Jenny Strömstedt
Jenny Strömstedt has been a steady presence on Swedish television for over three decades, known for her thoughtful and engaging journalism at TV4, Sweden’s largest broadcaster. As a host of political debates and in-depth interviews, she’s tackled major current affairs with a distinctive mix of sharp questioning and approachable style. From election night broadcasts to cultural coverage on the morning show, Jenny has become a trusted voice in Swedish media, recognized for her ability to keep both the powerful and the everyday viewer on their toes.
Gayle King
Gayle King is an accomplished journalist who interviews top newsmakers, including presidents, celebrities, and global leaders. As a co-host on CBS MORNINGS, she delivers original reporting to all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. She also serves as Editor-at-Large of Oprah Daily and hosts “Gayle King in the House,” a live, weekly radio show on SiriusXM, and recently co-anchored the CNN program “King Charles” with Charles Barkley.
King’s work has earned her multiple Emmys and prestigious accolades, including the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. In 2018, she was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and in 2019, Time magazine selected King for the TIME 100, the annual list of the hundred most influential people in the world.
She currently resides in New York City.
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai began her activism at age 11 when she anonymously blogged about life under the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, particularly the ban on girls’ education. Over the next few years, she advocated publicly, giving speeches and interviews, and attracting media attention and awards.
At age 15, she was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out. After months of surgery and rehabilitation in the United Kingdom, she founded Malala Fund to continue her campaign to see all girls in school. A year later, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work for education and equality. Malala graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 2020. She is an author, film producer and founder of three organizations.
Hans Vestberg
As CEO since 2018 and Chairman since 2019, Hans is the architect of Verizon’s 5G network strategy, which powers and empowers how Verizon customers live, work and play. Under Hans’ leadership, Verizon was first in the world to 5G and 5G Mobile Edge Compute.
Prior to joining Verizon, Hans led the successful transformation of Ericsson from a hardware-focused manufacturer to a software and services company. He is a board member of BlackRock, Co-Chair of the New Jersey CEO Council, and a member of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. A former athlete and semi-professional Team Handball player in Sweden, Hans is founder of the Jan Vestberg Handball Academy, named after his father, who was his handball coach for most of his sports career. Hans is also past chairman of the Swedish Olympic Committee.
Born in Hudiksvall, Sweden, Hans earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is married with two children and is fluent in Swedish, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Johan Andersson
Johan Andersson is the Chairman of Mellby Gård AB, a family-owned investment company with a long-term and active ownership philosophy. He previously served as the company’s CEO, where he played a key role in shaping its strategic direction and expanding its portfolio across Industry, Retail & Consumer Products, Agriculture, and Services.
Before joining Mellby Gård, Johan was CEO of Smarteyes International AB and worked as an Associate at EQT Partners AB, gaining valuable experience in private equity and operational leadership.
Johan holds positions of trust across several companies within the Mellby Gård group, serving as Board Member or Chairman for businesses such as Roxtec, Feralco, Academedia (publ), and Excalibur. Outside the group, he is also a Board Member of The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, and the Brilliant Minds Foundation.
He holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Engineering Mathematics from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, and an MBA from INSEAD.
Under Johan’s leadership, Mellby Gård continues to develop its portfolio of around twenty companies, many of which are leaders in their respective fields – such as Roxtec, Feralco, and Academedia – generating consolidated sales of approximately SEK 20 billion. The company is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden.
Steven Bertoni
Steven Bertoni is an Assistant Managing Editor at Forbes, where he leads the Forbes Founders team. He oversees coverage of top entrepreneurs, the Forbes 30 Under 30, and Top Creators franchises. Bertoni helped launch the Forbes Under 30 in 2011 and is the founder of the Forbes Top Creators list. He has written numerous cover stories on companies including Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, PayPal, and the comeback of the Twinkie. Bertoni joined Forbes in 2008 and works in New York.
