Helen Clark

(F) Prime Minister of New Zealand

       UNDP

       - Administrator

Helen Clark was Prime Minister of New Zealand for three successive terms from 1999 to 2008. She was the first woman to be elected as Prime Minister in New Zealand. Throughout her tenure as Prime Minister, and as a Member of Parliament over 27 years, Helen Clark engaged widely in policy development and advocacy across the international, economic, social, environmental, and cultural spheres. She advocated strongly for New Zealand’s comprehensive program on sustainability and for tackling the problems of climate change. In 2009, Helen Clark became Administrator of UNDP. She was the first woman to lead the organization and served two terms there. At the same time, she was Chair of the UNDG, a committee consisting of all UN funds, programs, agencies, and departments working on development issues. As Administrator, she led UNDP to be ranked the most transparent global development organization.

Mahmoud Mohieldin

(C) International Monetary Fund

       - Executive Director

       United Nations

       - Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda

(F) World Bank Group

       - Senior Vice President

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin is an Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda. He had worked as a Senior Vice President at World Bank Group from 2016 to 2020. He previously held numerous senior positions in the Government of Egypt, including Minister of Investment. He also served on several Boards of Directors including the Central Bank of Egypt and the banking, corporate, and academic sectors. Mohieldin is also Professor of Economics and Finance at Cairo University and Honorary Professor at Durham University.

Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulla Al Khalifa

(C) Bahrain Supreme Council of Health

       – President

Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Health, and Chairman of the National Health Regulatory Authority, is one of the pioneers of health care practice in Bahrain. One of his key achievements was the inauguration of the first military hospital in the Kingdom, and subsequently, the expansion of the Bahrain Defense Hospital to a 390-bed hospital specializing in many clinical services. Dr. Al Khalifa was appointed as Undersecretary of Bahrain Defense Force from 1999 to 2006, after which as Minister of State for the Defense Affairs from 2006 to 2014. He currently chairs the Supreme Council of Health. The councils’ main role is to set national health care policies and strategies for all the health sectors in Bahrain.

Jaehyang So

(C) Global Center on Adaptation

       - Senior Advisor & Director of Programs

(F) World Bank Group, Office of Senior Vice President

       - Senior Advisor for the 2030 Development Agenda and UN Relations & Partnerships

So Jaehyang is a Senior Advisor and Director of Programs at Global Center on Adaptation. So was a senior Advisor under the office of Senior Vice President at World Bank. Throughout her career, So has focused on the privatization of utilities, financial and corporate restructuring of state-owned enterprises, and infrastructure operations in East Asia, South Asia, Eastern, and Central Asia, and Africa. She also worked as Manager of the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), one of the longest global partnerships programs established at the World Bank. So has previously been a board member of Global Water Challenge and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council as well. So holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Stanford University.

Woochong Um

(C) Asian Development Bank

       - Managing Director General

Um Woochong is a Managing Director General of the Asian Development Bank. He previously was director-general and Chief Compliance of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. Um was responsible for developing sector and thematic policies, strategies, frameworks, and operational plans, encouraging vibrant sector and thematic communities of practice and developing new business ideas. With an extensive career in the field of international development at ADB, Um has played a vital role in working towards achieving ADB’s strategic priorities. Um holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

John M. Christensen

(C) CONCITO

       - Senior Advisor

(F) UNEP DTU Partnership

       - Director

Dr. John Christensen is a Senior Advisor at CONCITO, Denmark’s green think tank. As a previous Director under UNEP DTU Partnership, he has worked on energy, climate, and development issues for the UN Environment Program in different capacities for the last 30 years. The focus of his work was on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and SDG 7, including co-leading the annual UN Environment flagship Emissions Gap Report. John has in addition had a long involvement with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) where he has been a lead author on five reports and a member of the Bureau for a couple of years. John holds a doctorate in energy planning methods for rural energy access from the Technical University of Denmark.