Topic: International Development

Alaa Murabit

One of the leading global health and inclusive security experts of her generation, Alaa Murabit is the Director of Health at the Gates Foundation, overseeing global health policy & advocacy. A medical doctor, she is a United Nations High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment & Economic Growth, and one of 17 Global Sustainable Development Goal Advocates appointed by the UN Secretary-General. Alaa’s work has shaped policies in 193 countries and impacts billions. She was most recently named a Canadian Meritorious Service Cross recipient, 2021 Harvard Radcliffe Fellow, and 2022 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader for her work at the intersections of global security, health, gender, and sustainability.

Alaa previously founded and spearheaded The Voice of Libyan Women at the age of 21. Her TED Talk, "What My Religion Really Says About Women" has been viewed seven million times and was selected as the TED Talk of the Day, one of four moving TED Talks you should watch right now by The New York Times, and one of 12 TED Talks That Define the Future of Feminism.

Recently named a prestigious Harvard Radcliffe Fellow for her work “Architects of Peace: Redefining the Role of Women in Today’s Growing Security Agenda” focusing on the unique roles and leadership women have in conflict resolution and global peacebuilding. Alaa is also an MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, Ashoka Fellow, serves as a board member for The Malala Fund and an alternate board member for Gavi.

She was the Executive Director of Phase Minus 1, which provides thought leadership in conflict resolution and inclusive security from 2016 to 2020, and in 2019 she founded CO-AGENCY, an accelerator for emerging women’s leadership in security, peacebuilding, and policy.

Alaa is the recipient of 100+ honors and awards, including the 2013 New York Times TrustWomen Hero, BBC Top 100 Woman, Forbes 30 Under 30, 2019 WIRED World Global Thought-leader, the2018 Nelson Mandela International Change-maker Award by The Nelson Mandela Family, and one of the 2019 Top 20 Most Influential People in Gender Equality Policy in the world alongside Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Angela Merkel, and Michelle Obama. Her leadership in global policy and in elevating the role of emerging women leaders was recognized by Harvard Law which named her the youngest 2017 Woman Inspiring Change. For her leadership architecting policies in security, health policy, and sustainable development, she was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in History by the Canadian Government and Canada’s 2021 Woman of Impact. Aside from being selected as a 2022 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, she has also recently been named a 2021 CNN Leading Woman, 2021 Wikipedia Global Leader, and a 2021 UNWomen Leader We Admire.

Augusto Lopez-Claros

Since March of 2011 Augusto López-Claros is Director of Global Indicators and Analysis with the World Bank Group. He was Chief Economist and Director of the Global Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, where he was the editor of the Global Competitiveness Report, the Forum’s flagship publication, as well as a number of regional economic reports. Before joining the Forum he was Executive Director with Lehman Brothers (London) and Senior International Economist. He was the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative in the Russian Federation during 1992-95. Before joining the IMF, he was professor of economics at the University of Chile in Santiago.

López-Claros was educated in England and the United States, receiving a diploma in Mathematical Statistics from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Duke University.

He is the author of numerous articles and papers on international economic issues, including: The Search for Efficiency in the Adjustment Process: Spain in the 1980s; The European Monetary System: Developments and Perspectives (co-author); Fiscal Policy Issues During the Transition in Russia, Ten Years of Russian Economic Reform; Reforming the IMF; Interdependence, Cooperation, and the Emergence of Global Institutions; Chile: the Next State of Development; The Role of International Financial Organizations During the Transition in Russia; Israel: Factors in the Emergence of an ICT Powerhouse (co-author); The Innovation Capacity Index: Factors, Policies, and Institutions Driving Country Innovation, and many others. His interests include the role of interdependence and cooperation in the emergence of global institutions, elements of a successful approach to economic development, and aspects of management of the globalization process.