board member of Business and Politics, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, and Maritime Policy & Management, and was an associate fellow of the Chatham House in London.

El-Erian Professor of Behavioural Economics & Policy. Professor Reisch is a behavioural economist and consumer researcher. My research interests focus on the theory and application of behavioural insights to promote behavioural change in individuals and organisations towards societal welfare and sustainable development. She have two decades of experience with high-level policy consulting on consumer behaviour and policy, including with the EU and World Bank, as we as governments worldwide.

Professor Reisch is the inaugural Director of the El-Erian Institute for Behavioural Economics and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School and a member of the Economics and Policy Subject Group.

Nikhil Agarwal is India’s foremost expert on Startups, Innovation and Policy. He holds the dual charge of CEO of SIIC and AIIDE at IIT - Kanpur, the largest tech-incubator in the country India. Between 2015-2017 he was the the CEO of the Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society, Govt of Andhra Pradesh. He has earned his MPhil (Technology Policy) from University of Cambridge and PhD (Science, Technology and Innovation Studies) from University of Edinburgh. 

Dr Agarwal has founded businesses and advised firms on strategic matters for the last 20 years of his career. He sit on board of several successful startups and venture funds. He has also lectured at various universities including Virginia Tech Polytechnic & State University, University of Bradford and University of Cambridge, and he founded the Entrepreneur Café – a global movement spread in 110 cities and six continents, connecting over 45,000 entrepreneurs. His interviews, articles and work have received significant media interest, covered by Harvard Business Review, Forbes, CNN Money, BBC Radio, The New York Times and Economic Times. Dr Agarwal has served on numerous international think tanks and holds leadership positions in global organisations such as WBAF.

Rajah Rasiah is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Asia Europe Institute, University of Malaya. His policy-oriented work includes research in several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Among his contributions to the benefit of society are his conceptualisation of technology, its link to development, and methodologies designed to capture clustering, technological capabilities and industrial policies. 

While the prime focus of his research is technology and international development, he has worked extensively on foreign investment, human capital, public health and environment. He was the 2014 recipient of the Celso Furtado prize from the World Academy of Sciences for advancing the frontiers of Social Science (Economics) thought. In 2017 he was appointed a Distinguished Professor in Economics by the High Education Ministry of Malaysia. Professor Rasiah was a principal author of the UNIDO’s 2009 flagship report, and an editor of the 2015 UNESCO Science Report. He has also led country technology and industrial reports for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Viet Nam and Timor-Leste. His research and policy work has produced over 300 publications in international journals and books.

Steve McCauley is an executive leadership coach who uses his extensive and highly unusual blend of international experience as a CEO, executive, adviser, board member, dealmaker and entrepreneur, to support senior leaders to achieve articulated goals. He provides strategic and board-level advice and insight to multinational clients in media, communications and entertainment.

Mr McCauley began his career as a professional performer in the music industry, and went on to found a successful music programming company. Moving to Seattle, he ran an international business for AEI Music Network and became president of a NASDAQ-listed digital entertainment company in LA, a forerunner of streaming services. He gained extensive knowledge of new media and digital technology and developed an international perspective about the impact of new technology and the rapid pace of change that was emerging. He has been CEO of a software company, he has worked advising the BBC, and has been president of eMusic Europe.

Steve Evans is the Director of the new EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability. He is also the director of the Centre for Industrial Sustainability at the IfM. Professor Evans helps organisations create and implement such structured responses to resolve a variety of problems. He spent 12 years in industry, rising to become Engineering Systems Manager at Martin-Baker Engineering. His industrial experience led to an emphasis on improving engineering performance and provided an excellent grounding for tackling complex, real-life issues. 

Professor Evans has over 20 years of academic experience which includes working collaboratively with world-leading industrial and academic institutions. His research seeks a deep understanding of how industry develops solutions that move us towards a sustainable future. He researches and conducts projects with organisations to improve their performance in various dimensions including: sustainable factories, food systems for people with reduced access to food, sustainable city re-generation design, sustainable design and operations for mainstream car manufacturers, cars with water for exhaust. 

Elizabeth Carriere OBE is a former British civil servant with extensive experience in international development. She served as Governor of Montserrat from 2015 to 2018. Carriere holds an MSc in Public Policy and Management from the University of London. Throughout her career, she held various senior positions with the Department for International Development (DFID), including postings in Indonesia, Jamaica, Bangladesh, Rwanda, and South Sudan. After leaving government service, she joined CARE as Managing Deputy Regional Director for the Great Lakes of Central Africa, overseeing operations in Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, and Burundi.

