Luiz is a geologist with a master’s in environmental analysis and a PhD in geography. He was a researcher and teacher of resource economics for more than 10 years in southern Brazil. Luiz has 12 years’ experience in Brazilian public environmental management, from local to national level. He was coordinator of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for Brazil and senior adviser in climate change and biodiversity of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden. At the UN since 2016, he has been coordinating international cooperation activities in many countries on a circular and low carbon economy and nature-based solutions.
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Josué Christiano Gomes da Silva
President
Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP)
In addition to his position at FIESP, Josué Gomes is also the president of Coteminas, a leading bed and bath company with industrial units in several countries through the American continents. In addition, he is the 1st vice-president of the Center of Industries of the State of São Paulo (CIESP) and chairman emeritus of the Brazilian Textile Industries Association (ABIT). Beyond his industrial activities he is a member of the Owen School Corporate Council of Vanderbilt University and of the board of the Child Cancer Treatment Institute of São Paulo (ITACI).
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Rafael Cervone Netto
President
Center of Industries of the State of São Paulo (CIESP)
Rafael Cervone is a textile engineer and 1st vice president of the Federation of the Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP). Working with the textile sector since 1990, he is a board member of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), President Emeritus of Sinditêxtil-SP and ABIT (Brazilian Association of Textile and Apparel Industry). He was a member of the Global Business Forum for the G20, B20, and contributed to “Industrial Transformation & Innovation”, “Future of Work” and “Future of Industry and Digital Transformation”, and the ILO Group – “Dialogues on the Future of Work and Combating Slave Labor”.
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André Aranha Corrêa do Lago
COP30 President
UN 2025 Climate Change Conference (COP30)
André Aranha Corrêa do Lago has been working with the sustainable development agenda since 2001. As a career diplomat, he was the director of the Energy Department (2008-2011) and of the Environment Department (2011-2013) at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the latter period, he was Brazil´s chief negotiator for climate change and for the Rio+20 Conference. He was the Brazilian ambassador to Japan (2013-2018) and to India (2018-2023). Since March 2023, he has been the Secretary for Climate, Energy and Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Gabriel Azevedo has led international projects in more than 40 countries in infrastructure, natural resource management, agribusiness, manufacturing and environmental management. He has worked at the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Construtora Norberto Odebrecht, and was a board member for the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO) and the Brazilian Association of Water Resources (ABRHIdro). He is a board observer at the International Hydropower Association (IHA) and is IDB Invest representative at the Sustainability Committee to the Board of Hospital Einstein in Brazil. Azevedo has degrees in civil engineering, including an MSc and a PhD from Colorado State University.
Celso Tacla is an executive and board member with extensive international experience in sustainability, innovation and industrial transformation. He has led major Latin American operations for global companies like Valmet and Metso, driving circular economy strategies and digitalisation in the pulp and paper and capital goods sectors. Celso sits on several boards and sustainability committees and is a frequent speaker at global forums on the bioeconomy and innovation. He holds degrees in chemical engineering and business management, with executive education from IMD and Wharton. He was awarded the Order of the White Rose by the president of Finland.
Christian Spano is a strategy, innovation and sustainability executive with more than 20 years’ international experience in the resource and energy industries. He has worked for organisations such as Anglo American, the World Economic Forum (WEF), Systemiq and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). Christian holds postgraduate degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE) and Oxford University and an undergraduate degree in economics. He enjoys cycling and spending time with his two kids and wife in London.
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Rodrigo Sobral Rollemberg
Secretary of Green Economy, Decarbonisation and Bioindustry
Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, Brazil (MDIC)
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Rollemberg holds a bachelor's in history from the University of Brasília (UnB) and is a civil servant in the legislative analyst career of the Federal Senate. He was a district deputy, a federal deputy, senator and governor of the Federal District. He also held the positions of secretary of tourism, leisure and youth of the Federal District and secretary of science and technology for social inclusion of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. He was president of the committee on the environment, consumer protection and oversight and control of the Federal Senate, during the vote on the Brazilian Forest Code.
Tarcisio Soares joined Airbus in 2019 in the helicopters division and is now responsible for promoting the strategic alignment between the major business units Commercial Aviation, Helicopters and Defense & Space. He also leads the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel initiatives in Brazil and external affairs, providing political and economic expertise to strengthen understanding and guide decision-making of Brazil and other Latin America countries. Tarcisio has over 25 years’ experience with multinationals in the aerospace and oil and gas industries. He has a bachelor’s in business in international trade and post graduated in business management and financial and economics business management.
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Elizabeth Shie
Senior Manager, Strategy and Sustainability
Novelis
Elizabeth Shie works currently for Novelis South America, leading the company’s regional strategic planning process, evaluation of market drivers, analysis of expansions and management of sustainability goals. Over the past years, she held positions in the financial and pulp and paper sectors, playing important roles in business development initiatives through partnership models, new business structuring, mergers and acquisitions and equity investments. Elizabeth holds a degree in production engineering from Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and an MBA from the London Business School, with a concentration in finance and change management.
