Dr. Akshar Abbott

Dr. Akshar Abbott is a physician-innovator who works to bring critical retina subspecialty services to the rural Midwest. Akshar works across the disciplines of telehealth, digital health innovation, and rural health to design and deploy high-quality ophthalmic subspecialty care programs in rural areas of critical need. He attended medical school and ophthalmology residency training at the University of Pittsburgh before completing a fellowship in medical retina at the National Institutes of Health. In addition to his clinical role, Akshar is currently a graduate student in epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, a Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence at the National Academy of Medicine, and an MIT Catalyst Fellow.

 

Kenji Asami

Kenji Asami has worked as a salesperson of electronic devices since 1994. He began his career in Kyoto, Japan and moved to Singapore in 1996, where he worked for seven years, taking care of customers in Southeast Asia. After moving back to Japan, Kenji received another opportunity to work in the United Kingdom, handling the European market. He has since returned to Japan, where he is responsible for the sales division at Kyocera AVX. He is interested in new technology and its influence on modern life, as well as applying his knowledge of international working and living styles from his 12 years outside of Japan to lead a more global team with local style. He enjoys traveling, golf, and watching baseball games.

 

Deniz Big

Deniz Big is the director of Global Public Policy, International Government Affairs at Merck responsible for Washington, D.C., operations covering Europe, Canada, the Middle East, and Africa. Deniz leverages 12 years of experience at the U.S. Department of State as an economic advisor in implementation of economic, political, and commercial goals to promote secure and stable markets, resolve regional conflicts, and enhance law enforcement and judicial systems. Deniz specializes in shaping public policy in healthcare, international trade, intellectual property protection, transportation, ICT, and entrepreneurship. She has designed and implemented custom tailored sectoral programs to resolve key trade issues and build long-term partnerships between U.S. and Turkey. She received numerous excellence awards in advancing bilateral partnerships. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, she held various managerial positions in banking and retail industries. She also provided financial and soft skills training programs for professionals. Deniz holds an M.Sc. in corporate finance from University of Salford in the UK. She is a graduate of the Middle East Technical University Department of Management. She has two teenage daughters, Derin and Defne. She enjoys playing tennis, skiing, and traveling.

 

Dr. Nagesh Borse

Dr. Nagesh Borse is the executive director of the Global Fund for Widows. He has over 20 years of global health experience working for U.S. agencies, international NGOs, and the private sector. He has managed USG-funded programs and conducted global health research activities in over 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, and Latin America. He started his career at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Epidemic Intelligence Service officer in Atlanta, GA. In the last position, he served as deputy chief health officer at an INGO based in Washington, D.C. During his time at CDC, USAID, PEPFAR, Merck, USP, WHO/Geneva, and WHO WPRO, Nagesh actively responded to global topics including breast cancer, childhood drowning, road traffic injuries, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, H1N1, Polio. He worked on multisectoral approaches to address global health and systems issues, including new biomedical interventions introduction, uptake, and supply chain management in low and middle-income countries. Nagesh has a Ph.D. in international health from Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. in Epidemiology from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine. He also recently completed an M.A. in international relations from Syracuse University's Maxwell School in Washington, D.C. Before coming to the US, he earned BPharm and management degree from India.

 

Tracy El Helou

Tracy El Helou is the senior data manager at the International Committee of the Red Cross and has a decade-long tenure across various contexts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. She oversees the data management and analysis for vital humanitarian operations, in particular those aiming to protect and assist families and individuals affected by violence and conflict. Since 2013, she has served in different assignments in Lebanon, Tunisia, Sudan, Iraq, Cameroon, Chad and Myanmar. She has used data intelligence for the betterment of humanitarian impact, designing and implementing innovative data collection tools. She has also provided strategic insights to ICRC management teams, helping steer operations through data-driven decisions. Tracy holds a master’s in history and international relations from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and Sciences Po Paris. She completed a B.A. in economics and political sciences from the American University of Beirut and a certificate in public policy analysis from the London School of Economics.