Professor Sir Nasser D. Khalili, KSS KCSS is a world-renowned Iranian-born British scholar, collector, philanthropist, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He received his PhD in Islamic Art from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship in 1992. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College, University of Oxford, where he is a Member of the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors. Over the course of five decades, Sir David has assembled eight of the world’s finest art collections comprising some 35,000 works, many of which have been exhibited at prestigious museums and institutions worldwide. Each work has been meticulously conserved, researched, catalogued, and published as part of what is considered to be one of the most ambitious art scholarship projects in modern history. Eighty of over a hundred planned volumes have already been published, led by Sir David and with contributions from the world’s leading experts in each respective field.

Sir David is also a pioneer of cultural philanthropy and cultural diplomacy. He is founder and chairman of the Khalili Foundation, which over the past three decades has been a global leader in promoting interfaith and intercultural relations. The Foundation has supported and driven a number of internationally recognised projects that use the power of art, culture and education to foster peace and unity. Key partners include UNESCO, the Commonwealth, Prince’s Trust, Aspen Institute and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. Sir David’s many honours and awards include Trustee of the City of Jerusalem and the High Sheriff of Greater London Award, as well as Knighthoods from Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI for his work in the pursuit of peace, education and culture among nations. He has also received the rank of Officier in the National Order of the Legion of Honour from the French President François Hollande at the Élysée Palace as well as a knighthood in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours “for services to interfaith relations and charity”.

 

Learn more about Professor Sir Nasser D. Khalili.

Until his retirement in 2015, Ian Abbott-Donnelly was the European Chief Technology Officer for Big Green Innovations and Smarter Cities at IBM. His job involved pushing the boundaries of IBM in the areas of Smarter water management, carbon management, alternative energy and the application of high-performance computing to environmental issues. Emeritus IBM Acadamy of Technology. 

Since leaving IBM, he has continued to work on Smarter Cities, Sustainability and Resilience projects and other projects under the heading of ‘innovation that matters’. Ian has edited the book 'Creating, Analysing and Sustaining Smarter Cities: A Systems Perspective'. He enjoys combining the diverse disciplines of technology, innovation, change and learning from nature to help him and others make sense of the world. Before taking up his role at IBM Ian was Head of Technology for English Nature (now Natural England), providing stewardship and regulation for over 4000 special protected sites for nature conservation across England.

 

Martin Poulter advise on issues of bias in human judgement and decision-making as well as on open science and reaching audiences through Wikipedia and related platforms. With degrees from Oxford and Bristol, he provides consultancy for a number of clients in universities and the cultural sector. His research with Waqas Ahmed looks at cultural bias on Wikipedia and its sister-projects. He was awarded UK Wikimedian of the Year for 2016.

 

Arun Kelshiker is an investment professional with nearly two decades of experience in multi-asset and ESG investing. Formerly the Head of Asset Allocation and Portfolio Strategy at Standard Chartered Bank, Arun provided top-tier investment advice and fund solutions to clients. He was a key member of the bank's Global Investment Committee and was instrumental in delivering robo-advisory and digital investment solutions. Arun also contributed extensively to Standard Chartered's global publications, focusing on multi-asset and alternative investments. Previously, Arun held senior positions at Allianz Global Investors (AGI) and Allianz Group. He was involved in the early stages of AGI and served as a senior equities portfolio manager and Country CIO. In these roles, he managed institutional investment mandates, emphasizing robust investment processes, risk management, and governance.

Arun is dedicated to responsible and sustainable investing, offering consultancy and training to asset owners and managers. He has collaborated with the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Resilience and Sustainable Development on climate finance projects and serves on the Advisory Council of BlueOnion and as an advisor to OWL ESG, both of which provide ESG data solutions. Arun holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a Master's in International Economics and Management from SDA Bocconi University, and is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder. He also lectures on portfolio management, ESG, and risk management.

 

25 years of international, national and organizational leadership experience in the areas of international development, sustainability, climate change, food and nutrition security, public health, children's human rights, democratic governance. From 2017 to 2024, Olav Kjorven was in a senior leadership position at EAT, an organization dedicated to transforming the world’s food systems, guided by the best available science. From 2005 to 2017, he was in senior leadership positions at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF. Mr Kjorven led the Bureau for Development Policy of UNDP for almost seven years, overseeing programs delivery in the hundreds of millions every year, and policy work ranging from democratic governance to climate change. This culminated in him playing a central role in the complex and highly political process that led to Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. 

At UNICEF, Olav directed the organisation's engagement with governments, the UN system and international financial institutions to advocate for and position the rights and interests of children in global policy debates, and mobilize resources for UNICEF's work. From 1997 to 2005, he was in political leadership roles in international development cooperation at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Olav holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University.