Ida has experience in communication, strategy and sales, with a passion for creativity and sustainable business development. Educated in international affairs and entrepreneurship with broad experience from non-profit and for-profit social business, she is currently the CEO and co-founder of FoLK Oslo – a network and co-creation space consisting of 130 of Norway’s brightest and best working to turn urban challenges into new business opportunities.

Chetna is an Indian social activist working towards empowering women in drought prone areas of rural India by inculcating entrepreneurial skills and providing them access to land and other means of production. She founded Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari Bank, a micro finance bank which lends to women in rural areas. She recently was one of the seven all women co-chairs for the World Economic Forum 2018 in Davos.

Merit Janow is a globally recognised expert in international trade and investment, with experience in academia, government and business. She is dean and professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and formerly chairwoman of the Nasdaq Exchange LLC.

Since joining the Norwegian Labour Party in 1997, governing mayor Johansen has served as state secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under both Cabinets of Jens Stoltenberg. Johansen served as the secretary general of the Labour Party from 2009 until 2015 when he resigned to run for governing mayor of Oslo. Johansen has very ambitious goals for the development of Oslo: to ensure a vibrant, green and climate-smart city with equal opportunities for everyone.

Sanjiv Mehta is the chairman & managing director of Hindustan Unilever Limited. He also leads Unilever’s South Asia business as the executive vice president. Sanjiv has been with Unilever for over 26 years and during the last 16 years has led businesses in different parts of the world. Sanjiv is a director on the Board of Indian School of Business, a member of the Breach Candy Hospital Trust, member of the India Advisory Boards of Harvard Business School and Xynteo’s ‘India 2022’ coalition. He also chairs FICCI’s FMCG Committee and CII’s National Committee on MNCs.

Royston joined Grameen Capital in 2007 as CEO. Grameen Capital is a collaboration between Grameen Foundation USA, IFMR Trust and Citigroup. It is a first of its kind social business, enabling microfinance institutions develop wider access to the capital markets. Royston previously was senior vice president with HSBC, where he was instrumental in setting up and heading HSBC’s Microfinance & Priority Sector business. The London-based Finance Monthly publication named Royston in their 2013 Global CEO Award Winners list as one of the Top four CEOs in Asia, and Top two in India.

Torbjørn Røe Isaksen was previously minister of research and education of Norway, a position which he held since 2013, and has been a member of the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) since 2009. He has a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Oslo, and has worked as an editor and journalist. He is a member of the Conservative Party, and led the party’s youth organisation from 2004 to 2008.

Ola Elvestuen worked as a city councillor for Environment and Transportation in Oslo during 2011-2013. He was first elected to the Oslo City Council in 2003. Elvestuen headed the City Development Committee from 2003 to 2011. He was leader of the Oslo branch of the Liberal Party from 2000-2007. At Parliament, Elvestuen has chaired the Committee on Energy and Environment since 2013.

Nikolai Astrup is a Norwegian politician representing the Conservative Party (Høyre) for Oslo. He is currently serving as the Minister of International Development in Solberg’s Cabinet, being the first since Heikki Holmås from 2012-2013. In March 2011, Astrup was named “European of the Year” by the JEF Norway.

Magne Furuholmen is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. Furuholmen is the keyboardist of the synthpop/rock band A-ha, and co-wrote many of the band’s hits including “Take on Me”, “Stay on These Roads”, “Manhattan Skyline”, “Cry Wolf”, “Forever Not Yours”, “Analogue (All I Want)”, and “Foot of the Mountain”. Furuholmen is also an visual artist with solo exhibitions held in Norway, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe. His work is represented in private and public institutions and museums worldwide, among them The Norwegian State Archives, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and others.

Karen Dolva is CEO and co-founder of No Isolation, an Oslo-based start-up founded in October 2015, with the goal of reducing involuntary social solitude. Its first product, a physical avatar called AV1, was designed to help children and young adults, forced by illness to take extended time away from school, to maintain a presence in the classroom, communicate with friends, and socialise. Before co-founding No Isolation, Karen studied Computer Science and Interaction Design at the University of Oslo.