 

Gary Golomb

Gary Golomb is the cofounder and chief scientist of Awake Security, a company that pioneered the application of artificial intelligence to network forensics and investigation in the cybersecurity space. Awake was acquired by Arista Networks, where Gary currently serves as the head of Threat Intelligence and Research. Before Awake, Gary was the first employee at Cylance, the company credited with being the first to apply AI at scale to identify and stop malicious activities on computers and for the discovery of the OPM breach in which China exfiltrated over 22 million security clearance records for U.S. military and other federal employees. Before these experiences, Gary was involved in founding or playing key roles in launching several other highly successful companies in the cybersecurity space, as well as performing forensic investigations in some of the most notorious nation-state espionage cases, including China's hacking of candidates in the 2008 presidential race; China's Operation Aurora, which targeted the most sensitive intellectual property of nearly 30 firms in critical industries; and other published and unpublished cases. Gary also served in the U.S. Marines in 2nd Force Recon and the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST Co).

 

Wataru Hasegawa

Wataru Hasegawa is the deputy general manager of the Personal Business Planning Division at KDDI Corporation, the second-largest telecommunications company in Japan, where he oversees the planning of telecommunication services to consumers in Japan. He has focused on the pricing strategy of mobile phone fees. Wataru majored in economics in college.

 

Francisco Horneffer

Francisco Horneffer is the senior manager for Public Policy for Latin America in PepsiCo’s Corporate Affairs team. Based in Mexico City, he currently holds a dual role. He leads the development of briefers and reports for Latin America, helping inform executives of key policy issues, providing geopolitical advice and facilitating their engagement with external stakeholders. He is also part of the Mexico Government Affairs team, where he conducts on-the-ground engagement with government officials and trade associations to advocate in favor of PepsiCo’s policy interests. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Francisco was the director of content for Mexico’s trade and investment agency, ProMéxico. In that role, he led CEO communications, including speechwriting and press releases. He also oversaw presentations and other promotion materials to position Mexico as a competitive investment destination and an attractive trade partner. Prior to that, Francisco served as corporate affairs analyst at Grupo Bimbo, where he combined policy and communications responsibilities, and as an analyst for Eastern European countries at Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He holds an M.B.A. from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and earned his B.A. in international relations from El Colegio de México. He is a native Spanish speaker and speaks English, German and French.

 

Srujana Huerter

Srujana Huerter serves as a senior program manager at the Center for International Private Enterprise’s Asia Regional Office in Manila, Philippines. In this role, she supports the design and implementation of a regional portfolio of programs aimed at strengthening democratic governance and market-oriented reforms, with a focus on initiatives that foster economic inclusion, empower women leaders and entrepreneurs, support private sector and civil society led advocacy, advance an inclusive digital economy, and amplify the work of economic think tanks. She previously served as the knowledge management officer on the policy and program learning team, where she focused on capturing and sharing lessons, resources, and best practices from CIPE’s programs around the world. Prior to that, she was a research analyst and consultant at the Global Knowledge Initiative working on collaborative innovation for agriculture related challenges. Srujana holds a master’s in public policy from Georgetown University with a concentration in international policy and development and a B.S. in international relations and politics from Carnegie Mellon University.

 

Lidia Iyassu

Lidia Iyassu is a foreign affairs officer at the United States Department of State with over 17 years of experience in law enforcement, security, and force protection. Prior to her current role, she served as an active-duty service member of the United States Air Force (USAF). In her 17 years of service, she had the opportunity to be assigned overseas, including in Germany, in South Korea, and in Guam. She also served deployment tours to Afghanistan and Kuwait. Lidia holds a bachelor’s in international relations and affairs from the University of West Florida and a master’s in military operational art and science from the USAF Air Command and Staff College. She is a lifelong learner who enjoys reading books about history and spiritual personal growth. She also enjoys many outside activities such as running, biking, hiking, and walking her two dogs.

 

Nancy Kook

Nancy Kook is a senior export policy analyst at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In her current position, she develops, drafts, and publishes revisions to the Export Administration Regulations; provides guidance to the export community on significant policy changes; and assists BIS with oral and written guidelines for responding to policy questions posed by the exporting community, including the development and publication of reexport guidance. The scope of her regulatory contributions includes rules related to prohibited end users, export controls and standards-related activities, the transition of less sensitive military items from the United States Munitions List to the Commerce Control List, and other policy specific rules and notices. Prior to joining BIS, Nancy was an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Labor. She received her B.A. in economics from the University of Florida, where she also received an M.A. in international business.