Susanne Gløersen
Susanne Gløersen is a trailblazer in the world of fungal innovation. She discovered this fantastic, yet untapped potential of fungi to regenerate our planet, and went out with that as her mission. She is the founder of The Future is Fungi Award, a global award that honors and catalyzes groundbreaking science and start-up innovation leveraging the power of fungi to solve some of humanity`s largest environmental challenges. The award unifies scientific institutions, corporations, investors, and startups worldwide to drive the acceleration of fungal innovation.
She is also the founder of the emerging The Fungi uVC, the world`s first VC to back fungi-focused startups niworldwide.
Before venturing into the fungal world she has been a progressive voice advocating for sustainability in the financial sector for more than a decade, through leading positions including Sustainability Lead for SEB Green Tech VC, Deputy Head for Sustainable Banking and Head of Climate and Sustainable Finance in SEB Norway, sustainability strategist with the Nordics largest wealth advisor Formue and positions in both Nordea and Carnegie. Susanne has also been active in the VC ecosystem for several years, including holding board positions and mentoring in start-up accelerators.
Passionate, curious and a natural explorer, she is now on a quest for humanity to discover and co-create with the kingdom of fungi for a more prosperous future.
Beatrice York
Beatrice York founded By – Eq Limited in 2022, an advisory organization focused on adding more exceptional emotional intelligence in an age of artificial intelligence. She holds advisory roles at Afiniti Technologies, Scale AI and Liontree Asset Management.
Beatrice is a trustee and co-founder of The Big Change Charitable Trust, which identifies and supports charitable projects throughout the UK, reimagining education. Beatrice is a champion of women in leadership and has worked and spoken at a range of events across the world working to promote role models for positive leadership development. She is dyslexic and as such, is a champion for neurodiversity in the workplace as well as a supporter of a range of organizations working with dyslexia. Beatrice is also a Patron and on the board of various charities in the education and young person space including Opus, a next Generation Leadership body.
Patrick J. McGinnis
Dubbed a “pop entrepreneur” by New York magazine, Patrick J. McGinnis is a venture capitalist, bestselling author, and creator of the hit podcast FOMO Sapiens.
He coined the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and its lesser-known twin, FOBO (Fear of a Better Option), in a 2004 article at Harvard Business School. FOMO has since been added to the dictionary, and FOBO was the subject of Patrick’s popular TED Talk “How to Make Faster Decisions.” His work on FOMO, FOBO, and decision-making has been covered by the New York Times, Le Monde, FT, and El País.
The author of The 10% Entrepreneur and Fear of Missing Out: Practical Decision-Making in a World of Overwhelming Choice, Patrick is currently the brand ambassador for Latin American tech titan MercadoLibre’s award-winning “Fear of Missing Audience” campaign. He also appears in the cautionary crypto documentary This is Not Financial Advice, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Patrick’s passion lies in harnessing the power of words to elevate humanity. In that spirit, he serves on the boards of Bridge USA, a campus-based youth movement fighting political division through dialogue, and the Planet World Museum in Washington, DC.
A graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Business School, Patrick has visited more than 115 countries and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
Maha Abouelenein
Maha Abouelenein has more than 30 years of global communications experience advising corporate giants, high-growth startups, governments, and high-net-worth individuals in the USA & Middle East. She is the CEO of Digital & Savvy, a strategic consulting firm based in the U.S. and Dubai, and sits on the Global Board of Directors of The Associated Press.
She launched some of the world’s largest tech companies in the Middle East from communications, policy, and business development perspectives – from Google and Netflix to Udacity and Careem (Uber) and more. She supported the largest IPO and the largest acquisition in Egypt’s history at Orascom Telecom. She also built sports marketing programs and strategic partnerships for the Olympics, NASCAR, the NBA, ATP Tennis, Golf, and the NFL at consumer product giant General Mills. She is the former Head of Global Communications & Public Policy at Google and the Founding Managing Director of Weber Shandwick in MENA.
A sought-after strategist & speaker, Maha is an expert on personal branding, reputation management, modern communications, and the transformational power of storytelling.
Maha hosts the “Savvy Talk” podcast and is the Author of “7 Rules of Self-Reliance.”