Kathy Calvin’s career has spanned work in the public, private and non-profit sectors.  She is a passionate advocate for multi-sector problem-solving, U.S.  leadership on global issues, and the inclusion of women at all levels and in all sectors. In 2011, Kathy was named one of Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Rock the World,” and in 2012, she was listed in Fast Company’s “League of Extraordinary Women.”  Her innovative work in the philanthropy and international NGO sector was featured by the New York Times in 2011.

Johnny Harris is a filmmaker and journalist. He currently is based in Washington, DC where he makes web videos for Vox.com, reporting on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe. Johnny’s visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. He holds a BA in international relations from Brigham Young University and an MA in international peace and conflict resolution from American University.

Award-winning geneticist and broadcaster David Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990. In 1975, he helped launch and host the long-running CBC Radio’s, Quirks and Quarks. In 1979, he became familiar to audiences around the world as host of CBC TV’s The Nature of Things, which still airs new episodes. From 1969 to 2001, he was a faculty member at the University of British Columbia, and is currently professor emeritus. He is widely recognised as a world leader in sustainable ecology and has received numerous awards for his work, including a UNESCO prize for science and a United Nations Environment Program medal.

Yanis Varoufakis served as minister of finance of Greece in 2015. Varoufakis taught economics and econometrics at the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia. In 1988, he spent a year as a Fellow at the University of Cambridge. From 1989-2000 he taught as senior lecturer in economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Sydney and in 2000 he accepted the offer to become Professor of Economic Theory at the University of Athens. Varoufakis has written several books on game theory, microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Christer Fuglesang, physicist and astronaut, was the first Swedish citizen in space. Fuglesang flew on his first space mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery on 9 December 2006. The mission took astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for an assembly and crew-rotation assignment. In 2006 Fuglesang was appointed an affiliated professor at KTH, where he had taught mathematics since 1980. His second spaceflight aboard the space shuttle Discovery was launched to the ISS on 29 August 2009. The mission lasted nearly 14 days, and Fuglesang performed two space walks.

Samina was born in Afghanistan, then moved to Pakistan, to then emigrate to Norway with her family. After studying Cyber Security Law from the University of Oslo, she spent the following year doing internships with the UN, later relocating to study Globalisation Law at Maastricht University. Her areas of interest include women, peace and security, particularly in relation to refugees and IDPS. She is deeply concerned about the challenges Europe is faced with, and created a law clinic for refugees at the Law Faculty during her time at Maastricht.

Felipé Calderón served as President of Mexico from 2006 to 2012. As President, Calderón chaired the G20 Leaders’ Summit and the UN COP 16 climate change conference. He has been named ‘Statesman of the Year’ by the World Economic Forum and ‘Champion of the Earth’ by the United Nations. Currently, he is honorary chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, responsible for coordinating the ‘Better Climate, Better Growth: The New Climate Economy Report’; and also president of the Sustainable Human Development Foundation, and member of the board of directors of Avangrid and World Resources Institute.

Hans Vestberg is chief executive officer of Verizon Communications, a leading provider of wireless, fiber-optic and global Internet networks and services. Vestberg is a leading voice at industry conferences, including Mobile World Congress, Code/Mobile and the Consumer Electronics Show. In 2014, he was ranked #10 on Global Telecoms Business’ list of the 100 most powerful people in the telecoms industry.

Svein Tore Holsether is president and CEO of Yara, a global crop nutrition and industry solutions company with 15,000 employees worldwide. Mr. Holsether is passionate about promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in the global business arena. To contribute to a thriving future and drive inclusive growth he is a commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission and a member of the executive committee for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). He also serves on the executive committee and board of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) and International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI).

Rose McGowan is a thought leader and agent of change. She focused a spotlight on injustice and inequality in the entertainment industry and beyond. As an activist, she led a movement to break the silence and became a leading voice in the #MeToo movement. Rose starred in the hit series Charmed, one of the longest-running female-led shows in television history. Her directorial debut, Dawn, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Erna Solberg is the current Prime Minister of Norway. Erna Solberg studied at the University of Bergen, her hometown. She became a member of Norway’s Parliament for the first time in 1989, also having served as Minister of Local Government and Regional Government from 2001 up until 2005.

Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ latest and most advanced robot to date and a cultural icon.  Sophia is a highly sought-after speaker in business and has shown great potential across many industries meeting with many key decision makers face-to face.