 

Hanh Nguyen

Hanh Nguyen is the deputy director of BowerGroupAsia Viet Nam, a consulting firm specializing in government relations, political and policy advisory, market-entry, and expansion strategy, where she oversees a portfolio of consumer goods, information and communication technology, and energy clients. She helps international corporations understand the local business environment and the Vietnamese government’s priorities and concerns. She helps clients work with local stakeholders, prevent and prepare for regulatory threats, and connect with the local community. Before joining BowerGroupAsia, Hanh spent over 15 years in the Vietnamese government. She worked at Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and participated in building laws and regulations, negotiating trade agreements, and reviewing legal documents. Hanh has two bachelor’s degrees in foreign trade and law from Vietnamese universities and a master’s in diplomacy and trade from Monash University, Australia. Hanh lives in Hanoi with her three children.

 

Olusegun Oladuntoye

Olusegun Oladuntoye is the general manager of Security and Logistics at Zenon Petroleum & Gas Nigeria Ltd. and a security consultant with expertise in defense, national security policies, and arms control. He served in the Nigerian Army for 24 meritorious years, where he rose to command the 29th Infantry Battalion, among other strategic appointments. His combat experience includes the ECOMOG Operation in Sierra Leone; the United Nations Mission in Liberia; and the African Union Mission in Darfur, Sudan. His publications and research papers include “Regional Security Threat and Military Capabilities: An Appraisal of ECOWAS Standby Force,” “The Menace of Child Soldiers in Conflict: An Emerging Threat to Regional Security in Africa,” and “An Appraisal of the Multinational Security Operations in the Sahel Region and the Lake Chad Basin.” He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Arms Control Association, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, and the American Society for Industrial Security. He holds an M.Sc. in defense and strategic studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna, an M.A.S. in international and European security from the University of Geneva Switzerland, and numerous post-graduate certificates in security. He has also attended several trainings at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre Accra Ghana.

 

Sana Salah

Sana Salah is an international and climate development practitioner specializing in project management, accountability, and learning with seven years of experience. She currently serves as a learning and development advisor at the American Red Cross, where she leads and supervises training, coaching, and evaluating performances of volunteers and response teams for the implementation of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery programs in conflict regions. Sana has worked on topics including climate change and displacement, gender-based violence, and sustainable development. Prior to her current role, she was part of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, where she developed the framework and guidelines for Clean India Mission 2. Sana holds a bachelor’s in zoology from the University of Calcutta and a master’s in environmental studies from Nalanda International University.

 

Azita Sharif

Azita Sharif, a biotechnology engineer, is focused on social stability and population preventive healthcare through two fundamental perspectives: food safety and financial security. Her focus on food safety has driven her to legislate the Clean Soil Act and Safe Food Act. For financial security, she has focused on a new financial instrument called RSB (Retirement Security Bond). She is the founder and CEO of DSI, a precision medicine technology firm headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Azita started her career as a research & development engineer, and later as a product manager within Fortune 100. From engineering, she made the transition to high technology and was selected as a Kauffman Fellow, the flagship fellowship of the venture capital industry. Azita is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin's Graduate School of Engineering, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Harvard Business School. In 2019, she was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Mechanical Engineers. In 2023, she was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Biomedical Engineers. Azita was selected as a Congressional European Parliamentary Initiative Fellow with the Bertelsmann Foundation in 2017 with a focus on transatlantic cybersecurity policy and strategy.

 

Kiran Zubair

Kiran Zubair is the CEO of Theori‘Y’, a Pakistani management consulting organization focused on sustainable solutions that harmonize societal, environmental, developmental, and business needs. With a decade of experience, Kiran excels in result-based management consulting, and international counseling, particularly in fragile areas like Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since 2018, she has been a prominent figure in education, inclusion, and human rights projects, offering high-level consultations to international development partners, NGOs, and B+HR forums. She has spearheaded initiatives like non-formal literacy/TVET centers, trainings, disability expos, counselling sessions for advocating rights and opportunities for youth with disabilities and returning migrants. Her visionary approach also extends to women's empowerment and adolescent rights in Pakistan. She received the British Council Youth Challenge Fund Award for her project “Mere Behna, My Sister” promoting girls’ education through a retention model in local city government schools of Karachi. Kiran holds an M.Ed. in educational leadership and management from Aga Khan University and a law degree from the University of Karachi. She is also certified in counseling, placement, and HR by IHKProjecktgesellschaft GmbH and is a State Bank Pakistan-certified financial literacy trainer.